Curing migraines....

Well, well, well...or should I say ill, ill, ill! I'm back after 3 years of silence.....

The beast is still part of my life. He has told me that there is no cure.

Unlike my children, the migraine beast will never leave home! He's here to stay, that unruly monster that rears its ugly head just when you don't need it! Just as you're about to head out for a meal with friends, just as you're about to go away on a romantic trip to Rome with 3 children (eh?!) or just when you're feeling confident enough to think you might start a new hobby up (I thought may be belly dancing)....he starts to make his presence known by sending disquieting and unsettling messages...a bit of anxiety here, twinge there, may be a yawn or two, a bloated tummy and to top it all off, he has the cheek to make you feel grumpy and irritable with the world!!!

And then your brain kicks in and starts to have a chat with him....no mate, I haven't got time for you today...I only just got rid of you last week, no, no, no, you are not going to stop me from enjoying this evening out, I hardly ever go out as it is!

But he ignores you. There is a growing sense of doom....the little hint of what is to come, taunting you with suggestions that this may ruin your holiday or your evening out. ...the beast has woken up and is not going away. "Hello!!!" he roars, "missed me?!". The pain is literally depressing. I hate the cycle of migraine..the pain is hard enough but the lows that come with it and after it....

Anyway, I have a positive message to relay in my blog now! My beast is on a taming programme and has been responding to this programme on the whole for the past 3 years with some minor blips here and there. The tool kit has developed and I have more ways to keep him calm now.

I am now working 3 days a week along with 3 children ruling my life and to be really honest, I have only had to take time off for my daughter's now diagnosed migraines! That's a whole other blog to come!

My beast is behaving himself generally but certain things really get on his nerves. This is what I have done to keep him calm and silenced......

• feed my brain with electrolytes (salt, potassium) via diet mainly (see Angela Stanton on Facebook and Twitter, she has literally changed my life! She has a book on Amazon "Migraineurs who want to be cured")
• low/no sugar (this has made a huge difference)
• low carbohydrate
• no gluten
• lactose free
• regular sleep
• regular eating
• drinking water regularly
• relaxation (headspace meditation)
• regular exercise

So, the question to ask is: are you doing everything you can to look after your beast? You may have to add some more tools to your tool kit and make some changes. It is hard and sometimes you just want to give up and let the tablets do the work.....but you can't go on forever like that....the tablets will eventually become part of the beasts MO.

There is no cure for the migraine beast, but there are ways of training him to behave himself! Watch this space for more information on my taming programme. Ciao for now!