Many people believe athletes, like me, are indestructible. We train every day for long hours and monitor our food intake. So yes, of course, we are in great shape. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have some physical constraints or sometimes debilitating moments. Unfortunately for me and those athletes who are also migraine warriors, this experience isn’t a one time or a couple month or year-long rehab. Managing migraine is a daily, conscious effort to try to be okay.
Staying Upbeat with Migraine
Let’s face it, living with chronic illness can be emotionally draining and difficult. Bestselling author, Glennon Doyle, says, “We can do hard things.” Let’s look at how we can thrive with migraine, and add joy to our lives.
- Alternative Therapies, Anxiety, Chronic Migraine, Episodic Migraine, Migraine, Mindfulness, The Treatment Pie, Vestibular Migraine
Managing Stress and Migraine Attacks During COVID-19
What a difficult few weeks it has been. It’s hard enough to manage migraine disease during normal life, but adding in quarantines, worrying about the health of family and friends, and having to disinfect every little thing that comes into our house is just so incredibly difficult. For me, staying at home isn’t much of a change. I work from home and most of my job is already done online or in the kitchen. But even I am getting restless not being able to see my friends and especially my mom and dad. Overall I hadn’t had many challenges adjusting, except for having to cut back massively on my grocery…
A Lesson in Letting Go with Chronic Illness
Having to deal with any illness for more than 2 weeks at a time can be such a beat down, much less chronic illness. Look at how many people complain when they have a cold that lasts longer than a week. When it starts extending months into years, it’s incredibly defeating. I know it may sometimes come off like I have the answers for everything, but really half the time I’m writing posts to prove to myself that these things can be done. Today’s post is exactly that. I’ve been totally lost in health issues that I can’t control exactly two times in my life, and both happened within just…
Overcoming Negative Feelings While Living With A Chronic Illness
Migraine is a liar who makes us harbor negative feelings about ourselves. Chronic illness tends to become the major focus of our lives and therefore we become so much more inwardly focused. Everyone is insecure about something, but having a chronic illness makes us insecure about our basic selves. It skews our perception of ourselves. We feel that we are not measuring up to our own expectations and therefore we cannot be good enough in the eyes of others. The worse we feel about ourselves, the more we feel that others must feel the same about us. I often hear that we are our own worst critics. It cannot be more true…
The Benefits of Therapy for Migraine
I used to be one of those people who thought therapy was only for people who had gone through something really traumatic. Something from their past, maybe a death in the family, but not just for a “normal person” like myself…whatever that means. Now I realize what an important tool it is for everyday life, especially when managing a chronic illness like migraine. For many of us, our worlds are turned upside down by terrifying symptoms like vertigo just appearing out of nowhere one day. For others, we’ve been beaten down by years of dealing with pain, canceled plans, and special accommodations for our diet, travel arrangements, and workplace that…
How to Manage Light and Sound Sensitivity with Migraine
Light and sound sensitivity with migraine have plagued me for years and I have had to learn to manage both conditions during attacks and in between. This is not an uncommon problem to have. While approximately 85% of people with migraine report sensitivity to light during an attack and about 80% sensitivity to sound (Harriet & Schedt, 2014), almost the same percentages report the same sensitivities in between attacks. The migraine population is coping with migraine symptoms, sometimes on a daily basis. Managing At Home To manage light and sound sensitivity during a migraine attack at home is fairly straightforward. I will typically take my migraine cocktail. A triptan would…
Does Fear of a Migraine Attack Hold You Back?
Does fear of a migraine attack hold you back from making plans or doing things you love? Do you have a doubt monster that lives inside your head? One that ticks off the reasons why we can’t go…wherever? I know exactly how this feels. Migraine has been my near constant companion for most of my life. Even on the days that I don’t have what I call an ‘active attack’, I have reminders that she’s around. Things like tinnitus, aural fullness, unexpected dizziness, stabbing pains out of nowhere and random light sensitivity. Most days, these symptoms are in the background and I don’t notice them like I used to. If…
Migraine Attack Free While Being Stalked by a Hurricane
A turtle named Dorian Staying migraine attack free while fighting off stress and a hurricane is tough. A fellow Floridian posted a funny meme while Florida waited for news about hurricane Dorian. Something to the effect of waiting on hurricanes was like being stalked by a turtle. We all felt like we were being stalked by a turtle that would likely be a very serious threat to life and property in the coming days. However, this stress is very different than the colossal stress I have had over the past few months. The stress is real Just to name a few stressful things I have dealt with – we decided…
Migraine and Anxiety: Tips to Stop Feeling Anxious Now
As I sit down to write this, I am experiencing a little migraine and anxiety myself. Over the last few weeks I’ve been feeling vertigo spins just before I wake up in the morning nearly every day. I’ve also felt pressure changes and wisps of wind going through my right ear. These are not normal VM symptoms for me. It occurred to me this morning that these are the exact symptoms I was experiencing just before my first vestibular migraine attack that left me housebound for months leaving me worrying that another big event is coming. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the fear of ending up as bad…
