I hate it when my face feels like it's pressed behind glass. The pressure that makes my head feel like it's in a vice. That's what the quick weather changes do to me. Especially when a cold front blows through.
Changes in weather are definitely a migraine trigger for me and others. It's the most devastating trigger that I have, because you can't change the weather and no matter where you go, they've got some.
If only, we could live under a bubble! Since we can't control the weather, maybe we can control the "atmosphere". Here are a few things that I do, when the pressure is too much;
Find a nice dark and quiet place to lay down.
Use ice-packs on the base of my neck, to relieve neck and shoulder strain.
Meditate to relax as much as possible.
Grasp those moments of bubble time. Hold onto the little time that you have, without the pain.
Everyone, I know, looks forward to the Holidays. Maybe not the in-laws, but definitely the Holidays. ;?) The Holidays... and the ones we love.
We take this time of year to celebrate achievements and to honor Love. We choose this time of year to to be with the ones we hold dear to us, the ones we love. It's a fact of matter; Everyone wants to be loved. We all need to feel we matter to those that matter to us.
The fact is, that the hardest person to love is yourself, but the key to finding love with others is to have a healthy self-love. As victims of an invisible illness, it can be easy for us to forget to love ourselves. Sometimes we feel as if we don't deserve a life filled with love. Sometimes our illness takes the love away from us.
We should use the Holidays to welcome love, and show our love to those in our lives. They deserve it, and so do we. Even the in-laws (or out-laws as I jokingly refer to mine).
The October/November issue of LifeWorks, discusses that finding the love for others means wishing them well, as we wish ourselves well. Some of the ways to "find the love" include:
Treating others the way that we wish to be treated
Unfortunately, the rest of the world cannot see the waves crashing over our heads or the water pulling at our feet. Our foothold on a slippery deck that wrenches at us everyday. Trying to determine if "our work" is for the profit of regaining our lives or simply making it through the day.
No matter how hard it is to overcome the unfortunate bad days forced upon us, by an invisible illness, we must keep our balance. Even if the center of gravity is changing at a daily rate. Work is work, whether you travel to and from work outside or inside the home. Gain is gain, whether it be money or satisfaction. We must learn and teach others about our strife and successes. Our work, even if only to get out of bed each day should be counted as profit. Regaining our lives requires hard work. One thing we each can do to help ourselves, is to keep a diary/calendar to note the weather, possible triggers, and pain levels of each day.
Another Monday morning, and I lay in bed for nearly an hour before rolling out. Yay, fight team fight! But, I'm still holding my breath, waiting to see if I will sink or swim, today.
No water-wings for the day-to-day swimming in life. Take a big gulp of the today and dive right into it. So much to do, so little time. A minute, an hour, a week, the amount of breath that can be used is impossible to gage. Just start kicking toward surface. The closer, the easier it is to swim. Head above water, means all the difference.
Surface and shallow are not the same. Shallow is the place I lie awake determining if the day is warm or cold to me. Rolled up warm and dry, between dark and light, aiming for normalcy. The place where the decision is made to take part or not.
Surface is where you seek to let go, and gather, another breath before diving deeper. The barrier between dry and wet that let's me know I'm alive with a rush of sight and sound. The surface can be seen from above or below. Above, it reflects the light and gives a murky vision of the underneath. Below, it let's the light through, shows a reflection of lower down, as well as a blurry look at the dry side of life.
Today, I can swim in the deep end. I must remember to keep my eyes open, so I don't run into the sides of the pool.
No one enjoys a migraine attack. The best course of action to prevent an oncoming attack is to be the first to attack. Don't wait until you are honestly and truely in the thralls of a fight with the monster, we call migraine.
1. Practice meditation - Take 5 minutes to perform some form of meditation. My favorite, is to channel blood flow to my hands. This is sometimes called the "warm hands" technique. I just tried my 'hand' at creating and sharing an .mp3 file on my blog. This recording will give you the basic idea, if you can get past the sound of my voice.
2. Take your abortive medicine! If you have one, take it immediately. Even if you only 'think' the monster is in the house. Better safe than sorry, and if it works, you could be without the migraine onset, and recover several hours that may have knocked you down, for who knows how long.
3. Ice packs on the point of the pain or the back of the neck. The ice pack is the first tool to be used, to decrease inflammation in everything from a sprained ankle, finger, or bruising, to the migraine.
4.Pressure point manipulation is another way to keep a migraine at bay or stop it entirely. This can be done by a chiropractor, acupuncturist, or in some limited ways, by yourself. The most common form of self pressure point manipulation is to take the thumb and forefinger of one hand and squeeze the fleshy part of the other hand, between the thumb and forefinger. I’ve been told that if the migraine is on the left side of the head, start by squeezing the right hand. It doesn’t hurt to do both sides, either.
5. Prayer. This is really the first thing I do. My first preventative. I start each day in prayer and specifically ask for healing, and a pain free day. I also say a prayer when I feel the first signs of an oncoming attack, as I am sure many do.
6. Eat some ice cream! Sounds silly, but this has worked for me more than a dozen times for an attack that started like a 2x4 to the brain pan. It may be because the ice cream may numb the roof of the mouth and may work in the same way as the ice packs. Brain freeze may be a good thing after all.
I've been a migraineur since 1981. I've been to so many specialists that I have run out of fingers and toes to count them on. I have tried so many medicines, homeopathic remedies and diets that I could (not should) write a book.
So, today, I visited one of my primary care physicians (PCP's) to get new scripts for my current diet of drugs. After the usual barrage of questions and comments. After discussing ad nauseum what I had and had not tried in the past, and as she handed me my check-out paperwork, she told me that I am an interesting patient. She told me she could not believe that some doctor had not taken my case and really explored and hence solved it.
I should be grateful that she takes the time to 'really' talk to me. I did smile, as I agreed and apologetically told her "the only person in the world that cares enough to work that hard, is me. No one person, other than myself will ever work on my case 24/7."
I am constantly doing research, as are many of you. Everyone I talk to has heard of a cure, most of which I have tried. I know it's out there. Diligence and hope is what keeps ME going. Keep the faith.
Had a hard time getting up this morning, because the 'invisible' was holding me down. The average person has no idea of the struggle each and every day between us, the non-average, and the 'gravity' of an invisible illness. We're told from a young age that we can't fight gravity. How unfortunate is it that what falls down does not necessarily get up.
You can finish a day strong. Lie down feeling great, and have candy coated, cute and fuzzy dreams. Only to wake up with the pain from an invisible enemy that constrains your every fiber to the darkness of the cell you call your room. Both eyes are kept closed and, opened slowly, one at a time to evaluate the state of the planet. Ears perk to listen over the constant ringing, to the beginning sounds of the day. Limb by limb, the determination is made as to the chances of making it the 10 steps to the bathroom and the possible start to a new day.
It's just not fair that so much work is needed to get up and attempt a normal life. Not fair when the moon and sun seem so effortless in their rising and falling circle that is the very essence of life on our planet. There are so many 'invisible(s)' in 'our' spheres, working hard against the gravity of living life on two feet. But, we must push on, each and every day. Thwarting the foe that would have us forgo the life and feats that have been given us by our creator.
Living is bittersweet, with the prize given to those that toil the hardest. We must strive to be seen by our families, our friends and the rest, in our all and sundry, to bring these invisible illnesses to the light of day. Get up each day, even if the time is short and share this life with someone else.
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