Could It Be Post Migraine Stress Disorder?

I asked if there was a  legit term for this back in May of 2009. I didn't get anyone saying that it was not. So, I visit the question again. 

 A migraine hangover is sometimes used to describe that time after an attack, when you may not be experiencing the migraine, but still feel many of the symptoms. A hangover almost sums it up, but I think that this could also be called Post Migraine Stress Disorder (PMSD).

When we are exhausted, disoriented, nauseous, and weak with the fear that at any moment the migraine monster will rear it's ugly head, and try to take your head off at the eyebrows. This is PMSD.

There is no doubt that migraine disease is harsh. But there is nothing pretty about the aftermath either. We dread the everyday happenings that could send us back to the abyss. Be it the bright sunlight reflecting from a car windshield, The sound of a small child crying  nearby, the strong smell of someone's perfume, a change in the weather, or the lack of sleep even though you haven't left the bed for three days straight. This is PMSD. 

PMSD may affect many migraine sufferers. All we can do is try our best to overcome it and return to our family and friends, and what passes for our normal world as quickly as our bodies will allow.

Obviously I'm not a professional so I don't know if I have the right to give this ailment an official title or not, but this is what I call it. Do you have a different name for it? Or do you suffer from PMSD as well? Please tell me what you think.

 

Would've, Could've, Shoud've

I have been remiss the last couple of weeks. I haven't posted since Dec. 8, and for no apparent reason. I would've had enough time to write several posts around the hectic holidays and my unscheduled migraines.  But, I let the joyous nature of the season keep me from even sitting down to the computer.

If I had planned my time more wisely, I could've incorporated several life lessons that I learned over the last month. While I was cleaning, cooking, decorating (did I say cleaning?) I found myself learning how to accomplish some tasks easier, especially as the frequency increased. Maybe I'll be able to put some things down into the ether as my blog continues in this, my third year.

I should've put a lot of my thoughts down on paper. Now it's too late for most of them as they have been lost to my minds eye. A few remain and I hope to take many opportunities to write and share my thoughts about the past, present and future of dealing with diseases like migraine. These are my thoughts for the new year.

I decided to not make any resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, which criticize, seek approval for, and/or mold my life, is too much of a daily event for me.


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Sunshine In The Shade

In the shade of life the world can be too much. As a chronic pain sufferer, I know for a fact that some of us live in the shadows. Dark rooms, soft lights, dark glasses at all times of the day and night. Trying desperately to keep ourselves hidden from the light of day. These shadows extend beyond the light and dark on the outside to the darkness that dwells inside of us. No, I'm not talking good and evil. It's more like the difference between our feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness, and the knowing of hope and happiness.

Our insides can feel cold and empty. Can feel battered and bruised. And, not just from the beating we can take from life, but also from the blows that we throw at ourselves. We might concentrate on a bleak future or the virtues we lack. Others may not see our distress, but that doesn't mean it's not there. So, we live in the shade with sunshine all around us.

All it takes is a single step to see some sunshine in our lives. It's there for each and every one of us. There is always some light no matter how dark the room may be. Keep your eyes open long enough and you will begin to see the things around you. A little longer and you will see the shadows being cast by the objects in the room. A little light can be found in any situation. Keep your eyes open long enough and even the darkest life casts shadows of it's own.

Know that as bad as it may seem there's a little light there. Grasp it, hold on to it, and pull on it toward the horizon. Let it grow in your heart till it lifts your spirits up. Use it to leave the dark, the shade, whatever pain you struggle against in your life. Make the most of any light in the dark. Take that hope and follow it toward the sunshine of your future.

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iBlog

Today, my blog hits 100. That's a hundred posts since I started in 2008. Not the best post rate possible, but pretty good I think. I have done a lot with design layout and widgets, but quality of the content has been my major concern (I hope you agree). From the first post Migraine: Beginning or End, I have been on a journey of understanding and hope.

My blogging was sparked by a radical change in my life and my wish to begin a dialogue with other people in a similar situation to my own. I have made many new friends online. Almost all of which I have never met in person. Maybe only a couple of which I would recognize if I passed them on the street. But, friendship does not require these things. It does not require that I know everything about my friends. My post, I Hate Migraines shows that we can share feelings and emotions against the plight of suffering migraine and other invisible illnesses and that these shared experiences bring us together.

I have shared stories about myself. Puppy Noses and several others, convey the need for the ability to cull some humor or positive from even very painful situations. I also have shared experiences and feelings that draw on the dark side of having a chronic illness in posts like Living With Migraine Is Work, in which I discuss the effects on our personal lives and the ones we love. And, Dancing For Rainbows, tells the story of hope, which is something that all of us need to keep in perspective as we battle our illness.

Thank you for taking the time to read my posts. I hope that someone, somewhere, can find support and/or answers to questions provided by my life and my blog. Thank you for being a friend and sharing your input, for giving me uplifting advice when I've let my guard down against the monster. Being friends is about sharing experiences and giving support when needed. Now, as I set out towards two hundred posts, I thank you for being a part of my life. It's what we share that makes us friends.
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Don't Be Late

We live with our illness every day. It is so easy to give up and let the migraine or other monster grind us down to nothing. I write a lot about depression, because with long-term illness comes depression. It can hamper our lives in different ways, most if not all of which are never good. Depression can take control of our lives emotionally and physically. Don't take a belated approach to knowing the symptoms.

Some Emotional Symptoms Include;

• Nervousness - in situations that appear to be normal.
• Feeling hopeless - at not being able to control our illness and our emotions.
• Fear - of having another attack or of losing the battle with the illness.
• Guilt - for feeling weak enough to let an illness control our lives.
• Being withdrawn - from the people we care about most in our lives.
• Loss - of interest in our favorite activities.
• Irritability - can hurt our relationships with the ones we love and care for. We can strike out at others when we are really having problems with ourselves.
• Mood swings - going from one mood to another rapidly and sometimes without reason.
• Thoughts about death or suicide.

 Some Physical Symptoms Include;

• Gaining weight - for no apparent reason.
• Weight loss - without trying or no apparent reason.
• Constipation - that lasts longer than may be usual.
• Crying - at the smallest things or nothing at all.
• Loss or increase in appetite - not finding anything you want to eat. or eating everything in sight.
• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much.
• Decrease in libido
• Poor self esteem - not secure in your self-worth.
• Problems at work - that may suddenly arise without warning or apparent reason.
• Memory impairment - causing you to forget important dates or events. 

 
Take control of your life. If you have any of the symptoms listed above you should seek a medical professional immediately. Many chronic illness sufferers not only have to contend with migraine, fibromyalgia, etc., but also with the possibility of depression. Don't be late in asking for help.

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The Beast Of Burden

I have been burdened with writing this article for nearly two weeks. It's not that I don't know what to say, but that I don't know how to say it. I finally just sat down at the keyboard and started typing. This is what I got.

The beast is migraines in my case, though it could be any number of chronic or invisible illnesses that are suffered by others. The beast has been with me nearly every day over the last few years. It is always lurking, waiting to strike. Sometimes without warning. It presents a burden in a couple of ways.

Migraine is a burden on every day life. Waking each day, with one eye closed tight, hoping the beast is asleep and will let my feet touch the floor. It rides my back even when it is not attacking me, and threatens to strike at any time. I can't make definite plans without allowing for the presence of the beast. My calendar is filled with "penciled in" events. Nothing written in ink. That would present a specific target for the monster. Sleeping, waking, eating, going out to shop or see a movie, going to church, even when I go to the restroom can be determined by the force the beast lays on me. The daily grind of living with this beast tests my strength on a daily basis. And it tests the strength of those I love.

The burden is on our loved ones and friends as well.. It scares others away. Friends who were close no longer call or visit. Family gets tired as they are sucked into the grind. They reach a point where they are overwhelmed by the beast as well. It becomes tiring for them. They may not be able to see the beast, but they definitely feel it's presence. Almost as much as I do. They begin to not make plans, or make their plans without me, leaving me feeling like an outsider who is lost and alone. So many times I have stayed in bed, nursing a migraine, in an empty house. Compassion gets harder to find as the one's around us have to deal with the monster in our lives.

Sometimes, I feel as though I am the beast that preys on my family. A beast of burden that weighs them down as much as my own beast does to me. There are times when their actions and their words reflect the burden that is placed upon them. I try to suffer my illness in silence and not involve my family, but there is just no way that I could live without them.

Do others have the same sense of being a burden? Do you have ways to fight back against the beast and gain your life back? Please share.

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Related Articles

• Does asking for help make you feel like a burden to others? (momblognetwork.com)
• 1% Thursday: Patience (headacheandmigrainenews.com)
• Get Up (againstthegraine.blogspot.com)