Sunday, July 14, 2013

Migraine Mania


(Taken from the Voices of Fibromyalgia Facebook page where Fibro survivors band together for support and encouragement)
Migraine Mania
Migraines are absolutely excruciating! If you are one of the lucky ones who have never experienced a migraine, thank your lucky stars. As for myself, migraines became a constant and unwanted participant in my life.

According to the Mayo Clinic “A migraine headache can cause intense throbbing or a pulsing sensation in one area of the head and is commonly accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and be so severe that all you can think about is finding a dark, quiet place to lie down. Some migraines are preceded or accompanied by sensory warning symptoms (aura), such as flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling in your arm or leg” (Mayoclinic, 2013).

I am one of those migraine sufferers that can have one of these skull splitting headaches that last for days on end, accompanied by such an intense pain that I dread the idea of moving and the slightest shift in sound or light makes me sick to my stomach. When I am lucky enough to be awake when a my migraines begin I get a very significant aura – I get suddenly very cold and then a flashing light will appear in my vision and grows larger and larger until I lose sight entirely and which the return on my site comes the crashing pain. My best friend when I have a migraine is an ice pack that I can put over my eyes to help mildly ease the pain. I will also sit in extremely hot showers as this will help to ease the knots that form in the muscles down my neck and across my shoulders. I will even get the sensation that screw drivers have been shoved in my ear drums and my jaw will feel like its locked shut. The worse sensations are the cold sweats since my Fibromyalgia tends to flare when I get a migraine as well. The cold sweats made it impossible to find a way to get comfortable since a blanket would hurt my skin when I got cold and the wind from a fan would cause additional muscle spasms. Occurring usually two or three times a week and lasting 2-4 days at a time, my migraines used to make my life miserable. I can remember numerous occasions from back when I was on active duty as well as in my civilian careers where migraines would force me to go home from work because the nausea and pain were unbearable.

I distinctly remember getting migraines as early as 15 years old. I knew that my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all got them as well but eventually they went away. However, unlike these lucky ladies I was related to, who by the time they had their first child no longer experienced migraines, I am 28 (I only claim 26) and still plagued by these headaches.

Of course, if you have seen my previous blogs, you would know that I had a pill for every ache and pain that I had and my migraines were no different. Over the years I took Tylenol, Excedrine, Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, Cafergotamine, Relpax, Esgic-Plus….and even resorted to Botox injections every three months to deaden the nerves around my head and neck so that I could be moderately functional. Most of the oral medications would work for a while but unfortunately these medications are not designed to be taken continually the way I needed to for these migraines. I loved the Relpax – it worked and worked fast…unfortunately it also gave me such severe chest pain that I would go from being frustrated at a monstrous headache to freaking out because I felt like I was going to have a heart attack! Rather counterproductive. The Botox, worked for a while, a few weeks tops – and then I swear the pain would come back worse than before the injections. And I am ok with saying that those injections were way worse than any of the spinal injections or steroid injections I have ever gotten! I cried like a little baby every time my neurologist would do those injections; usually about 37 total. I honestly have no idea how people get those for VANITY purposes! And I am VAIN!

But in the past two months, I can honestly say, that I have only experienced three migraines. THREE! In TWO MONTHS! This is a massive improvement over the three attacks a week! I’ll take it! Ok, so what’s the trick? In my endeavor to find a happier and healthier lifestyle for myself, I was introduced to another natural supplement called Proflavenol C. This USANA supplement is a pure Vitamin C and Grape Seed Oil tablet that tastes as good as it makes me feel. I won’t even pretend to understand how or why this little tablet works for me, but oh it does! I can take two of these little tablets a day, four when I am feeling like my immune system needs a little help, and I have noticed a massive difference in the intensity and frequency of my headaches and migraines. I was so happy that I had found a natural prophylactic for my migraines that I shared it with my sisters who also fight constant migraines and they have experienced relief too!

Migraines can be cyclic for women and will come on with changes in hormones. I experience more significant migraines with the changes in weather particularly low pressure systems. Smells, chemical or floraly like at craft stores, are almost sure fire triggers for me as well. One of my sisters is sensitive to lactose and any kind of dairy will trigger a migraine.

Track your migraines. Write down when you get them, what symptoms are most significant, what you have been doing, maybe what you ate the day before, and what your hormones might be going through. This information can be instrumental to a doctor determining if these are regular migraines or if there might be a more significant underlying problem such as brain tumors or aneurisms. Migraines are frustrating and painful but they do not have to be part of your day to day life. Research your options and if a natural prophylactic sounds like something you would be willing to try, let me know, and we can talk about it. Life can be a headache…no point in keeping around another one.

Healthier is Happier!

Rachel

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