For as long as I can remember, I have suffered from migraines or really bad headaches. I can vividly recall times when they made me so incredibly sick to my stomach. Light sensitivity is another issue; there are times when it doesn’t bother me and others when I can’t even stand a little bit of light. I call those my vampire days. My migraines have definitely gotten worse since my wreck in 2011 though.
These newer migraines will last days, sometimes turning into weeks, unfortunately. When I do actually get a day to “breath”, I tend to overwork myself and they come back full force the next day. More times than I can count, I’ve heard comments about how “there’s no way hers are that bad, she’s still functioning normally” or “she has to be faking, I have to be in a dark room with no lights or sounds”. Don’t get me wrong: I’d love to be able to stay in a dark room with no lights on when they’re that bad, but I’m a mom and have dogs so that’s just not possible for me.
My son is the absolute sweetest when I’m having a bad migraine day. He will come up to me and say “mama, you head hurt, love you” and give me a big smooch on my head and squeeze me tight. If I don’t already have my fuzzy rice sock, he will search all over the house for it so I can heat it up and put it on the back of my head. I have tried all of the “tricks” under the sun for getting rid of them, and this seems to be the only thing that helps even a little bit.
Are there days when I have migraines this bad that I do absolutely the bare minimum? Heck yes!! When they get this debilitating, my nerves tend to also flare up and just plain cause my body to shut down and say “nope we’re not functioning properly today… not happening!” Those days consist of getting out of bed, feeding us, letting dogs out, hanging out at home with “quiet” things to do, lunch, more dog chores, quiet playtime, and finding something easy for dinner before our bedtime routines.
In the past few years, I have had more migraine days than normal days. For a long while, I tried going the route of just using more natural things and over-the-counter meds. However, it came down to me needing migraine meds available for when they get really bad. I don’t like taking the migraine medicine unless I absolutely cannot get the pain under control though. If I’m able to catch them in the very beginning, most of the time the oil blend for migraines and Tylenol can get me by.
I don’t know about anyone else who suffers from migraines, but I tend to get a stabbing pain in my eyes then BAM within 30 minutes I have a full-blown migraine. This pain is as if someone is taking a needle straight through my pupil and stirring it around. It’s an odd feeling to describe to someone that has never had a migraine. I tend to get looks like I’m crazy when I say “Well, I’m about to get a migraine, it feels like someone just took a needle to my eye!”
Did you know migraines can be triggered by many factors in our daily lives? Allergies can be one of them; for example, there are certain foods that trigger them for me. Your neck being out of alignment, or really any part of your spine, can also cause migraines. Not drinking enough water is a HUGE factor in a lot of people’s migraines (and sadly, I’m horrible at drinking enough water each day!) Most of the people I know with light-colored eyes, blue in particular, tend to get them more often as well. From articles I’ve read, they aren’t exactly sure why this is though.
Tricks I have been told to help with migraines include cold/heat packs, dark rooms, drinking more water, slamming a caffeinated drink, hot showers, different herbs, and many, many more.
