Top 10 Olympic ways of improving life with migraines.

Migraine mum and family are back on terra firma. We went to Spain, on a plane and there was no rain!

So do holidays bring any reprieve for the chronic migraineur?

I had my obligatory 3 migraines! 2 of them were packed into my first weekend! I am convinced they arose because of a combination of travelling with 3 young children, 4 unwieldy suitcases and 100's of other people doing the same.....the stress of getting on a plane without allocated seats with 100's of others!! Oh my! (yes, Fifty Shades of Grey was my holiday read!)I also found that even though eating and drinking were possible, they were not always possible when I needed to. And I hadn't packed enough food so ended up eating rubbish. I'm sure my blood sugar levels were low. I was also travelling on the back end of 3-4 incredibly busy weeks and I know I was feeling stretched. Oh and poor child no 3 was sick during the first night.......good start!!

The third migraine came on after playing tennis in the heat (it was only 9am!) I know that sudden exercise is one of my triggers, plus I forgot to eat a snack, then went shopping on an empty stomach with child no 3 in tow who enjoyed raising my blood pressure by picking up champagne bottles, repeatedly saying " I want this!" "I want that!" and trying to eat the biscuits before we had paid. All very explainable really.

All the migraines responded well to medication and the impact of these migraines on my holiday was minimal. I wasn't surprised to get the migraines I got which I think helped me to take my medication early. I also think by not spending emotional energy wondering why I got this migraine and feeling angry etc etc, made the whole experience lighter and shorter. I didn't get another one travelling home at the weekend.

It feels really good to feel well. Since I've been back I've had a few 'heads' which felt like they were going to be migraines. I ate, drank and the head pain went. So no medication since last Wednesday...that's good news.

What does this tell us about living with migraine? I should move to Spain?!May be a bit drastic! Now the Olympics has started, I have seen many parallels between the top athletes and living with migraines or any long term illness for that matter. There are times when living with migraine can feel like a bit of a marathon. I have been inspired by the althetes, looking at them stretching themselves but within their own capabilities....it got me thinking......

Top 10 Olympic Ways of Living with Migraine: 

1. Pace yourself: you can't sprint a long distance race.
2. Create a network of support around you and be honest with those who can lighten your load a bit. They need to know when you're not operating at full pace so they can compensate for you and understand why you need to rest. Olympians need rest, support and coaching, so why shouldn't we?
3. Eat regularly (every 4 hours)
4. Drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day (more in Spain!)
5. Rest your bodies well inbetween exertion!
6. Listen to your body and thought patterns in order to respond appropriately and quickly. That's what any good sportsman has to do....
7. Take your medication as early as you can (as long as it's not growth hormone!)
8. Distract yourself from the pain by focusing on other things, do things that make you feel good and alive. There is a lot of psychology in handling pain. Sportsmen are trained to respond to pain appropriately. how do you respond to it? Me? Relaxation, sleeping, reading and really really laughing (you know the kind, when there are tears streaming down your face)....
9. In the spirit of the Olympics, we have to keep practising to get better at handling our migraines. Don't give up!
10. But when we do get a migraine, give into it..like an Olympian would do if he injured himself. Let the people around you help. Then you are more likely to be able to pick yourself up for the next round of living........

Living with migraine.....are there any cures?

I thought I wasn't feeling inspired to write this week but in fact the feelings I am having are in fact a despondency about the whole "living with migraines" reality. I am fed up of it all. I can see no end.

The thing about any long term and chronic illness is that there are no easy answers. Admittedly, some people are 'lucky' enough to find the secret to their migraines. I recently saw a person on the TV who reported that through hypnosis, she discovered that in a previous life (gigantic leap of belief and acceptance there), a large coconut had landed on her head. Miraculously, once she had relived this awful event, she never had another migraine again.

I'm jealous. I want a coconut story for myself! There must be a simple explanation. I must be just missing it. There is something out there which is going to make a big difference to my life, if I could only just find it. I'm on a gluten free, caffeine free, and dairy free diet. I've been doing this for nearly 3 months and nothing has changed. Do I give up? Or does it take longer for my body to heal itself and with time, my migraines will get better. I have no answers. No one has any answers and I can feel very alone with some of the decision making I need to do.

 I've read many articles: one lady had acupuncture....migraines went, ....another lady did a major detox of diet and the migraines promptly left her. It seems to be so complicated as illnesses go. No one thing is reliably the culprit and you're left feeling that you are essentially guessing....it is a guessing game, full of "what if I try this....it may be the answer...."

It is a quiz with no answers. It seems to be just luck that you stumble on the right person, the right therapist, the right drug.....

Now this will sound ridiculous I expect but this lack of concrete information on how to stop this chronic illness leaves me with so much guilt. I feel guilty that I may somehow be causing the migraines myself. I know that may sound mad because I would never say that to anyone else. And if I had epilepsy or diabetes, I wouldn't be blaming myself. I also feel that it colours the picture people have of me......that somehow I'm not resilient or I am weak, or do not have a strong constitution. There's another whole blog entry on that topic!

Anyway, I have, as yet, found nothing that has a great impact on the frequency of my migraines. My brain seems to need to have them 1-3 times a week, whatever I do, or not do, take or not take. I may never find the answer......even though I know I am on the road of accepting this as a long term illness (gradually) and that I need to accomodate my life around it, I still feel let down that there is nothing I can do at this moment in my life to get rid of them or even lessen the frequency.......

Living as mum with migraines gives me the energy I need to carry on. What would I do without my children? They drain me, but also give me life. And that makes me remember something my dad said to me once....he was talking to me about as a migraineur you are sensitive to the world: light, noise, movement, smell, touch, any of these can become a trigger for migraine.Then he said, may be this sensitivity is central to who you are.....you are sensitive to others, intuitive and aware of people's pain and needs. May be, being migraine mums actually makes us sensitive and intuitive mums too? Everhopeful that amongst all this, there is hope.

PS: An update for relaxation....try the app 'headspace'. It is fantastic for visualisation and works on the principle that you have to practise relaxation skills and learn how to do it, with a view that you then apply these skills in stressful situations. The sessions are short and manageable. Available from iTunes or android. 

Migraine and exercise

Migraine Mum is trying to get fit (I'm not in this clip by the way!). I have ulterior motives....I am now 41 yrs old and have raised cholesterol. Suddenly I can't eat what I want. I also seem to have an abscence of any muscles in the tummy area and on a bad day, I can look about 5 months pregnant. (yes, someone asked me recently if I was expecting again !!!!!!)  I blame my 3 children entirely for this but I can honestly say, they have now come to my rescue.......I LOVE THE Wii!!! I play it more than they do now!

When I have a spare moment, I get myself togged up in my lycra and turn the old wii on for a bit of a prance around the lounge. Admittedly at the beginning I was rubbish, (0% technique!!!) but I got better especially when I realised that many of my groovy moves were being hampered by various things on the floor: lego, toy dogs, marbles, and someones' pants (yuk, child no 3 seems to have an adversion to wearing any).

I am now a Zumba Master!! And you can see from the clip above that any age, size or shape can do it. BUT I'm having to be careful, as exercise seems to trigger migraines.......what I have realised is that at the moment, it probably makes my brain a little over excited!! So I need to find what my limit is and gradually increase it to 30 mins. At the moment, I can do about 15 mins I think without triggering a migraine. But not every day either!!

Research backs this up, saying irregular bursts of activity can make migraines worse but regular exercise can be of great benefit in terms of endorphins and enkephalins. These are the hormones released during exercise that can make you feel good and can, according to research, help in the control of pain AND frequency of migraine.

What I find hard is that I have so many migraines (1-3 a week) and quite understandably, I don't feel able to do exercise......even post migraine my body hurts amd my energy levels are so low, and climbing the stairs to change into my lycra can seem too much. Couple this with the demands of children and the inconsistent life they can produce through not sleeping (who feels like dancing on 3 hours sleep?!), one of them being ill (no space to do those extra "me" things), or child no 3 clinging onto my leg while I try to dance (my right leg muscles are amazing!)......it seems almost impossible to create that regular time for exercise that seems to be so essential!

I know that I'm not quite at that stage in which exercise is beneficial. There are obviously no quick fixes for a chronic illness but gradual life changes which together help to contribute to a better management of this demanding neurological disease. Us migraine mums need commitment and perseverance. Being mum and being a migraineur can make exercise seem like an impossibility. But as they say "where there is a will (or a wii), there is a way!" Good luck!

PS: As part of the gradual changes I mentioned, I have been doing the relaxation session every day at night time since my last blog. I have found two good ones on www.painsupport.co.uk and an app called Stop Panic and Anxiety (free) which also has a visualisation for children.

Migraine and Stress (again!)

Migraine Mum is stressed. I know stress is an everyday part of life for all people and I know it's something that I have to learn to handle better......

Having children and all that goes with family life can feel like a tidal wave of overwhelmings, especially when you're tired and/or in post migraine phase. I know stress can cause me a migraine over time. It's all about overload! Here are some examples from my life.......

Stressful situations:
1. Monday morning: ah, quick, child no 3 is playing happily on her own.... I can get the washing out of the washing machine that's been in there since yesterday..yippee!! (small things I know)....I'll get the washing basket.

Oh, the washing basket is full of child no 2's new clothes that I meant to put away in her cupboard. I'll quickly do that before child no 3 finds me (sneaky)

Hang on, I can't even get to the cupboard, there's too many toys in the way.....I'd better put them away then.........I manage to put the toys away and the clothes rapidly. I'm so pleased with myself (again, small things I know) Great, I can now do the original job of getting the clothes out of the washing machine......

Child No 3 appears. She takes one look at the empty washing basket and walks off with it. I look at her in dismay and she says "I've been looking for this mummy! It's my boat!"

2. Monday afternoon: Migraine mum needs a break so all children have been forced to "lull" as we put it in our family which is a time of rest doing computer, TV or whatever....."I DON'T MIND AS LONG AS YOU DON'T BOTHER MUM!" An unrealistic expectation I know.....

First game console malfunctions.....I do the battery change. Child no 3 appears crying as something she has seen on children's tv has upset her. I talk it through with her and then put something different on for her. Child no 1 calls me with excitement as he has discovered another app in which a fish farts (yes really).

I finally sit down to try to fix my phone which is not receiving emails.......oh quick, turn down the potatoes....arggh! I forgot about the sausages!! I sit down again and begin to type in a code that is about 15 digits long...is that an O or an 0?! MUM!!!! game console still malfunctioning, another battery change, please work!

I sit down again and retype the long digit code, nearly there.....knock knock knockity knock.....someone at the door.....I am muttering to myself (can't write it down sorry)........hello! we'd just like to raise your awareness of....I can't listen today sorry. Can't listen to what? Everything!! Well, it won't take long......Sorry! NO! and I shut the door. Phew. Officially frazzled. Needless to say, I did not fix my phone.

So, what to do with all this stress? Breathing is generally recommended.

Effective breathing is even better. Lateral Breathing involves using your diapraghm, not just the top half of your body. Allowing your stomach and rib cage to expand outwards as you breathe in and breathe inwards as you breathe out. I do a few of these at the moment I feel stressed. But I think I need to try a bit more actively to relax. So this week, my goal is to download a relaxation track for my MP3 player and practice relaxing every day. Yes yes! I can hear you.....you're wondering when I'm going to download it and when I'm going to relax??. I don't know yet!


PS I'm going to start with this website www.painsupport.co.uk
It is designed for anyone in regular pain and in need of relaxation, providing effective ways of controlling stress and pain. That was quick work!! MM x