Head banging
I’ve written about migraines before I know, they never seem to stop for long. I’ve been a sufferer life long and my mother before me, it baffles me what starts the cycle especially as nothing much changes in my diet and I don’t eat much chocolate at all.
There are triggers and I have been told even by my doctor that this is true.
Eating things like onions, cheese, coffee or chocolate can trigger a migraine in some people that starts a cycle that plays out over weeks and months. Some people’s triggers are different. I haven’t got a list myself, it just starts with blue popping bubbles in front of my eyes and gets worse from there. Mine usually just come from nowhere and takes me down.
The effects of a migraine can be debilitating with symptoms ranging from bad headaches, sensitivity to light ,shooting pains in your head, dancing lights before your eyes, bright flashes, giddiness to nausea or full on vomiting, your skin hurting over the entire surface of your body and a general feeling of exhaustion and that’s before you even get to the mind splitting pain that moves across your body if you move, the pounding and sometimes strange smells accompany my “bad heads” as my mother used to call them.
According to The Mayo clinic in America migraines have different stages.
Starting with :
Prodrome
They say there are subtle warning stages which can start with things like: Constipation
Excessive urination
Mood changes
Neck stiffness
Fluid retention
Increased yawning
Food cravings
Aura
This stage can be before or during a migraine and can include:
Visual disturbances
Lights, shapes, spots before the eyes Vision loss
Numbness or weakness Difficulty speaking and pins and needles
Attack
A migraine can last for 4 to 72 hours Pain on one or both sides of your head Vomiting and or nausea Sensitivity to light sound, smell and touch Throbbing pain
Post-drone
After the attack there’s a feeling of being drained, some people feel elated
But too much movement can bring back the pain briefly.
Personally I feel like I’ve just got over an illness and I feel exhausted and washed out.
I feel raw and very tired and want to sleep.
The Mayo clinic suggests that migraines can be caused by hormonal changes in women, genetics,foods, alcohol, caffeine, food additives, meds, stress, sensory stimuli like flashing lights, loud music, physical exertion and even the weather all plays a part in this. It’s written that women are three times more likely to have migraines than me, so let’s hear it for the girls , not that I’m smug about that, but now at least I know a little bit more about the subject and so do you if you read this.
Medications do exist that can help over the counter pain relievers of course and if they don’t work for you then go and see your doctor. Nobody should have to put up with the pain. Here’s to pain free days and nights I say. Tell your Doctor how it is for you and how it’s affecting your life. I always write down in my diary when I’ve had a migraine, so I can garage if it’s getting any worse or more frequent. I know they all hurt just as much as one another that’s for sure.
In the meantime take care of yourselves, look after one another, wash your hands and wear a mask if you want to…..