Tips and Tricks for Dealing with Migraines

If you read my last blog post, you'll know that I had a pretty decent migraine this week. I had to cancel dinner with friends and spent the majority of the day with an eye mask and a blanket.

Migraines run in my family. Most of the women on my mom's side of the family get them. I had my first migraine as a teenager. I remember it vividly. I went into my parents' bedroom almost in tears because my head hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep. My mom took one look at me and ran to the bathroom to get me a warm compress. She knew what was going on. Most people don't get them that frequently, but I find that when they do get them they're at a loss as to what they should do or are obviously not doing what they need to do to treat it. I know you can get this info from a simple Google search, but I wanted to share what works for me. So, here are a few things that I think you should know and some things that I do when dealing with migraines.

Know your triggers: Migraines usually happen for a reason. Something in your life can cause your migraine. Mine are usually caused by stress and sometimes caused by bad weather, lack of sleep, and this month hormones. Don't rule out food triggers. I know that I get a pretty gnarly headache if I drink Crystal Lite. If you know what causes your migraines, you will be able to eliminate the trigger from your life and lessen their frequency. Obviously you can't eliminate all of your triggers, but the following tips help me deal with my migraines when I do get them.

Know your symptoms: For me, there are pre-migraine symptoms. My migraines usually start with achey eyes or spotty and blurred vision. When I have a full blown migraine, I have photo-sensitivity, and nausea, but no vomiting. If you can catch it early enough, you may be able to avoid a full blown migraine. The earlier you catch it and treat it, the better the possibility of lessening the severity of the migraine (based on my experience anyway).

Know what treatments work for you: There are a number of things I do to treat my migraines. I like warm compresses. Some people like cold. When I get a migraine, I feel a cold sensation in my forehead which is why I like a warm compress.  Regardless of which you prefer, I think a compress is essential. It relaxes and soothes the muscles in your eyes, and face. My herbal eye mask is a life saver. There are unscented versions if you are sensitive to floral scents. I would recommend one with lavender in it if you can stand it. They seem to work better in my opinion. There should be an eye mask in every household. Other than treating headaches, they can also help relieve eye strain and help you relax at bed time.

Not all pain killers are alike. Plain old pain killers just won't cut it here. I prefer Excedrine Migraine (or any other brand with "Migraine" on the label). They're not gimmicks. Migraine labeled pain killers are different than they're non-migraine counter parts. Honestly, I prefer one with caffeine in it. Generic brands work well too if you're on a budget. If over-the-counter medication doesn't work, take yourself to the doctor. They can give you a prescription.

 A quiet, dark room is the best place to recover. If you can, sleep it off. If you have kids, I don't have much advice other than "I hope you have someone who can help you out and take care of them for the day." Don't go on Facebook and write a status about your migraine. I see this all the time "Ugh! I have a migraine and it won't go away!" Well sweetie... get your ass off the damn computer. That back lit screen is doing more harm than good. A migraine day is a sick day. Take care of yourself like you would if you had the flu... just with your eyes closed... Cancel your plans because you shouldn't be doing anything. Sorry! It's the truth. A migraine is sooooo much more than "just a headache." If you don't take care of it, it can last for days. Trust me, I've been there. Though if I get one while at work, I do try to make it through the work day. Then I would treat it when I got home.... There are times when I just need to go home. I found that my employers were very understanding when it came to migraines. It could become a problem if you get them too frequently, however that would be a time that you would want to see a doctor anyway.

Caffeine is your friend. Even when I'm suffering from a normal headache, a cup of coffee really helps. I don't know the science behind it. All I know is that it works.

Also, don't forget to drink lots of water. I'm sure you already knew that.

Migraines are sneaky little buggers: Just when you're feeling pretty good and start to get back to doing things you need to do, the tricky migraine can sneak right back up on you. Recovering from a migraine is sort of like recovering from a sports injury. When you get back up and moving, do a little bit at a time and see where you are. I call it a "migraine hangover." The length of the hangover depends on the severity of the migraine. Sometimes I feel pretty good toward the end of the migraine day. Sometimes it takes me a couple days to feel 100% better. So listen to your body. If you start to feel it coming back, get some more rest.

Keep a journal: Until you know what your triggers and symptoms are and the best way to treat it, keep a journal. It'll help you figure out what works for you. Once you figure it out, treating the migraine will become second nature.

I am not a doctor. This is just the stuff that works for me. Some of these things are also helpful to lessen the duration of normal headaches. If you suffer from chronic headaches or migraines, please see a doctor.

And this is one long ass post... So I'll end it there.

Revelation! and some other things

I'm sorry I haven't written in a few weeks. Sometimes you just don't have anything worth saying or worth other people reading or life hands you things that you just don't share on the internet. Today, I do have something to share.

Could it really be true that cravings are caused by restrictive eating? Well it obviously makes sense, but I didn't realize how true is until today. You know that during your time of the month cravings are intense! Not this month... I have no cravings... None... not a single hankering for chocolate or potato chips. If all Intuitive Eating does is not make me gorge myself on chocolate and chips at the same time for one week of the month, I think that's a pretty sweet deal. Also during this period of time, I find that I eat everything in sight... Again, not this month! However, that might be from the fact that I got a PMM (Pre-menstrual Migraine... my own term, but in my family it happens). When I get migraines, I get nauseous  It really sucks when even a little toast makes your stomach turn. So during my normal binge days, I was feeling quite ill.

Also, IE has definitely made me feel a little more free and in control of things. I still eat all the same foods I used to, however, I am definitely eating less. There isn't as much snacking. It would seem that I was doing a good deal of boredom eating. More than I ever realized. Now, I read instead of eat. I'm on my third book of the month. Maybe I should start a "What Am I Reading" series...

Now, I just need to get started on the exercise thing. I know with IE you're not supposed to step on the scale or worry about weight loss, but I do. I'm holding steady at the moment and will probably start to lose a little weight if I would just exercise consistently. The problem is that I haven't found anything that can hold my attention. Suggestions are welcome. Though joining the gym is out because I don't want to waste money on something I might not use.

Finally... For all my calorie counting, tea loving readers. I love tea. When I get tired of plain water, I'll drink some tea. However, most tea requires a little sweetener and sugar calories add up. I don't like artificial sweeteners since most of the them give me headaches. Drinking Crystal Lite is out of the question for me. Anyway, I love Rooibos tea. It's naturally sweet so there's no need to add sugar to it. My favorites are:

Also, they don't get bitter like other teas if you steep them too long. So, you can pour the water over it and be on your way. I find mine in the organic section at Wegmans or you can get it on their Website. I know they might seem a little pricey, but cheaper than those K-cups we all spend a fortune buying (though I don't buy tea k-cups. that seems a little silly to me). They have a ton of flavors but I've only tried a few. I like that you can keep the original tin and buy just the tea bags from them to refill the tins with.

So... that's the end of my somewhat random and non-descriptive blog post. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Loving Myself

I'm mostly talking body image here. If you know me, you'll know that my body image is pretty poor. Like in the shitter... or was in the shitter. Gradually, I'm learning the accept my body as it is now. It's not going anywhere any time soon so I might as well embrace it. It's a work in progress. There are still days where I just feel fat, but it's about pushing that to the side and focusing on the good parts.

Everywhere you look you'll see things like "hitting the gym to get ready for summer" or just the question "what are you doing to get ready for summer?" Well... I'm not doing anything to get ready for summer. There are no crash diets in my future or insane workouts so I can look good in a bikini in a little over a month. I'm going to buy a bathing suit I like and that I look good in and rock my curves! Any dietary changes or changes in my fitness regimen are going to be for my overall health.

I'm going to focus on what I love about my body and ignore all the negative thoughts I have about various body parts. In the end, I know that no matter how thin I might get I'll still be unhappy with my thighs and the size of my ass. It's a fact... Even back in my dancing days, I was self conscious about my thighs and my ass and I was pretty thin back then.

So, how about a little list of what I love about my body?

My boobs... Honestly, they're pretty fucking awesome! LOL!! and nicely proportioned with the rest my of body. With the help of a push-up bra, they look really nice in a v-neck tee. :D

My smile... Thanks to my parents shelling out $3600.00 for me to have braces, I have a smile I can be proud of... I guess I can just say mouth because....I LOVE MY LIPS! (there's a Veggie Tales song... look it up... it's silly but fun)

Those dark brown pools of mystery I call my eyes... My husband says they're black, but he's wrong. They're almost black. So dark you can barely see where the pupil is. The windows to my soul... I can keep you guessing with them.

My overall body shape. I love my curves! If I were to lose weight, I wouldn't want to lose so much that I lost them. Besides... they make my husband happy too. When I was 10 pounds lighter than I am now, my husband actually told me that he didn't want me to lose too much more weight. He thought I was thin enough. What a sweet guy! At that point I was still thinking of losing 5-10 more pounds just to be within what is considered a "healthy" weight range.

So, what do you love about your body? Take some time if you need to, but find atleast one thing you love. It doesn't even have to be based on how it looks. It could be as simple as "it's this part and it works likes it supposed to." But find it and build on that.

<enter catchy sign off line here>

Not Counting Calories.... An IE Update

I'm a week and a half into working on Intuitive Eating. I haven't finished reading the book yet, but changes are being made. I'm not counting calories! OMG! It was pretty difficult the first few days as I stuffed all sorts of unhealthy foods in my mouth... Like twizzlers, reese's peanut butter eggs, and starburst jelly beans. Constantly stopping myself from thinking "hey! You shouldn't eat that." or "Eating that will make you fat." or "Just take a little peak at the nutrition label. You know you want to." The urges or cravings for those foods is starting to go away. I never thought that could happen, but it is. YAY! I still usually want a little but of chocolate after lunch and dinner, but now I'm eating a few little pieces instead of a handful and even the chocolate cravings aren't as strong.

I've been taking the time to stop and assess if what my mind is saying I want to eat is actually something I want eat. I'm an eat it because it's there kind of person. I have a tendency to see something and think "OH! That'll taste so good!" Then, I'd proceed to eat it regardless of whether or not I'm hungry. That behavior is gradually going away. I've noticed that if I stop and think about it for a second, I find that I'm not hungry and it's not something I really want.

Yesterday was a particularly good day considering it was a holiday. Family functions are when I do alot of unconscious eating. Usually I just eat and eat until I'm overly full and feeling gross. The snacks came out and I didn't eat any until I was feeling a little hungry and knew that dinner wasn't going to be for a while and that I should have a little nibble to tide me over. I had some tostitos and little dip that was quite tasty (though I don't know what was in it). When it was time for dinner, I was the perfect amount of hungry to have a taste of all the dishes I wanted and even left room for a little dessert. Believe it or not, I left cake on the plate! Pretty big accomplishment for me. The cake was good, but not soooooo fabulous that I felt the need to eat the whole slice.

A few times this week I actually left food on my plate. No more eating it because I feel like I have to. I've also started to break out of the eating because it's time to eat or not eating because it's not time to eat. So, I'm going to work on that a little more and work on telling the Food Police to shove it. :P

And... New cookbook! My husband begs for me to make Indian food and the house smells like heaven when I do. So I bought...

Can't wait to try out some of those recipes. Dave really wants me to cook lamb...

That's all for now... <enter catchy sign off line here>