127 Migraine Days in the last year


This probably a bad idea, but I added up how many days in the last year I've had a migraine. My total is 127. I think this may have been a bad idea because it's depressing. But I do think it confirms why I feel so frustrated. It also demonstrates how much migraines have affected my daily life and my ability to function. Sometimes people assume that when I say I have a migraine, that I am having a severe headache. Migraines are far more than a headache.

The National Headache Foundation refers to migraines as migraine attacks because migraines affect the body's systems. For example along with the headache, I have increased sensitivity to light, smells, and noise. I get nauseous and fatigued. My ability to concentrate is diminished. I get confused and have difficulty expressing myself verbally when I have an attack. I also experience mood swings. I was so relieved when I found out that emotional instability was a symptom of migraine attacks. I had feared I was losing my mind!



Although the medication I take when I get a migraine relives most of the pain, the confusion, weakness, and mood swings stick around most of the time. Today is the second day of my most recent attack. I feel disheartened when they last for more than one day. One day is bad enough. I feel scared. I feel like I'm missing life, and it's hard to keep my sprits up. I sometimes meditate when I get a migraine to help me get a better perspective on the migraine. Meditation helps me to witness the migraine to a great degree rather than feeling overwhelmed by it. Meditation also helps me realize I'm not experiencing all the symptoms all of the time. For example, today the pain and fatigue wax and wane. Meditation also helps calm my nervous system. I'll finish talking about the nervous system for another day. I am going to meditate and take a nap!

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