The life of migraines is complicated, it is messy and it is devastating. There are days that are good and there are days that are spent in bed under covers with an eye mask on to keep it as dark as possible.
Being a mom with migraines makes the whole thing even more interesting. When the slightest sound sends you running for the toilet to empty the contents of your stomach. It is nearly impossible to deal with migraines as a mom.
Don’t even get me started on mom guilt! It is one thing to have to put off plans due to an uninvited migraine but to have to tell your kids “not right now love, mommy’s head hurts too bad” is a whole different story.
I have been dealing with migraines most of my life. As a child I had what is called abdominal migraines. Meaning instead of head pain, it was in my stomach. As I got older they moved to my head.
Unfortunately the older I got the worse they got. To date, I have been diagnosed with 3 different types of migraines. Yeah, did you know that there are many different types of migraines? I sure didn’t! Think I see a topic for another post. 🤔
For years I have seen different specialist. At one point I was sent to a big special hospital for help. Unfortunately, even they did not have answers. I just wanted to go more than a day without a migraine.
I have been on several different types of medications from preventative meds to abortive. No luck and more hospital stays due to reactions. The hospital had become my second home. I felt lost, broken and helpless as no one was able to help me. This had become my life.
I was in a car accident that landed me with plates and screws in my neck, a very long, complicated story that I will tell at a later time. But this complicated my migraines and made them unbearable. They progressed to complex migraines. For me that means that I would have stroke like symptoms and or seizure type symptoms. This alone has landed me in the hospital for test after test. After a week long stay, they concluded I now have complex migraines. Great, another thing to add to my list of complications and they are much more scarier. I had to learn not to panic each time I have one, as I am so afraid I am going to die.
I finally decided to take things in my own hands. If they can’t help me, I have got to help myself. So here I am on a journey to find my path to health.
Here are the first 3 things I did that helped me:
Cut out gluten. This is hard, I am not that good at it and I still have some gluten. I am just very mindful about it. This had the added benefit of helping digestion issues and bloated.
Increased my water intake and add lemon to my morning water. Lemon is a natural anti inflammatory, it also has the added benefit of helping with weigh loss! Whoop whoop! 🙌🏼
Added in gentle yoga to my daily routine which has the added benefit of stretching out my back and opening my spine.
I know being a mom and having migraines is a struggle and can be devastating. But please remember, you are not alone, there are a lot of us moms out there who suffer right there with you. I would love to connect and support you on facebook, so be sure to connect with me there. I pray your day is pain free!
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