Migraine awareness week - Migraine: what's it like? What can I do about them?

Migraines to me were mini-tornadoes, whipping sharply through my head and leaving a wake of destruction. Sometimes lingering like an unwelcome visitor. Unfortunately I suffered with migraines quite regularly in my teens, twenties and thirties. Thankfully since reaching my forties, I've had very infrequent migraines.

As far as we know, there was no one else in my family that had suffered with migraine before I had my first migraine as a teenager. I was terrified, thinking I was losing my vision or having a stroke. It's nothing like a normal headache. Feeling disoriented, I was not able to string a sentence together whilst a rather beautiful but awfully sickening ‘aura’ of twirling light started the onset of migraine. This was followed by quite a long period of gaps/disturbance in my vision. Then a fierce compression of my eyes/ temples/ pounding in my head followed by feelings of nausea.  Unpleasant and debilitating symptoms.

I think that hormones were definitely part of the problem, though after that first experience I had many more migraines brought on by bright or flickering lights and other triggers too (certain foods, tiredness and stress). I am better at managing my stress levels now and for choosing to eat regularly and get enough sleep.

A strategy for my particular ‘light sensitivity’ was for me to get into the darkest place possible and stay there till I stopped seeing the ‘aura’ and for my vision to slowly return to normal. Then I’d sip water, or if the migraine was not budging, have a coffee. This was because I’d been told coffee is supposed to open up constricted blood vessels and reduce the migraine severity. It’s not really clear if this is true, though I would have done anything to get through that ‘migraine hell!’

Migraine headaches are typically divided into two categories: migraine with aura and migraine without aura. An “aura” refers to sensations people get before a migraine. The sensations typically occur anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes before attack. These can include:

• feeling less mentally alert or having trouble thinking
• seeing flashing lights or unusual patterns
• numbness or tingling of the face or hands
•  senses heightened, including unusual sense of smell, taste, or touch 

Some migraine sufferers can experience symptoms a day or two before a migraine occurs. Known as the “prodrome” phase, these may include:

• constipation
• depression/ severe irritability
• frequent yawning
• neck stiffness
• unusual food cravings

See this great site for comprehensive description of migraine and the different types of headache.  https://www.migrainetrust.org/about-migraine/types-of-migraine/other-headache-disorders/tension-type-headache/

If you are experiencing symptoms, you should consult with your GP. There are many reasons why people get headaches and visual disturbances, some of which may appear to be migraine but are not, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you have been diagnosed with suffering migraines, there are various ‘over the counter’ drugs that can help minimise the impact.

It is worth investigating any other options, like complementary therapies (eg, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, osteopathy, herbal), alongside traditional medicine See also: Norfolk Clinic Facebook - migraine info

If you are going through your own version of ‘migraine hell’, come and find out more about the services I offer (and that of other relevant therapies at the Norfolk Clinic too)

Angie

See:

http://www.angiegiles.co.uk/
Twitter: angie_therapist
Facebook: Angie Giles Hypnotherapy

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About the Author: Angie works as a hypnotherapist, counsellor and coach at the Norfolk Clinic Complementary Healthcare Clinic, 38-40 Magdalen Road, Norwich, NR3 4AG. 

Call Angie directly on 07773 610816 or email info@angiegiles.co.uk 
Angie offers a free initial consultation to find out more. 

The self development dilemma

I hope that your end of year celebrations were enjoyable and that the new year bells rang in positively on another new year.  

Self development for health and work:

I like to work on my self development professionally throughout the year and I do strive to have time to maintain my health too, so keeping my mind and body in (mostly) good shape. Unfortunately I do get the occasional migraine, usually preceded by flashing kaleidoscopic lights that swirl in my line of vision. Later I notice gaps in my vision which are usually followed by a pounding headache or 'heaviness' above the eyes. Even these occasional migraines have developed their 'pattern' over the years. The light disturbances were black and white for many years until a few years ago and now are tinged with colour, almost like old style 3D film without the glasses!

This year I am aiming to become aware of any patterns of behaviour or food triggers for these migraines so I can do my best to avoid the likelihood of getting one.  If I have too many late nights, spend long hours at the computer or am at a certain point in the month, it seems to make the likelihood increase. I therefore am taking steps to manage this and it means managing myself and my time better! I aim to be better at reducing the potential for migraines in 2014.  

How I manage myself has a direct impact on my work and therefore on my clients. I'm aiming to be the best I can be at all times, not just at the New year.  Why not join me in making this your year to be the best you can be too? 

Wishing you all a very happy and extremely healthy 2014! 

From Angie

See:

angiegiles.co.uk
Twitter: angie_therapist
Facebook: Angie Giles Hypnotherapy

About the Author: Angie works as a hypnotherapist, counsellor and coach at the Norfolk Clinic Complementary Healthcare Clinic, 38-40 Magdalen Road, Norwich. Norfolk Clinic reception on 01603 660792 or directly on 07773 610816. She loves helping other people achieve their potential at work and in life and achieving happiness using a range of therapeutic techniques.