What I Do When I Have A Migraine

When you have a migraine, it is frustrating because the pain often prevents you from being able to live life, and all you can do is sit in a dark room and hope it passes. Some people get migraine attacks more often than others, but anyone can get them because you don’t need to have my disability to be impacted by migraine. Preventive medication can help prevent some migraine attacks, but you can still get a migraine while taking medication. I have not been getting as many migraine attacks since I stopped taking my seizure medication that I think was causing them, but because I have Hydrocephalus and am more prone to headaches, I still get them. When you have migraine, you just want the pain to stop, but there is nothing you can do that will give you immediate relief, because you can be doing everything right and still get a migraine. There is no cure for migraine, and your best defense is to prevent them, but there are a lot of triggers, and sometimes you don’t know what caused your migraine to happen. What can you do to get relief from migraine pain? In this post, I am going to talk about what I do to get relief from migraine pain.

I rest as much as much possible- When I am struggling with migraine pain, I sometimes will do a little exercise, but I try not to do a whole lot because my heart rate often is elevated, and sometimes, I run low-grade fever, and exercise will only increase it and can be dangerous. It is difficult to fall asleep when you have debilitating pain, and I am not always successful at napping, but I do try and rest. I often sit in a dark room and wait for the pain to pass because light often triggers my pain and makes it worse. Rest is so important for migraine pain relief because if you do too much, you’ll never get relief. It is boring to sit in a dark room and do nothing for hours but sometimes that is what it takes to get relief.

I don’t do any high-impact exercise- Exercise can help prevent a migraine but it’s not something I would usually recommend if you have one because at that point it’s too late. If I have bearable migraine pain, sometimes I will do low-impact movement, but you’ll never see me do a high-impact weight-lifting session because that will cause too much stress on my joints and worsen the migraine. It is frustrating to have to skip your workout, but you shouldn’t do any high-impact workouts if you want less pain.

I dim the light on my computer– Migraine pain is not always convenient and sometimes happens when you are at work. You can’t always take the day off when you have a migraine because a lot of employers don’t understand the impact migraine pain has on your life and won’t let you. I don’t have a real job, and all the work I do is through my blog, and I am able to take days off whenever I want, but sometimes, I do things that are time-sensitive and have to work. If I have to get work done and have a migraine, sometimes I will dim the light on my computer or wear sunglasses if I need even more darkness and that will help me be able to work without worsening my pain because lights sometimes are very painful.

I add electrolytes to my water- When you have a migraine, it is so important to stay hydrated because people with migraine need to drink more water than someone without the condition. If you are not consuming enough liquid sometimes that is the reason you are struggling with pain because dehydration is one of the most common causes. I have gotten better at drinking enough water because I set water reminders on my phone every hour but even though I drink enough that does not mean I won’t get one. I take a prescription strength medication to prevent migraine pain but there are times I get a migraine and it’s not time to take my medication. Over-the-counter medication and sometimes help lessen pain but it’s not always necessary. Hydration is important for preventing migraine attacks but when you have a migraine sometimes it can help to add electrolytes to your water because it will hydrate you faster than water alone. I add electrolytes to my water when I have a migraine or eat something very salty like pretzels because salt gives me faster relief and sometimes I don’t have to take medication.

I sometimes will stretch or give myself a massage- I exercise a lot and try to stretch every single day, because I get tight often, and too much tension can cause a migraine. I still sometimes get a migraine when I am stretching every single day, because the cause of my pain is not always from lack of stretching. If I have some pain, I try and give myself a self-massage, and a lot of the time that helps relieve tension, which gives me relief. I will never ask other people to give me a neck massage because I am shunted, and my tubing is my neck, and if you don’t know what you are doing, it can cause problems. I would stay away from any high-impact exercise if you are struggling with pain, but light stretching is usually okay to do and sometimes gives you some relief. Stretching does not always give you immediate relief and completely eliminate the migraine, but it can help improve pain.

I wear my headache hat- When I am struggling with migraine pain, it is not uncommon for me to be running a low-grade fever and for my heart rate to be elevated. I have to be very mindful of my temperature when I have a migraine because high fevers that won’t go down can be a sign of an issue if you have a shunt. Headache hats are a great way to get some relief from migraine pain that does not require medication and sometimes I will use them to get relief, which helps lower my temperature and keeps me cool so I don’t have as much pain. If you struggle with migraine pain, you need to have a headache hat in your migraine relief kit because it works wonders.

I sometimes take Excedrin- I have prescription-strength pain medication that prevents most of my migraine attacks and is more effective than any over-the-counter remedy I have tried, but depending on the timing of the migraine, I can always take my prescribed medication. Excedrin does not always give me relief, but if I have unbearable pain, I do try because sometimes it does help. If caffeine is a migraine trigger for you, I would not take Excedrin because it has caffeine but it does work for me sometimes.

I avoid my triggers as much as possible- There are a lot of potential migraine triggers, and it would be impossible to avoid them all, but you don’t have to because not everyone is going to have the same triggers. I try and avoid my migraine triggers when I don’t have migraine, but I try to avoid them even more when I have one. I try and eat as healthy as I can and avoid high-sugar foods and dairy because I know these things are triggers for me. Avoiding and learning to recognize your triggers can be very helpful for preventing pain, because sometimes your diet is the problem. Eating can sometimes be difficult when you have a migraine because some people experience nausea, but it’s so important to fuel your body properly, even if all you can get down is a smoothie

When you have a migraine, there are a lot of things that you can do to get relief, and not everyone is going to get relief from the same types of remedies because it depends on what type of headache you have. If you get frequent migraine attacks that over-the-counter remedies aren’t touching, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor. Most headaches are not serious, but if you don’t usually get them, your body might be trying to tell you something is not right. I am more prone to headaches because of my disability but migraine disorders usually are genetic, and if someone in your family has them, they could pass it down to you. It is best to start treating migraine pain, as soon as possible because if you wait until it’s unbearable, it’s going to take much longer to get your pain levels down. How do you get relief from migraine pain? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.

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