All of us have such busy lives which include absolutely no time for headaches – especially if they are the debilitating type which stop us in our tracks, such as migraines. Whether you’re running after the kids, rushing to work or trying to push through a pregnancy migraine, a migraine can totally derail your plans for the day.
According to Headache Australia, a migraine is a type of headache which occurs with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and/or sensitivity to light and sound. For sufferers, migraines are a nightmare which don’t always just go away with basic pain medication.
As migraine sufferers know too well, managing an episode is not just a matter of taking pain relief and getting on with things, because physical activity often worsens symptoms.
So what can be done to get through a migraine and help ease your symptoms?* Most of us know about the medications out there, so today let’s look into the other things that can help.
I asked my friends and colleagues who suffer from migraines to share a few things that they’ve found help them when the pain strikes.
1. Find your darkness – or your shades.
Migraines often trigger photosensitivity, making the sufferer sensitive to light. Many sufferers recommend finding a darkened place, which has as little light as possible, to immediately soothe symptoms.
Darkness will also help to avoid visual disturbances, such as flashing lights. This is where wearing sunglasses or tinted lenses – even indoors – may make you feel better, as they have for one of my friends.
A lack of light will also probably mean a cooler environment, which will also help. As another friend tells me, “if I’m at home, I darken the room, turn on the fan, lie down, drink water and turn on meditation music.”
Top Comments
I’ve suffered from debilitating migraines since I was 11 (I’m now 32). I averaged one a week and have been hospitalised for migraines 3 times (with one lasting 17 days, another 15). I wish this worked for me but it doesn’t. It’s important to note that what may work for one person, might not help at all for others. The only thing that I can do is take hardcore drugs, go to a dark bed and stay there. Having said that though there are some times I’ve had to push through like during my law degree when I had assessments due (fortunately my uni recognised this as a disability and gave me a lot of leeway).
Migraines can be relentless and excruciating.
I suffered them almost weekly from the age of 4yrs until about 17yrs ago.
These days I might still get some brief visual disturbance & the feeling that one's about to strike - but it doesn't.
I still lie down for a while if I can though.
I mentioned 17yrs because I find it curious that THAT was when my Crohns Disease kicked in - I have a few theories.
Since I've been managing that and dutifully taking the daily medication and following what seems to be a relatively successful strategy to minimize this condition - the migraines have stayed away.
Other theories are that it might be a "perfect storm" of other things too.
My hormones may have settled since I used to get a migraine at the onset of a period.
Even so I still take Kliogest. each day.
I've been doing neck exercises religiously every night (given to me by a physio guy 30yrs ago ).
Both my husband & I ( he used to get the occasional migraine too ) have been taking a Cartia tablet each night for at least 20yrs now.
Cartia are tiny 100mg asprin tablets used as a maintenance dose against heart attacks & strokes. They thin the blood a bit.
I really believe they've helped.
The final thing I'll add is meditation.
As a 4yr old I would visualize "putting myself in a place where the pain wasn't"
That helped too.
Since then my form of meditation plus the things I've learned from other techniques have made a real difference.
I hate hot weather so keeping my environment as cool as possible is incredibly important.
If you encounter other sufferers - ask them what do they do.
Everything is worth trying when you're a victim of this shitty nuisance.