Life with Migraine
Beyond Medication: Sleep and the Migraine Brain
If ever there was a tale of a complicated relationship, it is the story of sleep and the migraine brain. Get too much sleep, and you will likely trigger an attack. Get too little, and you are also likely to trigger an attack. Feel tired and take a nap, and yet again that can trigger an attack. Fatigue is a highly common and debilitating symptom among those with migraine, and yet many report migraine wakes them up and is the cause of not getting enough sleep. To complicate matters even more, for many, sleep is often the only thing that relieves the pain of a bad attack, and getting quality sleep at night has been shown to reduce head pain. So how do we navigate this ever so complicated relationship?
Read MoreGrowing Up With a Disabled Parent: Empathy or Resentment?
It would be an understatement to say that it’s difficult growing up with a parent who struggles with a disability. It changes the way you view your parents, friends, and even your own health at times. In this two-part series, I’ll examine how this impacts different parts of a child’s life. In this first part,…
Read MoreFinding Answers: Taking Control of Chronic Migraine Â
Managing migraine day-to-day requires constant effort, no matter how long you’ve lived with migraine disease. People with chronic migraine – defined as a minimum of 15 migraine/headache days per month – may find this especially challenging. Not everyone has access to a certified migraine specialist. Very few people with chronic migraine receive a proper diagnosis and…
Read MoreManaging Migraine at Work: Strategies for Success
According to the American Headache Society, nearly 113 million workdays are lost each year due to migraine. The work environment can be full of migraine triggers that we cannot control. So what is the best way to manage migraine at work? Identify Migraine Triggers at Work The first step in preventing and/or reducing migraine at…
Read MoreMigraine-Friendly Valentine’s Day Gifts
How to show support for people living with migraine as we celebrate this day of love. Valentine’s Day is almost here, which means it’s time to officially celebrate the ones we love (and ourselves)! Unfortunately, many gifts that are traditionally associated with Valentine’s Day can trigger migraine attacks. With a few easy swaps, you can…
Read MoreDo You Have an Individual Exercise Plan?
“I was a marathon runner until my migraine became intractable and chronic daily. I lived to run. It was my physical and psychological outlet. Then…boom…it came to a screeching halt. I began walking, which soon became my lifeline. That is until 2 years ago when I developed vestibular migraine and had 3 serious falls while…
Read MoreMigraine as a Coworker
Having migraine as a coworker can be challenging. None of us are strangers to calling out of work for one reason or another. Whether this was a more frequent occurrence at some of our first low-level jobs, or out of necessity at our current job, it’s something we’ve all experienced at some point. For those…
Read MoreTwo Tips for Migraine in 2024
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Many of us will resolve to achieve all kinds of goals in 2024, including managing migraine attacks more effectively. However, it’s important to remember that your overall health improvement goals can often be better achieved by taking small, actionable steps. Here are two tips for migraine in 2024…
Read MoreNew Year’s Resolutions for a Migraine Warrior
How are you going into the New Year with migraine? New Year’s Resolutions for a Migraine Warrior I will mindfully be kind to myself and rest when my body says I need to – even when that means “extreme self-care“! I will mindfully let go of guilt for the things I can’t do, places I…
Read MoreSurviving New Year’s Eve With Migraine
If you’re one of the 42 million people in the United States who struggle with migraine then you likely know how difficult planning around major holidays can be. Debilitating migraine attacks can often get in the way of enjoying time spent with friends and family. This issue can become even more prevalent if you’re part…
Read MoreWhat Are The Best Gifts For People With Migraine?
What are the best holiday gifts for people with migraine? Every year we ask our migraine community what they would like to find in their migraine holiday gift basket, and here’s what they asked for. 1. Hot & Cold Therapy During a migraine attack, pain can often be soothed by applying heat or ice to…
Read MoreNavigating the Joys and Challenges of Relationships and Migraine
No one likes to be struggling with pain and feel like a burden to their loved ones and friends. Equally, no one likes to see a loved one in pain and not be able to intervene. Relationships when one or more people live with a chronic disease such as migraine can be incredibly challenging to…
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