MIGRAINE
COMFORT TIPS & RITUALS
A friend once declared that everyone has an
exact morning ritual, which they follow religiously. Not wanting to be thought
so predictable and dull I vehemently protested this statement. The friend then
asked me to describe, exactly, what I had for breakfast each morning and how I
prepared it. I sadly realised he was right. Whilst your tea is brewing for 3 minutes,
it is incredibly important that you put the marmite on your toast in tiny blobs
and then join it up, otherwise it’s just too thick and doesn’t taste good and ….
I also realised, when I started to get a
migraine the other day, that I have a very carefully prepared migraine ritual.
I have tried and tested practices, including comfort foods and drinks that I
have on hand, for when a migraine starts. If you don’t have a migraine ritual
you need to have one, it needs to be ingrained, you need to be able to get your
comfort aids to hand in a semi-comatosed state. I can reach for some of the
items listed below in the dark, with my eyes shut, without leaving bed (pretty
clever of me I know.)
So here are my migraine comfort tips and
ritual (the order can vary depending on the type and level of pain, which
doesn’t make it a very strict ritual and slightly ruins my metaphor but…)
Everyone’s migraines are different, so your ritual and comfort tips will be
different to mine but I hope you’ll find something useful below.
Just
to be clear this is for when a migraine attack has started and you’ve taken
your prescribed medications, which would obviously be STEP ONE. Watch these
series of video’s on how to treat an attack by the National Migraine Centre.
So, I’ve taken my medications (they may or
may not be working) and I take myself off to bed, or I may already be in bed…
THE
RITUAL BEGINS…
1.
HEAT
Yes, this may sound strange but I often
like to put a hot water bottle on my neck/back/shoulder. Now to maximize the
life of your hot water bottle you must invest in a Hot Water Bottle Cover. You
must. It will double the heat life of your hot water bottle (this is also a
good idea for a Christmas/birthday present for us migraineurs – p.s I like
cashmere ones best, just sayin’. The White Company & Brora do lovely ones.)
If I can’t muster the energy to get to the Kitchen
to make a hot water bottle I slap on a Heat Patch. These are also useful if you
are out and about, or at work etc. You can apply directly to skin. I tend to use
Cura Heat or Therma Care. Surgical Tape can help them stay put. At one point I
was even a proper granny and had a heated blanket but found I couldn’t mould it
to the right position, plus I was convinced it would burst into flames and kill
me. Thus it wasn’t very relaxing.
I, therefore, suggest you invest in a Kitten.
Kittens are, essentially, never ending, vibrating, hot water bottles. Very good
for the environment. Very soothing.
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| A more recent snap of Chipster |
2.
COLD/ICE PACK
While I’m making my hot water bottle I’ll
be wrapping up my cold Gel Pack.
Most migranuers reach for an Ice/ Cold Pack
first. Ice is one of nature’s greatest anti-inflammatory treatments and the
extreme cold can simply distract from the pain. I like to have a gel-pack
(wrapped up in a dish cloth) on my forehead, or wherever on my head the pain is
worse. Sometimes, I wrap it around the back of my neck. I really need to invest
in one of those fancy head bands that you can slip a gel-pack in to. Such as this "Medi-Temp Pad"
You can also buy instant ice packs in most
Pharmacies. Hospitals now routinely use these. These are good for having at
work/in your bag etc.
TOP TIP: Have TWO
gel-packs in your freezer to rotate. I use these blue ones, as you can bend
them to desired shape as they seem to stay cold longest.
3.
TENS UNIT
I then stick on my TENS unit. I adore my
TENS unit, it will not stop a migraine once its started but it can, sometimes, greatly
dull and distract from the pain. I’ve written more extensively here about how
to use and where to buy one.
4.
FOOD
Obviously this stage of the ritual depends
on what time of day/night the migraine hits.
During a migraine the stomach essentially
goes on strike. This is known as gastrostasis. I’m very lucky in that I don’t
vomit with my migraines but I do sometimes feel sick and, therefore, often don’t
feel hungry. But I know I’ll fare much better if I do eat a little something plus I’ll avoid blood sugar drops (and p.s vomiting is far less painful with
something in your stomach than retching on an empty one.) Often I just go with what I feel like.
Usually something simple or, quite often, starchy carbohydrate – e.g a plate of
chips. Mum craves a glass of milk and ready salted crisps! But as I’m lactose intolerant and suffer with severe stomach spasms
after attacks, I try to eat foods that won't aggravate this.
If you’re alone, or might be alone, during
an attack it’s prudent to have some ready meals frozen, or food you know you’ll
tolerate or crave during a migraine that take minimal effort to prepare. When
alone I can barely gather energy to walk to the bathroom so if I do feel like
eating the idea of preparing a meal overwhelms me – so a healthy microwave meal
is ideal – or a jacket potato is perfect.
Tip: A blood sugar level
drop is the last thing we need on top of a migraine – and it could tip us into
another migraine if we’re in the Postdrome (hangover) stage!
5.
DRINK
Coca-Cola – for some this is a tonic for
some it is a migraine trigger. Personally, I find a cold can of full fat Coke
to be a miracle in a can. Caffeine is a natural pain killer but also aids
absorption of other medications. As noted above the stomach goes on strike so
getting medication into the system fast can be hard, plus the sugar in a full
fat fizzy drink will raise blood sugar levels (a well known migraine trigger).
Note: Do not have a diet fizzy drink (Aspartame can trigger migraines – and
this will also negate the benefit of the sugar etc.)
Coca-Cola is often the only thing I feel
like drinking during an attack. I swear that a can of Coke has once stopped me
from getting a migraine.
Top Tip: A couple of soluble Asprin, dissolved in full fat Coke is a good
first line of defense against an oncoming migraine. I was taught this trick at
the National Migraine Centre (they suggested a full fat fizzy drink, accompanied by the anti-emitic Domperidone + dissolvable Asprin [or whichever painkiller works best for you])
There is a school of thought
that caffeine is bad for migraineurs, being a natural pain killer it could,
over time, lead to MOH. Caffeine is also a well-known migraine trigger.
Bizarrely I can’t stand drinking straight coffee. I am trying to cut down the
number of full fat Coke’s I drink (mainly because I don’t want my teeth to rot)
so I try to save them for migraine days.
Other drinks I sometimes crave and that
help with nausea are: Ginger Ale, Cranberry Juice and Sprite (not altogether!)
I also have a huge jug of water on hand as well – don’t get dehydrated!
6.
PILLOW FIGHT
Finding the right pillow has been the bane
of my life. During a migraine some people suffer from allodynia which means the
skin becomes extra sensitive to touch. I’m lucky in that I don’t get this too
badly, but I have actually spent whole nights lying on the floor with yoga
blocks under my head as that seemed to be the only comfortable position. As a
neck injury is my main trigger the right neck support at night, and during a
migraine, is vital. Too soft a pillow gives one neck sprain, too hard a pillow
and you wake up not being able to move your neck. I thought I had the answer
with the Tempur Traditional Pillow but they’ve turned it into a brick. I’m not above
taking out the stuffing of pillows in hotels by the way…. But generally
synthetic pillows are a happy medium, have a lot of them, so you can arrange
them around you in any way you want.
7.
NECK BRACE
Again, this is very particular to me
because of the above mentioned neck injury. My neck frequently goes into spasm
so this often helps but I also find during a migraine having this support,
taking the weight off my head as it were, helps a little too.
8.
EYE MASK/PASHMINA
Aversion to light, photophobia, is a well
known migraine symptom. I have an old Virgin Atlantic airlines mask I pop on,
but sometimes the straps are, to my sensitive pounding head, too painful.
Instead, I lay my pink pashmina over my eyes. I should probably invest in a
nice, comfy, eye mask to keep out the light. (See step 2, you can get cold eye
masks too.)
9.
LAVENDER OIL/CANDLES
I become incredibly sensitive to smells
before/during and after a migraine. On my bedside table I have some lavender
oil that I can pour into a dish which gives a lovely scent, this helps with
feelings of nausea and can drown out other smells if you’re living with friends
or travelling. I also have lavender candles dotted around, though these present
obvious fire hazards… especially if you’re going to be in bed for 3 days,
alone… I’ve tried other scents but always come back to lavender.
10.
AUDIO BOOKS
So, I’ve got the Ice packs, hot water
bottles, TENS unit, drinks, food all ready and, by the way, this has probably
taken about two minutes, if that. I then press play. Now I can relax.
Audio books have literally saved my life,
my soul. I will shortly be devoting a whole post to the subtle art of finding
the right audio book to listen to when I have a migraine. I have never mastered
meditation (even after reading "Eat, Pray, Love"), hypnotherapy just sends me
straight to sleep and I’m basically in too much pain during a migraine to try
it. I can’t bear to listen to music and most sounds actually hurt but I crave
an audio book. This might not make sense, but in a way it's my meditation, I
know I can switch off, and swim into the world of the usually dulcet tones of
the reader. The aim, when a migraine hits, is to hopefully get to sleep as soon
as possible, and audio books help me – as long as you pick the right one. This
is why the story can’t be too exciting, scary or bizarre. They need to be
comforting but likewise they can’t be too boring. My top tips: Agatha Christie is
the queen – gentle yet intreaguing. Classics are good too, e.g Jane Austen, Charles Dickens. Alexander McCall Smith's "No1 Ladies Detective Agency" series are perfect for long migraines, again a gentle listen. (Comedy biographies are best
for migraine hangovers – because you’ll want to stay awake to listen.) More on this to follow...
I use the Audible App on my iPad – which
has a good ‘snooze’ feature where you can set the time limit (I sign up every
couple of months to their membership scheme then unsubscribe to take advantage of
cheaper rates!) Other sources of audio material is the mighty BBC Radio 4, this
has the advantage of being free – but most shows are only 30-45 mins. I need
something that is going to see me through a longer period, which is partly why
meditation and music don’t satisfy! Libravox offers free downloads, volunteers
read out audio books so the quality is very mixed.
So that's my ritual - as I said it really takes no time at all but I've got it down to a fine art.
I'd love to hear from you. What are your migraine rituals? What brings you
comfort during an attack?
Other posts you might find useful:
Coming up:
The Migraine Trust User Group: Have your say
The Truth About Elvis Presley's Death!
Topamax Part II
