March Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival

Living with Migraines has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever dealt with. It isn’t just the Migraine attack that is hard, but that fact life will never be the same since Migraine disease along with chronic head and neck pain, have become part of my every day life.

During my teen years I had an occasional “headache” before my menstrual cycle; correctly called menstrually-related Migraine without aura, by the International Headache Society’s Classification ICHD-II. I was able to fend off these Migraines with over-the-counter products. During my pregnancy’s I had occasional Migraines, but never too debilitating. It wasn’t until after I fell in 1996 that my life was “hacked” by Migraines.

The bottom line of that fall was post-concussion syndrome, followed by continuing years of chronic head and neck pain, short term memory issues, Social Security Disability and more. Since then, my entire life has been a continual “tweak.”  I am no longer able to do the things I once loved to do. So, I’ve “tweaked” these parts of my life and try to carry on. It isn’t easy.  No longer is there ANY multitasking. I was a great multi-tasker a long time ago – before I fell. I could easily do many things at once, all not too badly. Now that Migraines have “hacked” my life, there is absolutely none of that. One task Nancy. Sort of like a man (no offense, guys!) Women are expected to multitask; men in general are more ‘one task at a time’ oriented, if I may.

I manage each day by being thankful for the things I am able to do, which in fact is not much, not the things I am unable to do. My days are focused, inwardly, about how to get through the day without getting hacked by yet more pain. I’ve been helping my ex-laws go through a very difficult time recently. That has been all I have been doing. No laundry, no cleaning, no food shopping, no nothing around my house. I am unable to do it all, or I will be “hacked” by more Migraine pain. Here’s how I “tweak” each day:

• Follow a fairly regular sleep schedule
• Stay away from my triggers like raw onion, the awful smell in Wal-Mart’s garden section
• Try not to be overwhelmed when my house gets a bit messy
• Take each day as it comes
• Not dwell on the past

Those are just a few things on my “hack free” list to make the most out of living with chronic diseases.  What are your “tweaks” living with Migraine disease and headache disorders? 

Thanks for reading and feel well,

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© Nancy Harris Bonk, 2011.Last updated March 12, 2011.