It has been two weeks since I first began my migraine plan. I have been keeping a very detailed diary in hopes of learning my triggers, symptoms and medication side effects. I can report some successes and some failures.
Unfortunately, the diary hasn’t helped much, at least not in the way that I had intended. In the past two weeks, I haven’t learned any of my triggers. I haven’t discovered any new symptoms, haven’t discovered anything new about my migraines at all. I did, however, use the diary to track my migraines, exercise routine, and water intake. By the end of the first week, I didn’t see much need to use the diary unless I felt a migraine coming on, so I have decided to use it strictly as a migraine diary. I will turn to it again if I stray off course with my diet, exercise and fluids.
Let’s take a look at the diary (keeping in mind that I actually started the diary before the plan and some of this is coming from memory):
Week 0 – (the week before I started my plan):
Very stressful week at work – did not handle this well
Moderate water intake – too busy to refill
Skipped meals or extremely unhealthy meals – bad for the blood sugar
No exercise – ever
Terrible sleep =
5 Migraines
Week 1:
Same work as the week before – listened to music, stepped away when it got to stressful, paced myself, deep breathing to calm down
At least 64oz of water a day – top priority!
Never skipped a meal – went to lunch early or brought easy food with me, always had nuts with me as a quick protein snack when I started getting hungry
Strict exercise routine – cycle 30 min a day, 5 days
Slept great – eating well, drinking well, and exercising means great sleep! =
1 Migraine
Week 2:
Same work as the week before – plan from week 1 really helped keep the stress down
At least 64oz of water a day, added at least 3 glasses of green tea to the mix
Never skipped a meal – same food plan as week 1, seems to be working
Strict exercise routine – cycle 30 min a day, 5 days – trying to work myself up to more intensive workouts without getting a headache
Slept great – started sleeping in a new position and wake up much less =
0 Migraines!!
Over the weekend we moved the primary computer into the spare bedroom and turned it into an office. This will allow for less distractions when trying to sleep since Jeff stays up so much later than I do. We are hoping to be able to get a new bed soon, since the one we have just isn’t big enough for us. Even though my sleep has improved greatly, I feel like it is one of the most important aspects of my plan.
My focus is on prevention more than anything else. I’m looking forward to seeing where this plan can take me. If I can successfully bring myself down to 1 or 2 migraines a month, I would be ecstatic. I would be even happier if I could do that and wean myself off of my preventative meds, and rid myself of these chemicals.
I want to be migraine-free on my wedding day and through my honeymoon. Even more, I don’t want to suffer through 9 months of migraines when I’m pregnant. It is a neurological disease, yes, but it’s not one that has to take control of my life.
This sounds great. 10 more days have passed – how is it working?
You hardly mention exercise – I believe this is also a key ingredient. How about Yoga?
I’m still going strong! I’ve only had a couple stress related headaches which were not even close to as bad as migraines.
I do mention exercise in my plan, but perhaps I don’t emphasize how much of a difference I feel it is making. I am setting aside 30 minutes a day to exercise to the point right before I would get a headache (when my heart beats too fast it tends to go to my head.) I used to do a lot of yoga and pilates but couldn’t find the postures that didn’t cause a headache for me. Right now I know what works and I’m sticking to it.
I’m going to post again soon and take another headache test to track my progress. I really appreciate your support