Ruling your unruly migraine

Here in the Midwest we don’t get many idyllic spring showers. We don’t often get foggy drizzle either. It’s too bad though, because that kind of rain actually makes my head feel better. No, right here in the land of Dorothy and Toto, we get hazardous thunderstorms complete with torrential rain, flash floods, loud cracks of lightning and thunder, powerful gusts of wind, bouncing barometric pressure, and…TORNADOS.

Growing up in Kansas, I learned early on not to get too worked up over tornado warnings. The preferred location to ride out a warning is sitting on the front porch, scanning the horizon for funnel clouds, waiting for the sky to turn green, listening for the sound of a freight train (all signs you have waited much too long to take shelter). As you can see, I have a misplaced sense of invulnerability when it comes to these monsters. Unfortunately, my head does not agree.

When the wind howls, gutters overflow, and the sirens roar – that’s when migraine is at its worst. If it’s an isolated storm, I’m usually okay. But that’s not how things work here in the heartland. No, we get several consecutive days of tornado-producing thunderstorms resulting in week-long migraine attacks. After that second day, it becomes useless to try to abort attacks that just won’t quit. That’s when I dip into my arsenal of rescue and comfort treatments to help me ride out the storm in my head.

I have this mental flow chart that helps me know when it’s time for a specific intervention. Some situations call for ice while others warrant heat. Certain foods are chosen because they are easy to digest and nourishing. There are pillows, blankets, scarves, hats, and even clothing that I choose based on how I am feeling throughout an attack. I don’t stop taking medicine (although I may stop pain meds), but I certainly do more than just swallow pills. As with any emergency plan, my flow chart has “last resort” options that include calling my doctors, going to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room. Oddly enough, since creating this mental list, I haven’t needed to use my last resort options.

When migraine misbehaves, we can feel like giving up. With our energy reserves on fumes, the last thing we feel like doing is taking charge. Yet that is precisely the time when we need to be in control. Weathering a migraine storm isn’t something you can do with a hand full of pills on a moment’s notice. It takes planning and preparation. The more you prepare before the storm, the better you will fare when it strikes.

Yes, you can still rule your migraine when it spins out of control like an F5 tornado on the Kansas plains.