Don't know where I belong either...
I'm 62, have had migraines since menopause at 45. I read many posts and think I'm luckier than most. My migraines can be debilitating, have had strings of days that I couldn't move my head at all, many trips to the ER, etc. But I still work full time. Right now, I've had migraines straight for about 2 months. I'm exhausted and completely done. I go to work everyday-- I'm a medical secretary, have missed a few days and have left early several times lately. We're short staffed most days, which adds to the tension, and I constantly worry that I can't hold my end of things up. I hate letting people down, but then I find I'm really not taking care of myself like I should. I feel helpless and hopeless.
Hi celiadion-doucette,
Thank you for sharing your personal story with us. Migraine can be exhausting, frustrating and
isolating - I'm sorry you are going through a rough time. You've come to the right place for support and education. Let's see what I can do to help.I understand about the worry and stress of letting people down, which as you mentioned somehow leads back to not taking care of ourselves. Self care and mindfulness are important parts of a migraine management plan, something I tend to let slip. I always pay for it in the end. We have information on mindfulness and self care in these articles: https://migraine.com/blog/realized-mindfulness-working/ and https://migraine.com/blog/guilt-trippin/ and https://migraine.com/blog/10-secrets-of-successful-chronic/.
Current thinking is if we have three or four severe migraine attack a month, it's time to discuss migraine prevention with our doctor. This article has more information about migraine prevention; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-management-essential-4-preventive-treatment/.
Now having said that, is there any chance you are taking something daily, or near daily to help relieve this pain? One of the problems we can get ourselves into is called medication overuse headache or moh. Moh was formerly called rebound and may occur if we take pain relievers and/or migraine medications, whether they are over-the-counter or prescription, more than two to three days a week. If we are in an moh cycle, our attacks will be more difficult to treat and we can end up in a daily cycle of pain that too is hard to break. Let me share with you this information on moh; https://migraine.com/blog/help-how-can-i-not-overuse-migraine-medications/.
I hope this helps. Please let me know how you are doing.
Nancy
