Migraine Changes

By sleepdoc

1 min read

Hello everyone, I seem to develop rather interesting changes in my migraines. Pain is not so bad lately - let's say from 0-10 I would score 1-2 even compared to 9-10 a few years ago.

But...

I always thought my urge to start cleaning and organizing when the pain got easier had something to do with the painkillers I have been using. Yesterday was an eye-opener.

How my day started

I woke up at 5 am. Went to my usual morning walk-jog (usually doing that around 7 a.m.). Had breakfast. Then I made a list of items I "needed" from the supermarket and ended up with a huge amount of stuff - household items and other groceries (6 tubes of toothpaste, 6 new toothbrushes; washing and dishwashing tablets for about 1.5 years.. etc) - the bill was around 500€... I also broke a bottle of wine at the store... Came home.

How my day ended

In the evening I kind of got things a bit more clear in my head - had a brain fog feeling all day long. My husband arrived home from work and realized I had been going crazy. Then late in the evening, I got a mild headache too.

Other symptoms included tiredness, no appetite, and sensitivity to light, and noise. My body was painful all over. So.

The bottom line

I have had these urges to clean, massively organize tidy drawers and cupboards, buying stuff to be well backed up (food, toilet paper, socks, etc). But yesterday ended up expensive. In the shadow of a migraine, I might have some level of OCD. It felt like being a robot.

It could also be that OCD might have been one of the reasons to tire me out through years of nonsense cleaning and organizing and giving me the migraines - at least to some extent.

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Nancy Harris Bonk Moderator
<inline-mention username="sleepdoc" user-id="3753112"/> Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience with us. Migraine symptoms can be so different from person to person. Some people may experience a burst of energy before an attack during the prodrome, or first phase. I wish I did! And it's not uncommon for people's anxiety to have an uptick as well, I sure do. How are you doing today? Nancy Harris Bonk, Patient Leader/Moderator <a href='https://migraine.com' target='_blank'>Migraine.com</a> Team 
1. sleepdoc Member
 <inline-mention username="Nancy Harris Bonk" user-id="3845796"/> Thank you, Nancy, so much for feedback. I got a bad one two days ago and still feel shaky. I was hoping that I will get away with just those prodrome symptoms. It did not go that way. Had a consultation today and was diagnosed with depression. In a way I am in ease beacuse I noticed already few months back that Im kind of deterioating regarding over all well being - sleep, work out, nutrition, staying active mentally - trying hard to be regular and in peace with my issues but it felt like a hard farm work. To be remarked - Im a doctor myself - but when it comes to health - over years I have learnt to listen to colleagues and to take a role of a patient. Im starting with agomelatine therapy. This should improve mental status together with sleep. My work load is not small but I can regulate my work hours. May and June are the worst months for me. I am very happy to be part of this community, I feel that over years migraine has taken a heavy toll of my life. Thank you again.
2. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="sleepdoc" user-id="3753112"/> thank you for sharing some of your migraine journey with us. How wonderful that you pursued and secured the helpful evaluation and diagnosis of depression yesterday. How insightful of you to have noticed the increase of effort to pursue some of those basic self-care techniques. It can be so difficult to see the forest for the trees with depression- it hits and we often lose our perspective and ability to appreciate how it is affecting us. As you likely already know, depression is a comorbid condition that frequently accompanies migraine. So glad you are on top of responding to it with treatment and awareness- especially during this most demanding time of year for you. I also wanted to mention that your urge to clean prior to a migraine is familiar to me. I've wondered if it is an official prodrome or rather an instinct to do all I can to ready my environment to handle the impending attack and the way it sidelines me from being able to tend to life, chores, do shopping, and the like for days at times. It made me wonder the same about you as you spoke of stocking up. I also find that I labor through an attack slightly easier when I'm surrounded by order, cleanliness, and beauty as opposed to the house being in disarray (both organizationally and just not being clean). Stress levels rise when I don't have what I need so I think proactively readying ourselves for an attack may also be a way to manage it better? Maybe, as you said, it's a touch of OCD - or just being naturally anal-retentive- whatever the driver, I can't seem to avoid doing it! Really hoping your new therapeutic treatment is helpful. We, too, are so glad you are a part of our community. It's a huge relief to see that we are not alone in managing this challenging condition - and validating when we find others who are navigating it in a similar fashion. I so appreciate what you shared. Warmly- Holly <a href='https://-migraine.com' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>-migraine.com</a> team.