For whatever reason unbeknownst to me I have been given the challenge of being prone to migraines. While I am still working out what exactly my triggers are and how to avoid them, ones I have been able to identify are:
- stress/anxiety
- lack of sleep
- insufficient water intake
- hormones
- too much caffeine (this one is weird because caffeine helps them go away)
Being a woman in her childbearing era living her best life in motherhood balancing a home and a business, lets just say I could encounter any one of these triggers on any given day setting off my arch nemesis THE MIGRAINE.
For those of you who are reading this and haven’t had the wonderful opportunity to experience or witness a migraine for yourself, let me enlighten you. A migraine is characterized by its acute pain in the front of the head across the temples to behind the eyes and often extends to the base of the skull. The victim has an increased sensitivity to light and sound in addition to bouts of nausea that can often lead to vomiting. Because of this intense pain and increased sensitivity one can only find relief alone and in bed confined to a dark room with a cold compress on their head to soothe the throbbing blood vessels in their head.
When I have the opportunity, this is usually how I treat my migraines when they occur, however, being the mother of a toddler and sole employee in my business, I don’t always have that luxury. My migraine days usually consist of me putting on a low stimulation show for my toddler to entertain him while lying in bed or on the couch with a cold compress on my head until the medicine I’ve taken (I prefer Excedrin for Migraines) has kicked in.
That’s how I get through my days, but what if I have a migraine in the evening when I have lessons scheduled? Well, depending on the severity of the migraine I do one of two things:
- move forward and continue teaching in a low energy way
- cancel the lesson due to illness and schedule a make-up lesson for the day
If my migraine is severe, I will definitely be sending a quick message to my student and/or their parent to cancel and make-up the lesson at a later date when I am not debilitated. Usually, if my migraine is this severe I will be contacting my hubby or one of our mothers for assistance with the toddler so he can be taken care of while I recuperate.
If my migraine is moderate, I can usually go about my day as usual just in discomfort. The world doesn’t stop just because my head isn’t feeling quite right. So I continue with the lesson but we likely won’t be doing anything intense that day.
When it comes to music, sometimes it actually helps for me to do something like listen to soothing music on a device or play soothing music on the piano. Other times, the only thing that can get me through is silence.
If you or a loved one suffers from migraines know that they are not alone. Find what helps you to get through. If they occur on a frequent basis, contact your healthcare provider to find help and find ways to adapt your life to treat your aching head while still being able to live your life.
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