June 16th

My head was again pounding by 9pm last night.
And I ended up taking 2 more doses of medicine.
I had a restless night
And woke up hammered.

Here's how a bad headache night spills over into the next day:
I doze in and out, hoping the kids will sleep in.
They don't.
This morning Reagan (7) wanted to help make breakfast.
She lit the burner and was about to begin making her breakfast feast.
My mom stopped in and put the brakes on that.
I gathered the children in my bedroom,
where the toy room is.
We talked about the fact that everyone would be pulling extra weight today.
The house was trashed from yesterday.
The children were very supportive.
We made their lists and they went to work.
I admit that they did a bang up job.
I was extremely nauseous and stayed in my room with the little guys.
It took until noon to get over that.
My energy never fully returned.
But this evening, I managed all the driving to and from swim team,
and made a good dinner.
Now we will watch a movie, do some laundry and hit the sack.
Tomorrow I will really miss Dan again,
but my head is feeling better.

June 15th

I had and aura at 7am. It was a good one, could barely see anything.
I am glad, it was after my workout, instead of before,
I have found that one has nothing to do with the other,
except I do not have enough strength to workout after a headache.
Exercise is one of the best things we can do for our heads.

Aura's are strange things.
They come without warning,
are not triggered by stress,
and are not painful.
The pounding begins about 20 minutes after the aura is gone.

It's a bummer, but kind of nice to have the warning.

So I took the last dose of medication I had.
Sydney was kind enough to make breakfast and watch the kids.
She started them on a rigorous summer school schedule.
My mom took Corbin and Cade.
I slept about 2 hours and woke up to begin the day again.
I figured if I pretended I felt fine, I could pull off my day
without another hitch.
Not so.
I haven't felt well all day.
I am hoping tomorrow is better.
Tonight we will go to bed early.

June 10th

The weather brought on a completely unpredictable headache.
I woke up at 2am with a serious pounding.
Maxalt is helping lately, but I only have 1 dose left
and 2 more weeks until I can refill my prescription.

IBprofen at 5:30am
By 6, I was determined to work through it.
Dan took me for a slow, short jog and a tiring work out.
I went to the grocery store for bagels and juice.
The 'beep, beep' of the check out scanner made me nauseous and anxious.
I wish I felt better,
but to be honest, puking and sleeping sounds kind of good right now.
With all the kids home,
We will instead eat, clean the house and do some more science.
No time to be down today.
I look forward to nap time though.

June 4th

Woke up taking Maxalt.
Get the medicine hangover to go with it...all day.

Time for a liver cleanse, and a nice long run.

June 3rd

And some days...they just come.

May 29th

It was a disappointment-induced headache.
Lasted about 8 hours.
Big Bummer.

May 24th

Headache...missed church and Sunday dinner. Had an allergic reaction to trail mix, I think, didn't sleep much. Bummer day.

Caleb came home with a headache last night. He was very sensitive to light. I gave him 250 mg of Tylenol and an ice pack. I felt really bad for him.

May 23rd

Tylenol worked and we made it through the day.
I don't have enough energy for all I need to do,
So I have to pick and choose.
This week, my work outs took the back burner.
I definitley feel the loss from it.
Exercise is very healthy for my head.

May 17th

Tylenol at church to get through it.
Head-ache hangovers are killing me here.

May 16th

IBprofen again.
Cant stand feeling headachy.

Sydney and I rode 5 miles on the bike, ran 1.2 miles and did today's Crossfit.
I HAVE to stay ahead of this headache.
I need a clear head for church tomorrow.

May 15th

IBprofen and groutchy.
Surprised it didn't go full blown.

May 14th

IBprofen. Yuck.

May 13th

A bummer day for a headache.....our anniversary.
Out of meds, except the kind that knocks me out.
Groggily watched Lost.
IBprofen finally killed it in the end, after many hours.

0 progress towards my goal.
Nice headache hangover as a parting gift today.

May 5th

I debated keeping this journal publicly. I would rather keep it privately, but there are many mom's who deal with the daily drama of migraine headaches.

Today was a good day....
I met part of my goal.

This is the Goal:

No more than 2 migraines a month, lasting less than 2 hours.

This morning, I woke up early to work out with Dan. While putting on my shoes downstairs, I looked up to notice I could only see half of the object in front of me. It's called an Aura. It lasts approximately 15 minutes, during which time, I don't feel pain. Within 45 minutes, I will have a pounding headache.

Dan is all too familiar with it. He quickly got me some protein (Cliff bar), and a bottle of water. This was a repeat from yesterday. The difference is that yesterday, I woke up with a headache, but the Cliff bar, water and tylenol kept it back pretty well.

A sure sign of a true migraine is an Aura. Today I found the last Maxalt dose I had. The very worst part of having a migraine is searching for my medicine. I can never remember where I keep it or if I have any left. And migraine medicine comes in the most child proof containers on the planet. I inevitably have to get one of the kids to open the package for me.

Insurance companies allow 6 pills a month. Most people don't have 6 headaches in their lifetime. Many migraine moms have 8 in a month....or it might take 2 doses to stop the attack. So we ration our meds and many times suffer through more headaches than is really tolerable.

Migraine triggers:

Food: Chocolate, anything with preservatives or additives, MSG (a biggy)....this list can be huge.
Stress: Crying
Dehydration: easily avoided
Fasting: makes fast Sunday a real challenge
Irregular sleep: Did I mention I haven't slept through the night in 12 years?

*The triggers are numerous. You could write a book about them.

Migraine Prevention

Exercise: 30 minutes of cardio 4 times a week
Eating right: Eating naked

And then there are days, that despite your best effort, a headache comes anyway.

What Helps During an Attack

Protein, Protein and Protein (if you can keep it down)
Water - a glass every hour
Dark room - Some times.....many hours or days alone.

Poor Dan, this morning he took his shower, and I walked into the room and almost threw up. I couldn't stand the smell of his deodorant and aftershave. I waited for him down stairs in a well-ventilated room.

This headache lasted less than 2 hours. I keep the hang-over from it all day. What a bonus :)

A good liver-cleanse dose, tons of water and a long run will hopefully flush the medicine out more quickly.

What is your story?

I am a mother of 7. The first real migraine headache I can remember, occurred when I was about 10. Doing my best to shield my eyes from the lights, and my ears from the sounds, I laid in my bed for what felt like an eternity. My aunt Billye stood in the hallway with my mother, who regretfully said something like this, "Yes, I think she will have them too."

And tonight, I rubbed peppermint oil on my 11 year-old-daughters head and neck, and felt the same remorse for her.

Migraines are debilitating, and extremely painful at best. When I am very motivated, I fight. Sometimes, despite my best efforts, I have an attack anyway.

Last night, I was feeling lonely in my headache hours. There have to be other moms out there who understand. Wouldn't we choose a life free from headaches, if we could?

So to anyone who may stumble on this site....please tell your story.