Tonight, I tried to outsmart a migraine headache

Otherwise known as: Don't try this trick at home!
Well, maybe...

If you know me, you know that I have a migraine problem.

I'm more fortunate than many migraine sufferers because I have medicine (however dangerous) that works for me (a class of drugs called triptans - I usually take one called Imitrex).  Unfortunately, while I can calmly slip in the words "however dangerous" when talking about risks to myself, I'm afraid I cannot do the same where my kids are concerned.

The risk of harm to nursing infants seems too little understood for me to take safety for granted, so I worked VERY HARD to outsmart this migraine without Triptans today.  I've done it before with these new stretches that a really good massage therapist taught me, but today stretches alone didn't work.  In addition to the stretches, I tried tylenol and advil and massaging/cracking my back by getting down on the floor and rolling on tennis balls, I took meditative breaths, I walked around, I drank water, I took naps, I thought good thoughts, but alas 6 hours later I still wound up taking Imitrex.

Before I took the medicine I pumped some good milk for Gray, then after taking the medicine I pumped some milk to throw away (always a sad thing for me) but I'm still a little concerned about what might be in my system ... or his!

I gave it my best shot, which is a really hard thing to do while suffering, so I'm proud of myself.  During migraines I experience a lot more than pain.  I also feel a tense kind of unhappiness and I feel both hyper-critical and unable to think.  It took me a while to figure out that these symptoms were part of the migraine ( I've had them since I was 6 years old or longer) but now that I know, I work hard to protect myself and others from my misguided emotions.  I take a lot of deep breaths and remind myself that I won't feel this way once the headache is over.  I haven't figured out how to make confident decisions when I have a migraine so that makes it very difficult to decide how far to go with my experiments with non-triptan solutions.

There were several times when I wanted to throw in the hat, but I'm glad I kept trying because I'm never sure whether the amount of triptans I take will cause long-term harm.  There have been many weeks and months in my life when I have taken quite a bit more than is recommended by the manufacturer.

I still haven't learned when alternative methods will work, so I'm sure this isn't the last time that I beat my head against the wall to cure a headache [sic].  I wish there was an easy way to tell if things weren't going to be resolved, but I'm not sure there is.  I try to pay attention to my mood and my pain level, but I always have to consider other things too like whether I am able to effectively care for my kids. 

I'm super happy that effective migraine drugs exist, but I'll continue my quest for the exact combination of activities and lower toxicity medicine that may eventually allow me to be Imitrex free.


I'm open to suggestion!