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Posts Tagged ‘migraine frequency’

Resolutions Big & Small – for Better Health

January 4th, 2009

Happy New Year, one and all! I have been hearing much fervent relief at the passing of 2008 and perhaps more hope than usual at the launch of 2009. Between the economic woes of the past year, the death throes of the worst American presidency in recent history, and the ongoing struggles with pain and illness of so many of my compatriots, we are all very much ready for something new. And at this time of year, we express that desire and hope through resolutions.

As a coach, I’ve always done a lot of thinking and talking about resolutions. I have mixed feelings about them. One way of looking at a resolution is that it’s a goal without an action plan. We tend to make a list of the things we know we should be doing, or that we greatly desire to do, that would improve our lives, our world, or the lives of those around us. For most of us, having made the resolution, we hope that good intentions and will-power will carry us through. Without actually taking the time to create a plan, to see what might be in the way of changing from our current actions or habits to the ones we want to develop, to anticipate hurdles and strategize a way around them, good intentions and will-power will get us where they usually get us. Maybe to February 1st. If we’re lucky.

So resolutions are great if you craft them into goals, and goals are only worth more than the paper they’re written on if they are big and inspiring but also grounded in reality, with strategies mapped out to get you from here to there. And that’s what a coach helps you do, craft the goal, make the plan, and then stick to it!

The other difference between a resolution and a goal, is that the resolution is about action we can take, and the goal is about what we hope to accomplish by it. I’ll express a goal right here:

In 2009, to see my Migraine frequency go down to under 3 per month.

This is a pretty audacious goal, from someone who had 6 – 9 Migraines per month in 2008. The other thing that’s audacious about it is that I cannot control my Migraine frequency – directly. I can only influence it. So I need to resolve:

• to practice relaxation at least 4 days per week
• to keep up my health & Migraine diary daily, track and avoid my triggers
• to exercise regularly – at least 3 times per week
• to work with my Headache specialist on refining my treatment regimen
• to keep looking at what else I can do to improve my health & well-being

Why am I listing all this out? Because these are the things I can actually do something about! The goal itself, directly, I can do nothing about! If I only focus there, I just get discouraged, or I waste my time in fantasy.  It’s the same for my business goals – I need to make more money, to keep paying the mortgage and send a kid to college next year. If I focus there, all I will do is panic. If I focus on the actions that I can take that will connect me to the right people, get me exposure, eventually bring me work, the goal may be obtainable.

So reach for the stars. Make big goals. Put them in front of you and don’t forget them. But for your resolutions, keep your feet on the ground. Find small concrete steps that you know you can do. And make a plan to do them. If you need some help with that plan, email me from my contact page. Make it a great 2009 – let’s see out the decade in style!

– Megan

Conch shell image courtesy of Joshua Davis, wall jump image courtesy of Alex Roberts.

Tags: chronic illness, goals, life coaching, managing life with migraine, migraine frequency, New Year's resolutions
Posted in Managing, Tips & Techniques | Comments (2)

When is it Time to Use Migraine Preventive Medication?

September 6th, 2008

When is it time to use Migraine preventive medications?  It has been a difficult decision for me, as it may be for many of you.  There are clear medical guidelines, and recent research that backs them up.  And yet it is not an easy step to take.

3 or more Migraine attacks per month

Headache specialists will generally prescribe Migraine preventives if you have 3 or more Migraine attacks per month.  My HA doctor told me his guideline is one per week, on average (which sounds very much like 3 or more per month).  If you think about it, a Migraine every week, or nearly every week, is a threshold level for having a serious disabling impact on your life.   Every week you will lose hours or a day or more to pain, photophobia, nausea, whatever package of symptoms you tend to have.  You will miss work, family time, social time.  You will waste hours in a darkened room.

Silent Brain Damage

There’s more to it than the impact on our daily lives.  Recent research shows that Migraine attacks at a frequency of 3 or more per month, over an extended period of time, leads to brain damage.  The evidence is now very strong that Migraine is a progressive brain disease; it worsens over time.  The more frequent, and longer time since onset of Migraine attacks, the greater risk of damage.  The damage shows up as lesions in the white matter of the brain.  The researchers called it “silent brain damage” because there are no known effects of this damage – yet.

Teri Robert, author of Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches, discussed the implications of this research in her recent article on My Migraine Connection,  “Yes, Migraines can Cause Brain Damage.”  Teri gives us an excellent explanation of the research, concluding that:

Migraineurs who experience frequent Migraine attacks and / or have a long history of Migraines are at increased risk of “silent brain damage,” brain damage that (so far) does not seem to cause any symptoms. This again shows that reducing the frequency of Migraine attacks (aka Migraine headaches) is critical.

So why wouldn’t you go on preventives?

I have averaged 7 Migraine attacks per month for the last 9 months.  I have been considering preventive medication for the last 8 months.  My hesitation comes from:

• a reluctance to take strong medications that will affect my central nervous system.
• a history of being sensitive to medications and their side effects.
• a desire to take a natural approach to caring for my health.
• the fact that I had a 50% reduction in Migraines a few years ago from regular relaxation practice.
• the fact that there are no medications that were developed specifically for Migraine prevention, which seems to often lead to the need to try many different medications to find the one (or combination) that works for a particular person.
• the sense that it’s easier to deal with the devil I know (Migraine attacks) than the devil I know not of (medications and their side effects).

I suspect that many of you who are reluctant to try preventives have some of the same reasons.  Please do leave a comment to share your thinking.

I will be starting preventive medication in less than two weeks when I next see my headache specialist.  I believe in a holistic approach to dealing with Migraines,
including (among other things)  relaxation, meditation, rest, exercise, physical therapy, massage, diet,
trigger-avoidance, and appropriate use of
medications.   At this point, preventive medication is appropriate!  I need to stop losing 6 – 9 days a month to Migraines.

I have my hesitations about the “better living by chemistry” theory.  I think there are inherent conflicts involved in our pharmaceutical production being governed by a profit motive.  However,
that does not mean that drugs don’t save lives and prevent or mitigate disability.  We need drugs
available, and we need much better choices in drugs than we have now.  Holistic approaches
can reduce Migraine frequency, they can help, but cannot change our inherent neurological make-up.  I use supplements and diet to care for my overall health, but if I got appendicitis you bet I would go willingly to that surgeon.  Knowing that I am at risk of brain damage, you bet I will take the drugs that reduce that risk.

– Megan Oltman

Embarking on the pharmaceutical unknown.  Wish me luck!

Pill image courtesy of [O*] ‘BharaT; brain image courtesy of Gaetan Lee.

Tags: brain damage, migraine frequency, Migraine preventive medication
Posted in Managing, Medicine | Comments (4)