had a migraine today. haven’t had one in a while, but this one hit pretty hard.
it always starts the same way—visual auras for about 30 minutes. weird, flashing shapes in my vision, almost like a glitch in reality. when they fade, my vision still isn’t fully back to normal. everything stays a little blurry, and bright lights feel like knives to my eyes. then about 15-20 minutes later, the real pain kicks in—pressure behind my eyes, unbearable pain, can’t focus, can’t do anything. at that point, the only thing to do is lie down in a dark room and wait it out. wore an eye mask today, which helped a little. took 2 panadol and 2 nurofen like usual, and after about 3-5 hours, it finally started easing up.
i avoid taking stronger meds like relpax because even though they work, they leave my head feeling worse after. right now, i take a medication daily, which has been the best long-term solution, but i still get breakthrough migraines sometimes, and i’m trying to figure out why.
i used to get really nauseous with migraines, but that’s mostly gone now. still, i remember one of the worst ones back in school. had no idea how to manage it at the time. the pain was so bad i had to go to the nurse’s office, ended up vomiting, then they moved me to the principal’s office because it was the darkest room available. later, they took me to the boarding house and let me lie down in a proper bed. back then, i wasn’t on any medication, but i started around year 10 and have been on it ever since, gradually increasing my dosage from 1 tablet to 3 a day.
wish i could just get rid of them completely. the meds help, but they have side effects—increased appetite being the main one. not ideal, but it is what it is. sometimes it feels like a curse, but at least i’ve learned how to manage it. it’s especially tough given my career as a software engineer, where screen time is unavoidable. some people get it and are understanding, others don’t. not saying i expect special treatment, but if i have a migraine, i’d at least appreciate people not being dicks about it.
it’s genetic too—my mum gets them and she’s on a biologic injection, which has helped her a lot. my sister gets them too, though not as frequently.
keeping them under control
i haven’t had one in over a month before today, and i think it’s because i’ve been keeping a consistent routine:
- sleeping at decent times and not waking up too early on low sleep
- working out every two days + running 3km regularly
- cutting out excess sugar
- keeping stress levels low
- avoiding alcohol & caffeine
alcohol isn’t a problem since i’ve never liked it anyway. socially, it’s a thing, but i’m not easily pressured into drinking. caffeine, on the other hand—I’m just glad i never got hooked. i know i have an addictive personality, so avoiding coffee and energy drinks altogether is probably for the best.
other than that, i can deal with it. it’s not something that stops me from living my life, and it’s definitely not the worst thing to have. there are people out there with chronic illnesses or actual disabilities that can’t be cured or managed as easily. at least migraines come and go.
still, i do think that at some point in the future, medicine will come up with a permanent fix. and honestly? if that happens, i’d be willing to drop $100k AUD to be completely migraine-free for life.
finding patterns & triggers
been trying to track what actually triggers them, and so far, i’ve narrowed it down to:
main causes:
- lack of sleep
- broken/interrupted sleep
- alcohol & caffeine
- stress
potential causes:
- diet
- too much screen time
- neck strain & eye strain
- not working out or doing enough cardio
other possibilities:
- climate changes
- pollen or other airborne allergens
- humidity levels
i’m going to japan soon, so if they completely disappear while i’m there… might just have to move there. (kidding, kinda.)
but yeah, still figuring it out. for now, just gotta keep doing what works and hope the bad ones don’t come too often.
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