Up to eleven...and then some.

Yesterday I got a migraine so bad I have rated it a 12 on my tracking app.

And all I can say is I am really freakin' fed up on this.

I don't know what caused it. Something I ate? Something I drank? The sun? Not enough water?


Maybe it is time to subject myself to that headache prevention diet.

Sob.

Deep Tissue Massage Saturday 13th April

Yesterday I had the pleasure (and in some ways the pain!) of a deep tissue massage by Cindy Mollineau, a mobile massage therapist that I found in the Sutton Complementary Health Register.

Cindy came to my house with her own massage table, aromatherapy oils and music. (I was glad for the music - the only chillout music I have are acoustic versions of rock songs it seems!)

Cindy has been practicing deep tissue massage for 6 years. She started training in 2005, and she did course after course - and got hooked on it. (This is something I have heard many alternative therapists say - sometimes they are originally a patient themselves and they are converted.)

In many ways the massage was what I was expecting - Cindy got into the tightest areas of muscles, and worked to ease out some of knots. Needless to say that I felt a lot freer when she had finished, but I continue to have knots the size of golf balls in my shoulders (at least that's what they feel like to me). This is not because Cindy didn't do enough - she did more than enough. It is simply a consequence of having left these knots to form of their own accord for so long that they seem rooted in their place, and really I think the best way to eliminate them would be a week's worth of 2 hour massages.
Maybe I will treat myself to that at sometime.

You can find Cindy's website here.

A Miserable Morning

This morning I woke up with a bad, bad headache.
I struggled all day yesterday with one, and managed not to take any pain killers.
But as soon as I woke up I knew I would need to take some in order to get on with my day.

It is a miserable morning as the rain trickles down. And it's a miserable morning as I drag myself out of bed, with a head full of lead.

I can't even appreciate the sun pushing its way through the clouds, because this is the kind of headache that favours dark rooms, not sunshine and fluorescent lighting.

And the nausea that accompanies it is making my breakfast repeat on me. I don't want noodles a second time. And then my stomach is struggling with all this action and the upset has given me a stitch.

But it's the anger and frustration that makes this hardest to deal with. What did I do this time? Did I sleep funny? Did I not drink enough water? Did I eat too much fruit?!

I'm intent on making more positive changes to my lifestyle, and I am rewarded with a headache that to me resembles a melon expanding inside my skull.

And I am ashamed to say that it's mornings like this which make life so miserable that I question the point of even bothering.

Silent Enemy

There lives a silent enemy inside
That destroys the good of a heart.

This silent enemy that lives inside
Seems so reluctant to leave.

My silent enemy that stays inside
Twists and turns, stabs and burns.

This silent enemy that lies inside
Is breaking down my soul.

But I can scream and shout, bellow and yell.
I will laugh and sing, giggle and smile.

Because my silent enemy has no voice.
And I do.

A Headache Bible

Last night I spent some time gathering together all my medical notes, articles and information that I have about my headache and headaches in general. Finally putting them together in a folder makes them easier to get to and look at, which hopefully will encourage me to refer to and use these treatments more frequently.

Want to go on a tour?

Welcome to my headache bible!

I have many different fact sheets on all the different types of headaches there are.

A fact sheet on lifestyle changes that can help reduce or prevent headaches.

I have 2 sides of A4 dedicated to alternative treatments for migraines and tension headaches, cut out from magazines and newspapers

This cheery fellow is demonstrating how to do the Bowen Massage technique on yourself.

And this is the science behind what could possibly be the reason for my perpetual pain.

Just a selection of all the different drugs I've been prescribed.

I've also got medical notes from York Hospital, Parkside Hospital, and St Anthony's.

I've blue-tacked a sheet of exercises to my wall so I have quick access to them, and I have rediscovered a whole load of personal notes on treating my headache through relaxation and psychological treatment. Those will be interesting to read through more thoroughly.


**

This week I had a mild migraine attack. I should have seen it coming, because I had been struggling with my head for two days. I just couldn't get comfortable in the pain, and it was originating in my neck and base of my skull on the right hand side. I had some rather nasty and sharp pains inside my right eye on Thursday - the day of the migraine - and although I took 3 tablets (1 ibuprofen and 2 paracetamol), even as I walked home that evening I wanted to hack out that side of my face.


I finally got round to looking at a cookbook I bought for treating my headache.

Unfortunately, it wants me to follow a prevention diet for 2 months that means I can only eat 1/2 a banana a day.
What do you do with the other half??

I'll be considering that option more carefully, and might not follow it strictly, but there may be something I've not noticed before that might trigger headaches in my diet. It would be useful to know.

Unless it's chocolate. If it's chocolate, I don't want to know.