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I’m a planner, which comes in handy when dealing with migraine disease. I can plan around eating schedules, sleeping routines, weather conditions, and trigger exposure in social environments, at lea…

I’m a planner, whi…

I’m a planner, which comes in handy when dealing with migraine disease. I can plan around eating schedules, sleeping routines, weather conditions, and trigger exposure in social environments, at least to some degree. I know what pitfalls look like, and I’ve learned how to avoid them whenever possible. Keep a granola bar in my purse in case lunch is late, be prepared with medication when a storm front is coming through, and wear a face mask to avoid cigarette smoke, that sort of thing. I’d say I set my alarm for the same time every day, but I have an orange tabby who’s set for 5:30 a.m.…

I’ve never been much of a New Year’s resolution type of person. I figure any time of year is good for self-improvement, and I won’t think it’s any more fun in January than in July. I know migr…

I’ve never been mu…

I’ve never been much of a New Year’s resolution type of person. I figure any time of year is good for self-improvement, and I won’t think it’s any more fun in January than in July. I know migraine disease doesn’t take kindly to changes in habits, either, and it can get in the way – no matter what month it is.For instance, migraine warriors must consider triggering factors when going on a Diet. I know when my body says it’s hungry, I need to eat something or face the consequences. I just need to reach for a piece of fruit instead of a sweet treat or a leftover dinner roll from las…

Limitations exist for everyone. I’m only 5 feet, 6 inches tall, so I can’t reach the top shelf in the closet without a step stool. My singing voice is not awesome, and my athleticism doesn’t go …

Limitations exist fo…

Limitations exist for everyone. I’m only 5 feet, 6 inches tall, so I can’t reach the top shelf in the closet without a step stool. My singing voice is not awesome, and my athleticism doesn’t go far beyond simple hiking. Migraines place limitations on my life as well.I figured out my triggers years ago. Working to avoid exposure to those triggers has been a part of my life ever since. Avoiding triggers means adapting or eliminating foods, habits, and activities in the name of what’s good for me. Migraine is bossy, always telling me what I can and can’t do.Don’t Eat That!I wish I cou…

Celebrating the holidays with migraine is not all fun and games. Triggers, also known as party poopers, can be extra grinchy from overeating at Thanksgiving to staying up too late on New Year’s Eve.…

Celebrating the holi…

Celebrating the holidays with migraine is not all fun and games. Triggers, also known as party poopers, can be extra grinchy from overeating at Thanksgiving to staying up too late on New Year’s Eve. I prefer to think of it as a challenge accepted. It helps that I’m a planner, I enjoy solving difficult puzzles, and I have episodic migraines, not chronic ones.Sitting down at the Thanksgiving table, I remind myself the feast filling the table isn’t the type of food that can trigger my migraine illness. The problem is quantity. There will be plenty of leftovers to indulge in over the next da…

I was born with migraine disease in February of 1964, discovered its name somewhere around 1987, and have spent the last 30 years learning how to manage the illness. I wish migraine didn’t have to a…

I was born with migr…

I was born with migraine disease in February of 1964, discovered its name somewhere around 1987, and have spent the last 30 years learning how to manage the illness. I wish migraine didn’t have to accompany me during the Bucket List phase of my life, but that’s not how incurable illness works, is it?So far, migraine has joined me caving in Canada, cruising down the Rhine in Europe, and watching the aurora borealis in Alaska. This year, my husband and I chose to lay eyes on some of the great wonders of the world – the pyramids and temples of Egypt. Friends and family questioned our sanity…

My migraine disease has evolved as I’ve aged. No major surprise there. So has my eyesight, flexibility, and my weight. Such is life. Migraine episode frequency has changed along with hormonal shifts…

My migraine disease …

My migraine disease has evolved as I’ve aged. No major surprise there. So has my eyesight, flexibility, and my weight. Such is life. Migraine episode frequency has changed along with hormonal shifts from puberty through Menopause. Recently, I noticed an increase in migraines starting up during the night. For several months, I brushed them off as weather-related. Kansas storm fronts were notorious for triggering sinus and/or migraine issues.Let me go back a bit. For decades, my jaw has popped a little if I chewed gum or ate something extra chewy like baguette bread or caramels. I told my den…

It’s tough to limit myself to only three wishes about migraine. I suppose asking for unlimited wishes is off the table. In that case, here are the troubling aspects of migraine popping into my head …

It’s tough to limi…

It’s tough to limit myself to only three wishes about migraine. I suppose asking for unlimited wishes is off the table. In that case, here are the troubling aspects of migraine popping into my head today.1. I wish people would listen to me when I try to educate them about migraine disease.I feel like a broken record, repeating the same things to the same people. When people compare a migraine to a headache, I go through my explanation of how a migraine is much more than a headache, and they keep calling it a headache. I even had one person compare a migraine to a hangover. Seriously!?Then th…

“What was my worst migraine episode?” That’s a tough question to answer. Over the course of 6 decades, I’ve had many of those episodes. In my early migraine years, I hated missing fun with fam…

“What was my worst…

“What was my worst migraine episode?” That’s a tough question to answer. Over the course of 6 decades, I’ve had many of those episodes. In my early migraine years, I hated missing fun with family and friends because of a migraine attack. I didn’t like it when I couldn’t carry out my responsibilities at work either. All those situations were in the running for my worst episode, but none really stood out.In my later migraine years, knowledge and a good plan have eased my migraine life. Thanks to my migraine management plan, which includes trigger avoidance and prescription medicine, …

Hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know who coined this phrase, but it is annoyingly true. I’ve lived with migraine disease for over half a century. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked back at my…

Hindsight is 20/20. …

Hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know who coined this phrase, but it is annoyingly true. I’ve lived with migraine disease for over half a century. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked back at my migraine history through the lens of current knowledge and said, “I wish I would have known about this back then.”Sometimes these moments of hindsight are because of brand new developments from the hardworking scientists who study migraine disease. Other times it’s because I didn’t know the right questions to ask, the people who had the answers didn’t tell me, or it was before the inter…

“You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” – English ProverbDevelopers began building my neighborhood in 2018 and hired a management company in 2022 to oversee the collection of…

“You catch more fl…

“You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” – English ProverbDevelopers began building my neighborhood in 2018 and hired a management company in 2022 to oversee the collection of homeowners’ association dues, maintain common areas, and act as a neutral party between residents and the developers. In 2024, developers completed the neighborhood and turned control of the HOA over to the residents.Some of my neighbors approached the situation with zealous enthusiasm and made angry accusations. They accused the developers and the management company of hiding costly details, l…

Episodic migraines during the first 5 decades of my life aren’t a mystery. I can tell you about those experiences because I lived them. Speculating about migraines during the second half of my life …

Episodic migraines d…

Episodic migraines during the first 5 decades of my life aren’t a mystery. I can tell you about those experiences because I lived them. Speculating about migraines during the second half of my life is a little more difficult. I decided I needed to have a conversation with my doctor to get answers for a few of my migraine-related senior concerns.1. How does migraine typically evolve in older adults?A lot of migraine warriors experience hormonal-related migraines, which can be a problem beginning in the 50s. If hormone Therapy or other medications to treat symptoms of hormonal changes, such as…

You can’t take your foot off the gas when it comes to migraine disease. I know this because I took my foot off the gas somewhere around 2010. I forgot that migraine changes right along with the body…

You can’t take you…

You can’t take your foot off the gas when it comes to migraine disease. I know this because I took my foot off the gas somewhere around 2010. I forgot that migraine changes right along with the body’s hormonal cycles. It had been a long time since puberty, back in the late 1970s.Menopause didn’t come out of nowhere. I just didn’t think about it until I answered the knock on the door and there it was with all its baggage. With all the research I had done over the years, I couldn’t believe I knew nothing about the relationship between menopause and migraine. After 5 decades of living, …