Vemma diary: October 2008

Would you avoid certain activities to avoid a migraine?

As a migraine sufferer I make a conscious effort to take extra care of myself which means sticking to a healthy, balanced lifestyle in order to avoid my triggers. Well that’s the plan anyway. I don’t miss meals, I don't drink caffeine, I try not to let myself get too dehydrated, I try to avoid stress and muscular tension, I take my daily shot of Vemma…and so on. But sometimes I’ll do something which upsets the routine and the risk of triggering a migraine becomes greater.

Take for instance, the abseil I did for charity. I abseiled down 29 storeys (469ft) and even though it was all over in a matter of minutes I had, without realising it, put a lot of strain on my body. I may not have felt scared; in fact I thoroughly enjoyed it however my body was still very tense. The next day my neck, back and arms were stiff, and I suffered a migraine. As with all migraine attacks you can never be sure of the exact trigger or combination of triggers, but I think it’s a fair bet to say it was probably due to muscle strain from doing the abseil. As muscular tension and migraine often go hand in hand I wasn’t surprised this had happened.

Normally I feel angry and upset when I get a migraine, especially as I try to figure out what had caused it this time. But how could I feel angry that I had a migraine because I had done a charity abseil the day before? If doing the abseil meant I would get a migraine then so be it. I'll happily avoid certain foods to avoid a migraine but I certainly won't avoid doing certain activities to avoid one.