Migraine miracle
The migraine started at 6.45am while I was having breakfast. By 7.30am I was out the door and walking to the office – an hour’s journey. It was the week before Christmas and with a busy schedule at work I couldn’t afford to be sick, so I took my medication and carried on with my day as if the migraine did not exist.
I may have been fuzzy headed, clumsy, my reactions slower than normal, and I may have mixed up words and struggled at times to put a coherent sentence together but somehow I got through my hectic day. I even had a little chuckle when I discovered that I had written ‘migraine’ instead of ‘migration’ twice in an email and in my diary.
By the time I got home I was feeling proud of myself and rather baffled. ‘It is a migraine miracle’ I thought. I have tried several times before to push through a migraine attack whilst at work but I have eventually given in and gone home to bed. So why was this time different and why did I not feel so ill? I have taken the same medication - Migraleve - for years. When taken as soon as the migraine begins (during the aura) these pink tablets combat the nausea and the headache allowing me to sleep if I so wish. So I’m wondering if Vemma could also be helping me. Has Vemma made my body healthier and stronger and therefore more capable of dealing with a migraine attack?
I’m also wondering if my mind is getting stronger at dealing with migraine attacks. By pushing through the migraine and carrying on with the day as normal, am I training my mind to believe that a migraine (if the right medication is taken) doesn’t have to be debilitating. I was certainly more determined than usual to get through the working day. I couldn’t let the migraine win - I had deadlines to meet. I did not allow myself to stop. Adrenaline kept me going and as a result my usual negative feelings of disappointment, failure and guilt of having a migraine did not have a chance to surface. Instead I ended the day feeling positive because on this day the migraine did not control me. I control it.
Happy 2009!
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Monday, 10 November 2008
Vemma diary: November 2008
"Vemma is like a pocket rocket smoothie!"
My good friend, Mark, feels like a new man since he started taking Vemma - and he's only one week in! "It was very exciting when I opened the Vemma box - just like Christmas. Very posh especially with the shot glass," he tells me. "Every time I take it I feel energised and perky, which is very unlike me in the morning. Must be all the goodness causing brain stimulation, like a pocket rocket smoothie!" I'm so pleased it has already had such a positive effect. It certainly feels good to recommend Vemma to a friend.
For your own pocket rocket smoothie click here.
Friday, 31 October 2008
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.
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.
Monday, 29 September 2008
Vemma diary: September 2008
Migraines are a pain in the neck
I often find myself spreading the Vemma word, telling friends, colleagues and family members about how well Vemma is working at combating my migraines. I also recently suggested to a friend that his mum, who suffers from arthritis, should consider taking Vemma to help relieve the pain. I have read testimonials from people with arthritis who say that they are now pain free or have experienced reduced pain and stiffness.
This got me thinking. Many different triggers for migraines have been identified and one cause is muscular tension. I know that many of my migraines are caused by muscle tension around the neck, shoulders and back. A few years ago my neck had become very stiff and sore, which lasted for months. It had got so bad that I could hardly move my head from side to side. I had many migraines during this time and ended up seeing an osteopath to get my neck back to normal and therefore reduce the number of migraines I was suffering from. After six weeks of treatment the stiffness and pain had disappeared and the migraines had lessened. However, I found that if I did not keep up with the daily neck exercises the stiffness would slowly start to return.
I haven't done any neck exercises for over a year now and I've hardly experienced any problems with my neck. I also started taking Vemma over a year ago too - in June 2007 - so I'm pretty much convinced there is a connection between the two. If Vemma relieves muscular and joint tension, then surely I haven't been having so many migraines because Vemma has been relieving and keeping at bay the muscular tension in my neck.
I often find myself spreading the Vemma word, telling friends, colleagues and family members about how well Vemma is working at combating my migraines. I also recently suggested to a friend that his mum, who suffers from arthritis, should consider taking Vemma to help relieve the pain. I have read testimonials from people with arthritis who say that they are now pain free or have experienced reduced pain and stiffness.
This got me thinking. Many different triggers for migraines have been identified and one cause is muscular tension. I know that many of my migraines are caused by muscle tension around the neck, shoulders and back. A few years ago my neck had become very stiff and sore, which lasted for months. It had got so bad that I could hardly move my head from side to side. I had many migraines during this time and ended up seeing an osteopath to get my neck back to normal and therefore reduce the number of migraines I was suffering from. After six weeks of treatment the stiffness and pain had disappeared and the migraines had lessened. However, I found that if I did not keep up with the daily neck exercises the stiffness would slowly start to return.
I haven't done any neck exercises for over a year now and I've hardly experienced any problems with my neck. I also started taking Vemma over a year ago too - in June 2007 - so I'm pretty much convinced there is a connection between the two. If Vemma relieves muscular and joint tension, then surely I haven't been having so many migraines because Vemma has been relieving and keeping at bay the muscular tension in my neck.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Vemma diary: August 2008
Eating lots of fish and ginger can help with headaches
I love eating fish. I could quite happily eat fish every day. I also love ginger, especially in tea, which I also happily consume every day. So when a friend forwarded me on a pdf about which food helps with which aliment, I was absolutely delighted to read that fish oil helps to prevent headaches and that ginger reduces inflammation and pain.
As a migraine sufferer, there are certain foods that I avoid because they are a trigger - most notably cheese and chocolate. I often joke that cheese and chocolate are evil because cheese and chocolate equals pain. So I love the fact that fish and ginger have a positive effect on headaches and migraines. So it seems, fish and ginger are good, because they help to prevent and combat the pain of headaches.
Mangosteen is also good. In fact it is great in my eyes. This rare, tangerine-sized fruit which grows primarily in Southeast Asia, is the main ingredient in Vemma, the liquid dietary supplement that I take everyday. I love this fruit because it helps me with my battle against migraines. Who would have thought that a small orange fruit could take on such a big, powerful entity!
But just don't take my word for it. Click here to read some testimonials from other Vemma drinking migraine sufferers.
I love eating fish. I could quite happily eat fish every day. I also love ginger, especially in tea, which I also happily consume every day. So when a friend forwarded me on a pdf about which food helps with which aliment, I was absolutely delighted to read that fish oil helps to prevent headaches and that ginger reduces inflammation and pain.
As a migraine sufferer, there are certain foods that I avoid because they are a trigger - most notably cheese and chocolate. I often joke that cheese and chocolate are evil because cheese and chocolate equals pain. So I love the fact that fish and ginger have a positive effect on headaches and migraines. So it seems, fish and ginger are good, because they help to prevent and combat the pain of headaches.
Mangosteen is also good. In fact it is great in my eyes. This rare, tangerine-sized fruit which grows primarily in Southeast Asia, is the main ingredient in Vemma, the liquid dietary supplement that I take everyday. I love this fruit because it helps me with my battle against migraines. Who would have thought that a small orange fruit could take on such a big, powerful entity!
But just don't take my word for it. Click here to read some testimonials from other Vemma drinking migraine sufferers.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Vemma diary: July 2008
Controversial surgery may cure migraine
Since my last post I have been scanning the web to find out more about the surgical technique that could offer a cure or significant relief for some migraine sufferers - the removal of the corrugator muscle in the forehead (the vertical frown muscles).
The BBC News tells the success story of a 53 year old lady who had been suffering from debilitating migraines for 15 years. She has not had a migraine since the muscle was removed last December and her quality of life has improved beyond her imagination.
Read the full story here: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7487995.stm
To screen migraine sufferers for surgery, patients are given Botox injections to temporarily paralyze the corrugator muscle. If patients report improvement after Botox injections, surgery to remove the muscle is recommended. It is, however, a controversial technique and many experts remain skeptical.
The executive director of the National Migraine Association in Alexandria, Virgina, USA argues that neither Botox nor surgery can be a "cure" for migraine, but only a treatment of its symptoms. "The most important thing," he says, "is that migraine is an incurable disease."
Read more here: www.migraines.org/about_media/wbmd0900.htm
Researchers at the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, undertook a study to determine whether there is an association between the removal of the corrugator muscle and the elimination or significant improvement of migraine headaches, and their findings indicate a strong association.
Read about their findings here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10946944
Since my last post I have been scanning the web to find out more about the surgical technique that could offer a cure or significant relief for some migraine sufferers - the removal of the corrugator muscle in the forehead (the vertical frown muscles).
The BBC News tells the success story of a 53 year old lady who had been suffering from debilitating migraines for 15 years. She has not had a migraine since the muscle was removed last December and her quality of life has improved beyond her imagination.
Read the full story here: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7487995.stm
To screen migraine sufferers for surgery, patients are given Botox injections to temporarily paralyze the corrugator muscle. If patients report improvement after Botox injections, surgery to remove the muscle is recommended. It is, however, a controversial technique and many experts remain skeptical.
The executive director of the National Migraine Association in Alexandria, Virgina, USA argues that neither Botox nor surgery can be a "cure" for migraine, but only a treatment of its symptoms. "The most important thing," he says, "is that migraine is an incurable disease."
Read more here: www.migraines.org/about_media/wbmd0900.htm
Researchers at the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, undertook a study to determine whether there is an association between the removal of the corrugator muscle and the elimination or significant improvement of migraine headaches, and their findings indicate a strong association.
Read about their findings here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10946944
Monday, 30 June 2008
Vemma diary: June
Could this be THE migraine cure?
This sounds amazing to me. I know every operation, however small, has a risk, but if the result is a life without migraines then I'd be willing to go under the knife. I'd be interested to know your thoughts.
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