Headaches: A Blessing or a Bother?

Freaking Out A Bit

I think it was somewhere around 5th or 6th grade when I got my first migraine headache.  I remember it freaking me out a bit. My arm and part of my face went numb and I had a hard time forming a sentence.  Since then I’ve learned to pay attention to things that may trigger a headache. I also watch for the aura I get when one is beginning. Sometimes I can take medicine and maybe get a quick nap in to lessen the effects of a migraine.  Sometimes, I can’t and I experience the migraine full force.  Such was the case a few nights ago.  

Oh Man, Here We Go …

After working a full day, I arrived at my son’s baseball game at 5:30.  A quick text went out to my family to let them know that the game was beginning. I also told them where my son was playing on the field.  At that point I noted my eyes weren’t working as well as they should have been and thought, here we go.  Over the next 1.5 hours, I did a lot of praying that my migraine wouldn’t get worse. I tried some box breathing. I also attempted to keep my body temperature down. These things all helped a bit.  After the game, my son and I stopped at a local restaurant to take advantage of a BOGO. I attempted to get some food and caffeine in me to see if it would help.  It did for a little while.  We arrived home at about 8 and I was of little help for the remainder of the evening. I quickly retired to a dark room only to have my sleep interrupted multiple times by throwing up.  It was miserable.  My headache finally began to subside at about 1:30 am; the lingering fog held on long into the next day.  

Throwing Up is a Great Ab Workout

Now, where are the blessings in that?  It would be easy to focus on the bad, chalk it up as a completely miserable experience, and move on. However, I figure I might as well put the experience to use and get something from it. And so, with effort, I have come up with a few positive outcomes of my not-so-positive night:

• I was reminded that it’s a blessing to have headache-free days;
• The worst of the headache hit after I watched my son play baseball and got us both safely home. (He hit a stand-up double and a stand-up triple, batting in 4 runs. It was a good night.)
• My wonderful wife held down the fort when I wasn’t able to pull my weight 
• I got some exercise in. (Throwing up is a great ab workout.)

Making Connections

I imagine there will be some who will read this post who suffer from something debilitating every day.  My heart goes out to you.  I recognize that it is also a blessing that I experience migraines infrequently. I’m grateful for that.

Another blessing – support and connections. One thing I did not mention above about my migraines is that I inherited them from my dad.  Unfortunately, one of my sons has inherited them from me.  I have long thought that certain things run in families so that we have a built-in support structure.  I had the support and empathy of my dad. My son has the same from me. He also has the tips and tricks that I’ve learned the hard way and have passed on to him.  Maybe that will help you too. Think through what ails you and ask family members or those around you if they suffer from something similar.  Make those connections. Perhaps those you talk to will have a few tricks to share or a shoulder to lean on.  And if not, you can at least enjoy the blessing of having made those connections. There is always something to be grateful for.

-Jeremy