Lightbulbs

I am at the laundromat today. Waiting for my clothes to dry. 

I am struggling with a migraine. The don’t come so often now since I got them diagnosed and got medical help for, and I was surprised by the sudden onset of it, trying to keep quiet and just wait until I could go home and lie down. 

My friend who is with me said, “maybe it’s the fluorescent lights.” And that reminded me that the last time I had issues like this was at the concussion doctor’s office. Their lights hurt my head too. 

I have put on some headache soother salve. And I took the over-the-counter medicine my neurologist / migraine doctor suggested. Neither is really helping. Probably when I leave the laundromat, my headache will stop. 

It’s weird (I wouldn’t go so far as to say “frustrating”) to not know why my eyes hurt. Is it the lights? Is it because of my eyes, and I am in an unfamiliar place, and I have to look around more to figure this place out (since it’s unfamiliar?), did I take my migraine medicine too late (I forgot to take it before bed last night and took it about an hour before coming to the laundromat).

Anyway, just another day, another observation on my eyesight issues and how they affect my every-day-life. 

Note: I don’t know when or where I got this Badger Headache Soother salve. I am not a spokesperson for them. I am not getting any money to “promote” them. I carry this with me in my purse and I like it. And I think it’s a cool thing, so I am sharing it here. 

Migraines & Chess

Note: I just signed up to be an Amazon affiliate. This blog & information is provided free, from me. I would appreciate if you are going to buy something on Amazon, what I recommend or something else, if you could please click through either of the two products I mention in this blog post. It will maybe give me a dime or something. But every dime helps me right now in my life. Thank you so much. <3

About a year ago, I started going to a neurologist to diagnose my constant migraines. He did wonderful work. I had several brain scans and blood tests. All sorts of things.

He laid out a plan that was like playing chess - pawns in the front to help guard the more important pieces, then stronger pieces guarding the King.

The pawns in his regime for me include: drinking water, getting enough sleep (I have a constant awful time with this piece of the puzzle), and eating fairly well.

The knights or bishops of my regime include high doses of Magnesium Oxide: 400 mg and Vitamin B2: Riboflavin 400 mg.

The Queen is the one low dose medicine he has put me on.

Before he put me on this regime, I had a constant migraine. It varied in pain from about a 2 to an 8. But it was always there.

After starting the regime with him, my migraines went down to about 1-3 per month. If I get one, my first order of defense is to take Aleve. Most of the time, that solves the problem. If it doesn't, he has a caffeine medicine for me to take. I rarely (basically: never) need to take that medicine. I keep losing and finding that bottle. I don't know where to keep it, because I don't use it!

This past week, my personal life stress has been through the roof. One of the things I have done is gotten my resume together and also started to apply for jobs. I was turned down for about 10 jobs.

My personal life is just overly stressful.

As I was staring at the computer, making my resume and applying for jobs on indeed dot com, I realized that it was easier for me to read if I took off my glasses and shut my eye. (The habit of how I have read, my whole life.)

So, I did that. I didn't think much of it.

At the end of the day, I was telling a friend that I had a bad headache. My friend asked me if I had worn my glasses that day much. I confessed that I had hardly worn them at all. I had been staring at this computer for most of the day.

"Aha!" My brain said.

Ok. Notes to self:

1) wear glasses

2) take breaks

3) try to remember to keep both eyes open when reading

4) don't keep staring at the computer for an entire day; look out the window and focus far away

5) palm (to palm is to cover your eyes with your hands and let your eyes have a rest. They aren't bringing in any visual information. This allows your body to relax).

Maybe when I start to feel a migraine, I can slow down, let go of the tunneling stress that I do inside my body, and breathe. Check and see if I am wearing my glasses. Am I shutting one eye. Do I need to palm? Should I drink some water?

There is a lot to learn. I am so grateful for the good people at my vision therapy setting me up to succeed! They are teaching me solid life skills that I never had, growing up.

I feel like I am starting to get my feet on a good trajectory.