Tips

6 May 2010

1% Thursday: Hire Someone (when you can’t afford it)

Are you kidding me?! You don’t understand what I pay for medication alone… I can’t work… and you want me to spend hundreds of dollars hiring someone to clean my house?!

I do understand, actually. And for a few of you, it may be the simple reality that hiring someone is out of the question.

On the other hand, I think we need to open our minds a bit to what hiring actually means. Sure, hiring someone to clean and cook for you may be in your price range – if so, go for it.

But think about this – what about hiring someone to do some cleaning once every two months? You may find the relief is worth it.

What about hiring a chef? No, not to cook in your house, I mean something boring like "ordering in" from a healthy restaurant. Plan to do it at a stressful time of the month, or after you get home for a vacation.

What job do you dread? Could someone come cut your grass? Fix that thing-ma-jigger that’s been bothering you every day for a year?

Many areas have grocery shopping services. No, really.

Order something online, and have it shipped to you, rather than getting it at the mall.

You can even hire people to do online jobs – hire someone to find the best deal on such and such, or do your taxes, or fix your website.

Don’t do all these things (unless you have money to burn). Just plan to do one thing – something that would take a huge load off your shoulders. Once a month, once a year, on certain occasions. Be creative – take the time to think it over, and talk about it with family and friends.

Do you know of a service in your area or worldwide that is really a huge help, even if just once in a while? Share your ideas in the comments!.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

29 April 2010

1% Thursday: Patience

James Tips 0

He had had migraine for many years. He’d been through many treatments. He’d been to see the doctors, and the neurologists. And tried the medications.

When a close family member was diagnosed with a chronic illness, something surprising happened. He didn’t panic, didn’t sink into depression. He was actually the one calming other members of the family as the months passed. Why?

There’s one thing that you can learn after dealing with a chronic illness like migraine long-term. There aren’t necessarily quick answers.

When you’ve never had serious health problems, and then suddenly start getting migraine attacks, it’s easy to be impatient. You want to get rid of the pain NOW. And with all our modern science, and access to hundreds of years of history of headache and migraine, surely there’s something that can be done!

Well, there likely is. But it will likely take time. Sure, there’s the occasional person that tries one thing and has great results. But that’s not the case with many diseases.

When trying a new medicine or supplement for migraine, it’s common to try it for 3 months before changing the medication or even the dose. And migraine is different for everyone, as is cluster and various chronic headaches.

Expecting instant answers can make you needlessly anxious, and can lead to bad choices.

Hear me out – I’m not saying you should give up hope or become sceptical. Be determined, and be filled with hope. But when one medication isn’t a success after trying for a year, or when everything was fine, and the migraine attacks return, don’t panic. There’s still lots to be done.

This week, practise patience. Take the time to find the right doctor, the right combination of treatments, take care of yourself. Don’t give up. Be an example, for those with a chronic illness and without, that you can be hopeful, determined, and patient at the same time.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

22 April 2010

1% Thursday: Experimenting with Hot and Cold

James Tips 1

This week: Try experimenting with heat and cold.

Often when you get a headache, you just feel like putting an ice pack on your head. And sometimes it works.

But sometimes it doesn’t. Don’t give up – there are other options.

For example, we’ve talked about warming your hands. It works for a lot of people.

What about cooling your feet? You might be surprised.

One day I tried warming my abdomen – it worked miraculously.

Try a hot water bottle on the abdomen, for example.

Some people alternate warm and cool on the abdomen, or other parts of the body, and find it helps a lot.

If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. You may be surprised how well it works, when you thought the only option was ice on the head (which, by the way, usually doesn’t work for me. It usually makes things worse. But it sure helped yesterday.).

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

21 April 2010

Do “Migraine Diets” have this in Common?

James Tips 3

I’m convinced diet is not the silver bullet that can "cure" all migraine and chronic headache. That being said, I am also still convinced it’s one of the most powerful weapons we have to fight migraine.

Last week we talked about another diet that some people have had success with – the gluten-free, casein-free diet. One of the most common diets is the low-tyramine diet.

Why is it that so many very different diets work? Is it simply that we’re all very different? Different genetic factors, perhaps different forms of migraine?

I think that’s part of the answer.

But one of the interesting things about migraine, cluster, and many chronic headaches, is that we have limited knowledge about what actually causes them, what actually is going on in our complex bodies. That’s why you’ll often hear me say that we aren’t sure why such-and-such works. It’s not poor research (I hope!), it’s just that our bodies are complex, and often treatments are found to work long before we know why.

Even with migraine’s most popular abortive drugs, the triptans, this has been the case. Developed for migraine, years later we believe they work for a completely different reason than we thought they worked in the first place!

So back to diets. Why do they work, and why do different ones work?

Recently a friend of mine was told by her doctor that her diet was working for a different reason than she originally thought. It seems now that there was one specific thing that her body wasn’t properly absorbing, and so supplements are now making a big difference.

Different body chemistry plays a role, different types of migraine or headache. But there may be one more factor.

Paying attention, and being careful.

What do many of these diets have in common? If you’re trying to cut out MSG, or gluten, or dairy, you need to make drastic changes. Usually, these changes mean less processed foods, more home cooking, simply paying more attention to your diet.

With MSG in so many things, you can’t simply buy whatever you want. You need to read labels, make your own mixes and meals from scratch.

No matter how much diet helps you specifically fight pain and other symptoms, paying closer attention to your diet and making more healthy foods from scratch has to help.

Sounds like a lot of work? It can be, but the benefits are tremendous. Right now, our family is investigating more ways to eat healthier and yet do it in less time. We need to be able to make food quickly, or have food handy when, for example, someone is sick. Hopefully I can share more ideas later.

But here’s the bottom line. I think many of these diets are valid. I’ve continued with some interesting research after my post on gluten free and gluten free/casein free diets, and I’ll hopefully share that with you later.

But it may be that one of the most powerful factors is that, whatever diet you’re on, you’re eating healthier.

If you need motivation, take a look at two very helpful books by Michael Pollan: The one I just finished, the brief and to the point Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (right now just US$5). Also available in the UK here. I’ve copied the rules to put up in my kitchen.

And you can read the information packed and more motivational In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (in the UK here).

Don’t be overwhelmed – improve your diet little by little, step by step. Every bite is a step toward better health, and hopefully a step toward fewer migraine or headache attacks.

15 April 2010

1% Thursday – One great distraction

James Tips 1

I admit it – I’m posting 1% Thursday on Friday – but I’m still dating it Thursday so it will be easy to find. 🙂

This week – use your MP3 player [Edit: your smartphone! Remember, this post was originally written in 2010…].

Researchers tell us that distractions will lessen our perception of pain. Sounds good, but I’ve had those days where seriously I can do nothing except lie in bed – in pain. This morning, for instance.

However, there are different types of migraine attacks, and different stages. Sometimes I can use the computer toward the end of an attack (right now, for example). Or watch TV. Or half watch – with one eye – or just listen!

Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’ve also appreciated my Kindle – we’ve talked about that before.

But perhaps my best friend has been my MP3 player. When there’s nothing else I can do – sometimes I can still listen. I might fall asleep while I listen (thank God), or it may just be a distraction.

I have a wide variety of items on my iriver clix (my MP3 player). Stories, more educational stuff, music, comedy, podcasts – who knows what you’ll be in the mood for. But it’s all there, and when I can do nothing else, and can still do something – that’s it.

Sometimes I even learn something! Imagine!

So having an MP3 player loaded up, and comfortable earphones handy, may make that 1% (or more) difference in your pain, and get you through an attack.

I hate lying in bed doing nothing (except being in pain!) – can’t stand it. So if I can squeeze another five minutes of at least doing something before the attack gets too bad – great!

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!