Support
Hi All, A lot of migraine sufferers I have spoken to have said that they get support from one or two people in their families and that the rest don't understand. My parents have never really understood my migraines or supported me in that regard. They seem to think it's psychological : that I get migraines when I want to attract attention or avoid commitments. The fact my migraines are entirely weather related seems to have escaped them. And to need emotional support is to be weak. The rest of my family is sceptical as well and their concern is patronizing, so I tend to avoid them when I'm not doing so well. The only people I get genuine support from are my husband and my brother. They don't understand the pain, but they make sure I have what I need and then give me the space I need to get through an attack - I don't like people hovering. Take care, Lisa. Knysna, South Africa
Wow I don;t know WHAT i would do if my parents didn't believe me. My mom has been realy supportive I don't think she knows what it is like but she has had her share of pain so she can simpathise. It's really strange, My migrains started in the beginning of Sr yr of high school (i'm a freshman in College now) I started to wake up with them so I missed a lot of my first pd class. My teacher was a total B@#$% and so my mother thinks it was stress cause after her class they would get less (not gone but not as bad) MY dr thought it might have been a subconscience way of saying I was scared of what she might do. I don't know anyways My pt is if that was the case shouldn't they have gone away after Christmas? Or is that not how it works (of course if you all knew how it worked we would not be here discussing ways to get ride of it) Was that just a trigger of some kind or something? I don't mean to bore you all but I was just curious (sorry I really can't spell) Is that how most of you started to get them, something triggered it and they just never went away or did you just wake up one day with a migrain and they kept reacurring? okay this is long enough. Oh one more thing I have thought of. Does anyone else have the thing where if they get a migrain they have to stay up? If I get a migrain I can't lay down or it will get bigger. I woke up with one at 4 the other morning (goign to bed at 2 didn't help though) and paced (did I sp that right?) until 6. luckily I didn't have school that morning. Well okay I'll go now way passed any normal person's bed time Bye and thanx Cassi "A true friend is one soul in two bodies." --Aristotle Ja ne from Cassiopeia!
Hi Cassi, With regard to your question about having to stay upright, it sounds like torture to me. Once the pain hits, I need to get horizontal, the need is very overwhelming. A few hours of sleep, once the pain allows, is the best pain reliever for me. Quite hard to arrange it sometimes though, with a 8 month old baby who neither knows or cares that my head is about to explode! Warm thoughts, Annie
Somehow my parents managed to not see my migraines all through my childhood (how do you not notice a kid rolling around on a bed crying in agony?), including my father telling me (in an authoritative tone) "You don't get headaches", which is probably how I learned to keep going even with my head exploding. The "funny" part is that they desperately wanted to keep me out of the draft and never thought of the migraines or the bent spine (which, it turns out, caused them). My wife was extremely supportive, except for occasional comments that I took too many meds. My kids are *very* sympathetic (I think they couldn't help but notice my stress levels as well as pained grimaces). I had a boss who acted sympathetic if I was already in pain, but otherwise did everything to raise my stress and cut me no slack for anything not done because he told me to go home... Oh, well, now I just look to be left alone.
Cassie, I know what you mean about having to stay upright, there is the occasssional migraine that I have to do that with. Even once when I was at the er I was up pacing the hall because the pain would get worse if I even so much as sat down. Its almost like if you lie down or sit down that you consentrate on the pain more, I dont know exactly but this is just how I feel. I can feel for ya! ~~~Missy~~~
The brain pain that occasionally wakes me is very severe & intensifies if I lay down. I have tried to sit up resting on 3 pillows since making the effort to hold my head up can be too much. This is different than my usual Migraines. With those I tend to press my forehead, temple & eye area into an ice pack face down. Weird. But we all have our way of dealing/coping with the pain. Wish me luck, Hallowen party at school this afternoon. (as if they're not hyped up enough let's give them more candy!) ~Lyn~
Hello, I would like to invite you to join my online support group, Finding Our Way Support. This group is different as it uses journaling to document our journey with chronic pain. Leading experts such as Dr. Dean Edell and Oprah support journaling as a way to reduce pain levels, stress, express graditude and promote healing. More information is at: www.myspiritat.homestead.com/index.html
Sure amy. Total support. Friends. I was just trying to make a point for you there was spam when you said there was none at all. No big deal. Subject over on my end. I'm still in both groups. Pumpkie