Taming the Migraine Monster
TAMING THE MIGRAINE MONSTER.
24 years of migraine, and hopefully it stops HERE.
My earliest memories of suffering throbbing, painful headaches was when I was 11. But a diary which I used to write in for English lessons was an evidence that the series of headaches had started since I was 9.
I've been wondering how I survived being so active in sports, but slept throughout my classes in school. I'm sure my teachers still remember my sleeping-not-beauty attitude (huhu!)... My only guess was that sports promotes blood flow to my head, that's why I loved it so much.
At 15, I started having terrible backpains. Yet I still go for TaeKwon-Do tournaments, horseback riding, archery, netball and few other sports. I started visiting the hospital for series of x-rays and CT-scans and MRIs. I had scoliosis and started attending physio sessions weekly. But TaeKwon-Do and horseback riding was still a weekly thing for me.
I started taking migraine prescriptions when I was 16, on the verge of IGCSE exams coming. The side-effects were TERRIBLE. That 1-month was so dreadful that I had wished to just die. So we quickly opted for alternative medicine and went to few other doctors.
At 17, as I entered university, I quickly learnt that sleeping during classes was an unacceptable behaviour (oh my! It was a bit too late wasn't it!). So I would be zombie-walking around the campus, not getting MCs bcoz I am not the type who show people that I'm in pain. Plus there's no point in staying idle when the pain doesn't even go away but just make you feel more miserable. I joined some online migraine support groups and still continued with physio sessions.
At 18, I stopped going for TaeKwon-Do and horseback riding due of time constraints. So I just went for swimming lessons and picked up table tennis instead. Eventually, the backpain subsided and I stopped going for physio sessions. It was so expensive anyways.
At 21, I got married. Stupid people would say, "dah kahwin tu nanti hilang la sakit kepala tu". It was the dumbest, most inconsiderate comment I've ever encountered in my life. Migraine continued to haunt me.
When I was 23, in my 3rd year of Engineering degree, I got a C for a subject and flunked another subject. Solely bcoz I was having a series terrible migraines for weeks, including during both midterm and final exam. But life just had to go on. When things get unbearable, I would drop by the clinic to get painkiller injections.
At 24, after graduating from university, I attended a life-changing health retreat with Newlife. It's a 1-week 'healing' camp, where I started to find hope in living with migraines. I learn some soothing remedies and frequently detoxify myself. At that point, I still didn't believe that it would be possible for me to be migraine-free for the rest of my life. I just cope with the pain.
I think it was when I was 26 that I had a 10-weeks non-stop migraine. Two-and-a-half-months! can you imagine. I then noticed that during those recent years I was taking medical leave from work nearly every month, where I would just lock myself in a dark room and start banging my head. It was so painful that even my cheeks would feel numb. I was vomiting everytime those migraine attacks come. Whatever I've learnt from the health retreat would only sooth the pain a little - yes, a little - for one or two days, then the headaches would start kicking in again. So I started to go back and forth to see the doctors again, more CT-scans and MRIs.
At 29, someone introduced me to essential oils. It was another life-changing event. I had always loved aromatherapy for its calming properties. Yet I didn't know its healing properties were so extensive, especially for Young Living essential oils. I tried another brand before Young Living but it's no where as effective. I use a specific range of oils which I tried to see if it suits me, every day, every hour. Those essential oils were my best friend, my closest company. Soon, just within a few months, I stopped taking monthly medical leaves. Migraines would still come, but it was bearable and would go away after a few days, or maximum a week. After a year, I noticed that I was not dependent on the oils anymore. Slowly, I didn't have the need to open my migraine essential oil pouch for a week or even few weeks.
At 32, I as noticed my weight were slowly going up the ladder and was closely approaching the yellow overweight zone in that BMI scale. Being a sports-person and having to meet regularly with alternative medicine doctors, I would consider myself as a health-concious person. I quickly attempted to remove sugar from my diet, but it didn't really work.
Now, it has been 3 months since I minimize my consumption of rice, sugar and white bread. Today, inshaAllah, by the will of Allah, I could confidently say that with the knowledge I acquired and practiced from the health retreat, together with the healing properties of essential oils and great discipline in eating habits, I still get occasional headaches but controlled ones.
Today, after 24 years, those simple things which never actually work years ago - (1) lots of plain water and a good detox, (2) plenty of rest supplemented with essential oils, and (3) a disciplined eating habit - is now working, and those headaches which used to be classified as migraines are now totally in control.
Alhamdulillah, thummalhamdalillah, that 24-years Migraine Monster is tamed!
24 years of migraine, and hopefully it stops HERE.
My earliest memories of suffering throbbing, painful headaches was when I was 11. But a diary which I used to write in for English lessons was an evidence that the series of headaches had started since I was 9.
I've been wondering how I survived being so active in sports, but slept throughout my classes in school. I'm sure my teachers still remember my sleeping-not-beauty attitude (huhu!)... My only guess was that sports promotes blood flow to my head, that's why I loved it so much.
At 15, I started having terrible backpains. Yet I still go for TaeKwon-Do tournaments, horseback riding, archery, netball and few other sports. I started visiting the hospital for series of x-rays and CT-scans and MRIs. I had scoliosis and started attending physio sessions weekly. But TaeKwon-Do and horseback riding was still a weekly thing for me.
I started taking migraine prescriptions when I was 16, on the verge of IGCSE exams coming. The side-effects were TERRIBLE. That 1-month was so dreadful that I had wished to just die. So we quickly opted for alternative medicine and went to few other doctors.
At 17, as I entered university, I quickly learnt that sleeping during classes was an unacceptable behaviour (oh my! It was a bit too late wasn't it!). So I would be zombie-walking around the campus, not getting MCs bcoz I am not the type who show people that I'm in pain. Plus there's no point in staying idle when the pain doesn't even go away but just make you feel more miserable. I joined some online migraine support groups and still continued with physio sessions.
At 18, I stopped going for TaeKwon-Do and horseback riding due of time constraints. So I just went for swimming lessons and picked up table tennis instead. Eventually, the backpain subsided and I stopped going for physio sessions. It was so expensive anyways.
At 21, I got married. Stupid people would say, "dah kahwin tu nanti hilang la sakit kepala tu". It was the dumbest, most inconsiderate comment I've ever encountered in my life. Migraine continued to haunt me.
When I was 23, in my 3rd year of Engineering degree, I got a C for a subject and flunked another subject. Solely bcoz I was having a series terrible migraines for weeks, including during both midterm and final exam. But life just had to go on. When things get unbearable, I would drop by the clinic to get painkiller injections.
At 24, after graduating from university, I attended a life-changing health retreat with Newlife. It's a 1-week 'healing' camp, where I started to find hope in living with migraines. I learn some soothing remedies and frequently detoxify myself. At that point, I still didn't believe that it would be possible for me to be migraine-free for the rest of my life. I just cope with the pain.
I think it was when I was 26 that I had a 10-weeks non-stop migraine. Two-and-a-half-months! can you imagine. I then noticed that during those recent years I was taking medical leave from work nearly every month, where I would just lock myself in a dark room and start banging my head. It was so painful that even my cheeks would feel numb. I was vomiting everytime those migraine attacks come. Whatever I've learnt from the health retreat would only sooth the pain a little - yes, a little - for one or two days, then the headaches would start kicking in again. So I started to go back and forth to see the doctors again, more CT-scans and MRIs.
At 29, someone introduced me to essential oils. It was another life-changing event. I had always loved aromatherapy for its calming properties. Yet I didn't know its healing properties were so extensive, especially for Young Living essential oils. I tried another brand before Young Living but it's no where as effective. I use a specific range of oils which I tried to see if it suits me, every day, every hour. Those essential oils were my best friend, my closest company. Soon, just within a few months, I stopped taking monthly medical leaves. Migraines would still come, but it was bearable and would go away after a few days, or maximum a week. After a year, I noticed that I was not dependent on the oils anymore. Slowly, I didn't have the need to open my migraine essential oil pouch for a week or even few weeks.
At 32, I as noticed my weight were slowly going up the ladder and was closely approaching the yellow overweight zone in that BMI scale. Being a sports-person and having to meet regularly with alternative medicine doctors, I would consider myself as a health-concious person. I quickly attempted to remove sugar from my diet, but it didn't really work.
Now, it has been 3 months since I minimize my consumption of rice, sugar and white bread. Today, inshaAllah, by the will of Allah, I could confidently say that with the knowledge I acquired and practiced from the health retreat, together with the healing properties of essential oils and great discipline in eating habits, I still get occasional headaches but controlled ones.
Today, after 24 years, those simple things which never actually work years ago - (1) lots of plain water and a good detox, (2) plenty of rest supplemented with essential oils, and (3) a disciplined eating habit - is now working, and those headaches which used to be classified as migraines are now totally in control.
Alhamdulillah, thummalhamdalillah, that 24-years Migraine Monster is tamed!
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