When you go to the emergency room for a severe migraine attack, what is one of the first things the nurse does besides make you undress in an ice-cold room? Usually, he or she will set up your IV for fluids. Do you know what is in the clear bag hanging from the shiny hook just above your head?
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What’s in the Bag?
The most common fluid found is normal saline, which is a salt solution in purified water. For people with
I learned early on, after visiting the emergency room several times within just a few months, that dehydration played a big role in my migraine attacks. I wasn’t proactively avoiding water, I just wasn’t big on water, unfortunately. Here’s the thing, it’s not about JUST water. It’s about electrolytes too, especially when you’re a person with migraine.
Please don’t misunderstand me. Drinking electrolytes
Electrolytes It Is!
I had a pretty big scare one day when I was taking a medication that caused severe side effects. One of those side effects was dangerous dehydration. I was home alone with my young children and I couldn’t walk or talk, I was so weak. I remember not having the ability to breathe so well either. I was able to slowly crawl myself into a cold shower and my daughter, maybe about 8 or 9, called my husband for me. She was scared.
He couldn’t really hear me speaking on the phone, my voice was so weak. I remembered this feeling, though, as dehydration, and asked him to bring me Pedialyte right away. Luckily, he worked down the street and was already on his way home.
Once he arrived I drank the entire bottle. I’m not kidding. The entire bottle, within seconds. Now, I can’t suggest anyone actually do this, but I feel like it may have just saved my life. I was on the verge of passing out. Within 30 minutes I was almost back to normal and functioning again. My voice was back and I could pull myself up without any help. It was a very scary moment, one I’ll never forget. We still went to the emergency room to make sure everything was okay. I wasn’t going to take a chance it was something that would happen again.
I was still slightly weak and needed additional fluids once at the hospital. If it wasn’t for my quick thinking, I don’t know what would have happened. After that day, I kept bottles of Pedialyte with me at home. Always ready. For some reason, I would just suddenly become dehydrated. It’s still a mystery and happens every now and then, though it hasn’t happened in a couple years.
I think I know why. After a while, I moved on from Pedialyte to Gatorade at the urge of my doctor at the time. He didn’t like that I drank Pedialyte on a regular basis. But I was so unhappy with the sugar content of Gatorade and I’m just not a big fan overall. Once I went on a low-carb diet, I quit Gatorade all together and had to find an alternative. I went back to plain Pedialyte for a while before I found my saving grace.
Never Leave Home Without It
For the last three or four years, I have been carrying Nuun Effervescent Tablets with me everywhere I go. I keep a bottle in my Emergency Migraine Kit (EMK) in my purse. If you follow me regularly, you will have seen pictures of my EMK on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. I even wrote about it on my blog here.
I have never needed to go back to the emergency room for a dehydration-related migraine attack ever since I began supplementing with electrolytes. It
Migraine Emergency Kit brands above are: TheraSpecs, MigraineX, Redmond RealSalt, NOW Essential Oils, Nuun, Perfection Collection
Migraine Products
Do you want to view other products that might help with your next migraine attack? Visit my Amazon Influencer store! I can’t promise it will work, but if you’re like me, you’ll try what has helped another person with
We are all different, what works for me, might not work for you. So please do not put all your hope on one product or medication. It’s so easy to do, trust me, I know. I do it all the time. I’m also let down all the time, too. I’m with you there! If you know of a product that has helped you and you don’t see it listed, please let me know! Let’s help out the next person ❤️
Nuun Recipes
Here are a few recipes you can throw together too! Some of these are alcoholic, but you just might be able to get away with it if dehydration is the reason alcohol is a trigger for you! I wouldn’t blame you if you aren’t willing to give it a try, just leave out the alcohol! You can find more recipes on the Nuun blog!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.
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