I’m so excited to introduce you to a willful, strong woman I met through Instagram. She’s amazing and wants to tell her story about her journey through life, what the definition of migraine is, and migraine and motherhood. I invite you to open your heart and take a peak into the life of Danielle with Migraine! This post is part of a series that will be running on Achy Smile indefinitely. We hope to share stories from people all over the world about their life with migraine. To read them all, go to Guest Stories.
Written by Danielle Owen
Who is Danielle?
Danielle is a work-from-home wife and mom who coaches writing and squeezes in time to work on her next novel. Migraines have not held her back from pursuing her study of intercultural communication, including traveling to various countries on four continents. Though a Chicagoland native, Danielle now lives in Wisconsin with her husband, little boy, and big puppy. She also enjoys a good cup of tea.
When the Migraine Started
I don’t remember my first migraine. Whenever I got a headache, I knew what caused it and learned to avoid those things. They were annoying, of course, but did not keep me from doing anything I really wanted to do. Doctors were not my friends; they rarely listened well and were not that helpful, so I settled into my own routines. What I know now is that I suffered from migraines all along.
As a kid, I would get sun headaches, as I called them. They would force me to hide out in a dark room to rest and drink tons of water. I blamed those on dehydration and watched myself in hot weather. I also would get allergy headaches where a certain foods would cause severe pain on one side of my head. Sometimes the pain was worth cheating on my allergy diet, but most times, no so much. The food headaches were always worse when I was around a lot of people. The noise would echo in my head and I couldn’t wait to be home. The third type of headache I would get as a kid was a weather headache. I’ll never forget when a tornado touched down close by; I could feel the pressure changes and the headache didn’t let up until the funnel passed by.
These episodic headaches seemed easy to manage. I worked with an allergist to know what foods to stay away from, I watched my sun exposure, and knew storms would bring on a headache. It all made sense to me and I could avoid the headaches for the most part. But in college, my headaches turned chronic. I missed class, struggled to concentrate on reading, and considered dropping out. It was time to visit the doctor again.
Taking Action
When I told this new doctor about my headaches, her reply was that it was a just a stress headache. Go home and take it easy. Ha! I was in college. I had homework, class, and an attempt at a social life. She made me feel unheard and dismissed and furthered my distrust of doctors. However, it was because of her that I truly took my health into my own hands.
I was a teenager when I first heard the word migraine. I remember sitting in a classroom when the teacher mentioned he had a migraine headache. I could see the pain on his face, the squint in his eye. That image stuck with me, so when I began researching the types of headaches, from tension headaches to migraines, I began paying closer attention to my symptoms. Soon I could identify a type of headache based on where the pain was located on my head. I felt like a wizard!
Fifteen years of research later, I’m still learning about migraines. I’ve come to understand the headaches I had as a teen. Foods are migraine triggers. Allergies and migraines can go hand-in-hand. Light, sound, and barometric pressure can affect migraines. Migraines can be misdiagnosed as sinus headaches. Each stage of my life adds new understanding.
More Learning
In grad school, the migraines were bad enough for me to visit another doctor. This one knew it was migraine right away and tossed me a prescription. An allergic reaction later and I never went back. Since then, with help from my (new) allergist, I’ve learned to manage the migraines. I could identify triggers, make sure I got consistent sleep, and listen to my body, knowing that when I didn’t, I would pay for it. Even then, I factored in recovery time after migraine-triggering events. I had it figured out.
Marriage, however, showed me that perhaps I didn’t have things as figured out as I thought. As a single woman, I could hide out in a dark room for hours on end if needed, and no one would mind. I could eat when I needed and not worry about cooking or the smells attached to it. My choice to over-extend used to only cost me recovery time, now it affected my husband as well. However, I married the most loving, gracious, incredible man. He can spot a migraine coming sometimes before I can. He loves to take care of me and sets up the most amazing evenings at home, reading or watching movies together. He has helped me slow down and find new techniques for keeping my migraines at bay.
One of those ways was seeing a chiropractor who specializes in migraines. I went from chronic migraines to more episodic migraines in a couple months. I could easily spot a trigger and made concerted effort to minimize my exposure. I, again, found what worked and settled into my new rhythm.
Then I got pregnant.
Migraine and Motherhood
Over the past year and a half, I have learned just how much hormones play into things. My migraines all but disappeared for nine months, but a couple weeks after our son was born, the lack of sleep caught up to me. Having an active child means I’m ‘on’ all the time. Trying to eat at a consistent time gets tricky when baby is having a difficult day. Not to mention, labor and delivery was traumatic, leaving me with much to heal from. Even my allergies have gotten all out of whack. Both my allergist and my chiropractor keep reminding me that a woman’s body doesn’t snap back to ‘normal.’ Hormones take a long time to even back out, especially if I am nursing.
So, it has become a daily battle to balance life with a family and my migraines. I watch my triggers, but baby noises are loud. I try to get enough sleep, but interrupted sleep is unavoidable. Becoming a mom has shown me that, what I thought meant having migraine under control, was actually living my life around migraine. I’m not one to let something hold me back, so it has increased my research into migraine, but has also prompted me to advocate for moms who suffer with migraine or other chronic illness.
Motherhood has enough challenges. I am privileged to have built in cheerleaders like my husband. Not all women have people like him. My baby is a happy, low-key little boy who can make his mama smile on her worst days. Nevertheless, hearing the stories of other women who struggle as I do encourage me, and I hope to pass that encouragement on to other moms. Migraine might be an invisible illness, but you are not alone.
Find Danielle Online
Achy Smile’s Thoughts
Danielle, you’re an inspiration to college students and new mothers! Your migraine advocacy is a true inspiration to myself and others. Be sure to keep us updated.
It is up to us migraineur’s to educate the world around us about what really happens when we go through a migraine. It’s not just a headache. Please take some time to read through Why I Blog and let’s start sharing each other’s stories. Want to share your story on Achy Smile? Please contact me and let’s get your voice heard!
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