The 5 Best and Worst Parts of Being a Migraineur

Today’s post was prompted by the WEGO Health Challenge instructions for today: 5 Challenges, 5 Small Victories. Make a list of the 5 most difficult parts of your health focus. Make another top 5 list for the little things (small victories) that keep you going.

The 5 hardest parts about being an M Worder:

1. Living a life of prevention: Constantly in fear of the next migraine, we carry pills with us everywhere and heed our doctor’s instructions. Leaving my house requires me to prepare as though I’m packing for a weekend trip with a toddler (pills, water, approved snacks, etc.).
2. Lack of understanding/empathy from others: see this post
3. Cost of medical bills: Most insurers refuse to cover us because migraines are a “pre-existing condition,” along with cancer and AIDS. My injections cost around $400 and an average ER visit is around $650.
4. Restrictions that other people don’t have: For me this means leaving a career, giving up caffeine and alcohol, strict dietary changes, keeping to a strict daily exercise regimen (but not OVERexercising), and pill schedules.
5. Being unreliable: I’m hesitant to make plans and constantly canceling on people

The 5 small victories that keep M Worders going: (I had a REALLY hard time with these).

1. Migraine free days!
2. Support from the virtual migraine community: Joining Twitter and Tumblr has really boosted my mood and made me feel less alone.
3. When people DO understand: My co-workers show their respect for my condition and me by not bringing fish for lunch, for example, since the smell is a huge trigger for me.
4. Doing things I never thought I could do: Whether it’s maintaining a blog, pushing myself in a yoga pose, or completing a running plan, I try to use the momentum from these little things to keep a positive outlook.
5. Finally finding what works for you: Eating vegan, drinking plenty of water, giving up caffeine and alcohol, regular exercise and yoga, and keeping stress to a minimum has been HUGE for me. There’s no cure for migraine, but there are ways to have more good days than bad.

What would you add or take away from this list?