// This summer made me really value my friends.//

Valued Friend #1: Billiam G.

…No, his name isn’t really Billiam, but I enjoy calling him that. Also, you have to either call him “Billiam” or “Bill George”. He’s not called just “Bill” that often. Though it does happen hah.

One of my closest friends, Billiam, was the head of kitchen this summer at camp, and I really owe him for watching out for me.

For some people, caffeine is a migraine trigger. In my case, not having a cup of coffee or tea in the morning will guarantee me a headache. And under certain conditions, that can develop into a migraine.

I had a mug that I brought with me that I kept in the kitchen in the main lodge at camp, and each morning, I would make myself a cup of coffee. One day (this was during one of the Greek Weeks, so I was mostly doing office work, program/counselor planning, training prep, and lending a hand with maintenance) when I wasn’t feeling that great, I went back up to the staff cabin to collect a few of my items and take some medication after morning prayers instead of heading right to the main lodge to get my cup of coffee and then meet with Fr. Stephen as we did each morning.

When I got back down to the main lodge, Bill was standing in the wing with my cup, full of coffee. He said “We were starting to run low on coffee, and I was worried you might not get a cup and then might get a migraine. So I poured you a cup. Black, right?”

I could have cried.

It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. Bill has Lyme Disease so he’s had his own share of health issues. He also majored in Nutrition and Dietetics in college, so we’ve had conversations about food triggers and what kinds of things I might want to avoid for my migraines and my kidney stones as well. I was just so touched that he was so concerned with me getting a cup of coffee because he didn’t want me to get a migraine.

During the last week of camp (when we actually hadourcampers there and I was being Head Counselor and running things) he came to me and was like, “Listen. There’s gonna be an emergency tomorrow because there was an issue with the Sysco order and there isn’t gonna be any coffee tomorrow.” My jaw nearly hit the floor. I told him not to worry and that I would be able to make myself a cup of tea (or two) and would be okay. I had already had a migraine on Monday of that week, and the after effects of it were still around. So he was super concerned that the lack of caffeine was going to launch me into another migraine attack.

Thankfully, Fr. Stephen went and got coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts for the staff that day because he knew that A) We were all tired and needed coffee and B) If there wasn’t any coffee, the whole staff would probably be useless all day.

Bill did offer to use the Keurig in the Clergy Room up in the staff cabin to make me a cup of coffee if I needed after the Box of Joe from DD ran out, but I was okay with what I had. I really appreciated how much he cared, and that he did everything he could to make sure I was able to prevent a migraine.

More stories about awesome friends who take care of me to come! :)

// My holistic migraine approach includes://

• Regular exercise. Yoga has given me the biggest improvement boost. I noticed that my migraines started to be more frequent when I wasn’t practicing as much. I make an effort to exercise in some form every day whether it be as small as walking instead of taking the shuttle between campuses.
• Taking magnesium on a regular basis, as my doctor suggested it to help prevent my migraines.
• Keeping a migraine journal. I use the App “Migraine Notebook” on my iPhone. It is highly customizable and lets me input data later on if need be.
• Reducing my intake of caffeine. I’ve seen many people cite caffeine as a migraine trigger, but it is actually the opposite for me. When I don’t have caffeine, I have a higher risk of having a migraine. I do try to keep it to a minimum though and try to stick to half-caf coffee and green tea.
• Keeping a regular sleep schedule: As a college student with a part time job, this isn’t the easiest thing to do. You can probably figure that out by the fact that it’s about 5:30 AM right now. It’s nearing the end of the semester, so my sleep schedule is all messed up right now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back on track again soon.
• Massage. It sounds utterly self indulgent, but I know that I carry a crazy amount of tension in my neck and shoulders. As a result, I’ve found that on the few occasions I’ve gone to get massages, my migraines stay away for awhile (or at least they’re reduced in intensity). I have a gift card from Christmas that I still haven’t used, and the place I go to has a package where if you book so many massages, you get a reduced rate. I plan on using some of my work money for this. I’m lucky that my mom works for the school system and therefore has very, VERY good insurance. We have very minimal copays and save a lot on medications and doctor’s visits. If this is something else that can help me, then it’s worth the extra cost.
• Being open to new ideas and suggestions for preventative care. I’ve been tossing around the idea of going to see a nutritionist for quite sometime now. I take a daily medication to help prevent my migraines (and it’s worked so far without having to up my daily amount), but would love to not have to take such medications. Finding a food trigger may be a solution. I’m always willing to research and try new things… except acupuncture. I am terrified of needles and that is NOT going to happen.

So that’s my list. Maybe I’ll be adding more to it soon.

This post was inspired by one by the blog “That M Word” which you can find here: http://thatmword.com/post/21844522203/holistic-health-and-migraines