// Dear fellow M-Worders//

(Thanks for that phrase Emily!)

Have any of you tried Reiki or Cranio-Sacral Massage for your migraines?

I know someone who has used Reiki for a back injury and swears by it. I have heard that it may help migraines, but am not sure. There is a place I went to awhile back for a few sports massages when I was still playing sports and was generally running around on stage and dancing, and I looked them up because I swore they offered Reiki.

They do, along with Cranio-Sacral Massage. The latter lists that it is:

“a gentle, hands on method of evaluating the Central Nervous System. Practitioners use a soft touch to release restrictions surrounding the head and spine. Promotes the natural healing processes and is perfect for migraine sufferers and those with chronic neck and back pain.”

So naturally, I’m interested. I know that going to regular massages has helped reduce the amount of migraines that I get. (I also know that yoga has the same results, but I also have some trouble sticking to a practice. I need to find a way to fix that.)

So I was just wondering if anyone else has had experience with either of these two methods and if they helped you at all?

// Migraine Awareness Month #16: “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”//

Which role fits you and why?

I think that I mostly fall into the category of “Lead”.

In all honesty, I don’t set out to be a leader, but instead, I just kind of fall into the position. I was president of my diocesan Jr. youth group (Jr. ACRY) for three years, was Drama Club president in HS, was an office in Phi Theta Kappa while I was at Union County College, have become a Senior advisor to the Jr. ACRY (I’m the Sr. ACRY’s appointed National Jr. ACRY advisor) and am Head Counselor for the first time this summer at camp.

Well, I’m HC for the first time officially this summer. Last summer, I did a lot of the HC’s job and for the past two summers I kind of took over the role of Program Coordinator, even though one wasn’t hired.

I’ve always been looked to as a leader, even if I’m not expecting it, or even if I don’t really want it. In all honesty, I was kind of groomed for it. My dad is a priest (making me a PK) so I was always aware of people watching me and remembering what I did. Because of that, whenever I was at camp or at events for the ACRY, I made sure to conduct myself in an upstanding way. Because of this, I think many people have come to see me as someone who is reliable and gets stuff done.

When it comes to my migraines, I’ve been a leader in this family by being the first one to take a holistic approach to my treatment. I’ve been on preventative medication for a few years, but I’ve refused to have the amount upped, and actually was able to have my dosage reduced after I started exercising more, therefore reducing my migraines.

Yoga has also been a big help, and it’s something I need to get into the practice of doing more. My mom has wanted to take such an approach for a long time (she has a list of medications longer than I care to think about for her migraines and high blood pressure and then for conditions caused due to the other medications she’s on. It’s just a vicious cycle.) and I hope that I’ll be a catalyst for change when it comes to her approach for treatment. If she wants to walk with me or do yoga with me or change some of her eating habits with me, and is able to go off of evenoneof her medications, I will be so happy.

Where do you fall on the spectrum of “Lead, follow, or get out of the way”?

National Migraine Awareness Month is initiated by the National Headache Foundation. The Blogger’s Challenge is initiated by www.FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

// Migraine Awareness Month #5: “Do That To Me One More Time.”//

What comfort measure do you find helps you enough during a Migraine that you go back to it again and again, and how do you use it?

There are a few tried and true methods that I seem to always go back to when I have a migraine attack:

1) Ice pack.This is my number one comfort measure. We always keep ice packs in the freezer at my house (we have about three I think, along with a bag that you can fill up with ice if needed) because I’m not the only person here who suffers from migraines (it’s genetic!). Sometimes the only thing I can do is wrap my head in ice and try to numb it all away.

2) Sleep mask. Sometimes light is the biggest offender for me. I sleep with a sleep mask on almost every night (I need some kind of noise to sleep as I’m from a city, so I tend to put the TV on sleep at night) but it becomes very important when I have a migraine.

3) Cool temperature. When I have a migraine, I tend to feel warm, so I like to make sure that the air is on. If it’s during the winter, I make sure the heat isn’t turned up too high (which it usually isn’t because most of us like cold in this house).

4) A warm shower. This is one of my exceptions to the “feeling warm” rule. A shower is sometimes the best thing for me. I use unscented body wash and all that jazz anyway, so it’s not like the scents irritate me. I usually just leave the light off and stand in the shower for awhile, making a point to massage my scalp and my shoulders (and letting the water do that as well).

5) Massage. If there’s someone around (and I can muster up the energy to sound pathetic enough) I can sometimes con my mom or one of my siblings into rubbing my shoulders and neck. When I get a migraine a lot of the tension seems to move down into my shoulders and neck (although the pain remains in my head). Sometimes loosening this tension can help to relieve the migraine.

6) Peppermint Oil. Putting just a dab of this on my temples and my neck can help. It’s one of the few scents I can tolerate when I have a headache.

7) Pressure points. I’d be lying if I said I’d never fallen asleep with my thumb pressing into my supraorbital foramen (I had to learn all the bones & muscles of the face for speech anatomy, okay? hah). This is a really key pressure point for me as a lot of my migraines manifest as a sharp pain behind my eye. In other instances, there’s a spot at about the midpoint of my parietal bone that becomes very sensitive and tender when I have a migraine.

National Migraine Awareness Month is initiated by the National Headache Foundation. The Blogger’s Challenge is initiated by www.FightingHeadacheDisorders.com

// I’m officially a college graduate!//

It may have taken me 5 years to complete my undergraduate degree (darn you credits dropped when I transferred!), but on Thursday, May 17th, I officially graduated from Kean University with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech & Hearing Sciences.

This is Rebeca, myself, and Stephanie. We met in ASL 1 in the Fall of 2009, and have been friends since. It was amazing to be able to graduate with the girls I’ve become so close to in the past three years at Kean. My program was in the College of Education, and graduated 60 people (well, girls), so we’ve all had classes with each other and know each other well. It was really special to be able to share such a great day with such great people.

Granted, I won’t be going to Grad School this fall, but I’m positive I’ll be headed somewhere for the Fall of 2013. I’ve been researching programs, and have actually fallen in love with the program at The Ohio State University. They have a specialization track called “Singing Health Specialization” and it’s basicallyexactlywhat I want to do. I actually e-mailed the head of this special interdisciplinary program to get more information and they’ve helped me out a lot. I’m not putting all of my eggs in one basket and am looking at other programs that have a strong voice therapy program, but this is what I’m looking for.

So I’m pretty excited to have found out that a program like this exists.

Also, I was made Head Counselor for this summer at camp, so I’m going to be leaving early - around June 24th probably - and will be gone until August 6th-ish.

I’ll find out if I got that job at ESU when the budget is voted on on July 1st.

Until then, I’m still working at Kohl’s. I have to talk to my boss tomorrow about the whole situation to see if they’d rather I just give notice and quit before I leave for camp, or if they want me to wait it out to make sure I get the ESU job.

Ugh. I hate such complications.

At least my head has been better as of late. It’s been bugging me here & there because of the weather changes (and hormonal changes obviously), but overall much better.

Tomorrow… er, later today… I’m going to a new cardiologist. I haven’t gone to one in quite some time, and need to in order to make sure everything is working like it should be. And that it’s safe for me to start walking/jogging regularly. So that I can eventually work my way up to jogging/running regularly. I ride my bike on a regular basis, but it’s much more convenient to be able to do the jogging thing while at camp. I can’t really bring my bike with me.

And then I’m getting my camp physical done in the afternoon. And then I work at 5.

I also have to remember to schedule a massage before I leave for camp. I have a gift card from Christmas to use, and can pay for the rest using some of my graduation money.

All in all, things have been better. There’s been lots of arguing in my house lately, but I’m trying to not get myself worked up about it, because that just stresses me out which leads to more migraines.

I think the biggest thing for me right now is that I cannot wait to be at camp.

But first, I can’t wait for this weekend. I’ll be in Phoenixville, PA for the ACRY Bowling Tournament. I’ll get to see my bestie Katherine and all of my other friends. It’s something that I really need right now.

<3 night all!

// 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