If you or a loved one have recently been diagnosed with migraines, you will be feeling nervous, confused and possibly even a little scared. You will be worried about how your diagnosis will impact on a previously normal life. How you will suddenly be responsible for a chronic condition; how time you had never thought about in your future has suddenly been ring-posted for migraine management. It can be overwhelming. Thankfully, there are many, many people who have been in your shoes before. Take on board the advice they would give first time migraineurs: here are their top 9 mistakes and how best to avoid them
1 Expecting quick results
A common mistake made by those who have never suffered a serious illness before. The idea of medicine to the general public is vastly different to its reality. Many believe medicine in 2020 means there is a cure for everything, or that one is just around the corner. Though medicine has come a long way from the witchcraft and butchery of the middle ages, there is still much left to learn and build upon.
Medical treatment will not yield immediate results for migraines. At least not for most people. You must expect a trial and error period with your medication before you find one that works well for you. Do not expect any medication to be a silver bullet in the fight against migraines. Migraines requires a broad, holistic approach to health which includes exercise, dieting, relaxation therapies as well as alternative therapies. Migraines will be a strain on your health if you allow them to be. If you rise to the challenge, migraines will make you the healthiest version of yourself.
2 Not going back to the Doctor
It is important for you to maintain an ongoing relationship with your Doctor if you suffer with migraines. When you are first diagnosed with migraines, you are not an expert in your condition. Perhaps you assume it is nothing more than a headache. Part of this confusion comes from people using migraine and headache interchangeably. This is a big mistake. Migraines are something that will live with you for a very long time. Some migraines will be worse than others, but every attack will disrupt your normal life. You need to be a partner in your own migraine management, alongside your Doctor.
3 Not finding out as much as possible about your diagnosis
You need to make sure not to take a back seat to your illness. Putting migraine management into autopilot, especially at the early stages of your diagnosis, is a terrible idea. You must research as much as you possibly can in regards to your illness. There a lots of good reasons for doing so: it will mean you will be able to have more informed conversations about your disease with your doctor; it will also help you lose any fear you have about migraines, if you empower yourself by becoming as knowledgeable about migraines as possible. Being a migraine sufferer, whether you like it or not, will make you an ambassador for your disease. Everybody will come to you to talk about migraines. It would help if you knew everything you possibly could about your condition. It will also be invaluable in recognising misinformation from others when you hear it.
4 Using tabloid news and commercials for information on migraines
Researching from many sources is a great way to learn more about migraines. You must always be cautious, however, about where you learn about your condition. Some news sites will frame migraine news in a way which bends the truth, just to get you to read. Commercials are only small snippets of information, crammed into a minute or two. In that time, they are mainly selling a product. You cannot expect to become well informed just by watching them. Ask your Doctor about the best resources to use when researching migraines.
5 Blaming symptoms on stress
When you first get diagnosed with migraines, you may go into a form of denial. You will understand you are suffering with what is called a ‘migraine’. Perhaps the chronic nature of the disease is something you will have a hard time getting to grips with. You may blame your condition on a short term period of ‘stress’ which will go away, as soon as you are in a better mental place.
Stress is one possible trigger of migraines. It is not the root cause of migraines unfortunately. You will need to come to terms with the fact that you are now a migraineur. This is something you will need to manage for the forseeable future. You also need to be aware that there are many ways a migraine may be triggered, stress is simply one of them.
6 Using over the counter medicines over migraine specific therapy
This is a mistake you should not make when you are first diagnosed with migraines. You may feel that you get enough migraine relief from simply using over the counter medication. This can actually be another form of denial on your part. If you are not using specific migraine medication, perhaps you don’t really have migraines, or maybe you can separate yourself from long term migraine sufferers. This is a mistake. Refusing medication specifically created to help manage your disease is only a bad idea.
There’s always the chance that you are afraid of the side effects of migraine medication. If this is the case, it is best to discuss these issues honestly with your Doctor, and to make an educated decision when you have researched everything you possibly can about migraines.
7 Giving up after trying only a few medicines
Migraines are a complex disease, which affect everyone differently. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to treating the disease. Some medications work better for some than others. You will need to try different combinations of medicines at different doses before you find the right treatment for your condition. Do not allow a few setbacks to stop you from finding medication which works for you. Apart from the migraine’s themselves, finding the right treatment can be one of the most stressful aspects of migraine management. Each trial of medications can last around 3 months. Don’t give up.
8 Ignoring associated symptoms to migraine
A major road-block to effective migraine treatment is incomplete information. Though researchers are working diligently to solve this problem, Doctors do not yet have a complete picture when it comes to migraines. Do not make a Doctor’s life harder by being selective with your medical history. You may think you do not need to bother them with trivial symptoms such as nausea, or low mood, or blurry vision, but you will be making it harder for your Doctor to find the right treatment plan for you. Part of the problem with newly diagnosed migraineurs is their tunnel-vision when it comes to migraines; they only see them as a headache. Migraines are much, much more. You must inform your doctor if you experience associated neck-pain, or depression, or visual changes, or a change in perception. All these pieces of information will help your Doctor decide which type of migraine you have, and the best way to help manage your condition.
9 Sticking to only one treatment when it shows some results
It is great news when you find a treatment which helps you manage migraines. You should not see this success, however, as mission accomplished. Using only one treatment to manage your disease is short-sighted. Medication tolerances can build up. Over time, one medication can lead to side effects. Keep trying new medications (as directed by your doctor) to have the best chance of treating your migraines long term. Also, lifestyle and non-medical therapies should be a normal part of your life. Just because you have found a medicine that helps with migraines, it doesn’t mean you can throw caution to the wind. You need to make sure your sleep, diet and general health are also in order. Listen to migraineurs when they tell you alternative therapies help them, such as acupressure or biofeedback or yoga. Make your migraine management as varied as possible, to ensure good long term success.