The migraine slump

I have had this relentless migraine pain for over a month. I tried everything under the sun (Or dark?) to abort it. Or reduce it. Or manage it. And nada. Today it broke. Aside from vertigo and dizzy spells. But that is ‘nother story.

This is a story of the migraine mood slump.

It can hit you right away. It can hit you after a week of bad days in a row. Or, for me, after a solid month of pain.

At first, paingry. At the whole situation I am in right now with not being able to drive or work. So paingry. Angry at the pain. Angry at how it is treated by insurance companies. Just really, really angry.

But anger takes energy.

It is difficult to maintain.

And when the pain just will not stop for one damn second… then comes the slump. When my depression wasn’t treated this was more like a plummet of doom that would suck me down into a slippery slope of hell. But even with depression managed, pain gets to you, man. We do our self-care. We try every trick we have to help manage the pain somewhat. But when we fail, we are definitely at risk for lowered mood.

And you know it is just because you are just so exhausted and tired.

It is important to remember to maintain treatment. So when this happens and you are stuck in a status migraine I generally recommend the ER to break it. But I rarely want to even attempt it. Although I told my spouse just a couple of days ago I was thinking about it. It was just getting to me.

But I maintained:

• regular ice therapy
• hydration
• amped up the magnesium
• took Epsom salt baths
• meditation
• every so often tried the tiptan again, but not too much. As tempting as it is to try to relieve the pain, I don’t want to rebound and make it worse
• and just let myself take it easy without guilt

Because you never know what will kick in. Sometimes we have to ride it out. Sometimes we can get a handle on it and diminish the pain, at the very least. But we don’t feel like doing these things. It is like, that failed me. And failed me. And I am just so tired of even trying. The mood slump is part of this. Just being so very tired. And getting rest during these times is also vital. Just giving ourselves just a damn break.

However, I remind myself that self-care is more than a nice bath and a cup of tea. It is all our pain management strategies.

And mood slumps? They too have to be managed in any way we can. I like some time to myself to write or read. Something I can use to distract myself and also enjoy. Usually helps.

Then the migraine broke today. No migraine pain all day today. Finally! it is a welcome break.

I do have some recommendations I use when I am in the migraine slump: Self-care: When you are in a migraine funk

See also:

Hobbies and activities to help with self-care

Self-care Sunday: Coloring

Remembering the self-care