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(Aug 19)
I've started writing some form of this post for the last several years. I thought it'd make a great headache/migraine educational bit. About how we as an industry abuse our bodies with caffeine, long hours, and terrible ergonomics. But I never seem to finish that post, so I’m writing this one instead.
About 8 years ago I started getting migraines... about once a quarter. Not too frequent, so I just ignored them. Then they slowly progressed to monthly. Then weekly. And at some point I realized I was waking up with a low grade headache every day. My wife had been trying to get me to a headache doctor for a while, but daily was my wake up call.
Along this time I started skipping west coast conferences. The additional stress of dealing with extra time zones never helped.
I also noticed that, of all my conference friends, I was the only one who had a low-end pharmacy in his laptop bag. Other people bought tylenol when they had a headache. I went to a pocket that had each major over-the-counter medicine so I could rotate doses. I also found that I retreated to the quiet of my hotel room hours before my friends.
Now I rarely speak at conferences, but I do attend a few. Most days I have at least a low-grade headache, but some months (like the last one), I don’t really leave the house other than for work.
Why am I typing all this? I’m asked from time to time why I’m not at conference X or Y. Or why I don’t attend the local user group meetings anymore. I’ve really fallen off of the blogging wagon as well. Finally blogging seemed a more efficient way of sharing the information.
I also want to take this opportunity to say that migraines aren’t just blinding pain that leave you on the floor. They’re also when you have headaches more than three times a week. They can be caused by stress, certain foods, bright lights, missed meals, exercise, or a hundred other things most people take for granted. Ignoring your condition, like I did, makes it much more difficult for you doctor to help you. The longer your body thinks of the pain as normal, the more difficult it’ll be to break the cycle.
Your regular doctor will know a bit about headaches, but there are neurologists who focus exclusively in this area. I strongly encourage you to find one instead of being "tough" like me.
Category: Personal
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