How to Manage Migraines as a Parent

 This is an affiliated post. All opinions expressed are in agreement with my own. 

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Suffering from regular migraines is already a difficult challenge. You may get a migraine every couple of days, every week or even once every couple of weeks. In any case, this issue can plague your life and make it harder for you to do all of the normal things you need/want to do. 

If you’re a parent with migraines, things get even more challenging. 

 

You’ve got the normal issue of migraines to tend with, alongside the responsibilities of being a parent. The worst thing is, many of your parental duties and responsibilities can trigger migraines, making them even more painful. With that in mind, how do you manage migraines as a mother or father? Here are some helpful tips that should help you cope with the pain or even reduce your migraine frequency:

Try to identify your main triggers

Firstly, try to figure out what is causing your migraines. Unfortunately, there are plenty of things that could trigger a migraine - and the triggers may differ from person to person. For you, it could be hormonal changes, like around your menstrual cycle, or it might be specific drinks or a lack of sleep. Some people may see migraines when the weather changes and the barometric pressure goes up or down. 

The best idea is to keep tabs on all of your migraines and try to note what else is happening during this time. You might discover an underlying theme between all of the headache episodes. For instance, you find that migraines happen whenever you don’t get much sleep, or when you’re drinking too much caffeine. 

Consequently, you can tackle the triggers to prevent migraines from happening as frequently as they do. Of course, you may need support with some of these things, which is where point number two comes in. 

Find someone to rely on when you get bad migraines

You will see in the next point that there are different ways of treating migraine and managing the pain. Unfortunately, one of the best ways of dealing with a bad headache is to stay in a dark room and lie down. Those of you that have suffered from migraines for years will know that this is a go-to technique. When you didn’t have kids, it was easy to lie down in bed and wait for the pain to pass. 

Sadly, you can’t really do that when you have other responsibilities to take care of! Instead, you need to find someone you can rely on when the migraines get really bad and all you can do is lie down and rest. Of course, your partner should pick up the slack if they are around when you’re in pain. However, what happens if they’re working and you’re stuck at home with the kids? 

In instances like this, you need someone that you can call for help. This could be a close friend, your parents or another family member. You need to have someone that is there for you in your time of need. So, if you feel a migraine coming along - and it’s a big one - you can call this person and ask them to look after the kids for a bit. They’ll take this big responsibility off your shoulders, allowing you to lie down and rest. 

Funnily enough, removing the stress of looking after your children can also help your migraine dissipate. Symptoms can get worse when you know you have a migraine but you’ve also got your kids to worry about. You start panicking and stressing over how you’ll look after them when your head is so sore. With that issue solved, you can lower your stress levels and wait for the pain to pass. 

Get treatment for your migraines

As mentioned above, there are many different treatment options for migraines. The most common approach is to get some pain relief medication. Traditional medication doesn’t seem to work - like paracetamol or ibuprofen. Instead, you will need to get something like sumatriptan, which can be ordered on sites like Simple Online Pharmacy without a prescription. Take this medication at the earliest signs of a migraine to mitigate the pain and make it easier to manage. 

If your migraines are extremely common, you should see a doctor and they are likely to prescribe you some medication to help prevent them. You take this more regularly and it will reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. 

Alternatively, some people see success with more natural means of pain relief. Acupuncture and meditation are both believed to help ease the symptoms and frequency of migraines by reducing stress throughout your body. Of course, this might not work for everyone, but there’s no harm in trying. If you can find ways of treating your migraines without relying on medication all the time, then that’s a huge bonus. 

Find alternative things to do with your kids

This goes back to the first point about finding your triggers. Some parents discover that being in bright areas with a lot of noise is their number one migraine trigger. Naturally, this means that some of the normal things you do with your kids will be challenging. You can’t take them to the park as you always leave with a throbbing migraine that disrupts the rest of your day.

Instead, think of alternative ways to keep your kids entertained. Stay at home or play outside in your quiet garden. Find ideas that allow you to avoid triggers while still keeping your kids happy and active. If they want to go to the park and be in loud places, ask someone else to take them. Again, this ties into the support angle; you get others to help you when you’re unable to do certain things. 

Remember also, that sometimes it’s ok to rely on a TV show to entertain your kids while you are resting. Do the best you can and know that everyone has to rest at times.

Overall, managing migraines as a parent will be tricky, but it’s not impossible. You should begin by identifying your triggers and finding solutions to work around and avoid them. Naturally, treatment is also a big priority. If you have solutions to calm the pain or prevent migraines, it makes your life way easier.