A Migraine in NYC

...is flipping hard. Especially when you're out and about. Here's are some things I've been doing when I feel one coming on:

• Get home or at least inside. Especially the way this summer's been going. Try to find a place with some decent A/C.
• Water, water, water. We know this one should be a given, but it's not always easy or convenient to carry a bottle of water when hiking around the city. To top it off, it's hard to convince yourself to bring one along when it's often hard to find a public restroom when you need one. Nevertheless, suck it up and bring one along, or pick one up at the nearest hot dog cart or deli.
• Use an MP3 player. This way, you can control what you're listening to and how loudly. It's easier to ignore the mobs around you if you're listening to something you enjoy.
• Always carry your meds with you! Get a pill fob. They're small and hang nicely from your key ring, so you can keep a variety of meds on you with needing the space for all the bottles. Just be sure to fill it with what you need before you leave home.

There you have it. It's a small and simple list, but it's what's been keeping me going this summer, especially with attacks on the rise again.

What's your big city list?

Those Damn Triggers

One of the most frustrating things for headache and migraine sufferers everywhere has got to be triggers.

It can take years for one to figure out just what seems to be causing the problem, and just like that, triggers can change.

Or, a trigger that hasn't been present for a while may have subtly re-introduced itself to the equation again, without even being realized.

Or, there can be too many triggers all at once, and it's hard to pinpoint which is the most problematic and needs to be addressed first. This is the problem for me right now.

Having just moved to NYC from calm and laid-back Iowa / Minnesota, lots of things in my routine have changed. Now I seem to be back to the grind with headaches I can't quite get the hang of again.

For instance, yesterday I fought the early signs of a headache all afternoon, and finally had to take something in the evening when it got problematic enough. There are sooo many things that could have been a factor - heat, poor diet, caffeine, MOH, bad posture, not seeing a chiro regularly, not using my glasses regularly, not wearing my jaw splint at night - and I'm struggling with which one to tackle first.

Some of them are relatively easy: Wearing my jaw splint and glasses when I should, fixing my diet some, and watching caffeine intake are all pretty easy to remedy. But it's hard to battle the heat when you're trying to conserve energy and difficult to find a chiropractor in a city where you have so many options to choose from.

But we just keep swimming anyway, am I right?

What are some triggers you've been battling this hot and sticky summer?

Heat is Hard

Summertime is supposed to be fun. Long days at the beach or lake, booze-filled Saturdays with nothing else to do, and campfires with fun, terrible-for-you foods. Or sometimes, a combination of all three of those things in the same day.

But it's hard to have fun doing those things when the heat affects you so severely and quickly. I can never seem to enjoy myself in the hottest parts of the day for more than an hour or two, and alcohol isn't even really an option in the summertime. Campfires, though, I can get into :)

I just feel like I have a constant dull headache all the time, which usually gets worse before I go to bed and stays that way through the morning. Some days are better than others, but it's especially hard when I'm not living someplace with central A/C (one of NYC's summertime downsides, along with all the putrid smells).

I spend a lot of time pressing a damp cloth or ice pack to my face to relieve some of the discomfort. I also move our portable A/C around the house with me, which can be a big hassle.

How does the heat affect you? What do you do to battle it?

Getting Out of the Kitchen

So much for the blog challenge, eh?

I dumped nail polish remover all over my keyboard early last week and destroyed it, so finishing up the challenge I was already not doing so well at became difficult. Oh well, maybe next year... Though, I'm happy to hear that our efforts are finally starting to make an impact.

It's that time of year again where it becomes difficult to escape the heat, especially without central air conditioning. Fortunately, for whatever strange reason this year, despite the heat my traditional heat-induced headaches and migraines haven't been nearly as frequent or severe. I wonder what that's all about.

But they're not gone completely. On really bad days where it's not only hot but I also have to run around outside all day, it can get bad. It's like I wake up with it, take some OTCs along with a cool shower, and it tapers off for a while. Then I get back out in the heat and it gradually comes back. By the end of the day, I go to bed feeling about the same as I did when I woke up.

Whatever the case, it's a work in progress that's slowly getting better. What do you do to escape the heat and the headaches that can come with them?