Annie-gram 9: Soothe

Happy Sunday dear ones!

In this Annie-gram, I’m going to share five ways I cope with migraine disease & chronic pain.

1. An epsom salt bath

Yesterday, I went to a high school football game with my family to watch my niece Eliza dance at half-time & hear my nephew Sully play drums in the marching band. I love the spirit & energy of a home football game, although I prefer it to be a crisp fall night with a chunky cardigan or sweatshirt on. My body, however, does not love sitting on the bleachers. By the third quarter, I was aching from the waist down, so I turned to one of my most trusted pain soothing techniques when I got home.

Epsom salt contains magnesium, which is absorbed through our skin & can soothe sore muscles. You can buy scented epsom salts at many big box stores, drug stores, & bath boutiques. Dr. Teal’s makes a lovely variety. They may be scented & dreamy. However, I often cannot tolerate strong scent, have very sensitive skin, & am on a budget, so I buy them at Target in the pharmacy section in a big ole bag. It’s boring, but does the trick! Add two cups while running a hot bath & soak for at least 20 minutes. I listen to an audiobook or podcast. I often wet washcloths with ice cold water & put them over my neck, face, & eyes to soothe an achy head. 

When I get out of the bathtub, I am as Botticelli’s Venus birthed from the sea. I am a new woman. Thank God. 

2. Hot & cold water therapy

When I have an intractable migraine attack that I cannot medicate to relief & I have the stamina, I take a hot shower, then let ice cold water run over my head & neck at the end. I learned this trick from my friend Susan, who told me hot water on her feet & legs coupled with cold water on her neck sometimes eased her migraine attacks. Migraine episodes can be triggered by poor circulation. The contrasting water temperature causes vasoconstriction & dilation to alter blood flow. It can help!

Be careful practicing this pain relief method, especially if you have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTs, orthostatic intolerance, or are taking sedating medication. Hot showers may make you dizzy & worsen symptoms. If you have the option to sit in your shower, that would be safest. I use a stool & honestly, feel a bit like a queen sometimes. 

3. Heated blanket & heating pad

My right foot, my primary limb that is affected by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, is very sensitive to cold & it often exacerbates pain. Sometimes, it even becomes very cold to the touch for no good reason at all. I deal with this by residing under an electric throw. I have one on the couch & one on my bed. 

They also cover & soothe my achy legs & hips. I totally tuck myself in when the pain is full-body. 

In addition to my heated blankets, I use a weighted heating pad, which I usually place behind my neck when I go to bed. I also use it for lower-back, hip, & abdominal pain. 

4.  Conversely, ice can be nice

I have imagined myself as a superhero called “Migraine Girl,” who can foil the enemy using the laser beams that come from my eyes. That’s how it feels. It’s as though the nerves behind my eyes are aflame. Thus, when I have a migraine attack, I want to ice these peepers. 

I have two ice hats that I use. I can pull them over my eyes to block out the light, too, which is nice when I’m trying to sleep. 

I have a couple of ice rollers, too, & find that icing my face, forehead, & neck can be soothing during a migraine attack.

I have many gel ice packs from Walgreens. They can actually be heated, as well, which makes them excellent to use while traveling. These are great to use to ice an injection site, like after a nerve block or steroid injections, & on acute injuries & muscle strains. They stay cold for a long time. 

5. Pain relief, but make it cute!

My weighted heating pad is soft & fuzzy. It’s light purple with polka dots on it & that makes me smile. Sometimes, I think it helps if the things we use out of medical necessity are also fun & bold in color or pattern. I have a rainbow pill case & while I hate filling my pill case, I love the rainbow of colors. 

One of my ice hats is a bubbly baby pink & I wore it with a hot pink blouse before going to see The Barbie Movie. I posted the photo & tagged the company TheraICE with #MigraineBarbie. I can be a girly-girl who loves matching accessories. I did not feel cute & yet, I felt cute. See how this works?  

The internet is filled with so many options & you can browse them while you sit! 

My friend Kate got me a cute bag based on an inside joke in which we refer to things such as pretty flowers used decoratively in our homes as that crap. The bag says “Random Crap from Here to There.” We like that crap, by the way. I also have a bag that has a little fairy on it & says “Please Don’t Fuck with My Shit.” I store pain medicine in these bags. In the middle of a flare, I may say to Matt, “Honey, will you please get my crap (or shit) bag?” This still makes me laugh.

My feet emerging from an Epsom Salt Bath - or the feet of Botticelli’s Venus?

 

Recently, a girl working behind the counter at the ice cream shop in our town ~*dream job alert!*~ told me she liked my bright pink rollator & that she has the same one. She said she was so sad when she found out she needed one, but was so happy to find the pink one! 

Sometimes, I decorate it with LED lights with battery packs that will hide in the storage compartment. When I did this the first Christmas I used my rollator, people often smiled & told me how much they loved them on the way in & out of appointments & physical therapy sessions. I can cheer myself & others up this way, which feels good.

I didn’t choose this life, but it’s mine & I’m grateful to be living with disability & chronic illness in 2024, when I can access tools I need to help make myself more comfortable. Please let me know if you have any questions about the items I’ve mentioned above or where I bought them. My tricks are your tricks, dear reader, as I know your secret… you have a body, too!! 

Until next week–I’ll be making lemonade,

Annie