The Frizzy Fibro
Fighting fibromyalgia & humidity daily.

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Migraine Relief Must-Haves – Products I Recommend

If I could choose one thing to never have to deal with ever again in my life, it would be migraines. Finding migraine relief can often feel like finding a needle in a haystack. As a chronic migraine sufferer, I am plagued with regular migraines that have only recently been prevented and managed by medication. While there is no replacement for the treatments given by neurologists, there are several products I strongly recommend to anyone who suffers even occasional migraines.

Here are my top picks for migraine relief must-haves:

Peppermint Oil

I keep this big bottle of peppermint oil in my shower. When I have a migraine, I put some on all the walls of my shower before turning on the water. The steam from the shower creates a minty fog that lets me breathe in the peppermint oil as I bathe. Peppermint is known to provide migraine relief and ease the nausea that often accompanies them. When I am out and about, I keep this perfectly purse sized diffuser on hand. When I feel a migraine coming on, I take a few deep breaths with this and feel the effects of the peppermint oil.

Barometric Pressure Earplugs

Learning how barometric pressure influences migraines was a breakthrough for me. It can be helpful to learn whether you are more strongly affected by drops or rises in barometric pressure (and by what degree of change). These barometric pressure filtering ear plugs are AMAZING. I keep them in my purse at all times and always bring them on planes. The accompanying app allows you to monitor pressure changes and even set alerts for when the changes are set to happen to give you a heads up to place your earplugs in. Within 10 minutes of putting the earplugs in, i start to feel migraine relief.

Magnesium

There are several studies that show the benefits of magnesium for preventing and treating migraines. One source of magnesium that I find helpful for my migraines is taking an epson salt bath. I like this bag because it’s large enough to last you several baths. I recommend putting 2-3 cups of salt in your bath to ensure a strong concentration. Every time can be different in terms of what brings migraine relief. I sometimes find comfort in cold compresses and other times enjoy hot showers or baths.

Iced Eye Mask

One of the best things for my migraines is an ice pack right on my eyes. This weighted cooling eye mask is the perfect way to provide relief and block out the light. The gel pack inside can be taken out and kept in the freezer. Even without the gel pack, the mask still provides a gentle weight that can be helpful. I find the weight of it to be comforting, as I experience migraine pain right behind my eyes.

Sleep Mask

While I don’t typically wear a sleep mask on a regular night, falling asleep with a migraine can be a struggle. The slightest sliver of light trickling in feels like a headlight shining in your face. I sometimes put an eye mask on when I have a migraine even if I am not trying to sleep – just to give my eyes some rest. This eye mask is my top pick. Its large enough to cover my whole eye socket and is lightweight and doesn’t touch my eyelids, which I find more comfortable for actually sleeping with it on.

Night Vision Goggles

This one might sound funny, but I cannot put into words how much I love my night goggles. Do I look like a huge dork with them on? 100% Can I finally drive at night without triggering a massive migraine from oncoming traffic’s headlights? 1000% Blue light glasses are all the rage for working on the computer, but the newer headlights are even more obtrusive to your vision. I love that these completely cover your eye from all sides, as driving often means headlights coming at you from all directions. They even fit over my glasses.

Nuun Hydration

I, like so many others, do not drink enough water. Despite my best efforts to stay hydrated, I know I fall short. Electrolytes are a great way to boost hydration, but many drinks with electrolytes (like Gatorade) are high in sugar which can actually trigger migraines in some. I personally love adding a Nuun tablet to water 1 or 2 times a day to increase my hydration. My favorite flavor is strawberry lemonade and I have found that since making Nuun a part of my daily routine, I have reduced the number of migraines I experience.

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Tips for Donating Blood (and making it easy!)

Arm shown donating blood
My latest donation!

Hating shots and needles is something children worldwide can relate to. So why, you might ask, would a former pediatrician’s office dramatic performer willingly subject themself to a needle every few months? The answer is simple: because I can. Despite my chronic health issues, none of my pre-existing conditions prevent me from being able to donate blood, so I try to as often as I can. I wish that I had asked someone for tips for donating blood when I first started.

When I tell people how often I donate, I regularly get questions from those who have either never donated or who hated the experience so much their first time that they never donated again. A few of those questions tend to be…

“Does it hurt?”

“Have you ever fainted?”

“Are there side effects?”

And my answers to those are: Not if done properly and you go prepared (more on that below). Yes, exactly twice. Yes, but none that outweigh the benefits for others (and never for more than a day).

With all that in mind, it is important to prepare your body for a blood donation, regardless of if you have a chronic illness. After multiple blood donations, I have accrued the following tips for donating blood via personal experience, old wives tales, and shared insight at the post-donation snack table. I hope these work for you too!

Tip #1 “Iron out” your timeline for donating blood

Low iron is one of the most common prohibitors of blood donation. The first step in the intake process is a finger prick to determine your blood iron level. Whether you normally run close to anemia or not, my first tip for donating blood is to take an iron supplement for at least a week before your donation. I personally take an iron supplement every day as I made a connection between the two times I fainted and my iron level being just above the acceptable threshold. This is why it is important to “iron out” your donation schedule ahead of time – last minute donations don’t allow you to prepare.

Tip #2 CHUG

Water, that is. I typically schedule my donations for the afternoon to a) allow me to eat a nice full meal before I donate and b) allow me time to down at least 1400 ML before I need to donate. It is just as important to drink a lot of water after your donation as well, as your body needs to replace the blood you’ve lost. I have found that the more hydrated you are, the faster your donation goes. For me, this makes the overall experience more positive and shortens my recovery time.

Tip #3 Turmeric takes the work out of donating blood

Similar to the water consumption, I have found that taking turmeric supplements in the days leading up to my donation (if I am not already doing so) shortens the time it takes to complete a donation. Turmeric is a naturally-occurring blood thinner, so it makes sense that it would aid in facilitating the donation.

Tip #4 Respect the Rules

There’s a reason they tell you to eat before and want you to snack before you leave. There’s a reason they tell you not to exercise for 24 hours afterward. There’s a reason they tell you to donate using your non-dominant arm. All of these things contribute to how successful your donation is and how you feel after. Please follow these recommendations and rules for your own good, because I have seen firsthand what happens when you don’t (the aforementioned fainting).

So those are my top tips for donating blood! Do you donate often? Did I miss anything? Let me know down in the comments below!

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Daily Disinfection to Avoid Illness

Cold & Flu season is no joke – especially when you have a lowered immune system. I spent many a winter bouncing from one virus to the next, until I found some solid ways to cut down on introducing germs and bacteria into my system. While everyone’s lifestyle and immune system are different, these tips are designed to help anyone reduce the risk of getting sick. If you’re interested in reading my more comprehensive guide to avoid getting sick beyond disinfection, you can read that here. Take a look at my top disinfection tips to avoid illness:

Disinfection At Work

Photo by STIL on Unsplash
  • Using your preferred disinfectant, wipe down your work phone and cell phone in their entirety (buttons and all) – these are placed right up against your face.
  • Take another wipe and disinfect your keyboard and mouse – you will touch these and then your face all day long, no matter how careful you are!
  • Finally, wipe down the majority of your desk and then the door handle (inside & out) of your office.

Disinfection At Home

Photo by Nathan Fertig on Unsplash
  • Disinfect your phone when you get home from work since you will be touching it and then your face many times at home as well.
  • Wash your hands as soon as you come home, I usually go up to nearly my elbows when I first come in the door.
  • Change out of your work clothes as soon as possible – I never wear clothes that have been out and about in the world on my bed and try to change as soon as I get home whenever possible.
  • Try to disinfect other commonly used items like remotes and doorknobs at least once a week.

Disinfection On the Move

Photo by STIL on Unsplash
  • I try to disinfect my steering wheel and car door buttons about 2 times a week – similarly to the phone and computer, you are touching this and then your face without thinking.
  • Always keep sanitizing wipes in your car and hand sanitizer in your bag – I try to wash my hands before eating, but in a pinch sanitizer will do!
  • Try to avoid touching door-handles – I always wear a loose jacket or sweater to grab with that instead of my hand.

My Preferred Cleaning Products

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
  • Personally, I keep a pump of hand sanitizer on my desk and in the driver’s side door of my car for easy access.
  • I love Lysol or Clorox wipes for the car and desk disinfection
  • I personally bleach my bathroom once a week with Clorox, as I like the sink area to be very clean.
  • Love spray sanitizers like the Honest Company one pictured because they are less harsh and easy to use on the go.

So those are my top tips for daily disinfection to avoid illness. What are some of your tips & tricks to fight germs? Let me know!

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On this day a year ago…

Me relaxing at the beach in Newport, RI

Life operates in a very cyclical way. I often find that certain times of year can be so good to me, while others are tied so closely with pain that the very recollection of them rubs salt in a wound I thought already scarred over. The summer has been unbelievably good to me – so good to me that I almost got away without reflecting on where I was this time last year: unemployed, unhappy and unable to picture a future that did not contain the daily physical pain I was experiencing. As I looked at my work calendar, something about the date dragged me back to this time last year, like a real-time Facebook memory I couldn’t close out of.

I attribute the haze that hovers over the 9 months proceeding my diagnosis to the heavy brain fog that plagued my every waking moment.

A year ago this month, I made the decision to leave my job. A month before, I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. The months of pain and stress that drove me into the doctor’s office that day are a blur now. Sometimes I think it’s my mind trying to protect me from the negative emotions I associate with that time in my life. Most of the time, I attribute the haze that hovers over the 9 months proceeding my diagnosis to the heavy brain fog that plagued my every waking moment.

The decision to leave was not an easy one. I had always held an image of myself in my head – someone who could overcome anything and accomplish anything I set my mind to. When I tell people about my diagnosis and the decisions that followed, they are often shocked. I hear things like “you would never know” or “it’s so hard for me to imagine you like that.” As soon as I had a diagnosis, I pored over every book, article and blog post I could. I made a thousand pro and con lists, I tried to think of alternative schedules or work-from-home scenarios to pitch to my job. The common denominator in all of this was my brain – the mental image of myself, thinking of alternatives, trying to rationalize a way that Fibromyalgia wouldn’t win. My whole life I have been lauded for my brain and my determination and I was not prepared to lose myself to this.

For the first time in my life, my body was screaming louder than the anxieties in my head.

However, one day in late July, midway through a book on the mind/body connection of Fibromyalgia, something clicked. There was no researching this away, no way to test out of this course of my life – it was no longer me versus Fibromyalgia, it was Fibromyalgia and I for the foreseeable future. A weird sense of calm washed over me. Despite having been riddled with anxiety over this decision for months, the choice was suddenly undeniably easy. For the first time in my life, my body was screaming louder than the anxieties in my head. My brain decided to stop trying to drown it out and listen. I understood that there was going to be no healing working almost 70 hours a week in a high pressure environment.

“When your phone is on 5%, you frantically seek out a power source, avoiding any further use until you can be sure you can avoid pushing it beyond its limits. But when your body is on 5%, you see how much further you can push it, until you break it.”

I wish I could go back in time and make that decision earlier. The very day I made the decision to put my body first, I started to feel better. Removing myself from the stress was just one small step towards the level of wellness I have achieved now, but it was crucial. I read a saying that made how little attention we give ourselves clear – “When your phone is on 5%, you frantically seek out a power source, avoiding any further use until you can be sure you can avoid pushing it beyond its limits. But when your body is on 5%, you see how much further you can push it, until you break it.” We treat the technology we keep in our pockets better than our bodies themselves.

Almost everything about my life is different now. I love the work that I do and was blessed to find a job that had the kind of work/life balance that my Fibro needs. My goals and dreams haven’t gone away, they’ve just changed course. I am still learning about new challenges and limitations all of the time, but I am no longer putting my body in direct competition with my mind. I am smarter because of my Fibromyalgia – more cautious, more planful, but still incredibly determined.

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Doing Too Much

Writing the title of this post, I could not help but think of the lyric “Baby, am I doing too much?” from the similarly titled Paula DeAnda song. It’s weirdly appropriate that Paula posed it as a question, as I often have to ask my boyfriend if he thinks I am overdoing it. For today’s post, I wanted to discuss the topic of overexertion as it is a common problem for fibro patients and women in general.

I feel like there are 2 specific types of overdoing it: when you feel well and when you don’t. When I feel well, I have a tendency to try and cram as many things into the day as possible since it’s unusual to get a day like that. When I don’t feel well, there are sometimes days that I have to push through and do more than I know is possible. In both cases – I am left EXPIRED for days afterwards.

As a lifelong overachiever, not being able to do everything that I want in a day frustrates me. The mental toll of being limited by my body is something that takes daily effort to overcome. In moments of frustration, I try and focus on the positives. My body has come such a long way in the year since my diagnosis and I have to focus on what I can do instead of what I can’t do.

Recently, I took on the challenge of a pilates class for the first time since my diagnosis. MF3 Fit in Larchmont offers pilates group classes on the megaformer – a machine that assists in adding resistance to pilates workouts. I went with my friends in Westchester Blogger Babes and was lucky to be trying the class with so many positive people around me. I went into the class with realistic expectations of what I would be able to do and was happy with my results.

The challenge when taking a group exercise class like that is knowing when you’re doing too much and taking a step back. I have to recognize and listen to my body when working out to make sure I am not overexerting myself. In a group class setting, it’s easy to get carried away and want to keep up, but don’t be embarrassed to sit out a set. Ultimately, it’s up to you to channel our girl Paula and ask, “Baby am I doing too much?”

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