This time of year isn’t carefree for everyone.
or dehydration. It’s no surprise then, that spring and summer aren’t always full of carefree days for those who have migraine looming in the back of their minds.
“My biggest trigger is precipitation. This is unfortunate because as a ‘control freak’ I like to control a lot of things—and the weather is one thing I can’t change. Spring and summer are crummy seasons to deal with this as a trigger because it tends to rain a lot during the warmer months, especially where I live in Washington, D.C.
For example, I use timestamps when it starts raining. On March 5, I had a headache that started at 7:20 a.m., and I woke up at 4:09 a.m. on March 6 and saw that it was raining. Through tracking, I was able to figure out that my headaches start about 24 hours before it rains and that within four to eight hours after the rain starts, I am usually in a much better place symptom-wise. I actually give a little cheer when I see the rain—it means relief will come soon.
For me, going for a run without sunglasses is the equivalent of going to the gym without headphones. I can’t leave the house without sunglasses, and since I wear prescription sunglasses and regular sunglasses, it’s always a fun struggle to keep the right assortment of items. Typically, after a night of poor sleep, I wake up feeling off, and that sensation eventually becomes a headache that lasts for days. I feel more sensitive to light during an episode to the point where I need to turn my phone screen brightness down. I’m the type of person who never closes my shades, but I do when I have a migraine.