Apparently, My Body Has Been Sending Memos. I Just Wasn’t Reading Them.
This week’s weather is looking like one of those weeks.
Warm. Rain. Muggy. Pressure changes. More warm. More rain.
For those of us whose heads like to participate in the weather forecast, you already know what I’m talking about.
But lately I’ve been paying more attention to what happens before a migraine — the prodrome phase — and apparently my body has been dropping hints that I have been completely ignoring.
The Signs I Never Connected To Migraines
The yawning, I yawn. A LOT.
Not all the time. But when it starts, apparently I put on a performance.
It has become such a running joke at work that during meetings my coworkers will actually count how many times I yawn.
And no, I’m not always sleepy. I don’t drink coffee, but I’ve never been a coffee drinker, so this isn’t some new caffeine-free situation.
Sometimes I’m just sitting there yawning like I haven’t slept since Tuesday.
Turns out excessive yawning can be an early migraine symptom, sometimes showing up hours or even a day or two before the headache. For example, yawning is one of the most common migraine prodrome symptoms.
Well.
That would have been useful information.
Then there’s the fatigue and brain fog.
That strange kind of tired where your brain seems to have clocked out but neglected to tell the rest of you.
Words disappear. Concentration gets questionable. You walk into a room and have absolutely no idea why you’re there.
And then there’s my neck.
I’m an avid cross stitcher, so this one seemed obvious.
Of course my neck is stiff. I sit around looking down at tiny little squares for hours.
Except…
I do that all the time.
My neck isn’t stiff all the time.
I started noticing that the stiffness shows up during certain periods — right along with some of these other symptoms. Interestingly, neck pain is listed with other migraine prodrome symptoms.
Turns out neck pain and stiffness can also show up during the migraine prodrome.
So apparently I owe cross stitch an apology.
It may not have been the stitching after all.
And then there’s the one nobody really puts on the migraine brochure:
Why am I going to the bathroom AGAIN?
I’m not talking about “I drank a giant bottle of water” frequent.
I’m talking about:
Didn’t I JUST leave here?
Apparently, changes in urination can also happen during the prodrome phase for some people. And if you’re losing more fluid than usual, staying hydrated becomes even more important.
Now I Know When to Pay Attention
None of these things automatically means a migraine is coming. But I’m learning that, for me, certain little things sometimes start lining up before one arrives. To sum up, I am now recognizing several of my own migraine prodrome symptoms.
Yawning.
Fatigue.
Brain fog.
Stiff neck.
Bathroom. Again.
And when the weather starts doing its warm-rain-muggy-pressure-change dance at the same time?
I pay attention now.
Because sometimes your body whispers before your head starts yelling. In conclusion, understanding migraine prodrome symptoms can really help in managing migraines earlier.
And apparently mine has been whispering:
Girl, get your migraine supplies together.
