Holidays with Migraine
Celebrating the holidays with migraine is not all fun and games. Triggers, also known as party poopers, can be extra grinchy from overeating at Thanksgiving to staying up too late on New Year’s Eve. I prefer to think of it as a challenge accepted. It helps that I’m a planner, I enjoy solving difficult puzzles, and I have episodic migraines, not chronic ones.
Sitting down at the Thanksgiving table, I remind myself the feast filling the table isn’t the type of food that can trigger my migraine illness. The problem is quantity. There will be plenty of leftovers to indulge in over the next day or two, so I don’t have to overload the plate. This isn’t the last turkey dinner I will ever have. I can relax and enjoy smaller portions of everything.
The flamboyance of Christmas shoves the humble Thanksgiving holiday aside as soon as I eat the last crumb of homemade turkey pot pie. Christmas boasts a season rather than a mere day and it’s loud. Festive displays assault the senses of migraine warriors in grocery stores, home improvement stores, shopping malls, family gatherings, and friends’ houses … everywhere.
The season’s front-line attacks with fragrances. Not that the holidays smell bad. I love the smell of cookies, cinnamon, pine trees, etc. The problem lies in manmade replicas. I don’t know what migraine-inducing chemical manufacturers need to create synthetic aromas, but it is not messing around. The intensity and mixture of odors doesn’t help either. Even with mouth breathing, I’m likely to feel the wonkiness of an early migraine episode before I’m done shopping.
What do I do? First, shopping is not in my genes, so I naturally shop strategically. No looky-loo business. I have a list – I get in and get out as quickly as possible. If you enjoy wandering around a store, you might not find holiday joy in strategic shopping, but my second tip could be quite helpful for you. The pandemic had one small positive aspect – masks. Yep, I don’t have to become a mouth breather during the Christmas season. I put on a mask and can walk among the scents. I love simple solutions. It’s affordable, too. I already have a drawer full of masks.
Blinking Christmas lights are a bigger challenge. I mean, I can’t walk around with my eyes closed. It’s solid lights for my tree and my mom’s little end table tree. She likes blinking lights but understands my problem. She saves the flashing lights for outside where I don’t have to see them for hours at a time. Compromise can be helpful when you have an idea about the length of exposure time you can handle without triggering an episode.
New Year’s Eve has evolved over the years. I used to stay up way past midnight, indulge in a fair amount of alcohol, and spend New Year’s Day with a hangover migraine. Fun. Not anymore. I do well to stay up to midnight and I only have a couple of fabulous craft beers. You know, my favorites, only in moderation. The key is hydration and maybe a nap earlier in the day. Drinking lots of water throughout the day and evening helps me tolerate a small amount of alcohol without triggering an episode.
Many solutions for migraine-related problems are a matter of trial and error, which can be painful until you figure out your version of migraine disease. Once you figure out your major and minor triggers and the level of exposure that’s your episode tipping point, then you have information to work with to help you plan some holiday fun and games.
Oh, one more important thing. Check your prescriptions. Make sure you have all your preventive and abortive medicines on hand no matter where you go or what you do over the holidays.
Best wishes for a happy, and as pain-free as possible, holiday season for my fellow migraine warriors.
Originally published at WebMD.com on 12/23/24.
