June is National Migraine Awareness month. Here is a story about releasing some of the pain from migraine and how I keep learning more about my own migraines, no matter how long I have them.
I never realized how funny it sounded until someone else said it, “So you have pain in your head and your feet?”
I laughed. And since I did, she did too. She was only a student at the massage clinic, but was taking this intake process more seriously than most doctors took medical exams these days. I had come to the clinic for a cheap $30 massage, only fifty cents a minute, not a complete medical exam.
“That’s sort of funny when you think about it,” I said. “I have pain on both ends.”
It reminded me of the way my mom talked about someone who was both vomiting and had diarrhea, or had it coming out “both ends.”
The woman nodded her head and told me I might want to consider cutting peanuts and red wine out of my diet. She said it would it may help eliminate my migraines, but would do nothing for my feet. There was a fungus in both that some people reacted to. She was not only a massage student but an Ayurvedic practitioner.
I thanked her for the advice as my mouth began to water at the thought of a spoonful of peanut butter. I decided I would mix a tablespoon-full into some vanilla ice cream when I got home. I may try to give it up, but I might try to see if it gave me a migraine first.
The woman left the room and told me to disrobe to my “comfort level.” I always wondered about that phrase. My comfort level was wearing my underwear and nothing else under the sheet, but I wondered what other’s comfort levels were. Was I a prude compared to those who went
When she returned, I was waiting with my face down under the sheet as told. She touched my head softly. I wanted a little more pressure, but it seemed like a lot of work to talk. A few minutes later when she asked me if the pressure was too soft or too hard, I could only grunt, too relaxed to speak. Even when it felt like she was bruising my back, trying to work the tension out, I couldn’t say anything.
As she moved down my body, my feet waited for their turn. When she got there, she pressed hard on the undersides now exposed upward and
“Which part of your foot hurts?” she asked.
“My big toe.”
“I thought so, there are actual knots in here, can you feel them?”
“Yes, I feel them releasing,” I said.
“You know your big toe is a pressure point for your head.”
“That makes total sense,” I said.
It made sense that these points on my body carriend my pain. I had surgery a few years before to correct a bunion and previous damage from an incident where I dropped a desk on my big toe. It was a few years after I had the right side of my head opened to remove a benign tumor from my temporal lobe.
Though the tumor was gone, I still had migraines that pulsated on the right side of my head in the same spot, like a ghost of what had lived their previously. During an attack I would grab my head and hold it as if I could pull it off.
But now the hands of this caring student had teased out the muscles where they wrapped themselves tightly around past pain and trauma. I had expected relief, but not so much insight from a student.
[…] post was previously published on Catherine Lanser and is republished here with permission from the […]
[…] post was previously published on Catherine Lanser and is republished here with permission from the […]
[…] This is my second post in honor of national Migraine and Headache awareness month. You can read the first here about finding relief from migraine here. […]
Really interesting. I’ve heard the red wine idea before, but not peanuts. How lovely that she took time to listen to you. Sounds like it was $30 well spent. #MMBC
Yes, I definitely got my money’s worth!
I love that she took such good care of you and was generous with her knowledge.
About the red wine– I was going to say that it was the sulfites, but I just googled it to fact check myself, and learned that tannins and histamines in red wine are more likely culprits! You should experiment with different kinds of red wine, and monitor the results.
I’ve heard lots of things about red wine. I prefer it to white and have found some reds that don’t give me a headaches and some whites that do. I have heard it’s the sulfates in red wine too, so usually try to stick with those that have passed my previous test.
I dying to know if you’ve found out anything about the peanuts and the red wine.
No, I still eat both. I don’t think peanuts give me migraines, but some red wine does. I’ve never figured out why. When I was in Sicily we visited a winemaker and had more wine in one night than I’ve ever had and it didn’t give me a hangover or a headache. He used octopus to clean his tanks which was supposedly the reason we didn’t get headaches. I wish I could remember the reason. 🙂
Fascinating experience – I love massages and they always make me feel better. #MMBC
This was actually a while ago so I’m due for another!
What an interesting read! Migraines are just awful. I used to suffer terribly but thankfully they have slowed down now. You have been in the wars, especially having to deal with a tumour. So glad that all went well. x #MMBC
I’m glad to hear your migraines have gotten better. I have mine less item than I used to too. I do hope someday they are a faint memory.