Tasha Marie Chronicles: Challenges And Changes

Hey Warriors! I promised that I would share more about my journey as a chronic migraineur. So in this post, I’m going to share about the recent challenges that I’ve faced, the changes I have experienced and how they have altered my perspective on life.

The Challenges

Those of you who follow Pain Warrior Code on Twitter, might already know that my migraines have become lethal & frequent again. Naturally, this has been frustrating and strenuous for a multitude of reasons. The constant pain hinders me from being as productive as I need to be in order to complete tasks.

The Cycle

You know that season in life when you just feel overwhelmed with everything? I have definitely been experiencing one of those this year. Sometimes it feels like I’m stuck in a vicious cycle – because the backlog of things that I have to do continuously increases, whilst my ability to do things – decreases. Then because I’m not completing those tasks, I start to stress about it. The stress then contributes to the pain increasing. If that’s not cyclical, then I don’t know what is!

The pain has also presented the challenge of excessive fatigue, along with the feeling of just not having the physical nor mental capacity to do anything. That has taken its toll on my mental health. I’ve had to monitor my thoughts; combating the negative ones that have allowed me to feel useless, defeated, underachieved, hopeless, the list goes on.

By faith, I am pushing on because I know that God will work things out. But I wish that I could just put everything on pause – so I could catch a break for a minute. 

This season has been extremely rough for me. But I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that the year in which I have seen unique blessings come my way, is also the same year that I’ve also struggled the most internally. However, I’m adamant about fighting and persisting until I am in a happier place. Life guarantees hardships for sure, but I still have a purpose and & will keep going until it’s fulfilled. 

The Changes

In spite of the challenges on my mental and physical health, I have have seen some changes take place. I have achieved some unique things that I am proud of, and had new experiences. I hold on to that when I’m battling against negativity. I also maintain a gratitude diary, which helps during the days when it’s hard to recognise the good in my life. (Read The Attitude Of Gratitude And How It Benefits Your Health’ for more info!)

I have also had an amazing support system around me; my family and an amazing set of friends who are my biggest cheerleaders. They’re understanding and accommodating towards my circumstances. They also always encourage me and make me feel valued. I thank God for the people he has allowed to remain around me.

Regarding my health, I have now been referred to another migraine clinic. As a result, I’m now being trialed out on new medication once again. I’m quite dubious because I’ve tried so many medications. I’ve got plenty of horror stories of the effects they had on me. But we will see how these trials go. I still use natural products to keep the level of pain reduced. I’m hoping the new medication will at least tackle the migraines when I have an intense attack. 

Noticing a pattern…

As of late, I have attempted to do a change of diet (again!). In the past,  I was always focused on cutting out something. Cutting out sugars, dairy, carbs, caffine, gluten, meat etc. I became highly frustrated because doing all of those things made no difference at all. To top it all off, it was denting my pocket terribly (especially the gluten free lifestyle – don’t get me started!).

But the great thing is Warriors, it hit me recently that I’ve been getting it wrong. I shouldn’t be concentrating on cutting out foods, but rather adding foods to my diet. Consuming more of the foods that require more magnesium, antioxidants, vitamin B12, etc. Those of you who are aware of magnesium deficiency and the role it plays in creating migraines are probably aware of how difficult it can be to get in the system! I have been taking liquid magnesium for the last few years and it has been effective, but ephemeral. So I decided that I had to find other means of consuming it via food and bath salts. 

I am still learning more about my condition as it evolves and changes, but one thing that has become clearer to me over the last few years is that the food I was eating wasn’t causing the problem at all. Rather, the nutrients that I have been deficient in – could be what has aggravated and triggered the migraines (that the fact that migraines are hereditary doesn’t help!). I have noticed that the migraines are more under control not only when I have been taking black seed oil and magnesium – but also when I’ve been eating a lot more magnesium filled greens (thanks to certain Jamaican dishes that I consume all the time for the sake of it!). 

What have I learned?

So I guess I can conclude that God is renewing my patience, hope and resilience in the fact that I’m still trying different things to pacify the migraines. This time about 2 years ago, I was fed up with referrals, doctors, neurologists, scans & pharmacies – all of it! Our journeys can be rigorous as I have previously highlighted in Don’t Stop Believing. But as Pain Warriors and Chronic illness warriors, we don’t have any other option than to keep trying something new in order to get a different result. 

I’ve learned that our lives will be filled with seasons when we have more patience & perseverance to try new methods. We will also have those seasons when we have an aversion to that – because we have had enough! Whether that’s a good thing or not, I honestly couldn’t tell you. I can see the positives and negatives in what both seasons entail. Either way, it’s important that we understand where we are and go with the flow. It’s also vital that we try to live as best as we can in the midst of those seasons. We must take everything a day at a time, but also allow ourselves to bask in those moments of joy when they come our way. 

That being said, we’ve all got our own races to run. The race is definitely not for the swift, but for those who endure to the end. (An amalgamation of Ecclesiastes 9:11 and Matthew 24:13). So keep running your race Warriors. I will continue to make more of an effort to update you on my race also! 

So Warriors, what have you experienced or learned lately on your journey as a Pain/Chronic Illness Warrior? Leave your thoughts & comments below!! 

Until next time Warriors,

Tasha Marie