Cure for a Headache?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ever had a migraine? I wish I could see your hands going up. I did, years ago, had them all the time and they are awful. They aren’t just headaches. They’re—brutal. (Happily, knock on wood, mine went away.) So I was sad to hear that the brilliant and adorable Kendel Lynn had migraines. Not as sad as she was, of course. But now she’s discovered…well, let her tell you.

Why didn’t someone tell me sooner?

                                by Kendel Lynn

I recently received the cure to my migraines. Maybe not a cure, but an 80% reduction. For someone with migraines occurring 25-27 days per month for the last 2 years, an 80% reduction is a cure. As I marveled over this miracle, I thought, why didn’t someone tell me sooner! Good Lord in heaven, why aren’t people shouting from the rooftops and splashing it all over social media? As a writer, a researcher, and a human with an internet connection, I’ve spent many an hour/day/desperate 2 a.m. effort to find such a cure.

Then I realized, I’m not spreading the word, either. So here I am, sharing it with you. Yes, in my world, a single Jungle Reds post is rooftop shouting.

My headaches started two years and quickly flipped from two or three days with a headache to two or three days per month without. Over the course of 18 months (using my acute detective skills and the help of a handful of doctors), I/we ruled out sinus headaches, tension headaches, stress headaches. Eye strain? (New prescription, I now need 3 different glasses to get through 1 day, but nope.) Teeth grinding? (New mouth guard, I sleep better, but nope.) Then a neurologist promptly and precisely handed down his diagnosis, including the ailment and the origin.

 

Migraines and perimenopause. Migraines? Really? Wait, what the? I’d never heard of perimenopause. My fingers did their keyboard tapping and there’s so much good news! Frequent fatigue, weight gain, mood swings, hot flashes and warm flushes. (As a matter of fact, I do spend half my day asking if it’s warm in the office.) The best part? It lasts up to ten years! Hallelujah, PTL!

Firstly and foremostly, I tested and eliminated triggers: chocolate (oh how I wish it weren’t so), high doses of sugar (goodbye cupcakes for breakfast), and even went gluten-free (not entirely sure this helps, so I’m gluten-free-adjacent).

 But it was a suggestion from a friend of a friend who suggested the cure: 250 mg of magnesium daily. That’s it. It took about 2 to 3 weeks to replenish my system, and my migraines now only occur about 3 or 4 times per month, and only last a couple days each.

I’m not going to lie. The last 2 years have been a struggle. Along with writing (my latest book came out last week!) and all that goes with it, I also run the editorial department at Henery Press, a publishing house I co-own. Which means all kinds of entrepreneurial and business items must be handled daily. And because a simple 65-hour work week wasn’t enough,

 I started a new chapter of Sisters in Crime (North Dallas), and currently serve as its president. (The 1.5 hour drive to Ft. Worth was way too long, so starting a new chapter from scratch seemed the obvious answer.) I always get my work done (I am a Capricorn), but sometimes it takes a little longer. Some days are 12 hour days instead of 8, some days I just have to go home.

I’ve learned to cut myself slack, let myself off the hook, give myself a break. I can only do so much and I can’t feel guilty or stressed because I don’t feel well and things slip by. Oh yeah, there’s mild forgetfulness and depression wrapped up in perimenopause, too (the hallelujahs just keep on coming).

I find this experience isolating, but I know I'm not alone. I’m surrounded by a village. My partner who often does so much more than his fair share, a bff at the ready to talk me off the ledge, a caring staff to make me feel special when I'm having a particularly bad day (like for my birthday at my favorite PF Chang’s!).

Magnesium may not work for everyone, but it’ll help someone. It helped me and I’m forever grateful and I’m passing it on. So tell me, my peri/post/full-blown menopausal sisters, any miracle cures you'd like to pass on? Advice, tips, tricks? Something to boost my sagging metabolism so I can finally lose these extra 5 lbs I've been dragging around? (Full disclosure: it's closer to 15 lbs.) Fine. (Actual full disclosure: it's damn near north of 20 now.)

Thank you, Reds, for hosting me, and thanks to you and your readers for listening and advising and letting me rooftop shout. Today one commenter wins double: Two (SIGNED!) Board Stiffs for the price of one (free)! The first Board Stiff (an Elliott Lisbon Mystery) is by me, and the second Board Stiff (a Dead-End Job Mystery) is by one of the nicest and most genuinely funny people, Elaine Viets.

HANK: So, Reds. It may be a first ever—but it’s headache day at Jungle Red. Anyone? 

(And my tips? Ah. No "white" food. Bread, pasta,  rice, potatoes. And for me, that meant even no white wine. And water water water. I could tell my migraines were coming because my shoulder would start to hurt. So weird!)  

Kendel Lynn is a Southern California native who now parks her flip-flops in Dallas, Texas. Her debut novel, Board Stiff, was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. It features Elliott Lisbon, a mostly amateur sleuth who has a slight aversion to all things germy and is only five thousand hours away from getting her South Carolina PI license. The latest, Swan Dive, released last week! Along with writing, Kendel spends her days as Managing Editor of Henery Press editing, designing, and reading subs from the slush pile.