Being Sick and Having Chronic Migraine

When I was in medical school and residency, we learned very little about chronic migraine. Mostly that it was having a bad headache for a long time. We didn't learn about the comorbidities - the fatigue, the muscle aches, the brain fog, and on and on. My neurologist is at least educated about the realities of chronic migraine, although my visits with him are short and sweet. My primary care doctor seems to be learning as she cares for me, but she believes my pain and my symptoms and is happy to help me find ways to care for them.

Which brings me to today's topic: being sick while having chronic migraine. Last night I developed a bladder infection and since then, I have just not felt well. Thankfully, my doctor lets me have antibiotics at home for just such an event. Nonetheless, I'm tired, I have muscle aches, my head aches, and I generally feel icky.

This is one of those things that I didn't know about chronic migraine until it happened to me. Chronic migraine is a chronic illness that affects the entire body. When someone with chronic migraine gets another illness on top of it, the dominoes start to fall.

So, what to do? Rest. Today is not the day for me to clean the basement. It's a good day to watch Netflix and knit something. And drink lots of water. Lots and lots of water.

And not feel guilty. This is part of the illness. Yes, it's a stupid UTI, but my body handles it differently than it did 20 years ago when I didn't have chronic migraine. I have no guilt (really!) about just hanging out and not doing much. And if you are dealing with a chronic illness, don't be guilty. Do what you need to do to be well.

I'm off to drink more water and check out Netflix!

Keep walking with Jesus!

Catherine