Pain's Early Warning: Strategies to Respond, Not Push Through

When a migraine strikes, what's your first thought? Is it, "How do I get rid of this pain because it hurts?" or are you thinking about how to stop it fast so you can get back to what you were doing?

If you aren’t sure, let’s see if this sounds familiar to you.

You're gearing up for a normal day, but out of nowhere, a migraine hits. It's not just a headache. This is a full-blown sensory overload—light, sound, everything becomes unbearable.

Your day is packed, so you don’t have the luxury to lie down and wait it out. You have things to do, so you take the med or do the injection…whatever it takes to stop the pain… so you can get back to work, kids, errands, etc.

Did that sound like you, or do you actually stop what you are doing and take the time to listen to your body and determine why the migraine showed up and what you need to do to relieve your pain naturally?

My Personal Journey: A Decade of Migraine Management

I’ll be honest with you. When I had daily migraines for 10 years, I pushed through the whole time.

I had two young kids, I worked, and took care of our home, so I had no option, or so I thought.

I took whatever pills I had and spent whatever money I could on the latest thing I heard would help to reduce the pain so I could get through another day.

I took meds prescribed by my neurologist, 7 of them to be exact, and also paid for chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists, and acupuncturists, just to name a few.

All of these people were basically like my pain-reducing dealers. I paid them to get through the day, and because their methods were about management versus root cause…I kept needing to go back for my ‘fix’ to get through the next day.

It was a vicious cycle that I could not break due to fear of pain and how I was going to get everything done for the day.

The Widespread Impact of Migraines on Women

So why do so many women continue to force normality, despite the pain?

You think you have to and you don’t think you have another option, am I right?

Research reveals a significant rise in the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS) scores, which evaluate the impact of migraines on daily life activities, work, and social engagements.

The score has escalated from 22.0% to 42.4% since 2004.

That's a HUGE increase in how migraines are keeping people from living a normal life.

With the increase in migraine medications available, wouldn’t you believe this number should be decreasing rather than rising?

Think of the things migraines are stopping you from doing.

Making plans (and keeping them) with your kids, grandkids, or friends.
Going on vacation with your partner without hiding in your room in pain.
Advancing your career and saving your vacation days for fun instead of migraines.
Having space in your day for hobbies.
And, of course, the basics like cooking dinner, driving your kids to sports, and cleaning the house.

42% of women with migraines say they are struggling to do these things due to their pain. Are you one of them?

Factors Contributing to Migraines and the Need for Change

Migraines strike women more frequently, with evidence suggesting we endure a greater level of migraine-related impairment.

There are many reasons for this, and for me, the biggest was because I am a Type A person who wants to do it all and do it well.

I want to be there for everyone and live life to the fullest.

Not much holds me back…though migraines surely did.

For some women, changes in hormone levels during periods, pregnancy, and menopause are common threshold lowerers that can increase both the frequency and intensity of migraine episodes.

Notice I said threshold lowerer, not trigger.

*Check out my hormonal hierarchy podcast for more info on this.

Beyond hormonal shifts, environmental factors like stress, exercise, dietary habits, toxic exposures like medications, and lack of quality sleep can influence the frequency and severity of migraines.

These are all areas we cover in our Migraine Freedom™ Protocol. *Check out episode #1 to learn more!

Women are dealing with all of this, plus the issue of migraines being underrecognized and insufficiently addressed.

When will your doctor stop treating you in a way that only manages your pain versus teaching you how to end it?

So, the pressing question remains: Why keep pushing through when you can switch to root cause solutions that will let you get back to doing all of the things you want to do pain-free?

Starting today, there is hope for you to stop pushing through and relying on temporary management tools and start living your best pain-free life.

Where to Begin

The answer is simple.

Address the root cause of your migraines through holistic changes and reduce the number of painful days you experience.

This is what I teach within the Migraine Freedom™ Protocol.

It’s also what I teach in my FREE Migraine Breakthrough™ Mini Course!

If you’re struggling to end your chronic migraines, this 7-day course hands you the missing piece through knowledge and actionable steps so you can finally make lasting change.

If you are:

Feeling defeated by your chronic migraines
Discouraged that nothing is working for you long-term
Ready to give up on finding a solution.
Convinced that pushing through the pain and missing out on everything around you is normal.

Click here to join the course for FREE

And, if I can help in any way, send me a DM or email me!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbie Waidl is the Owner of In The Balance Health Coaching LLC, and Founder of The Freedom From Migraines Method™ & The Migraine Freedom Protocol™
She supports busy moms living with Migraines.

Debbie will uncover what is holding them back from migraine freedom so they can live their life pain and symptom free, work productively, spend the time they want with family and friends, and stop missing out on the things they enjoy.

A message from Debbie:
"I was once right where you are now. 100% believing there was NO WAY to end migraines and my only option was to learn how to live with them or find that magic pill that maybe would work for a while. If anyone told me back then that I could end my pain once and for all, I would have called BS and popped another pill!

Skeptical times 10 was my middle name for sure because when you try it all and everyone tells you they can help you and they don’t. You stop believing… you lose HOPE!

I now realize I was approaching my migraines all backward.

I was trying to cover up symptoms versus trying to end my pain."

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