Tuesday, November 29, 2005

 

Post-Migraine

Salam & Greetings of Peace from the depths of me~

After watching The Alchemist of Happiness and a post-chat with Film Director Ovidio Salazar and having received a heart-felt 'salaam' from Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, from the British Library.. my buddy and myself decided to get a hot drink as sitting in the stuffy room of a cinema for 2hours is not my ideal way of spending any time out of the comforts of my den.

We sat outside breathing the fresh air with the Frankfurt Markets at our view and thanking God Almighty that after 3 months finally He had blessed us the opportunity to meet one another face-to-face. Though we converse almost every other day, it is a blessing to be able to sit with one whom we call 'Friend'. Perhaps this is why one of the greatest of blessings in the Hereafter will be the fortune to be able to 'see God Almighty'. And I pray we are all of those fortunate ones. Ameen.

We browsed the glitz of the night and returned home.

I woke up Sunday morning just after 5.30am with a pounding headache.

6.30am
7.30am
8.30am

10.30am
11.30am

1.30pm
2.30pm

5.30pm
6.30pm

9.30pm
10.30pm

1am
2am

4am
5am
6am - it had now gone. And it was Monday.

I spent 85% of Monday in the bed trying to sleep. I was simply shattered and exhausted after the previous 24hours. Not to mention how dehydrated I felt as I'm one of those strange people who has a connection between the stomach and the head. Migraines for me [as is true for many other migraine sufferers] means frequent visits to the bathroom. Crazy bowels and vomiting are often characteristic of a good head, gone badly wrong. For me, thankfully I had no vomiting this time. However I often wonder which of the two is more severe.

I woke today and thanked God Almighty for having blessed me with a great nights' sleep. Leila has been wonderful.

And then I spent ages in the bathroom trying to wash out the gallons of olive oil in my hair. As I put my T-shirt on I started crying at the thought that: some people are just so blessed with good health.

As someone whose not in 'good health' I sometimes wonder why our society has so many prejudices against us 'unhealthy' lot. Surely health is a blessing just like wealth that God Almighty gives whom He pleases? If so, what is the problem with those narrow-minded people who look down on people who are not healthy?

Sick people are not after sympathy. I don't ever want anyone to sympathise with my scenario, as my sickness is my own. But I don't want people who hate 'unhealthy' people to come my way. I don't want to meet you thank you very much. Stay in your own world of healthy people.

If you're going to come into my world, then accept that not everybody is like you.

Getting back to the subject of Migraines.. I have a close friend whom I worked with [whose double me age] who has been a sufferer for a couple of decades at least. I think hers' are worse than mine as they go on for a couple of days accompanied with vomiting. I remember she had one recently on her friends' daughters' wedding and was unable to attend.. and felt absolutely dreadful afterwards as she missed an important celebration.

As a community, we sometimes fail to fully comprehend how Migraines actually affect ones' life: social and spiritual.

I attended the lecture that our dear Teacher Shaykh Hamza Yusaf gave in this city earlier in the summer. What a great afternoon.

With the exception of coming home and having an awful migraine which left me in bed for the next day.

Last month I attended a fiqh course which lasted a whole day and spoke about the finites of a certain element of Islamic knowledge & practise. Another great day for learning.

With the exception of coming home and vomiting endlessly for a few hours and resting the entire next day and a half in bed.

WHY?

because both scenarios contained my 'triggers':

* poor lighting - flickering 'fairy lights' or a poorly lit tube light

* stuffy atmosphere - with no fresh air for more than an hour

* poor quality of presentation material ie Powerpoint: as a rule of thumb do NOT use yellow text on a blue background please

* incorrect temperature - either too cold or far too hot

* people wearing excessive perfume

* being served junk food

* awkward time-tabling with delayed breaks

I think I should stop my list.

I am not one of those people who attends anything and everything. Migraine sufferers usually will be more 'picky' in what they choose to go to and what not. I believe it is more important for one to be able to have the full dosage of energy they require to pray to God Almighty than to commit to attending beyond ones' ability for the sake of 'learning'.

It is very hard to manage a lifestyle with a Migraine. And it is beyond asking someone to take a paracetamol or nurofen: some of us like our bodies drug-free.

It is important for organisers of events to create an environment conducive for learning to take place.
[the last 9 words are what we were taught in teacher training].

I sure hope that people will be more 'sensitive' to the needs of the 'sick' in their midst.

We don't want sympathy as I said before.

We want you to understand that not everyone is healthy.

Peace & Prayers and God bless us all.

Wasalam
Bint x
Comments:
Wa alaykum as salaam sis *hugz* and a massive GRR re migraine.

Alhamdulillah you're feeling a bit better now...migraines are too debilitating.

From the sound of your symptoms, I don't think paracetamol or nurofen would even touch the symptoms :(

Khayr, at least the film was good :)

Is it snowing in your part of the country?

xxx
 
FOR EPOPPIE

Salam dear :)

Yes, better now - Have been continuing the tidy-up yesterday ie work paperwork.

Paracetamol and nurofen are a no-no. I know why I am getting them and InshaAllah I guess it's just a case of being extra-cautious and picky about what one does.

Snowing? It did for a half-day but all is clear now. Gone are the days we had our little knees stuck in the snow :-) Remember making really big snowmen!

Film was great - Alhamdulila it was.

Waslam Bhaji-Jaan x
 
FOR MADBLOGGER

Well - welcome to Camel-Land.

If I may suggest - Keep an eye on the Mat Media website. All details will be posted there. I suggest you pop it into your Bookmark / Favourites.

Click Here

Don't rely on me emailing you :)

Actually - where is your blog??
 
I've suffered from Migraines for 18 years with visual disturbances and the vomiting, usually lasting for about two days. I know you don't like drugs, but you can get a self-administering injection from the GP. It like a pen, you don't even see the needle, then you just press a button, and it inserts painlessly into your thigh.

Gets rid of migraines in 30 mins. I always avoided drugs and suffered, but this was nothing short of miraculous.

Also you can take the herb Feverfew [get from Holland and Barrett] on a daily basis, and it prevents migraines.
 
I am SO sorry for reading this just now Aapa.

I hope the "fiqh course" that you were talking about wasn't the seminar.

Once again, deepest apologies and I hope you remain in a good state.

May Allah reward you for your humble heart. Ameen Sub Ameen.

(My mobile phone is off limits for the next few weeks)
 
Speaking from personal experience, when I was healthy I had very little understanding or sympathy for chronicaly ill people. Perhaps that's one of the reasons that I'm chronically ill now, subhanAllah!

It really is a different world, one that many do not have the time to understand & one that we have to educate them about as best we can.

May God grant you shifa,
B
 
FOR MR LH:

We meet again in blogworld :) Thanks for the suggestions.

- self-administering injection
My friend who I mention in the post (lady in her 60s) has used this I think alongside nasal spray. I am such a whimp I could never get myself to poking myself with a needle :'(

- herb Feverfew [get from Holland and Barrett]
I may check this out..

Thing is I know why my migraines have returned.

I did go on a course of fantastic medication last year after seeing the consultant at QE. The drug was so super-duper it even had the added bonus of fattening me up! hahaha

My migraines completely stopped with the course of tablets I took, and all was well. The resurgence of Migraines is linked to my current situation. I am hoping that by actively addressing the trigger points eg flashy lights I will be able to adjust my lifestyle (to some extent) before its too late.

PS - Sad to hear you have had to put up with them for 18 years :-/ poor Mrs LH! Any tips for prayer with a migraine would be much appreciated? Winter prayers with a migraine are actually not as bad as the summer ones.
 
FOR ASMA:

Not at all I didn't mean your course - The course you guys organised was cool! You even responded sweetly when we asked for the front lights to be dimmed - remember? I think had those lights been kept on, then it would have resulted in disaster for us, as my mates were also feeling the light getting to their eyes!

Humble heart?
First I heard of that phrase. You shall need to expand :)

God Bless you too
xx
 
FOR BARAKA:

May God also give you Shifaa and Aafiyah too. Thank you sooo much for poppin by Camel-Land :) and sharing your thoughts and prayers.

It really is a different world, one that many do not have the time to understand & one that we have to educate them about as best we can.

I have been thinking long and hard about health (no surprise) but Really hard these last weeks, especially about the 'Politics of Health'.

I will blog these soon - as I tend to write my thoughts into a Word Document first and then over time complete them for some of the blog entries.

Seriously though, on the one hand our society teaches us that angels are with the 'sick', and to seek the prayers of the sick. On the other hand we find many prejudices against being sick or unhealthy. It is worth pondering why we have come to such a state. At least I think it is worth exploring!

PS - Rickshaw Diaries is such a cool, hippy name :)

Salam x x x x
 
maybe a triptan is worth a try, they act very fast and would lessen the disruption to your lifestyle. just a suggestion if lifestyle changes don't help.
 
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