The Weekly Pages, No. 1: The Week I Kept a Migraine at Bay at My Brother's Wedding
This was a week that asked a lot. Not in a catastrophic way, but in the way that was filled with big, emotionally loaded events that ask things of you quietly, in the background, while you're trying to just be present and enjoy them. My brother got married. It was beautiful. But while leading up to the event, I had a split focus, both helping to prep for the event while also trying to maintain my threshold at a level that gives me the best opportunity to make it through the event without a migraine attack.
What Went Well
The wedding happened, and I did not get a migraine (yay!). I want to sit with that for a second, because for anyone who manages chronic migraines around high-stakes events, you know how much invisible work goes into that sentence.
The week leading up to it, I was focused. I pushed my hydration harder than usual, kept a close eye on my sleep, and gave myself permission to take breaks outside during the event when I needed them. I only had a couple of drinks at the wedding before switching to water. A headache did develop at one point, and there were a couple of aura spots that showed up and then left within 15 minutes. No full attack followed, and I was able to enjoy the event. That felt like a win I had actually earned.
The gardening this week was also a genuine bright spot. It is one of my favorite things to do during the warmer months, and getting outside with my hands in the soil, and with extra water breaks, did something good for me that is hard to explain. Fresh air, a hobby I love, and a reason to slow down without it feeling like giving up. Lucy and Jerri were out on the balcony while I worked. Jerri, predictably, took a personal interest in the plants, which is to say she tormented them with focused dedication.
On the movement front: squats every day, three yoga sessions, and one walk. Not where I want to be, but I was consistent. Consistent is what matters right now; I can slowly build up in the future.
What Didn't Go to Plan
The weather has been muggy all week, and that kind of atmospheric pressure sits on my threshold like an unwanted houseguest. I felt it. Three headaches across the week, none of which became migraines, but each one a reminder that my system was already running closer to its limit than usual.
The pre-wedding prep was more physically demanding than I had considered. Helping set up the venue in the days before, and then clearing everything out the day after, added a level of exertion on top of an already emotionally full week. Over 100 guests, a lot of noise, a lot of movement, a lot of happy emotions. I managed it, but I was aware of what it was costing in the background the entire time.
Unexpected Shifts
I expected the wedding to be the hard part. What I did not fully anticipate was how strong the emotions I would feel when watching my brother get married. There is something about a moment like that, surrounded by that many people who love the same person you do, that moves through you differently than you expect. It was genuinely wonderful. It was also a lot to hold. The emotional weight and the migraine management weight were both present at the same time, and navigating both simultaneously was its own kind of work.
The extended stretching and baths I built into the week leading up to the event to release the muscle tension that comes with a lowered threshold helped more than I expected. My shoulders and neck carry stress in a way I sometimes forget to address until it is already contributing to a headache. This week, I caught it earlier, and as a reward, I was able to enjoy my brother’s wedding without triggering a migraine attack.
Current Experiment
Sleep Schedule: Week 1
The goal: in bed at 9pm, reading, lights out at 10pm, up at 6am.
The reality this week: closer to 9:30pm in bed and 11pm asleep. That is a 30-minute to one-hour drift from the target on most nights, which given everything this week had in it, I am not calling a failure. The structure existed. I just haven’t fully settled into it yet.
What I noticed: on the nights I got closer to the target, the mornings were easier. Not dramatically easier, but measurably. I am tracking this.
Next week, I want to tighten the 9:30pm drift back toward 9pm, even on evenings when nothing externally is pushing me to stay up. That is where the real test will be.
Reflections
There is a specific kind of tired that follows a week like this one. Not the tired that sleep fixes, exactly. More the tired of having managed something emotionally charged carefully and successfully and then needing to come down from the sustained attention that required.
I kept a migraine from happening at my brother's wedding. I was deliberate and consistent, and I made quiet sacrifices that nobody at the reception knew about. I am proud of that. I am also tired in a way that is asking me to be gentle with myself this week, which I am trying to hear.
The garden is growing. Jerri is a menace to it. The sleep experiment continues.
Currently Reading
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson.
I am listening to this as an audiobook, which has been a great format for this week with limited quiet sit-down reading time. The narrator often breaks the fourth wall and addresses the reader directly, which I didn’t expect and immediately loved. There have been a couple of twists I didn’t see coming.
Fair warning: the author's sense of humour isn’t for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Week in Numbers
Migraines this week: 0
Headaches: 3
Pre-migraine symptoms: aura spots (resolved within 15 min), some lightheadedness
Sleep average: 7 to 7.5 hours
Sleep target: 7.5 to 8 hours
Best day: wedding day (held it together, no migraine)
Days I moved my body: 7 (squats daily, 3 yoga sessions, 1 walk)
Gardens tormented by Jerri: 1 and thoroughly
Currently reading: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson
