PREGNANCY FILE: PREGNANCY MIGRAINES AND NATURAL SOLUTIONS

Here is what no one tells you - there is a really high possibility that being pregnant will cause a variety of unexpected ailments. Obviously, you can expect what is regularly spoken of; morning sickness and exhaustion during the first trimester - totally expected. Sensitivity to certain smells, yep that happens too, but what I didn't see coming were the migraines.

I've had migraines since high school but did not ever suffer from them to the point where I had several a week. As I got older, I began to have them less and less. Before I got pregnant, I estimate I was getting about 8 or 9 migraines a year. For a migraine sufferer, this is really not bad.

16 weeks.

Over the holidays, we shared our happy news with friends and family. I took a few days off of work. Life was good. On New Year's Eve, I started getting a terrible headache. It lingered through the night, and was gone by morning.
By January 11th, and I'd had 8 migraines since the new year. Twice they've lasted over 48 hours. I would come home from work on Friday, and the migraine would last all of Friday night, and through Saturday day and night. It would linger a bit on Sunday before subsiding. The cycle would start again knowing the stress of my job and the work week were looming. 

14 weeks.

The headaches are absolutely induced by pregnancy and work stress.  I've also been consistently down a paralegal since the one we had for over a year and a half quit with less than twenty four hours notice - CLASSY.

The headaches are so intense that they cause me to vomit, cry, and my head pounds like nothing I've ever experienced. I become completely desperate because of the lack of sleep - literal sleepless nights during the week, where I have to go to work the next day, attend court hearings and depositions. I have to function and these headaches have made this so difficult.

Nothing takes them away completely, and of course I can't take any medication to alleviate them.

Desperate to find something that would help, I began to research natural remedies. There's nothing that's helped take the headaches away entirely, but there is one thing, above all, that's helped the most: peppermint oil!

I ordered this Plant Therapy Peppermint Essential Oil from Amazon ($7.49). It's organic, non-GMO, cruelty free and 100% pure. The moment it arrived I test drove it because of course, I had a migraine! Depending on what you read, you should dilute the oil or use a carrier oil before you apply it, but I use it straight from the bottle.

This has helped tremendously. I apply it to the exact spot my head is aching or pounding - usually my left temple. I rub it into the skin and into my scalp and in about 5 minutes time, it begins to work. It's a mini miracle. You feel an icy-hot sensation. A tingling. It lasts about an hour before you have to reapply. It alleviates the headaches to the point where I can at least fall asleep. It's really helped more than anything else.

Other things that have helped me: 

Squeezing the pressure points between the thumb and pointer finger. 

Plant Therapy Lavender Essential Oil

Esarora Ice Roller

PerfectCore Facial Mask

Acupuncture: I see Dr. Kim at Coral Gables Acupuncture.

• If you're pregnant, do you suffer from migraines? 
• What has helped, if anything? 
• Have you had a supportive work environment during your pregnancy? 

Let me know, xx