Offshoots Photography

Pretty soon the trees will be full of leaves again. I can’t wait for spring to emerge 🌱🌼 I used my Pixel 6 to take the photos is this post. It is a great phone that I have had for a few years and I haven’t felt the need to upgrade yet.

I’ve had a significant uptick in the number of migraine attacks I have experienced in the past thirty days (8 to be exact).  There are many possible reasons. No one thing by itself causes them but rather a combination of factors.

There is this thing called the threshold theory when it comes to Migraine. Below is AI’s better explanation for it than I could do:

The migraine threshold theory is the idea that everyone has a certain “threshold” for developing a migraine attack, and when the combination of internal and external factors (called triggers) exceeds that threshold, a migraine attack occurs.

Threshold: Your brain’s tolerance level before a migraine episode is triggered. Some people have a high threshold and can handle multiple triggers without getting a migraine episode. Others have a low threshold and may get migraine attacks from even mild triggers.

Triggers: These can include stress, certain foods, hormonal changes, lack of sleep, sensory overload, dehydration, over heating or weather changes. Triggers are additive — one alone may not cause an attack, but several together can push someone over their threshold.

Fluctuating Threshold: Your threshold isn’t fixed. It can change day to day based on things like sleep quality, hormones, stress levels, and general health.

The most frustrating thing for me is that the threshold is fluctuating. This makes Migraine, which is a neurological disorder, very unpredictable. It makes me feel like I have no control over it and even that I am being assaulted in some way because of the pain it causes.

Migraines are not just “bad headaches”; they are complex neurological events that involve abnormal activity in the brain, including nerve signals, chemical signals, and blood vessels.

You will notice I used Migraine in a singular sense to highlight the current belief in the language used around the disorder.

“Migraine” is the name of the neurological disorder, and “migraine attacks” (or episodes) are the individual events or flare-ups that people experience. Many migraine advocates, medical professionals, and researchers emphasize this distinction to reduce stigma and promote a more accurate understanding of the condition.

So I guess that is about it. I didn’t plan on this being a lesson on Migraine, but there it is anyway.

Do you experience migraine attacks? Did you learn something new about Migraine disorder?  Thanks for reading and for your support.