Migraine

This is what I need to work on in the healthy lifestyle category. My pain-free streak just broke one day short of 3 weeks and I'm pretty sure it's due to my sleep habits this past week.

I love my work and recently my private practice has been booming. Back in the fall and early winter, I went through a slow period and then all the problems with the headaches led to even more income loss while my medical expenses rose. I also have a part-time salaried job, which saved my butt during that time, and also provides my benefits. And recently, that has gotten pretty demanding, too. It is *so* easy for me to work too much, partly because my financial situation is precarious (I get by ok, but have little saved) and partly because I really love what I do and like being involved in a lot of different things.

Unfortunately, this leads to poor sleep. I sleep well, but don't get to bed when I should. I get home late, eat a late dinner, then fall asleep on the couch. I wake up around 3 am or so, and sometimes my dinner dishes aren't even cleaned up, my face isn't washed, etc. So an hour later, I get back to bed.

So this is where I need some support. Exercising more discipline about setting more limits around my workload, getting home earlier, and getting myself to bed earlier so that I get a full night's sleep in my bed.

Anyone else with similar issues?

Robin

I have an erratic schedule too. I work nights, and go to school in the evenings too. Thusly, I sleep in most days, but there are days I need to be up for an appointment or something.

When I know I should be in bed early it's difficult for me to get there before midnight. The next day I am always dragging.

All of this is compounded by the fact that many times I need more sleep than is typical for an adult--I have and will always have to have 12-13 hour sleeping days. I have immunological problems, not to mention the hole in my heart that I think contributes to fatigue.

I have found that getting 30 minutes of exercise a day does help me to regulate my sleep more, however, and it keeps me sleeping through the night. For a while there I was not sleeping and having terrible insomnia. I maybe have that now twice a month as opposed to a few days out of the week.

Could you set an alarm clock before you fall asleep on the couch? It may seem silly, but may help get you into a new pattern of not staying asleep on the sofa so long...
Just a thought..

quote:

Originally posted by shrinkgirl:
This is what I need to work on in the healthy lifestyle category. My pain-free streak just broke one day short of 3 weeks and I'm pretty sure it's due to my sleep habits this past week.

I love my work and recently my private practice has been booming. Back in the fall and early winter, I went through a slow period and then all the problems with the headaches led to even more income loss while my medical expenses rose. I also have a part-time salaried job, which saved my butt during that time, and also provides my benefits. And recently, that has gotten pretty demanding, too. It is *so* easy for me to work too much, partly because my financial situation is precarious (I get by ok, but have little saved) and partly because I really love what I do and like being involved in a lot of different things.

Unfortunately, this leads to poor sleep. I sleep well, but don't get to bed when I should. I get home late, eat a late dinner, then fall asleep on the couch. I wake up around 3 am or so, and sometimes my dinner dishes aren't even cleaned up, my face isn't washed, etc. So an hour later, I get back to bed.

So this is where I need some support. Exercising more discipline about setting more limits around my workload, getting home earlier, and getting myself to bed earlier so that I get a full night's sleep in my bed.

Anyone else with similar issues?

Robin

Getting home late can be brutal on sleep time, because there are just things around home that you have to do, too, before you go to bed. You've got to have a least a good couple of hours to do stuff and relax a bit. I've found that the only thing to do is have a set bedtime routine, and to stick with it pretty religiously. For me, it's crawling in between 10 and 10:10, after which I read until I'm nearly zonked (but no later than 11:00).

Ok, it's a new week, so I'm trying. It's 8:45, and I'm leaving work, which should get me home around 9:15. I need to be in bed (not asleep on the couch) by 11:30 to get a decent night's sleep (up at 7).

It's hard, because my work schedule is different literally everyday.

Ok, enough writing, must go home.

Robin

Robin,
Since you have a private practice could you choose what days and hrs you want too work? Maybe if you can that may help you and your sleep. Just a thought

Joyce

I have a private practice and a part-time salaried job, so it's a complex juggling act. Plus, my practice is a combination of therapy clients and forensic evaluations, and the latter require me to travel to different sites, including some overnight travel. I do have a good bit of flexibility, which is nice, but my schedule is quite varied. Some days I work 12 hours, other days, just 6 or 7. Gets kinda crazy, so it's hard to maintain a decent sleep schedule. Things have been extra crazy in my salaried job, because I've been covering for vacant positions, so my schedule has been shifting week to week. Thank goodness for computers and PDAs or I'd never keep up.

My biggest fault is that I stay too late at the office, doing email, trying to catch up (which is generally impossible), and then I get home very late, still have to eat dinner, and by that time, I'm ready to fall asleep before I've cleaned up the kitchen, gotten my stuff ready for the next day, taken my pm meds, etc. Next thing I know, I've fallen asleep on the couch and it's 3am.

Robin

Robin

Ah yes the well known PDA/and computer. I'm so thankful for that as well! And Stickynotes and notepads for me, that seems to be what I used to help me remember things.

Sorry that you have to deal with your private practice and part time job. I hope that things will be better for you. How about using a Timer so you don't stay longer then you should?

Hei there. When I was ales to still works(about 4 year agonow) I dids works wy too mucha nd sleeps way to little. Did this for likes wow 5-6 years.

I LOVED on mine job. It as high stress and oftens was 80-90 hour week wit awrage being 75 hours wit lil pays (so can relates on the monies ting) but I trulie toooks great prides and joy in mine job.

Looks backs now the lacks of sleeps and long workhours did reeks havoc on mine body and health. I woulds routine goes to office arounds 7am gets home arounds 9pm eats, spends time wit Hubby, gets in bed finallie falls sleep arounds midnatt then BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz beeper go off arounds 130am...rush to ER to be wit rape victim be there til abouts 5am...

Then repeats.

I so glad you works in field of you passion. that you loves you work. I tink some peoples no ever finds that. But ja it importants to somehow gets more resting.

*send you drowsie sleeping vibes*

Sol

Hi Sol,

Wow, your schedule was worse than mine - I've never done the on-call thing. Earlier in my postgrad career, I worked a full-time job and a part-time private practice for 6 years, which meant working about 50-60 hours/6 days a week. That really drove me into the ground and hurt my health. I haven't done that for almost 5 years, but I still have a tendency to spread myself too thin and not get enough sleep. I used to pride myself on functioning well on little sleep. Looking back, that was probably more of a detriment, since it allowed me to run myself into the ground.

It's a really hard pattern to change. I just started working on 2 contracts at the beginning of the year, and it's an almost endless source of work, so I have to exercise the self-discipline not to take too much on.

Last night I *almost* fell asleep on the couch, but forced myself to get up, wash my face, brush my teeth, take my meds, walk the dog, and climb into bed. I got over 7 hours of sleep One small victory.

Robin

This is SO my life too! I recently took on a new very demanding new job which I love, but it is so much more demanding than any job I have had before. My boss, who I admire so much, is a madman, with so much energy. He flies all over the world, is in high-level meetings all day, works all night, and is still rational to make key decisions and see right into the heart of the matter. For my first year at the job I tried to imitate him. It has taken me this long to realize I AM NOT THIS. I can't be this much or do this much or take this much on. I must set limits or I won't be around to do any of this.

But it is so hard. One thing that helps me is that I have a German husband who seems to live by the clock. I'm always late everywhere trying to do too much, he's always early. But he always calls me to see what is going on, when I'm coming home, etc. I used to hate these calls, feel like they were nagging, getting in my way. Now I welcome them as a way to break me out of my work shell and get me back into the real world before I start ruining my health again. But still it's hard.

These past two weeks I've been working myself into the ground on a huge project, and guess what -- HEADACHE TIME. Ugh. So predictable. But the project isn't going away, it's due, and I look up to my boss so much and don't want him to think less of me. So I want to get it done even if it means a temporary sacrifice. But I've got to find a way to strike a balance between the workload of this job, which is massive, and my health. It has just got to be done.

I hear ya. I'm always working on that balance. It helps me to remember that if I don't take good enough care of myself, the headaches further interfere with my productivity. I do a lot of writing, which is really hard with a pounding headache.

Like your husband, my boyfriend is good about reigning me in. On nights when we're together, he expects me for dinner at a certain time and he likes to go to bed at a reasonable time. It definitely helps me.

Robin

I used to be a consultant in New York, and worked ridiculous hours. I commuted long distances to projects or stayed away from home. I did the best I could to maintain my exercise schedule and regular diet, but sleep definitely suffered. After 5 years, I decided I needed a "regular" job without a long commute. I moved to Philadelphia, near my family, and found a job that I walk to, which I love. Now I go to bed so early that people laugh at me, but I don't care. I get up and exercise every morning. I feel a zillion times better; I'll be 38 this year & people think I'm 25. I've always felt much better when I could control my schedule and have my strict routines....mine is apparently one common type of personality of migraine sufferers. I don't try to be like other people anymore; I've arranged my life so that it suits me and helps me feel well, and I feel much less stressed & much happier.

Stephanie

Geez, everybody says exercise makes them feel better. It's never made any difference to me. Could it be my dr is wrong and construction type work really is "exercise"? :-)

I've exercised every day for 20 years, and if anything I sometimes have to deal with the opposite - exertion or exercise headache if I do too-intense cardio or sometimes if I try a new resistance workout. However, I think that even small amounts of regular low-impact aerobic exercise is supposed to contribute to a reduction in migraine pain. I always got the impression that the key is "regular" - at least several times a week. A good thing to start out with is the recumbent exercise bike - it's safe (can't fall off), non-impact, and keeps your body in a supported position. Or, whatever motivates you - walking the dog, walking to a market that's farther away that your regular one, pilates class or DVD, etc.

I will say that if I have a mild headache, exercise will definitely make it go away. If I have a headache that I know is going to get nasty, exercise will not make it go away.

Hmm, I see construction workers every day, and I'd certainly call what they're doing exercise.

Stephanie