Please help me decide if to up my work hours, migraines.

[Hopebrown]

Hi

I know this post might sound silly but I struggle with anxiety and could really use some help.
I currently work part time in an office, I absolutely love it, I will stay there forever if they will have me. The job is stress free, and the people are great etc.

I have had migraines on and off since my teenage years, they settled in my 20s but about 2 years ago into my mid 30s they have ramped up, and have new symptoms.
My hormones seem to be a massive trigger, and other things which I have sorted such as caffeine, sweeteners, i stick to a normal bedtime routine etc.
Unfortunately I find artificial lighting can trigger them, although at work I do have the light above me switched off and anti glare screens, obviously the rest of the office is well lit.
I seem to be following the same path as my mum, she went through 7 years of horrendous migraines until she went through menopause at 42, and then they stopped, but the last few years she said were horrific.

I have wanted for a long time to increase my working hours, and now finally have the chance.
The problem is, I have such anxiety about how bad these migraines will get and if I will cope.
It took me a year of back and forthing to the doctor to get on a cocktail of amitriplytine and propanolol that has helped alot with other symptoms (foggy head, vestibular symptoms) but I do still get migraines with pain (no nausea, can carry on as normal, but its really hard work and painful)

My question basically is, I have a small amount left on our mortgage, and if I was to work full time for the next 2 years, me and husband could overpay and get the house paid off, but cant do that right now while I only bring in a tiny wage. That way, if my migraines were to get so horrific like my mums where she ended up out of work for 2 years I wouldnt have to worry about the mortgage.

On the other side of it, if I was to accept the full time hours, I would not be able to go back down to part time later if i chose to, so if my migraines were to get horrendous I feel I would be able to cope working part time but worry about how I would full time. However with extra money coming in I could then look into seeing a neurologist privately as at the moment I dont fit criteria in area to see one on NHS.

I am going to loose this chance if I dont act fast as they need the hours filling.
I want to do the hours, but scared of loosing my lovely job if I was so poorly with migraines I was off sick alot.

I dont know if to accept these migraines are going to limit me for the next few years, or get this horrendous anxiety of ending up like my mum and think I may not head that way and stop letting my anxiety take over from what could be a great opportunity.

I have spoken to my doctor about peri menopause, she agreed it could be a possibility, especially as my periods have gone heavy and Ive had to have an ablation due to becoming iron deficient, plus my mums history, but doesnt accept I need HRT in my 30s.

Please be gentle, I cant make a decision and need advice. Thanks x

What medications have you tried for the migraines OP? Fellow sufferer here 😣

Hi poppyseed

I have tried amitriplytine and propanolol which is the best I have had so far.
For attacks I have sumatriptan which works well if I take it early enough.
Im on vitamin b2 and magnesium aswell on advice of doctor to try prevent them.how about you?

Anyone?

I used to get awful hormonal migraines every month. I had the coil fitted in January and honestly i barely get any migraines at all now. My periods have also mostly disappeared. Might be worth considering? I was against the coil but it has been life changing.

Keep following up with GP to reduce them as much as possible. Is it worth talking to management about it? Hopefully they could reassure you.

I would keep pushing them for a neurology referral.

also, I would probably stick to part time of my life was more manageable and wasn’t desperate for the money.

Have you tried wearing sunglasses when you are sensitive to light? I have some that are grey that work really well.

I have found the Curable app good for helping with my chronic pain condition, so much so that I have been able to increase my work hours.

It doesn't take away the need for medication but it's a good adjunct.

Watching with interest (and full of sympathy) as I also get migraines and the lighting at work can definitely be a trigger. Fortunately I can work 3 days at home- is that an option for you?

My DH keeps telling me to contact occupational health but I don't really see what they can do to help.

Can you tell us more about the app @Cheeseplantalltheway ?

Thanks for the responses.

I havent looked into the coil, but something I could look into thanks.

Not desperate for the money, however with the cost of living and everything else, it makes me feel awful that I'm not bringing more money into the house, it makes me feel depressed. Not only that, my job is my social life too and I love being there and want to be there more, I am so bored when I am off work and the kids are at school.

Unfortunately due to the role of my job, there is no option to work from home at all.

Also, my GP has referred me to neurology, but the hospital declined the referral due to their criteria, unfortunately.

Try NMC for help with your migraines. https://www.nationalmigrainecentre.org.uk/

From what you've said, I'd up my hours in your shoes. The majority of the benefits are real and either certain or highly likely - a job you enjoy, higher income, paying mortgage off sooner, feeling more fulfilled and less bored. A lot (most?) of the pitfalls are much less certain, and may never happen at all (migraines getting worse/unmanageable, it being impossible to move back to part time etc). As a fellow migraine sufferer, I'd go for it, there no point limiting yourself now because of something that might never happen.

Thanks MoseSchrute, I have already spoken to them, they are the people who told me to go onto amitriplytine. Very helpful charity.

Thank you CastleCrasher. You are right, I could look back in 2 years and think I could have paid off my mortgage and my migraines didnt get worse and regret it.
My anxiety does not help my thinking at all and keeps pointing me to the worst case scenario.

Have you tried seeing a herbologist? I was recommended one as I was suffering more frequent migraines 2 years ago (at least once a week) it was awful. I saw a herbologist and was told I have a gluten intolerance (amongst a few other issues). This was also seconded when I visited a Chinese acupuncture this year. In Chinese medicine they often use the tongue as a guide to a person's health and he immediately said there is a gluten intolerance. Funnily enough cutting it out changed everything! Sinus pressure and migraines are incredibly rare now. I fall of the wagon and have toast and really pay for it the next day or that evening.
Worth a try. I know when I was in that place I was desperate for any help I could get and was getting nowhere with the doctor.
Sorry no advice R.E work though!

Sorry for the delay OP. I'm a bit older than you so perimenopausal. I was on amitriptylene many years ago with not much success. About 7 years ago I had surgery in Germany which I did find helped a lot. My initial consultation was at Harley Street where I had botox and when that gave me relief I had the surgery which was effectively permanent botox. Plus I had a second procedure at the same time which involved cutting the blood vessels at my temples. The website was called from memory migraine surgery centre. They had an interactive questionnaire at the time when I did it to see whether their treatments might be suitable for the type of migraine each patient has.

Roll on to now. Perimenopausal and they are bad again. I'm now on topiramate which has helped. And Almotriptan for an attack. Though since the surgery I only take a quarter of the triptan rather than the full tablet. But I still have those days where nothing works. It's crap OP. I don't have the work dilemma thankfully so can't advise on that. I do suffer with anxiety though, that's also been a big menopause thing for me, manifesting mainly in severe chest pain. I'm on HRT which has helped with that but not the migraines. Not sure how helpful any of that is! But I do wish you the best of luck.

I did see a neurologist privately prior to having the surgery and to be honest I didn't really rate her at all. Her advice was to take aspirin for an attack. The consultant who did my surgery said that was very old fashioned advice and he would go more the ibuprofen route. The dosage he told me I could take safely at once was frightening (think 3x what I would normally take) and I never took that dosage. It's a vicious circle as I also had medication overuse headaches as well. I've suffered since my late teens, you have my sympathy ❤️❤️

https://www.migraine-surgery-centre.com/de/en/home.html

I have chronic migraines and I've gone back to work full time in the last few years. They haven't really got any worse. I manage woth sumatriptan when I have and attack.

I've just been reading "the migraine miracle" by Josh Turknert and he explains that there are loads of triggers that build up so no one thing is a trigger. They can be manageable if you avoid as many triggers as possible.

My friend had horrendous periods, eventually she had the coil fitted in and since then her flow is minimum, and lately just spotting.
Could I suggest you do wet cupping therapy for migraines, it's absolutely a game changer, I've had throbbing headaches in the past that only cleared off after wet cupping.
Find a clinic near you and do try it.
If you don't want that then try Accupuncture.

I wonder if OH could be worth a try. You could try asking if you could arrange a trial of the full hours, that way the business gets the hours covered and reducing the risk of you going sick longer term? Seems a shame not to try the increase.

Have you experimented with things like adjusting monitor brightness/contrast and increasing windows default font size to make things easier for your eyes?

Good luck, the overpaying sounds like a good plan.