Migraines, Football and Driving

I was hoping things would be better by this season, but they are definitely different which was to be expected given everything has changed this year.

Last football season, my son was a senior in high school where by the end of the season I noticed I would get a Migraine after all of his games. I know some of the triggers were the sun if it was during the day, the lights if it was at night and the loud bands (sorry band parents). I would wear a hat, sunglasses, would not sit near the band and drink plenty of water especially on the hotter days.

This year has a few more challenges. He is playing ball in college and I'm noticing even more triggers besides the increased noise level. I'm taking the same precautions that I did last year, but I'm sure part of the reason is that the high school was smaller and I was surrounded by my friends.

I'm finding the many different smells are affecting me that weren't there last year. The perfume, the hotdog smell and even the BO. I think every year I keep hoping my preventatives will help, but I'm not there yet and actually started a new medication this month. At least I have a competent doctor this year so hopefully I'll be where I need to be next season.

There are other obstacles to consider now as well which I never thought of before. His games are not as close to home as his high school games were plus I've been made aware of some common sense things that I really should have known all along.

Luckily my eyes were open to some possible ramifications if I were to drive while Migraining by a couple of well researched articles written by Megan Oltman titled Migraines and Our Driver's License and Migraines & Driving Don't Mix. Of course taking drugs and driving would be something you would think not to do, but since a Migraine is more than just a headache, it really would not be a good idea to drive straight home if I can't put off a game induced Migraine.

His school is not in my town, county or even the same state so I've had to build in extra time or even an overnight stay into my football day if I want to attend his football games. I know I always have the option of not attending, but if your child was involved in a high contact sport could you not attend? I didn't think so because neither can I.

At this point, I work harder to find the right preventative and to try to prevent the football induced Migraines. I have to go to his games because I want to be there for him no matter what plus it gives me that opportunity to see him without feeling like I'm crowding his college experience or at least that's what I tell myself. Plus when I come to his home games, we go out to dinner which he definitely likes to do.