Migraine: noun - an extremely severe paroxysmal headache, usually confined to one side of the head and often associated with nausea; hemicrania.
I have been a migraine sufferer for the majority of my adult life. It’s a hindrance few can really understand, and unfortunately, I have received little empathy for. Perhaps it is because no
My biggest fear was to wake up on the morning of fight night, with one.
one really knows what causes it, no one really knows how to address it and that it happens so often. It’s a condition I have found in my experience, doctors try to avoid or pass the buck. I have had to live through the unpredictability and the pains of migraine attacks as a professional boxer. My biggest fear was to wake up on the morning of fight night, with one.
I hate to make a correlation with a sport I love, but the truth is, my migraines started when I first began combat sports. During my first experiences, they were no worse than a terrible headache with the feeling of fatigue. I was still able to function but would prefer limited activity over my regular daily routine. They occurred once in a blue moon and thought they were due to being run down, overworked and in need of rest. It wasn’t until I had my most extreme attack that made me realise something's not right here. I remember it vividly. The excruciating throbbing pain in my head, the constant violent vomiting, unable to stay hydrated or hold food down and feeling physically weak to stand was unbearable. I would curl up in the fetal position with tears in my eyes, trying to find relief, wondering if I was ever going to get through this. These attacks would last up to 3 days at a time.
I’d turned pro in 2015 and had been playing Russian Roulette with every fight date set.
As I made the transition from kickboxing to boxing, and I was working full-time with long hours, my migraines became more frequent. So frequent, that I often got asked if I was pregnant on the stroll back from the fourth or fifth dash to the ladies bathroom. I hate how I had to put my life on hold due to these migraines. It’s not like I caught it like the cold or the flu. It just happens, at random. I hate that I know how detrimental to my health, vomiting and being dehydrated for long periods at a time is and I can’t do a thing about it.
I’d turned pro in 2015 and had been playing Russian Roulette with every fight date set. The drugs doctor’s had prescribed just didn’t help, and so I sought alternative solutions. I’d been working with a nutritionist, physio, remedial massage therapist and even a Dit Da to try and find a means of preventing an attack. I’ve tried acupuncture, Chinese medicine, float tanks, CBD oil, adjusting my sleeping position, eating certain foods and avoiding certain foods. Unfortunately, they still happened. Luckily, not on fight night.
You don’t have to be an expert to know that I’d taken a tremendous risk to my health by pursuing my boxing dreams.
During fight-camp I’d at least get one migraine attack. When that would happen in that fight-camp was always detrimental to my progress. It was frustrating. You have to take your foot off the pedal and call that week a write-off. I also had to be careful going back into that intense training. I got the hang of it over the years and just expected one to occur. My pantry is stocked with electrolyte solutions, various paracetamol medications and codeine. I even filled my glove box with sick bags because sometimes there’s nowhere to pull over in time on the drive home.
It wasn’t until 2018 when I fought for the WBO Asia Pacific title that my worst nightmare, or close to it happened. It was the Tuesday of fight week, and I woke up that morning feeling off. I had just seen the Dit Da that day, but I knew what was ahead of me. In my head, I was calculating how and if I’d be ok by Saturday night. Migraines started on Tuesday, I’ll be throwing up for two days and recovering for one, which will be weigh-in day. I won’t be able to recover from my days of throwing-up because I’m cutting weight and I have to weigh in. That is four days, inadequately receiving proper nutrition and severely dehydrated before I have to face one of my biggest fights to date. This would possibly be the shittiest situation to be in. But the stakes were high, and I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I had to deal with it.
There is a limit to what you can physically endure, and I am still on a quest to find answers.
You don’t have to be an expert to know that I’d taken a tremendous risk to my health by pursuing my boxing dreams. I did it knowingly, and I managed it the best I could. I think my most significant attribute, which was also my biggest downfall was that I always put on a brave face. On the onset of an attack, before the migraine has set in, I’d still coach boxing classes like it was any other day. When on the inside, I was using every ounce of my energy to hold it together. If they caught me throwing my guts up down the side of the gym, that would be the only way the students would know I was sick. I was stubborn, and my mentality was always to not let this stupid migraine interrupt my week.
I am fortunate to have found people around me who are willing to help or can at least try to fathom what I go through. There is a limit to what you can physically endure, and I am still on a quest to find answers. I am currently undergoing treatment which requires me to refrain from engaging in any head contact. Everyone’s experience with migraines is different, and the source and treatment vary. I find it mind-boggling that with all the advances in technology, science and medical research that there is so much that is unknown.
The future is uncertain and whether or not this treatment will work… only time will tell. You can only take a punt and hope the odds are in your favour.
Comments