Latest / QUESTION EVERYTHING / Searching for Work-Life Balance: with Physical Therapist Winnielyn Bautista (Special Drop!)

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Searching for Work-Life Balance: with Physical Therapist Winnielyn Bautista (Special Drop!) · QUESTION EVERYTHING

0:03
Speaker 1: A pandemic brought upon a universal period of self reflection
0:08
Speaker 1: as routines were upended and isolation became the norm. So
0:12
Speaker 1: many of us suddenly looked at the lives we'd been living.
0:15
Speaker 1: And if you're like me, maybe you asked yourself the
0:18
Speaker 1: question am I happy? We often hear that it's more
0:22
Speaker 1: about the journey than the destination, that it's the habits,
0:26
Speaker 1: not the hacks, that put us on the path to
0:28
Speaker 1: a more fulfilled life.
0:30
Speaker 2: So what should our approach be?
0:32
Speaker 1: Well, you may remember an episode of Pretty Smart from
0:35
Speaker 1: last year where I interviewed UCLA professor Cassie mowglin Or Holmes,
0:40
Speaker 1: who wrote the book Happier Hour, all about the pursuit
0:43
Speaker 1: of happiness. And what Professor Holmes found in her research
0:47
Speaker 1: is that it wasn't more money that made people happy.
0:50
Speaker 1: It was time. And in fact, it wasn't even about
0:53
Speaker 1: having more time. It was about making the time that
0:56
Speaker 1: you have rich and meaningful. Today a face fast paced world,
1:01
Speaker 1: carving out time or making time meaningful is challenging. It
1:05
Speaker 1: takes energy to make time more meaningful, and striking a
1:09
Speaker 1: balance between our career ambitions and our personal lives, I
1:12
Speaker 1: think is a big part of that, and it oftentimes
1:15
Speaker 1: feels like a relentless pursuit. And for those who grapple
1:19
Speaker 1: with chronic health conditions like migraines, that challenge takes on
1:22
Speaker 1: a whole new dimension. There's a new podcast out from
1:26
Speaker 1: iHeart and ABVI titled The head Start Embracing the Journey.
1:31
Speaker 1: It's hosted by Norah Mcinernie, who happens to be a
1:34
Speaker 1: friend of mine and she wrote a book called Bad Vibes,
1:37
Speaker 1: which is amazing, but she's also hosting this new podcast
1:40
Speaker 1: and the conversations she's having are all about acknowledging the
1:45
Speaker 1: struggles we face and leaning into the hope and optimism
1:49
Speaker 1: that we all share. She talks to doctors, experts, and
1:52
Speaker 1: everyday people who will be sharing their experiences, some migraine
1:56
Speaker 1: coping strategies and major wins. So that I'm sharing with
2:00
Speaker 1: you today is about work life balance and Nora is
2:03
Speaker 1: in conversation with Winnie Lynn Battista. They talk about the
2:07
Speaker 1: power of community, setting boundaries, overcoming health obstacles, and navigating
2:13
Speaker 1: tough conversations. So if you're on the quest for work
2:16
Speaker 1: life balance in the face of health challenges, this podcast
2:20
Speaker 1: can be your guide and if this episode speaks to you,
2:23
Speaker 1: make sure to subscribe to the head Start for more
2:25
Speaker 1: great conversations and more Norah mcinnernie. I think everyone could
2:30
Speaker 1: use some more Nora in their lives.
2:40
Speaker 2: Life sometimes has a way of blindsiding you with a
2:42
Speaker 2: feeling of being overwhelmed at the worst possible time. It
2:47
Speaker 2: could come while you're out with friends, running an important meeting,
2:51
Speaker 2: or just with your family at home, a spiraling thought
2:54
Speaker 2: that leaves you feeling helpless. That's why you have your
2:57
Speaker 2: self care, your coping strategies, That's why you have us.
3:02
Speaker 2: I'm Norah McNerney and this is the head Start Embracing
3:06
Speaker 2: the Journey, a podcast where we'll be taking all those
3:09
Speaker 2: things you usually say for your friend group out into
3:12
Speaker 2: the open so we can all find a bit of optimism.
3:16
Speaker 2: I'll definitely be sharing my experiences and vulnerabilities and trying
3:20
Speaker 2: to pick up some things along the way to work
3:22
Speaker 2: into my own routine. But this show isn't about me,
3:27
Speaker 2: It's about life. And Wow, that just made it sound
3:30
Speaker 2: very deep, and I guess it will be deep, but
3:32
Speaker 2: it won't be heavy for those battling chronic migraine. These
3:36
Speaker 2: conversations are going to be even more helpful and relatable,
3:40
Speaker 2: so definitely stick around. This show is brought to you
3:44
Speaker 2: in partnership with ABV, so first let's hear some important
3:48
Speaker 2: safety information and stay tuned to the end of the
3:51
Speaker 2: podcast for more.
3:59
Speaker 3: Indication. Botox on a bochulinum toxin A is a prescription
4:03
Speaker 3: medicine that is injected into muscles and used to prevent
4:05
Speaker 3: headaches and adults with chronic migraine who have fifteen or
4:08
Speaker 3: more days each month, with headache lasting four or more
4:11
Speaker 3: hours each day in people eighteen years in older. It
4:14
Speaker 3: is not known whether botox is safe and effective to
4:17
Speaker 3: prevent headaches in patients with migraine who have fourteen or
4:20
Speaker 3: fewer headache days each month or episodic migraine. Important safety information.
4:25
Speaker 3: Botox may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening.
4:29
Speaker 3: Get medical help right away. If you have any of
4:31
Speaker 3: these problems any time hours to weeks after injection of botox.
4:35
Speaker 3: Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing due to weakening of associated
4:39
Speaker 3: muscles can be severe and result in loss of life.
4:42
Speaker 3: You are at the highest risk if these problems are
4:45
Speaker 3: pre existing before injection. Swallowing problems may last for several months.
4:49
Speaker 3: Spread of toxin effects. The effect of botulinum toxin may
4:53
Speaker 3: affect areas away from the injection site and cause serious
4:56
Speaker 3: symptoms including loss of strength and all over muscle weakness,
4:59
Speaker 3: double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, poorseness or change or
5:03
Speaker 3: loss of voice, trouble saying words clearly, loss of bladder control,
5:07
Speaker 3: trouble breathing, and trouble swallowing. Please stay tuned for additional
5:11
Speaker 3: important safety information within this podcast.
5:33
Speaker 2: Hi everyone, welcome back. I'm easily fascinated by how phrases
5:38
Speaker 2: and sayings that we work into our daily lives also
5:44
Speaker 2: add an implied pressure to our lives just because we
5:49
Speaker 2: say them all the time. And one of those phrases
5:52
Speaker 2: that I hear a lot, that I've even said a lot,
5:56
Speaker 2: is work life balance, work life balance, as though work
6:02
Speaker 2: and life are opposing forces, and as though they have
6:07
Speaker 2: equal weight at all times. Work and life aren't, in
6:12
Speaker 2: my experience, things that can be balanced, because our work
6:17
Speaker 2: is just a part of life, and when we care
6:19
Speaker 2: deeply about our work, our work is also a part
6:22
Speaker 2: of us. And when we leave home and go to work,
6:27
Speaker 2: we are bringing the same body and the same mind
6:31
Speaker 2: and the same soul and the same problems with us.
6:35
Speaker 2: We cannot leave them at the door. So to me,
6:40
Speaker 2: there's not real balance, but just a constant pull for
6:45
Speaker 2: our time. And with all of those pressures. Of course,
6:49
Speaker 2: sometimes it's overwhelming, and it's overwhelming for most people. We
6:54
Speaker 2: can try to ignore it, we can try to stuff
6:56
Speaker 2: it down. We can't deny it, and sharing those times
7:01
Speaker 2: isn't easy. It's actually very scary and disclosing that. Showing
7:06
Speaker 2: people the truth about how you're doing can also have
7:10
Speaker 2: real consequences for your income if you share it in
7:13
Speaker 2: the workplace in the wrong way or with the wrong people.
7:19
Speaker 2: This balancing of work's place within our life is just hard,
7:24
Speaker 2: and it's even more complicated if you're living with chronic migraine.
7:28
Speaker 2: As you may know, a lot of us spend more
7:32
Speaker 2: time at work than we do at home. We see
7:34
Speaker 2: our coworkers or our bosses more than we see our
7:37
Speaker 2: kids or our partners. Our coworkers end up learning a
7:41
Speaker 2: lot about us, often caring about us, loving us, and
7:45
Speaker 2: we like to share stories and feel connected, but nobody
7:49
Speaker 2: knows everything about us. If we have boundaries, that's boundaries, baby,
7:55
Speaker 2: and those are healthy. There's also a balance, a delicate
8:00
Speaker 2: balance when you do begin to share personal things with coworkers,
8:05
Speaker 2: Sometimes you need to share these things so they can
8:07
Speaker 2: better understand the rest of the life that you are
8:10
Speaker 2: bringing with you to the office. But how much of
8:14
Speaker 2: yourself and your experience do you share with your coworkers
8:18
Speaker 2: when you want them to know your limitations but not
8:22
Speaker 2: count you out, When you want them to understand how
8:25
Speaker 2: you feel but not pity you. When you want to
8:29
Speaker 2: show up to work as your best self, but your
8:33
Speaker 2: best self is different today. That's why I've been looking
8:38
Speaker 2: forward to talking with Winni Lynn Bautista. Winnie Lynn is
8:42
Speaker 2: here to talk to us about her experience with her
8:44
Speaker 2: career as a physical therapy assistant while living and working
8:49
Speaker 2: with chronic migraine. It is a conversation that I hope
8:52
Speaker 2: will be very useful to anyone who has struggled with
8:54
Speaker 2: that blurry line between the personal and the professional. But first,
9:00
Speaker 2: it's time for a chat with my buddy and our
9:02
Speaker 2: resident headache specialist, Doctor Rhyan Doctor Ryan Christopher, Hi, how
9:16
Speaker 2: are you.
9:17
Speaker 4: I'm great? First of all big life changes, we moved
9:19
Speaker 4: to Louisville, Kentucky from Chicago, and so that's been kind
9:22
Speaker 4: of eaten up all the time. But I'm really excited
9:25
Speaker 4: to hang out down here and get to know a
9:28
Speaker 4: new panel of patients and see if we can't spread
9:31
Speaker 4: the news about headache medicine down here in Kentucky.
9:34
Speaker 2: That's so cool. So we're talking about balancing diagnosis and
9:40
Speaker 2: disclosure in the workplace, which is really difficult for so
9:47
Speaker 2: many reasons. It's such a complicated thing. We live in
9:52
Speaker 2: the era of sharing, the era of oversharing. I read
9:57
Speaker 2: a few articles from the group migraining again about when, if,
10:03
Speaker 2: and how you should share chronic illness with coworkers. They
10:09
Speaker 2: recommend sharing your chronic migraine diagnosis on a need to
10:14
Speaker 2: know basis, not a full disclosure everyone's business basis. Is
10:21
Speaker 2: that what you would recommend to your patients.
10:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, first, when we think about the idea of sharing
10:29
Speaker 4: a diagnosis, it really does need to be something you
10:31
Speaker 4: spend some time thinking about, talk to the people in
10:34
Speaker 4: your life about it before you make a choice. No
10:36
Speaker 4: matter what social media will make you believe, your personal
10:39
Speaker 4: information is the most precious commodity that you have, and
10:42
Speaker 4: so I do agree that sharing your diagnosis should be conditional.
10:45
Speaker 4: You got to make sure you understand the situation that
10:47
Speaker 4: you're in. Even in communicating with your employer about having
10:51
Speaker 4: a chronic illness, you don't have to tell them what
10:53
Speaker 4: it is if you're even going to do it. When
10:56
Speaker 4: I write letters on behalf of patients to employers, I
10:59
Speaker 4: do not list what kind of physician I am. They
11:01
Speaker 4: can look me up. I suppose I don't list the
11:04
Speaker 4: diagnosis that I'm treating, just that the patient is under
11:07
Speaker 4: my care and this is what I need from you.
11:10
Speaker 4: And so even in communicating to your employer, there can
11:13
Speaker 4: be even a gray area where you have some ambiguity
11:16
Speaker 4: about what you're discussing.
11:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel that. I mean, there was a reason
11:20
Speaker 2: I didn't tell people I was pregnant til I absolutely
11:24
Speaker 2: had to. I think that's really sound advice. How do
11:29
Speaker 2: you recommend your patients go about bringing up their chronic
11:34
Speaker 2: migraine needs or experience with a boss or a coworker.
11:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, chronic migraine is in Americans with Disabilities Act protected
11:44
Speaker 4: diagnosis and ADA protected diagnosis. So you have legal recourse
11:49
Speaker 4: and rights with this diagnosis. That is in part due
11:53
Speaker 4: to ADA laws that it's required that we have access
11:57
Speaker 4: something that people living with chronic migraine will do is
12:01
Speaker 4: I don't want to ask for anything, or I feel
12:03
Speaker 4: uncomfortable asking. But for folks that are dealing with you know,
12:08
Speaker 4: you know, maybe they've got a service dog because they're
12:11
Speaker 4: hearing impaired or visually impaired, they would not have one
12:14
Speaker 4: issue if one of their coworkers had their service dog
12:17
Speaker 4: working with them in an environment together, if it was
12:20
Speaker 4: them asking for control over lights, or if we could
12:24
Speaker 4: have an area of the workplace that doesn't have particular
12:27
Speaker 4: odors or smells, if we could have sound control in
12:31
Speaker 4: some sort of way, if we could be working from home.
12:34
Speaker 4: And they can sometimes feel really uncomfortable about seeking that out,
12:37
Speaker 4: and so the timing in the environment of that discussion
12:41
Speaker 4: I think is really important. I think approaching a management
12:45
Speaker 4: team or your supervisors or superiors, your boss in a
12:49
Speaker 4: way that is really sort of disarming and casual, I
12:52
Speaker 4: think is a really great way to do it. I
12:54
Speaker 4: think that vulnerability in this sort of situation is really
12:57
Speaker 4: healthy and helpful to say, Hey, I'm really scared to
13:00
Speaker 4: talk to you because I'm worried I'll get passed over
13:01
Speaker 4: for promotion if I tell you about what's going on
13:04
Speaker 4: or about what I need. But I love the work
13:06
Speaker 4: that I do. I think just being really just vulnerable
13:10
Speaker 4: and clear about it. Where I find with my patients
13:13
Speaker 4: that their struggle sometimes is sort of if we do
13:15
Speaker 4: a one foot in, one foot out sort of deal,
13:17
Speaker 4: where we go, okay, cool. So I've got this thing
13:20
Speaker 4: and I think I need some help with it, but
13:23
Speaker 4: I'm not sure what I want or how much I need.
13:26
Speaker 4: And the position that this puts the employer in is
13:28
Speaker 4: that maybe they haven't dealt with an employee that has
13:31
Speaker 4: chronic migraine. Yeah, maybe they've never really offered and maybe
13:35
Speaker 4: they're awesome, maybe they want to, but they've never done
13:37
Speaker 4: that before.
13:38
Speaker 2: I think that's kind of how most people are on
13:42
Speaker 2: my best days. I believe that's how people are, right.
13:45
Speaker 2: They just don't know and they kind of want to
13:47
Speaker 2: be told. So what are examples of just things that
13:53
Speaker 2: you could ask your supervisor, ask your boss, ask your
13:57
Speaker 2: colleagues for in that case, approach this conversation. Here's some
14:01
Speaker 2: things that would really help.
14:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the important piece is to explain the
14:07
Speaker 4: impact that chronic migraine has on your work, because if
14:12
Speaker 4: you just say, hey, I want to work from home
14:14
Speaker 4: three days a week, they're going to go what's going
14:16
Speaker 4: on here? I had this patient who springs to mind.
14:20
Speaker 4: She worked in it, and they worked in kind of
14:23
Speaker 4: a tight space where they've got all their computers, they're fixing,
14:25
Speaker 4: and they're doing all of these things. And her big
14:27
Speaker 4: trigger was cologne, and so it was really difficult for her,
14:32
Speaker 4: and so she would be nauseous to the point that
14:35
Speaker 4: she would be leaving over and over again to go
14:37
Speaker 4: vomit while she was being triggered, and it was just
14:39
Speaker 4: too much for her to deal with. And so what
14:42
Speaker 4: she ended up needing was just a separate workspace with
14:44
Speaker 4: a door that she could do her work. She was
14:46
Speaker 4: so happy to have it because it meant she could
14:49
Speaker 4: do her work and she could also avoid that trigger.
14:53
Speaker 2: In the case where your colleague, your coworker, someone you
14:57
Speaker 2: care about, I guess in or outside of the work,
15:00
Speaker 2: hasn't told you that they have chronic migraine, what are
15:04
Speaker 2: some signs to watch out for so you can support
15:08
Speaker 2: them regardless.
15:11
Speaker 4: So my patients have shared so many stories of people
15:14
Speaker 4: thinking that they're making their symptoms up, that they're using
15:16
Speaker 4: it as an excuse to get out of work, to
15:19
Speaker 4: get out of chores even around the house with their
15:20
Speaker 4: spouse when in reality they're trying to do their best
15:23
Speaker 4: and push through this really debilitating migraine attack. I think
15:27
Speaker 4: depending on your working environment and what you're in, light
15:30
Speaker 4: sensitivity is typically the thing that maybe will stand out
15:33
Speaker 4: a little bit more so sunglasses for a little bit
15:38
Speaker 4: longer than the front door as they're come into the
15:40
Speaker 4: office that day. Sound sensitivity generally, when people are struggling
15:46
Speaker 4: with the symptoms of chronic migraine, they're going to be
15:49
Speaker 4: less involved. There's a word for this, we call presenteeism.
15:52
Speaker 4: Is what's measured in the workforce, and it's that you're there,
15:55
Speaker 4: but you're not one hundred percent. And I think if
15:57
Speaker 4: you say, hey, I see you, I see you struggling,
16:00
Speaker 4: and just make yourself genuinely available.
16:03
Speaker 2: One of the reasons that people don't tell the truth
16:06
Speaker 2: about a lot of things in life is this fear
16:10
Speaker 2: of judgment. There is a very real fear that if
16:14
Speaker 2: you tell people, that's all they'll be able to see
16:19
Speaker 2: about you. What are some of the concerns that your
16:25
Speaker 2: patients have shared with you as far as stigmas or misconceptions.
16:30
Speaker 4: There's sort of two buckets, personal and professional that people
16:33
Speaker 4: really struggle with when it comes to this in the
16:35
Speaker 4: patients that I take care of. The professional ones We've
16:37
Speaker 4: talked about a little bit already. You know, am I
16:39
Speaker 4: going to get passed over for promotion again? The vast
16:42
Speaker 4: majority of people living with chronic migraine their women. They
16:46
Speaker 4: are in the midst of developing their careers and pursuing
16:50
Speaker 4: higher education, high level degrees, and they're concerned about losing scholarship,
16:55
Speaker 4: getting off track with their education, certainly getting off track
16:59
Speaker 4: for the corporate out of their climbing whatever that might be.
17:02
Speaker 4: And if they're struggling already or running up against glass
17:05
Speaker 4: ceilings already, then chronic migraine becomes this next sort of
17:10
Speaker 4: glass ceiling that they have to try to break through.
17:13
Speaker 4: So that's the big piece. On the personal side of things.
17:16
Speaker 4: This is another consideration too, that patients don't necessarily want
17:21
Speaker 4: to share this with their partners or maybe they're dating,
17:25
Speaker 4: and they don't really want to let people know about
17:27
Speaker 4: some of this stuff. And the level of anxiety that
17:29
Speaker 4: this drives in their life every day is unreal, and
17:34
Speaker 4: so there's no doubt about the impact that this has
17:37
Speaker 4: sort of three sixty in their life. So trying to
17:41
Speaker 4: fight that stigma I think is really really important.
17:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, you are the best. You're the best. After the break,
17:50
Speaker 2: I will be back with Winnie Lynn Bautista, So stick around.
18:04
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18:30
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the head, start embracing the journey. Whinnylnn. First,
18:41
Speaker 2: I love your name. I think you have the genest name.
18:44
Speaker 2: And thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, Winnieln.
18:48
Speaker 2: What did you have for breakfast today? Oh?
18:52
Speaker 6: I don't even really eat breakfast. Well, I do normally
18:56
Speaker 6: eat a banana.
18:57
Speaker 2: The unsung hero of the fruit world. Apparently bananas are
19:01
Speaker 2: very very good for you. In my house, they're good
19:04
Speaker 2: for being purchased at full price and then sitting untouched
19:10
Speaker 2: until they are just covered in fruitflies. And that's my journey.
19:15
Speaker 6: I'm guilty of that too, though.
19:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, it happens fast. It's like avocados. Not ready, not ready.
19:22
Speaker 2: Now it's soup, like I want to talk obviously we're
19:27
Speaker 2: here to talk about chronic migraines. How did your chronic
19:32
Speaker 2: migraine journey begin?
19:34
Speaker 6: So, my chronic migraine journey began in May twenty twenty,
19:38
Speaker 6: and I actually didn't know it was a migraine attack.
19:41
Speaker 6: The only reason why I actually reached out to a
19:44
Speaker 6: doctor this time it was because of apparently it was
19:48
Speaker 6: the visual aura. Now that I know it's a visual aura.
19:50
Speaker 6: That visual aura was specifically like gray. I think it's
19:54
Speaker 6: called skatuma, where it slowly goes from a gray, foggy
19:57
Speaker 6: image and it feels part of your visual real field.
20:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was my.
20:02
Speaker 6: First real scare of a migraine attack. And yes, I
20:07
Speaker 6: felt drain exhausted, but I normalize it so much that
20:13
Speaker 6: I thought it was just normal.
20:15
Speaker 2: So that's so scary to me. Yeah, I heard part
20:19
Speaker 2: of your visual field. Where are you when this happens?
20:23
Speaker 2: That you're just like, well, I guess this is I
20:25
Speaker 2: guess this is normal.
20:28
Speaker 6: So it is kind of a long story, but if
20:30
Speaker 6: I can summarize it, I was not really taking good
20:33
Speaker 6: care of myself. You know, I was like, I'm young,
20:36
Speaker 6: I'm invincible. I always bounce back. I don't eat breakfast,
20:40
Speaker 6: I don't sleep well. But then that day I had
20:42
Speaker 6: to meet up with somebody, and being a people pleaser
20:44
Speaker 6: that I am, I said, I gotta go, you know,
20:47
Speaker 6: I gotta go, even though I don't feel well. So
20:49
Speaker 6: I met up with that person. I felt horrible. The
20:52
Speaker 6: weather kept changing, and then I came back home and
20:54
Speaker 6: then I started walking to get some water, and then
20:57
Speaker 6: in the kitchen there was loud noises and then that's
21:00
Speaker 6: when it started. And then I was like, okay, I
21:01
Speaker 6: need to walk to my room. Is this a stroke?
21:04
Speaker 6: I'm going to check my blood pressure.
21:06
Speaker 2: Yeah. Wow.
21:08
Speaker 6: So that's how it started.
21:09
Speaker 2: How did the diagnosis help and change how you lived? Well?
21:18
Speaker 6: When I was first diagnosed, I was still very naive
21:20
Speaker 6: of how serious conic migraine was. I'm this thirty something
21:24
Speaker 6: year old young woman and I'm supposed to be healthy
21:28
Speaker 6: and super active, which I am pretty healthy overall, but
21:32
Speaker 6: it just made me feel like, WHOA, I need to
21:35
Speaker 6: really figure this out.
21:36
Speaker 2: You showed up here today and you are in the
21:42
Speaker 2: midst of a migraine attack. This is not your job.
21:45
Speaker 2: You are doing this as a gift to our community
21:50
Speaker 2: and to this audience, but your job also does require
21:55
Speaker 2: you to show up, to show up physically, even when
22:00
Speaker 2: you're not feeling your best. I want you to tell
22:03
Speaker 2: me about some of those challenges with trying to navigate
22:06
Speaker 2: a very physically demanding job while dealing with chronic migraine.
22:12
Speaker 6: Yeah, so I feel like with chronic migraine. I know
22:15
Speaker 6: every patient is different when they have chronic migraine, but
22:18
Speaker 6: for me, I'm noticing more like fatigue and also anxiety.
22:22
Speaker 6: But we can do our best by, you know, working
22:25
Speaker 6: on our lifestyle, like getting enough sleep, but sometimes external
22:29
Speaker 6: factors get in that way. So you got to be
22:32
Speaker 6: compassionate towards yourself. So I try to stay really close
22:37
Speaker 6: contact with all my directors. Since I've been diagnosed. I've
22:41
Speaker 6: worked in two places to facilities, and I've gotten to
22:46
Speaker 6: talk to a lot of bosses. They keep changing, which
22:50
Speaker 6: is also a challenge, a challenge among itself. When they
22:53
Speaker 6: keep changing, I'm like, Okay, I got to re establish again.
22:56
Speaker 6: This is what I have, and I'm just always open
22:59
Speaker 6: and honest them with my limitations, Like I know I
23:03
Speaker 6: want to see ten patients, but can only take about
23:07
Speaker 6: six patients per shift, and I just make it known,
23:11
Speaker 6: so they are aware. It's not easy to talk about
23:14
Speaker 6: this with your boss, but is it necessary? Absolutely?
23:18
Speaker 2: I really love that positioning, like I want to do
23:21
Speaker 2: my best and this will also be better for everyone
23:25
Speaker 2: around me. No matter what your job or what your
23:28
Speaker 2: career is, in your field, your profession. What are some
23:35
Speaker 2: of the workplace triggers for your chronic migraine?
23:40
Speaker 6: So, life sensitivity is something I've struggled since I got
23:44
Speaker 6: diagnosed with chronic migraine, Like a year in I really
23:47
Speaker 6: noticed that, Wow, I cannot take any glares like light
23:52
Speaker 6: or sunshine hitting any glass, especially on a car, you know.
23:56
Speaker 6: But yes, light is always a trigger for me. If
24:00
Speaker 6: I make it into work, it's always a good thing.
24:03
Speaker 6: But navigating like throughout the day, I would say, for
24:06
Speaker 6: me personally, it's the light. How do I navigate the light?
24:10
Speaker 2: So, if one of the triggers is light sensitivity, how
24:14
Speaker 2: have your workplaces, bosses, coworkers helped you accommodate for those triggers?
24:22
Speaker 6: Okay, So I am still chugging along and hanging in there.
24:26
Speaker 6: I'm actually working only on the weekends, so I'm still
24:29
Speaker 6: thankful for that. So that already eliminates a lot of
24:32
Speaker 6: you know, external stimuli, but in terms of you know,
24:36
Speaker 6: light sensitivity, they were able to just right now at
24:39
Speaker 6: one one facility, I can see that they're letting me
24:42
Speaker 6: have that documentation station where I can dim the light.
24:46
Speaker 6: Oh that's great, so they just let me have it.
24:48
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, So you've got like your own little area
24:53
Speaker 2: where like the light is not as bright. So on
24:57
Speaker 2: days like today where you're in it, but you already
25:02
Speaker 2: made plans, how do you create accommodations for yourself? Like
25:08
Speaker 2: what have you done for yourself to be able to
25:10
Speaker 2: show up today for this recording?
25:13
Speaker 6: I definitely, you know, meditated today. I definitely, you know,
25:17
Speaker 6: good self talk, giving myself self love that I got this,
25:21
Speaker 6: you know, just being very encouraging. When you're scared or timid,
25:25
Speaker 6: you tense up. But when you're telling yourself you got this,
25:29
Speaker 6: it'll be okay, you relax. I just try to control
25:33
Speaker 6: my breathing and being more present. I know a lot
25:36
Speaker 6: of us struggle with being present, and I have to
25:40
Speaker 6: do that every single day. It could be for my
25:43
Speaker 6: chronic migraine, but it's definitely for my mental health. So
25:47
Speaker 6: I guess to answer your question, a lot of meditation,
25:50
Speaker 6: making sure I eat.
25:52
Speaker 2: I love that. I also love that one of the
25:54
Speaker 2: first things you said was like just speaking kindly to yourself,
25:59
Speaker 2: which sounds like such a small thing and is such
26:03
Speaker 2: a big thing. That's such a lovely way to start
26:08
Speaker 2: your day, whether or not you're in the middle of
26:11
Speaker 2: a migraine attack. So I want to talk a little
26:14
Speaker 2: bit about community and the community that you are building.
26:22
Speaker 2: I love what you're talking about self advocacy, about self
26:27
Speaker 2: compassion and love and support. Tell me about sharing that
26:34
Speaker 2: with your online chronic migraine community.
26:39
Speaker 6: I think I should think the chronic migraine community myself,
26:42
Speaker 6: because you know, it's my journey, and like, I'm thankful
26:46
Speaker 6: that they can actually relate. So it goes both ways.
26:50
Speaker 6: They're helping me, I'm helping just to remind them that
26:53
Speaker 6: it's okay to be authentic and to be honest with
26:57
Speaker 6: you and also just the world.
26:59
Speaker 2: I love that you get this chronic migraine diagnosis and
27:04
Speaker 2: like you said, you feel young, you feel invincible. What
27:06
Speaker 2: does this diagnosis due to your sense of self or
27:10
Speaker 2: your idea of who you are?
27:13
Speaker 6: To be completely honest, it made me sad, and like
27:16
Speaker 6: I am not a sad person. I know probably it's
27:20
Speaker 6: a coping skill for me to laugh and smile, which
27:23
Speaker 6: I think is a healthy coping skill, but it definitely
27:27
Speaker 6: made me like talk to myself, Like I had to
27:30
Speaker 6: sit down with myself and try to reevaluate, like, hey,
27:34
Speaker 6: how are we going to live our life without being scared? Because,
27:38
Speaker 6: like I said, it impacts your life. Even though I
27:41
Speaker 6: don't look like I'm sick, it's an invisible disease. It
27:45
Speaker 6: affects me even on my good days. Yeah, so I
27:49
Speaker 6: really had to sit down with myself and say, hey,
27:51
Speaker 6: what makes you happy? That's focus on that. That's not
27:54
Speaker 6: focus on like, you know, trying to be a superwoman
27:58
Speaker 6: and have everybody understand your situation, but also redefining yourself
28:01
Speaker 6: too with a chronic disease.
28:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's beautifully put. Is there a message you would
28:08
Speaker 2: like to leave our audience with?
28:11
Speaker 6: Okay, the message I want to leave your listeners right
28:15
Speaker 6: now is to keep going. I understand every morning, every
28:20
Speaker 6: day you can feel so defeated without knowing what the
28:23
Speaker 6: day can bring. But keep going. I'm here with you.
28:27
Speaker 6: I understand you. Just keep going.
28:30
Speaker 2: You are so wonderful. Do people just tell you that
28:33
Speaker 2: all day?
28:34
Speaker 6: I surprise myself sometimes.
28:40
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to the head Start Embracing the Journey.
28:44
Speaker 2: We hope you found something worthwhile here with us today,
28:46
Speaker 2: a new coping strategy, a relatable story, the comfort of
28:50
Speaker 2: knowing you're not alone. I'm so happy to be a
28:55
Speaker 2: part of creating this community for all of us, and
28:58
Speaker 2: especially for people living with chronic migraine. If you haven't
29:01
Speaker 2: found a treatment plan that is working for you, please
29:04
Speaker 2: do reach out to your headache specialist to explore your options.
29:09
Speaker 2: I truly hope this has helped you find a bit
29:11
Speaker 2: of comfort and maybe a smile. Maybe see you next
29:16
Speaker 2: episode and stay tuned for more important safety information. The
29:22
Speaker 2: head Start Embracing the Journey is hosted by myself Norah McNerney,
29:27
Speaker 2: executive produced by yvon Sheian. Our head of post production
29:30
Speaker 2: is James Foster, our researcher is Sierra Kaiser, and our
29:33
Speaker 2: writer is John Irwin. Original music by Soundcat Productions and
29:38
Speaker 2: art List.
29:49
Speaker 3: Important safety information continued. There has not been a confirmed
29:53
Speaker 3: serious case of spread of talks and effect away from
29:55
Speaker 3: the injection site when botox has been used at the
29:58
Speaker 3: recommended dose to treat chronic migraine. Botox may cause loss
30:02
Speaker 3: of strength or general muscle weakness, vision problems, or dizziness
30:06
Speaker 3: within hours to weeks of receiving botox. If this happens,
30:09
Speaker 3: do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do other
30:12
Speaker 3: dangerous activities. Do not receive botox if you are allergic
30:16
Speaker 3: to any of the ingredients in botox. See medication guide
30:19
Speaker 3: for ingredients. Add an allergic reaction to any other bochulinum
30:23
Speaker 3: toxin product such as myoblock rimabochulinum toxin B, disport abobochulinum
30:28
Speaker 3: toxin A or zamin ingo bochulinum toxin A, have a
30:32
Speaker 3: skin infection at the planned injection site.
30:34
Speaker 2: The dose of botox is.
30:36
Speaker 3: Not the same as or comparable to another bochulinum toxin product.
30:40
Speaker 3: Serious and or immediate allergic reactions have been reported, including itching, rash, red,
30:46
Speaker 3: itchy weltz, wheezing, asthma symptoms, dizziness or feeling faint. Get
30:51
Speaker 3: medical help right away. If you experience symptoms, further injection
30:55
Speaker 3: of botox should be discontinued. Tell your doctor about all
30:58
Speaker 3: your muscle or nerve can such as als or lou
31:01
Speaker 3: Garrig's disease, myasthenia gravis or lambert eton syndrome. As you
31:06
Speaker 3: may be at increased risk of serious side effects, including
31:09
Speaker 3: difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing from typical doses of botox.
31:13
Speaker 3: Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if
31:17
Speaker 3: you have or have had bleeding problems, have plans to
31:19
Speaker 3: have surgery, had surgery on your face, have weakness of
31:23
Speaker 3: forehead muscles, trouble raising your eyebrows, drooping eyelids, and any
31:27
Speaker 3: other abnormal facial change. Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
31:30
Speaker 3: It is not known if botox can harm your unborn baby.
31:33
Speaker 3: Are breastfeeding or plan to. It is not known if
31:36
Speaker 3: botox passes into breast milk. Tell your doctor about all
31:39
Speaker 3: the medicines you take, including prescription and over the counter medicines, vitamins,
31:44
Speaker 3: and herbal supplements. Using botox with certain other medicines may
31:48
Speaker 3: cause serious side effects. Do not start any new medicines
31:51
Speaker 3: until you have told your doctor that you have received
31:53
Speaker 3: botox in the past. Tell your doctor if you received
31:56
Speaker 3: any other botchelinum toxin product in the last four months.
32:00
Speaker 3: Have received injections of bochelinum toxin such as myoblock disport
32:04
Speaker 3: or zeamin in the past, Tell your doctor exactly.
32:07
Speaker 2: Which product you received. Have recently received.
32:10
Speaker 3: An antibiotic by injection, Take muscle relaxes, take an allergy
32:14
Speaker 3: or cold medicine, take a sleep medicine, take aspirin like
32:17
Speaker 3: products or blood thinners. Other side effects of botox include
32:20
Speaker 3: dry mouth, discomfort or pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache,
32:25
Speaker 3: neck pain, eye problems such as double vision, blurred vision,
32:28
Speaker 3: decreased eye sight, drooping eyelids, swelling of your eyelids and
32:32
Speaker 3: dry eyes, drooping eyebrows, and upper respiratory tract infection. For
32:36
Speaker 3: more information, refer to the medication guide or talk with
32:40
Speaker 3: your doctor. You are encouraged to report negative side effects
32:43
Speaker 3: of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www dot FDA
32:47
Speaker 3: dot gov, slash MedWatch, or call one eight hundred FDA
32:52
Speaker 3: one zero eight eight. Please see botox full product information,
32:55
Speaker 3: including boxed warning and medication guide by clicking the link
32:59
Speaker 3: provided in the podcast description, or by visiting www dot
33:03
Speaker 3: RXABV dot com slash pdf slash botox underscore pi dot pdf.
33:10
Speaker 3: If you are having difficulty paying for your medicine, abvmy
33:12
Speaker 3: be able to help, visit ABV dot com slash my
33:16
Speaker 3: ab v assist to learn more,