Living "Green" Despite Migraines

My husband and I try really hard to be as "green" as we can, reducing our carbon footprint. We purchase "green" power from the electricity and gas companies, we compost all of our food and yard waste, I take the bus or walk whenever I can, we don't purchase things with excess packaging and try to not use things like plastic bags, paper towels, or other "one use" items, we take our own bags to the store...the list goes on and on and we really try to be conscious of small things we can do.

BUT having migraines and living in fear of migraines leads me to make conscious decisions to put me before the planet in many circumstances.

First, I can't stand fluorescent light. So all these energy saving, good for the planet light bulbs are out for me. They are a guaranteed ocular migraine and I usually get the full blown pain and aura as well within a few hours of using fluorescent light. Anywhere I go - grocery store, doctor's office, department stores - anywhere that uses these fluorescent lights, I get symptoms of migraines. It really impacts my quality of life. I live in fear of the fluorescent trend as it limits my ability to function and participate in normal activities.

Second, taking the bus isn't always an option for me. One of my daily aliments is that I am extremely motion sensitive and get motion sick at the drop of the hat. It happens even when I am driving myself and exacerbates my migraine symptoms. When I am experiencing a more severe bout of symptoms, I can't take the bus - I just get too sick. And when I feel like I might be on the cusp of severe symptoms, I don't take the bus because I fear starting a severe attack on the bus without the ability to take care of myself.

Third, showers and baths are both saving graces for me. I find water very soothing and often I take more than one shower or a bath every day as therapy for my headaches. I know this isn't good for the planet and also know that many people in the world don't have drinking water. I still fill a tub with clean water to soak in and I consciously make the decision to care for my headache instead of the planet.

The good news...sometimes my migraines make it easier to "live green." Here are some ways that I accidentally live greener:

• I avoid processed/engineered foods and tend to buy locally sourced perishables. Most non-perishable foods I either buy organic from companies that don't use chemicals and are conscious about their impacts to the environment.
• I avoid meat in general because it tends to be a trigger for me.
• We don't purchase much cleaning products - bleach, backing soda and vinegar do wonders around the house. The fumes from cleaning products trigger headaches for me, but I know both the planet and our family benefit from limiting the exposure to chemicals.
• Because of our increased medical expenses for my migraine care, I buy a lot of things second hand (e.g. clothes, household goods, gardening things, decorating items, etc.) So our financial balancing actually is a greener way to buy - who knew?!
• I don't buy plastic bottled water - I can taste something off about the water when I have a migraine - almost like plastic (go figure, huh?!). My family thinks I am crazy when I do drink bottled water because I always say "Can't you taste that? It tastes like plastic!" So I have reusable water bottles and filtered tap water.

So while I can't always be as green as I want because I choose to take care of my headache instead of the planet - we do the best we can. One last thought - I do fear a day when there are no more regular old light bulbs and the world uses compact fluorescent bulbs. I can't live in that world comfortably.