An Ayrshire mum who suffers from extreme migraines has dipped into a new cooling treatment after suffering years of agony.
Lynda Hardman, 41, has been swimming at her local beach to calm the stress triggers which have led to crippling headaches and nausea since she was 10-years-old.
Her natural therapeutic treatment, an alternative to strong medication, was even highlighted on a Channel 5 show ‘How to Stop Your Migraine’ last month.
Now Lynda wants to get the word out that migraines are more than just a headache after also tapping into a new device, called Cefaly, which disrupts pain and prevents a “tailspin of panic”, with sharp attacks leaving her fearing for her life.
The mum-of-two from Troon has told how her severe migraines have made her think she would “never see” children Will, 8, and Alex, 4, and husband John, 37, again.
And the painful headaches and numbness in her arms; and her speech slurring known as aphasia, has convinced Lynda she was suffering a stroke or aneurysm.
Episodes have been so severe they even landed her in hospital during her time in America where she met John whilst working at Disney World Florida.
Lynda told Ayrshire Live : “I’ve suffered from migraines since I was 10 years old, my mum also suffers with them so everyone knew right away what it was and I was given a diagnosis quickly. However, finding an effective treatment was another story.
“Sometimes the headaches have been so severe that I have thought it was the end, and in those moments I’ve been ready to say my goodbyes.
“When I lived in Florida they seemed to be worse, I was rushed to hospital more than once and given morphine because it was that crippling.”
From the sunshine state to the freezing waters of Barassie beach, Lynda has never felt more in control of her condition.
Returning home to settle with her family in 2015, she found her new coping mechanism right on her doorstep.
And when TV doctor Dr Dawn Harper prescribed her a daily dose of cold water swimming, Lynda decided to make a splash to the benefit of her health.
Lynda appeared on the show last month as part of a trio of migraine sufferers who were each given new innovative treatments.
Tackling baltic temperatures sometimes as low as 4 degrees, Lynda has found solace in the new routine.
She told Ayrshire Live : “I had dipped my toe in quite a bit before but never made any correlation with migraines.
“The mums at Barassie primary school persuaded me to give it go, I never thought anything of it.
Lynda has found out that the regular dips in the cold water helped her with other severe symptoms on either side of her migraine.
She said: “Dr Dawn Harper prescribed cold water swimming, although it doesn’t take my headache away it helps deal with the calm before the storm.
“Stress is a big trigger and that isn't even necessarily a negative thing, you can get excited about things in life like a big birthday, that’s also a form of stress.
“When I have an attack I get quite clumsy to be honest and suffer from brain fog, then after an attack it is more severe exhaustion, it is more like a come down.
Barassie beach has been hailed as an ideal location for swimming with shallow waters and for Lynda the colder the better.
She said: “Sometimes in the winter it can be 4 degrees and the edge of the sea is just an icy slush, but that is my favourite time to go out, there is always the incentive of a hot chocolate and a piece of cake afterwards.
“Your body goes into a bit of fight or flight, it takes a minute for your body to calm down and regulate itself.
“In that moment you can’t think about the 101 things you have to do, it is just living in a moment.
“I have found it resets me, it helps me prepare for the headache or bounce back from an attack.
“My migraines can be so severe, so if you have two bad spells in a month, that is half of a month you are off your game.
“Swimming in the sea buys me more time, which improves my quality of life, and that time is precious to spend with my family.”
You can watch How to Stop Your Migraine on the Channel 5 player.
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