Want to share your 30 Things? Here’s how: Migraine & Headache Disorders 30 Things Meme.
1. My diagnosis is: no true diagnosis, just intermittent migraines.
2. My migraine attack frequency is: 1-2/month (now much less than years ago–on great preventative treatment!)
3. I was diagnosed in: 2002 (7 years old)
4. My comorbid conditions include: —
5. I take __0__ medications/supplements each day for prevention and __2__ medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was: when I was 7
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: stabbing, blinding pain behind one eye, unilateral aura
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: numbness and tingling of fingers and tongue, aphasia (confusion and difficulty speaking)
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: cafeine, lack of sleep, skipping a meal, bright lights, pressure changes (weather/flying), nitrites/highly processed foods, hormones
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: visual aura for about 30mins, then the pain comes.
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: it takes me out of work, school, and time with my family and friends.
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: making up for the responsibilities I’m missing out on
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think: I wonder when the next one will hit, and I hope it’s not today.
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: “oh wow I’ve never had a migraine before, what’s it like?” Or, if from my fiance, “what can I get for you to make this better?”
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: I’m not alone, and when someone tells me they get aura symptoms, I feel encouraged to dive into what their aura presents as.
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think: wow, I wish my meds kicked in that fast. And, I with I could actually get back to real life on days with a migraine.
17. My best coping tools are: dark rooms, cool rags, sleep
18. I find comfort in: knowing that my family and friends support me in whatever it takes to manage this disorder
19. I get angry when people say: “it’s just a headache”
20. I like it when people say: “what can I do to help you feel better?” And “I get migraines too, I know what you’re going through”
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: speak quietly, get me a tall glass of water, check on me periodically
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: I am here for you and I want us to make this work.
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: there is something in my brain that I cannot control, even with all my effort in to control it.
24. Migraine has taught me: life isn’t always fair, but to embrace what you have and to feel grateful for the good days
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: “it can’t last forever, right?”
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: we will figure out what your triggers are and we will make this work.
27. The people who support me most are: my family and my fiance
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: it isn’t just a headache and I can’t just “not think about it”
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: there aren’t a plethora of sufferers in this world, so for those of us who do suffer, it’s important for the rest of the world to have a grasp on what we’re going through when our days are shattered by this mind numbing disorder
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: it’s no fun to have to tell your best friends and family that you have to cancel plans or have to call into work. And just know that whenever we do have to do those things, we’re not faking and it hurts us far more than it hurts you, i promise.
This is a reader-submitted story. Reader-submitted stories solely represent the personal point of view, experience, and opinion of the author, not of The Daily Headache or Kerrie Smyres.