This is a reader-submitted story.
1. My diagnosis is: Chronic migraine
2. My migraine attack frequency is: decreasing
3. I was diagnosed in: 2002 (with chronic. I’ve had migraines for as long as I can remember)
4. My comorbid conditions include: Supraventricular Tachycardia, Poor circulation, Kidney stones
5. I take __2_ medications/supplements each day for prevention and __3_ medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was: If I could remember, I would tell you.
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: Head pain, nausea, sensitivity to light, metallic sounds in ears
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: Metallic sound in ears. Itchiness.
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: Weather, hormones, MSG
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: I start to get tunnel vision and my auditory system is off. And there’s a certain achiness in my neck to start.
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: Not being able to concentrate on anything.
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: What I’ve missed that day at school/work/in life
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think: “The worst. I just want to live.”
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: Either “Oh I get headaches too” or “I can’t even imagine”
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: “Explain it to me. Is it really a migraine? Or do you just get a bad headache?”
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think: “Oh, that’s hilarious.”
17. My best coping tools are: Hot shower. Icepack. Darkness. Fuzzy socks. Big sweatshirt. Gatorade.
18. I find comfort in: A giant sweatshirt. The dark. The fact that I’m not alone.
19. I get angry when people say: “have you tried Excedrin migraine? I’ve heard that gets rid of migraines in like, 30 minutes”
20. I like it when people say: “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. Can I do anything to help you?”
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: Do anything for me that I would normally have to get out of bed to do myself. I.e. refilling water, getting an icepack
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: We can try all different things instead of upping your medication. Whatever you’re comfortable with. The are a lot more options out there than there used to be.
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: That there are some variables I can’t control, and there will be times where despite my best efforts, I’m still going to have a migraine.
24. Migraine has taught me: How to self advocate and push through. But also when I need to give myself a rest.
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: Just keep swimming.
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: Don’t just take another pill. Look for different treatments and different ways to help yourself feel better.
27. The people who support me most are: My mother. My best friends.
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: Every migraine is different. Sometimes I can push through the pain and do work and pretend to be normal, but some days, I’m just so disabled by the pain that there’s nothing I can do except curl up into a ball and try to freeze my head.
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: Too many people don’t understand the difference between a migraine and a bad headache.
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: As painful as it’s been, having migraine has formed me into the person I am today. And I’ve only become stronger because of it.
Reader-submitted stories solely 
represent the personal point of view, experience, and opinion of the author, not of The Daily Headache or Kerrie Smyres. Follow this link to learn how to share YOUR 30 Things about living with a headache disorder.