Search Results for “diet” – The Daily Headache https://www.thedailyheadache.com seeking joy in a life with chronic migraine, chronic daily headache and chronic illness Mon, 07 Dec 2020 19:21:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.9 https://www.thedailyheadache.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cropped-TDH-favicon-32x32.png Search Results for “diet” – The Daily Headache https://www.thedailyheadache.com 32 32 197655449 When Self-Care isn’t Enough https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/12/self-care-is-not-enough.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/12/self-care-is-not-enough.html#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2020 20:48:00 +0000 https://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=10935 Despite doing everything I normally do for self-care, it hasn't been enough. Here's how I learned to cope.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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“I’m doing everything I normally do for self-care and it still isn’t enough.” I’ve said some variation of this countless times in the last month.

My self-care game is normally really good. Through much trial and error, I’ve figured out what works for me and typically prioritize self-care. Even in this wretched year, I’ve managed to do both the self-care that requires effort (like daily walks, regular workouts, and a healthy diet—as long as migraine doesn’t interfere) and the smaller things that I can incorporate into everyday life. That kept me on a relatively even keel. Until about a month ago.

With the election and its aftermath and the surge in COVID cases, I’ve been a bundle of stress. Despite continuing all my self-care activities, it didn’t feel like enough. In fact, sometimes the self-care itself was stressful.

When I told my therapist that all I was doing wasn’t enough and that my self-care was adding stress, she steered me toward radical acceptance. That is, accepting what is for what it is. No matter how distressing it is, no matter how much I want things to be different, to remind myself that what is happening is happening and all the angsting in the world can’t change it. It’s such a simple concept and an incredibly difficult task.

Thinking about human behavior and puzzling through why people do the things they do is a fundamental part of who I am. And it has been working against me. Trying to understand people’s rationalizations and lack of critical thinking when it comes to politics and COVID hasn’t helped me understand the world in a constructive way. Instead, it has broken my heart.

So I’m practicing setting aside a part of what makes me who I am. Just for a while. Because I can’t radically accept what is happening if my mind is in a constant knot, trying to figure out why people are making decisions that I cannot fathom. And trying to fathom those decisions? I’m also working on not doing that.

Acceptance has been critical for me to cope with chronic migraine. And I’ve learned to apply it to many other situations in my life. But I hadn’t thought to apply it to 2020 even though it has the hallmarks of a situation where acceptance is essential—major, life-changing problems that I have almost no control over. (Note the “almost” in the previous sentence. Despite accepting that I have migraine, I never stopped trying to find relief. The same is true for social and political problems. Acceptance and working toward change can coexist.)

In the 10 days since I began working on radical acceptance of the current state of America, I’m doing better. My stress is lower, my angst is less, and even my migraine attacks are more typical. I’m still angry and sad, but I’m not overwhelmed. Right now, that feels like a win.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Being stressed over migraine is a migraine trigger https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/05/stress-of-migraine-is-a-migraine-trigger.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/05/stress-of-migraine-is-a-migraine-trigger.html#comments Fri, 22 May 2020 19:55:22 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=10765 Being stressed over my migraine attacks was triggering more attacks. Here's how I managed to get on top of that vicious cycle.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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I never used to think of stress as a migraine trigger for me, but I’ve discovered in the last few years that my migraine frequency does increase in times of extreme stress. Unsurprisingly, right now qualifies as highly stressful and migraine kicked my butt for weeks this spring.

I tried all my usual tactics—I made sure my sleep and diet were in good shape, stopped reading the news, made exercise a priority, and committed to lots of relaxation. Nothing made a dent in my attacks. They got so bad that I had to take a leave of absence from TheraSpecs and stopped my advocacy work. Still no change.

After three weeks of frustration, I had an epiphany—maybe the stress of the increased migraine attacks was itself triggering more migraine attacks. While I had pulled out all the self-care stops, I had continued to obsess over my triggers and be frustrated every time an attack landed me on the couch for the day.

So all I had to do was stop being stressed! Aiming for that goal is usually a recipe for increasing my stress levels, but this time I managed to let go. I decided to drop all the worry and, for some reason, it actually worked. By the next day, I started to feel better. Within two days, I could definitively say that my attacks we less frequent and less severe, plus I felt better between attacks than I had in months.

I asked psychologist Dawn Buse, PhD, for her thoughts on the stress of migraine as a migraine trigger. She pointed out that it’s impossible to tease out which came first, the chicken or the egg, and explained more about the relationship between stress and migraine. She said:

“The relationship between stress and migraine has many different forms which can change from person to person, and over time and life phases for an individual. Stressful events or periods can contribute to triggering an attack. This can occur during a period of high stress or after the stress level has reduced, which is called the “let-down” effect. Long periods of stress (such as a personally difficult time or the global pandemic) can be associated with increased frequency of attacks. And some stressors such as childhood maltreatment are associated with the onset of migraine disease. Conversely, stress is also a consequence of living with migraine. Migraine can have significant negative impact on all important aspects of life and negatively impact relationships, careers, finances, academics, family, friendships and fun, just to name a few areas-—which can be very stressful.”

Dr. Buse also gave some information on managing stress, which I’ll include in an upcoming Migraine.com article on this same topic. Most notably, she shared a quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn that spoke to my recent experience: “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” My attempt to stop the waves was not only ineffective, it made me feel like I was drowning. When I attempted to surf, my migraine attacks improved within a day.

I’ve been trying to surf for a couple weeks now and am doing well enough that I’ve spent this week on advocacy work and will head back to (remote work at) TheraSpecs next week. I’m nervous, but excited to get back to a life beyond my own health.

I’ve been thinking of you all and hope you’re doing as well as possible. Life is so weird right now.

hand reaching up through surf
Photo by Nikko Macaspac via Unsplash

Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Free Migraine World Summit Starts Wednesday! https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/03/free-migraine-world-summit.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/03/free-migraine-world-summit.html#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2020 19:59:42 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=10712 Want to learn more about migraine and headache disorders while you’re social distancing? The Migraine World Summit starts tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, with online video interviews with 32 experts, including headache specialists and patient advocates. They will share new treatments, research, and strategies to improve the lives of people with migraine and other headache disorders.… Continue reading Free Migraine World Summit Starts Wednesday!


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Migraine World Summit

Want to learn more about migraine and headache disorders while you’re social distancing? The Migraine World Summit starts tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, with online video interviews with 32 experts, including headache specialists and patient advocates. They will share new treatments, research, and strategies to improve the lives of people with migraine and other headache disorders. The event is virtual and the daily videos are free, so you don’t have to leave home or pay for a thing! Click here to register now for your FREE access.

WHY ATTEND?

  • World-Leading Experts: At the Migraine World Summit, you’ll learn first-hand from 32 of the world’s top migraine and headache experts from leading institutions including the Mayo Clinic, Stanford Medical School, and Johns Hopkins.
  • Full Access: Many of these world-leading experts have long waiting lists and fees that are beyond what the average insurance policy would cover. Skip the waiting period and get straight into the room with these experts.
  • Free: The event is entirely free while live from March 18-26. Each day, four new interviews are available for 24 hours, after which they are replaced by the next day’s interviews. After March 26, transcripts and interview copies are available to purchase.

Join more than 100,000 new and returning attendees and tune in to 32 NEW interviews to find the answers you need to help better manage migraine and chronic headache. Questions answered include:

  • How does migraine affect memory and cognitive abilities over time?
  • What is the best diet for migraine?
  • How can chronic migraine be managed?
  • What is the relationship between migraine and autoimmune or inflammatory disease?
  • What new treatments are available or coming soon?
  • What new non-medicinal alternatives are now available?
  • Is CBD a proven migraine treatment?
  • What advice do experienced patient advocates have to share?
  • How did someone win Olympic Gold while battling migraine?
  • Is migraine a genetic disorder?
  • How does trauma (physical or emotional) affect migraine?
  • Which celebrities also have migraine?
  • Is there a proven surgery for migraine?
  • What is mindfulness-based stress reduction?
  • Which supplements can help reduce migraine?

The virtual Migraine World Summit is free from March 18-26, 2020.

Register now for complimentary access. Once again, here’s the link to register for the Migraine World Summit.

(Note: If you decide to pay for access to the videos beyond the day they are published, I will receive a small portion as a referral fee. That’s not why I’m sharing the link—the Migraine World Summit has great information that everyone should have access to—but I wanted to be fully transparent.)


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Hello There! https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/01/hello-there.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2020/01/hello-there.html#comments Mon, 27 Jan 2020 21:24:24 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=10641 I’ve written countless variations of this post over the last three years, each time deciding to wait to publish it since I’m on the verge of a breakthrough with my health. And each time there’s a new permutation that slows me down. I’m finally ready to share. For most of the last three years, I’ve… Continue reading Hello There!


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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I’ve written countless variations of this post over the last three years, each time deciding to wait to publish it since I’m on the verge of a breakthrough with my health. And each time there’s a new permutation that slows me down. I’m finally ready to share.

For most of the last three years, I’ve been dealing with mysterious health issues that aren’t migraine-related (in fact, I’ve been doing pretty well migraine-wise thanks to the gammaCore). Brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, vertigo, tachycardia, and muscle pain, stiffness, and twitching have been the main symptoms. The symptoms come and go with one or two usually taking the spotlight at a time. I’ve seen a rheumatologist, several neurologists, three cardiologists, done lots of physical therapy, and had plenty of tests. I’ve been misdiagnosed with several conditions, none of which really seemed to fit what I was experiencing. And I’ve been terrified that I was in the early stages of a degenerative neuromuscular condition.

The Gist

I can say with 98% confidence that, ultimately, all the problems can come down to either side effects of supplements or vitamin deficiencies, some of which were caused by an excess of a particular supplement. The two main players have been a vitamin B12 deficiency and excess magnesium, though there have been other factors. I think I’ve found a balance. If you’re curious, the details are below.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency

The B12 deficiency is easiest to explain, so let’s get it out of the way. I became a vegetarian as soon as I went off the ketogenic diet and wasn’t diligent about getting enough B12. After a bout of severe vertigo—during which I spent the majority of three weeks in bed—and being misdiagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, I began supplementing B12 in earnest. It went great at first. My symptoms decreased fairly quickly after starting the supplement—the joint pain and vertigo were gone and the muscle symptoms improved, but didn’t go away completely.

Since I still wasn’t getting enough B12 in my diet, I kept supplementing it. Then the supplement became a migraine trigger. So I tried in earnest to eat more foods containing B12, which also became migraine triggers. And both the supplements and foods also seemed to cause my heart to race. It took months to sort out, but I eventually found that an occasional B12 injection did the trick for getting enough B12. After a while, I was able to eat it again without it being a migraine trigger. But the tachycardia remained.

Excess Magnesium

All the while, I continued taking magnesium at high doses, which I’ve done since 2011. I didn’t need it for most of my daily migraine management (the gammaCore took care of that), but it seemed to help with weather-triggered migraine attacks and I was hopeful it could help with some of my muscle-related symptoms. I was taking 840 mg a day. I’d been as high as 1,200 mg, so I didn’t think much of it. Until two months ago when I finally put all the pieces together and realized that magnesium was likely the cause of many of my remaining symptoms.

One of the unexpected benefits of the gammaCore is that I no longer needed medications I’d used for years, like Wellbutrin and cyproheptadine. I figured that out after they started causing side effects. It took literally years to consider that magnesium could also be causing side effects. Stopping the magnesium was another step toward resolving my symptoms (most notably the tachycardia, which was such a relief), but there was more work to be done.

Calcium and Potassium Deficiencies

My doctor said that the excessive magnesium may have caused an electrolyte imbalance that resulted in calcium and potassium deficiencies. Supplements often trigger migraine attacks for me, so sorting out that out has been a challenge. I’m getting close—I’ve found a calcium supplement I can tolerate and am working to get the right amount of potassium in my diet.

Vitamin D and Protein Deficiencies

But wait! I let a couple other things get out of whack. Always afraid of triggering a migraine attack, I haven’t taken my vitamin D diligently. I’ll take it for a while, get a blood test and see that it’s at a good level, then forget to take it until I get a new round of symptoms. Lather, rinse, repeat. I literally cannot remember how many times I’ve gone through that rigmarole in the last three years.

And that vegetarian thing? I really thought I was getting enough protein. I’d calculated the amount I needed when I was on the ketogenic diet and was mostly keeping up with it. Except I weighed 25 pounds less then and was sedentary. Between my long walks each day and the strength training I now do three times a week, I’m now considered quite active, which requires a lot more protein than I was getting.

Then There’s the Life Stuff

In addition to managing my fluctuating health, the last three years have been fairly stressful. I watched a loved one die of ALS and nearly lost another to suicide. I saw the end of a friendship with someone I once considered one of my essential people. And Hart and I have been trying to figure out what our life looks like without migraine horning in on our marriage all the time—it’s a good stress, but something to figure out nonetheless. On top of all that, I’ve worked nearly full time at TheraSpecs for much of the last year. Again, that’s a good stressor, but it’s taken too much time away from the health and self-care practices my body requires to stay healthy.

Where My Health is Now

I’m doing a lot better physically. I still have to get some dietary details sorted out and need to wait a while to be sure my symptoms don’t come back, but I think I’m basically on top of the problem. I’ll see another neuromuscular specialist next month to be sure my symptoms are really due to vitamin and nutrient issues rather than an underlying condition. But I feel like I’ve basically got it under control.

My Mental Space

I flirted with the idea of getting angry with myself for letting basic vitamins and minerals get out of whack and for taking so long to realize that the magnesium was a problem. That’s ridiculous. I’ve been working just as hard at sorting out these mysteries as I did at finding effective migraine treatment over the years. I’ve been to doctors and talked to my therapist/naturopath countless times. I’ve been trying so hard and yet I missed some things. I didn’t fall down on the job; I had a surprisingly complicated situation to figure out.

It’s been tough to have these weird symptoms at the same time as I’ve been feeling better migraine-wise. I’ve spent much time worried that I went from being disabled by migraine to either having another disabling disease or, worse, a horrible disease that would kill me prematurely with much suffering along the way. I’ve managed these emotions as they come and they haven’t been too frequent, but they’re terrifying when they do come.

But right now I’m in a good space mentally with my health and the other life stressors I’ve juggled in recent years.

What’s Next

I can’t predict what’s next, but I know what’s now and what I hope for in the near future. I’ve cut my hours at TheraSpecs back to 20 hours a week to allow more time for managing my health and, I hope, doing more writing and advocacy work. I’ve been making time for regular exercise and now need to get on top of healthful eating again (my diet isn’t terrible, but it’s not as vegetable-forward as I’d like to it be). I’m aiming for at least one post for The Daily Headche and one article or video for Migraine.com each month this year. So I hope to be around more often in the coming months!

P.S. My latest article for Migraine.com is Green Light Therapy for Migraine. The NPR story on green light therapy that circulated in December left me with more questions than it answered, so I interviewed the lead researcher to get a better grasp on the research.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Brain Fog, Uncertainty, Excitement, Beauty, and Hope https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2017/03/brain-fog-uncertainty-excitement-beauty-and-hope.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2017/03/brain-fog-uncertainty-excitement-beauty-and-hope.html#comments Thu, 09 Mar 2017 22:56:33 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=10042 I’ve spend the last six months traveling in the land of brain fog. It’s a weird level of brain fog. I putter around the house as if I’m thinking just fine, then I sit down to write and my IQ plummets. Although my inability to string sentences together has kept me quiet, I’m actually doing… Continue reading Brain Fog, Uncertainty, Excitement, Beauty, and Hope


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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brain-fog-gc-minI’ve spend the last six months traveling in the land of brain fog. It’s a weird level of brain fog. I putter around the house as if I’m thinking just fine, then I sit down to write and my IQ plummets. Although my inability to string sentences together has kept me quiet, I’m actually doing remarkably well. My new treatment is working way better than I could have imagined and I’ve determined that the cognitive dysfunction is almost certainly a side effect from a drug I’ve been able to stop taking.

About My New Migraine Treatment

I’ve been using my new treatment since June 23. (I have to keep it a secret just a little longer. I’m told I’ll be able to tell you about it any day and am so excited that you’ll be the first to know when I can. Know that I’m not holding out on something that could help you now—It’s not yet available, but should be very soon.) The first months were full of heartbreaking lows and exhilarating highs, then my migraine symptoms seemed to settle into a slow and steady improvement. After quitting the ketogenic diet six weeks ago, my improvement became astonishingly swift. I can now eat anything I want. (I have to repeat that: I can now eat anything I want!). I still get a migraine attack every time I eat, but the symptoms are barely noticeable when the treatment works.

When the treatment works… that sounds ominous, but it’s really just part of the ongoing adjustment. Balancing the variables of which foods and how many calories I eat with calibrating the treatment just right is a challenge, especially because I keep trying new foods. When the dose is too low, the treatment dampens the migraine attack without fully aborting it. At too high of a dose, I feel great for an hour or two before a rebound migraine attack hits. However, When Goldilocks is satisfied, I’m high with feeling like myself again.

While these variations are tedious and make my day-to-day symptoms unpredictable, the overall effect is wonderful. You see, the treatment is making me less sensitive to food triggers over time. Once I find the right dose for a particular meal, the treatment works perfectly a handful of times. Then the dose becomes too high for that meal and I have rebound attacks. Then I have to guess at how much to reduce the dose and start the process over. (I’m talking in food triggers because that’s my issue, but the treatment can work for other types of triggers, too.)

On Brain Fog

Given the overall success with the new treatment, the persistent brain fog was frustrating. After dealing with it for months, other symptoms starting creeping up, like increased anxiety and ringing in my ears. When dizziness become another frequent companion, I had an epiphany: Wellbutrin has been the source of all the debilitating bouts of dizziness in my life. My new treatment is also used for depression… perhaps in addition to helping my migraine attacks, it was reducing my depression and making me overly sensitive to Wellbutrin’s side effects. I reduced my dose from 450 mg to 300 mg in January and the brain fog, dizziness, anxiety, and tinnitus reduced. Two weeks later, the symptoms began to resurface, so I reduced the dose again. And again. I’ve been completely off Wellbutrin for a week, the brain fog seems to be receding, and the other related symptoms have abated.

What’s Next? Uncertainty Reduction at the Grand Canyon

As I wrestled with my life’s current excitement and uncertainty combined with a loss of innocence brought on by politics and a family health situation, I imagined myself standing on the edge of a canyon. The phrase “precipice of grief” popped to mind immediately, but it’s message was was muddied by the image of a beautiful canyon. The meaning was unmistakable. Life is scary and full of grief. It is also unbelievably precious and beautiful. To root this belief in my heart and body, I’m going to stand on the glass bridge at the Grand Canyon. The thought terrifies me, but I expect seeing the beauty and confronting my fear will make me stronger than before. (At least I hope so, otherwise my metaphor will fall apart!)

After a busy few weeks of doing the Miles for Migraine race in Phoenix (please join me if you’re in town!), attending a conference at the Mayo Clinic and another for Health Union advocates (that’s the company behind Migraine.com), having my family visit, and recording for the migraine video series I mentioned last week, it’s time to think about the future. What matters most to me right now? Where will I be writing and how much? What roles will I play at TheraSpecs? How will I build my local community now that I’m able to be more active in the world? How else do I want to spend my time? I’m not sure what answers I’ll find, but I’ll let you in on the exploration.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Migraine Medication Detox, Week One: Easier Than Expected https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/08/migraine-medication-detox-one.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/08/migraine-medication-detox-one.html#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2016 22:01:38 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=9872 My first week of migraine medication detox began with a final dose of Amerge (naratriptan) and two Midrin after breakfast on Sunday, August 21. Despite a rough start, the week’s been surprisingly easy.* I feel better than I have in almost two years! Here’s how the week of detox went. The treatments to get me through the week were: Compazine… Continue reading Migraine Medication Detox, Week One: Easier Than Expected


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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migraine medication detoxMy first week of migraine medication detox began with a final dose of Amerge (naratriptan) and two Midrin after breakfast on Sunday, August 21. Despite a rough start, the week’s been surprisingly easy.* I feel better than I have in almost two years! Here’s how the week of detox went.

The treatments to get me through the week were:

  • Compazine 30 minutes before each meal. Although it’s a nausea med, some people get migraine relief from Compazine. (It only made me tired and helped the nausea; it did not give me any migraine relief.)
  • Oxytocin as an acute medication once a day. (Which I discovered is a migraine trigger for me.)
  • A new treatment I’ve been using since June 22. It is a preventive treatment that can also be used acutely. That’s all I can tell you right now, but will share more as soon as I can.

Day 1: Monday was the worst day by far. I was too nauseated and dizzy to eat breakfast until 1 p.m. and that required dosing with Zofran and Compazine. The pain, which felt cold and high on my head, hovered around a 4 and peaked at a 5, which lasted a couple hours. Ice exacerbated the pain. Thanks to Compazine, I slept from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. I definitely had a migraine attack in the night and didn’t sleep well (probably because of the Compazine-induced nap).

Day 2: I started Tuesday with a decent amount of energy and little pain. I even showered and did housework before eating. The migraine attack that followed breakfast was slight, but definitely present. Between it and the Compazine, I was laid up until I took a nap. Within 30 minutes of waking from my nap, I was perky and functional. I spent three hours working on chores and even did some writing. All with overcast skies! I once again had a migraine attack in my sleep, but it didn’t keep me up. Night sweats and vivid dreams were the only evidence that an attack happened at all.

Day 3: I switched from taking oxytocin at night to taking it after breakfast on Wednesday. It was a remarkably good day. I slowed down for a couple hours after eating, but am unsure if migraine or Compazine was the culprit. I even ran errands in the afternoon. After dinner was the first time I felt like my new treatment actually aborted a migraine attack! It was also the first night in almost a year where I didn’t fall asleep minutes after getting into bed.

Day 4: I woke up feeling fine Thursday and skipped the pre-breakfast Compazine hoping that I would be less sluggish without it. I used my new treatment after eating and it once again appeared to abort the migraine attack. I felt a little slow for maybe an hour afterward, but was able to write all day. My mind got a little fuzzy in the late afternoon, so I decided to rest. Before I did, I cleaned up a mess in the laundry room and put a coat of sealant on the bathroom tile… and discovered I no longer needed to rest. I finally stopped “doing” for the day at 7 p.m.

The other big news of the day: I ate three meals instead of two! I can use my new treatment three times a day, so I wanted to see if it would abort all three eating-triggered attacks. It did!

I then stayed awake the entire night. It wasn’t one of those maybe-I-slept-maybe-I-didn’t kind of nights. I read and did housework all night long. What kept me up? NOT having a migraine attack. I’m one of those fortunate folks who gets sleepy during an attack. After 17 months of nightly attacks, I think my body had gotten used to using migraine as a sleep aid.

Day 5: Despite not sleeping one wink, Friday was another remarkable day. It was house-focused, including signing the paperwork to have the grass removed from our yard and replaced with waterwise plants. (I’m so excited!) And I finally fixed the mess created when shelves in the laundry room fell a few months ago. Nothing to write home about… except that having a day of normal chores is absolutely worth writing home about.

I’m trying to temper my excitement about how much better I feel (Hart is, too). I feel so different, so much better, that I want to believe the ketogenic diet, my new treatment, and getting out of MOH have made a huge, lasting difference. And maybe they have, but I don’t want to go (too far) down that path until I have more data. I don’t want to be (too) crushed if this improvement turns out to be a fluke. Then again, I know my body really, really well. This feels different. (I might hate myself later for writing those words.)

Day 6: I felt great all day Saturday! I woke up at 8 a.m. and organized the house until 11 p.m. I didn’t even check Facebook. I slept well, too.

Days 7 & 8: Both days started well, but migraine attacks crept up through each morning. Both attacks made me so tired I couldn’t avoid napping. Both times, the migraine attack lifted within 30 minutes of waking up. Napping usually gives me some degree of migraine relief, but it only began aborting attacks completely this summer. I’m still surprised when it happens. (I was so afraid of losing another day that I took one Amerge (naratriptan) as soon as I felt symptoms on Monday. My background headache was more painful that day.)

Day 9: I spent this morning preoccupied with Sunday and Monday’s migraine attacks and obsessing over whether an attack was coming on. As I sifted through potential triggers, I kept worrying that my new treatment is backfiring. Although that is unlikely (I’ve been using it for two months with no problem), it’s my biggest fear, so it’s what my mind settled on. Other possibilities are that oxytocin is a trigger, I’ve developed reactions to some foods I thought were OK, or that merely touching cleaning product bottles now triggers attacks. I went with the oxytocin hypothesis and skipped my dose this morning. I’m going strong at 3 p.m., so I’m guessing oxytocin was the culprit.

Future weeks: Medication overuse headache symptoms can last six months after the final dose. Given how easy my migraine medication detox has been and that I’ve only been using excessive amounts of medications for 16 months, I doubt I’ll have symptoms that long. Still, I’m hopeful that the next few weeks or months could bring even more improvement. Maybe I’ll one day be able to eat without having a migraine attack at all.

*My experience does not represent the typical migraine medication detox. It has been easy because of the preventives I was on before I started (and possibly because I was only in MOH for a year). The drugs I used as a bridge were ineffective—Compazine only made me sleepy and oxytocin made my migraine attacks worse. In the six months before starting the detox, my pain rarely got above a 4 and my most disabling symptoms were fatigue and cognitive dysfunction.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Migraine Medication Detox: Getting Started https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/08/migraine-medication-detox.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/08/migraine-medication-detox.html#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:25:33 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=9841 I’ve been taking an Amerge (naratriptan) and two Midrin twice a day since April 2015. The medications allow me to function, but have the potential to increase the frequency, severity, or duration of my migraine attacks through medication overuse headache (MOH), which is also called rebound headache. My headache specialist is aware of my medication… Continue reading Migraine Medication Detox: Getting Started


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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migraine medication detoxI’ve been taking an Amerge (naratriptan) and two Midrin twice a day since April 2015. The medications allow me to function, but have the potential to increase the frequency, severity, or duration of my migraine attacks through medication overuse headache (MOH), which is also called rebound headache. My headache specialist is aware of my medication use. We discuss its potential impact at every appointment and he reiterates that the odds of it being a problem for me are quite low. Although my history showed MOH was unlikely to be a concern for me, I was still concerned. With my doctor’s consent, I persisted taking the drugs because they were the only way I could function.

Since eating anything is my migraine trigger and no preventive medications have been able to address that issue, I feel stuck. Going off the medication is not going to stop eating from being a migraine trigger. But my last visit with my headache specialist got me thinking about the two treatments I’ve been trying this year. One is the ketogenic diet and the other I can’t tell you about yet. Both have helped a small amount, but neither has had a huge impact. They have helped enough that I don’t want to stop either one, but I’m having trouble quantifying the extent of each one. What if MOH is somehow keeping me from realizing the full benefit of either or both treatments?

What if…? When a question like that lodges itself in my mind, I have to learn the answer. My migraine medication detox began last night.

My doctor offered to admit me to the hospital to keep me comfortable through detox. I declined because I don’t think I need it. Instead, I will take Compazine (prochlorperazine) 30 minutes before meals and use an oxytocin nasal spray after the migraine attacks begin. Compazine is known as a nausea drug, but it can also help reduce migraine symptoms. Oxytocin is being studied as a potential acute migraine treatment and could also have preventive effects. If my migraine attacks take a sharp turn for the worse, I’ll add DHE or Migranal to the lineup (assuming they aren’t out of stock). I have the option of starting another preventive at the same time, but think I’m going to wait in an attempt to control variables.

If you’re reading this to learn how to do a migraine medication detox with as little pain as possible, please be aware that my treatment may not be an applicable template. For most people with MOH, going off the medications would result in horrendous pain. My symptoms and situation are different than most. Thanks to my current preventive treatments and dietary restrictions, my pain rarely gets above a 3 on a 0-10 scale. I expect that it won’t exceed a 6 even while detoxing. Fatigue and cognitive dysfunction have been more disabling than the pain for me for the last few years. Those symptoms will be bad, but as long as I can feed myself and plan to limit my work for a couple weeks, detox shouldn’t be too bad for me.

I very much want to discover that MOH has crept up on me and is keeping two somewhat effective treatments from reaching their full potential. But I’m not holding my breath. I suspect I’ll go through migraine medication detox and discover that I still have a migraine attack every time I eat. While the acute medications may be increasing my susceptibility to migraine attacks outside of eating, they are also managing the attacks I get twice a day no matter what. My best hope is that the ketogenic diet and the other treatment are far more effective than I think because MOH is hiding their efficacy. Or maybe oxytocin will provide great relief. Whatever happens, I’ll have at least one more data point to help determine what my next course of action will be.

(Pardon any typos. Editing is beyond me right now.)


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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If Only I Could Keep Running From Grief https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/07/running-from-grief.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/07/running-from-grief.html#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:05:06 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=9767 Pleasant emotions = good Painful emotions = bad These two equations summarize American society’s approach to emotions. We’re taught to strive for emotions that feel good as if seeking higher ground in a tsunami and to run like hell from ones that hurt. I wrote two weeks ago about slamming the door on my unwelcome houseguest… Continue reading If Only I Could Keep Running From Grief


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Pleasant emotions = good

Painful emotions = bad

These two equations summarize American society’s approach to emotions. We’re taught to strive for emotions that feel good as if seeking higher ground in a tsunami and to run like hell from ones that hurt.

I wrote two weeks ago about slamming the door on my unwelcome houseguest named Grief, trying with all my might to keep it locked away. Grief did not comply with my wishes, not until it ripped the door of its hinges and I gave it the attention it demanded. This behavior is not unique to grief, nor is it a noteworthy show of strength. It’s what all emotions do if you try to ignore them for very long.

The most remarkable lesson I’ve learned about emotions is this: it is (almost always) easier to let myself feel an emotion than it is to try to run away every time one I’m afraid of pops up. Even more remarkable? Unless you feed the fire, stoking the flame with your thoughts, an emotion only lasts 90 seconds. Seriously. A minute-and-a-half.

If this is true, why did I tell you I spent a week avoiding my grief? Why did my therapist (of all people!) say that I was being skillful when I blocked myself from feeling grief? It’s because I was making a deliberate choice. As I said, it’s *almost* always easier to experience an emotion than it is to have it haunt me when I’ve tried to run away. Almost, but not always.

It has been a difficult year. I swear that phrase has been in 95% of the drafts I’ve written since January. It’s actually been a difficult 18 months. When the DAO stopped being sufficient for staving off my eating-triggered migraine attacks, I learned that I no longer only had to grieve for everything I had lost. I also had to grieve for the future I’d finally begun to trust was mine. The ketogenic diet is the last diet-based intervention available to me. When it wasn’t a slam dunk, my grief began to grow. May and June were particularly difficult emotionally.

I’ve been working with my therapist on this grief as it has come up. At the end of June, we decided to dive deep to see if I could face the grief and move on unencumbered (or at least less encumbered). That day was the most horrible, gut-wrenching experience I’ve ever had in therapy.

I used to run from my emotions because I was afraid if I felt them, they would devour me whole. That therapy session felt like I was being eaten from the inside. My stomach churned. My leg muscles seized up. Each time I tried to relax them, they would clench even more. My chest kept tightening and my breath became hard to catch. Although she usually lets me lead the work, my therapist told me it was time to stop. She said I was locked into an extreme flight response. Fortunately, she had a free hour to spend calming me down. I had a grief hangover for a couple days, but that was the only lasting repercussion from the session. Well, that and a fear of what would happen the next time I let grief in.

My therapist and I decided to put the grief work on hold for a while. We check in every week to assess my grief level and how I was dealing with it. I explained how I let myself feel it when it comes up, but only for a short while, then distract myself and move on. This is the behavior she said was skillful. The skill was in recognizing the emotion and choosing to move toward or away from it. I haven’t run from grief reflexively, I have chosen to keep it out of my house. Until it beat the door down.

Writing that post actually kept grief from taking me down. Acknowledging the strength of my grief was enough of a catharsis to last nearly a week. But I knew it wouldn’t hold much longer. Last Tuesday, I told my therapist I was finished running. We revisited the grief work, this time with a gentler approach we tried last month.

I talked about how small my world feels and how migraine prevents me from traveling, working as much as I’d like, seeing my friends, and making new friends. I spend so much time policing my diet in an effort to stay semi-functional, but I’m not really gaining ground. It’s more like I’m standing still and trying desperately to keep the dirt from crumbling away from beneath my feet. I still don’t feel as good as I did in 2014 and I feel like I’m constantly one step away from falling off a cliff.

For me, successful migraine treatment means I can do the things I most enjoy in life. I don’t have to be migraine-free, pain-free, or symptom-free to do this. I spend most of my energy on migraine management, yet it’s still not enough to let me work and play and travel and spend time with loved ones. Migraine continues to dominate every single day. Food, one of my life’s great pleasures, is a chore and a source of pain.

I work so, so hard for so little reward. I am so, so worn down by chronic migraine.

My therapist listened to me and validated me. When the session was almost over, she asked how I was doing. I said that I felt like I needed to curl up and cry for a while. After we said goodbye, I sobbed for an hour. It was an ugly, painful cry that sapped the small amount of remaining strength that I had. I napped and read and took it easy for the rest of the day. I was better the next day, but still tired, sad, and a little lonely.

I know the popular American emotional equations don’t add up. I sometimes wish they did. Running seems so much easier than feeling this pain. I know it is not. I know I can’t outrun it forever. But in times this heavy, I wish I still believed grasping for pleasant emotions would render painful ones obsolete. I wish I still believed in the American way.

I wrote this last Wednesday, but it didn’t post because of a technical problem. As often happens, I felt much better after writing it. I chose to post it today as I wrote it originally because it’s an honest reflection on how wrenching working through deep grief can be. But now you need to read the alternate ending:

I ran from grief because it seemed like the only way I could survive the pain. Even in the immediate aftermath of doing the grief work, I wished I’d kept running. But after a short recovery time, I felt lighter than I had in months. Grief is no longer waiting to ambush me from inside books or thoughts or scenic vistas. I neutralized its power when I stopped running. I don’t believe in the American way of dealing with emotions because my life has shown me time and again that the equations just don’t add up.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Ketogenic Diet Update: Six Months of Ketosis https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/07/ketogenic-diet-six-months.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/07/ketogenic-diet-six-months.html#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2016 18:23:47 +0000 http://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=9770 Six months into a ketogenic diet is a sort of milestone among dietitians. It’s when the body really adjusts to the change—cholesterol settles down and other blood levels that have been out of whack do, too. Here’s where I am after six solid months of ketosis. Hypoglycemia My blood sugar has finally stabilized and the hypoglycemia… Continue reading Ketogenic Diet Update: Six Months of Ketosis


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Six months into a ketogenic diet is a sort of milestone among dietitians. It’s when the body really adjusts to the change—cholesterol settles down and other blood levels that have been out of whack do, too. Here’s where I am after six solid months of ketosis.

Hypoglycemia

My blood sugar has finally stabilized and the hypoglycemia appears to be under control! I think it’s from a combination of time for my body to adjust to the diet and eating so many calories in a day that I can get in enough carbohydrates. I’m eating 13.8 g of carbs each day; at the lowest, I was getting 3 g. It has stabilized enough that I can eat only two meals a day and can exercise without a blood sugar crash.

Migraine

I am less reactive to foods than I was before I started the diet, but everything I eat is still a migraine trigger. Certain foods are less bad than others and I’m slowly adding in more foods. Now that I’m back to two meals a day, I can take abortives after both meals and remain functional most of the time. (Someone will read this and inevitably be concerned about medication overuse headache/rebound headache. My doctor and I are on top of it.) Sometimes I barely feel the migraine attack at all. The last couple days, I’ve basically been back to where I was before the DHE infusions last summer—I still have a migraine attack every time I eat anything, but they mostly respond to medication (though I have fewer foods than I did then).

Weight

The weight loss seems to have stabilized, too. I’m remain at about 18 pounds below my ideal weight even though I try to eat 2,100 calories a day. I don’t know if I just need more calories on a ketogenic diet than I normally do or if I haven’t been hitting my calorie target. My guess is a bit of both. It’s easier to get in all my calories now that I’m on two meals a day, so we’ll see if I gain any weight.

Ketogenic Diet Ratio

When I noticed that I was no longer having hypoglycemic episodes, I increased my ratio from 3.75:1 to 4:1. It was too much—I went considerably deeper into ketosis, my migraine attacks became more frequent, and I lost weight. I also tried to decrease the ratio to 3.25:1 and a significant migraine attack ensued; it was too little. My sweet spot appears to be 3.75:1.

(I’ve learned that a 4:1 ratio is normally verboten for adults who aren’t in imminent danger of death because it’s impossible to meet protein needs within our calorie constraints. Since I have an extra 400 or 500 calories to play with, this doesn’t apply for me right now.)

Vitamin & Nutrient Deficiencies

So far, the diet has caused me to be deficient in iodine, potassium, sodium, chloride, and various B vitamins. I’ve been able to supplement (and use more salt) for everything except the B vitamins. A bad history with multiple different B vitamin supplement has me reluctant to try one. I think today is the day I’ll be brave.

Unexpectedly, my vitamin A is too high. It happens that the least migraine-triggering vegetables for me all happen to be high in vitamin A. Plus, vitamin A is fat-soluble and I always eat it in conjunction with a ton of fat.

Erratic Blood Work

My labs have been all over the place in the last six months. A level will be way high one month and back to normal the next without any change on my part. Almost every level that had been out of whack is back to normal or close to normal as of July 13. I won’t have my cholesterol checked for another couple weeks, but I’m actually hoping it will remain on the high end. One of the preventives on my list to try is a statin, which lowers cholesterol.

My Current Thoughts on the Diet

In summary,

  • I’m not hypoglycemic
  • I no longer have to eat more frequently than my meds can keep up with
  • I’ve stopped losing weight
  • My vitamin deficiencies are minor and so far manageable
  • My labs are pretty good

Obviously the ketogenic diet hasn’t been a slam dunk for me, but it is helping. After spending May and June thinking I would have to abandon it any day, it no longer seems untenable. It’s not ideal and can’t be my final strategy, but it’s getting me through. Now my goal is to maintain the diet long enough to support an aggressive trial of five or six different preventives (not simultaneously). Realistically, that’s probably at least until the end of the year.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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I’m not making this stuff up. https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/06/im-not-making-stuff.html https://www.thedailyheadache.com/2016/06/im-not-making-stuff.html#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2016 15:13:53 +0000 https://www.thedailyheadache.com/?p=9711 This is a reader-submitted story. Want to share your 30 Things? Here’s how: Migraine & Headache Disorders 30 Things Meme.  1. My diagnosis is: Ocular Migraines, Menstrual Migraine, and Migraine with Brainstem Aura 2. My migraine attack frequency is: 3-9 times a month 3. I was diagnosed in: 1994 4. My comorbid conditions include: anxiety, lactose… Continue reading I’m not making this stuff up.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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Share your story! 30 Things Migraine and Headache Awareness MemeThis is a reader-submitted story. Want to share your 30 Things? Here’s how: Migraine & Headache Disorders 30 Things Meme

1. My diagnosis is: Ocular Migraines, Menstrual Migraine, and Migraine with Brainstem Aura
2. My migraine attack frequency is: 3-9 times a month
3. I was diagnosed in: 1994
4. My comorbid conditions include: anxiety, lactose and gluten intolerance
5. I take __1__ medications/supplements each day for prevention and __3__ medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was: in high school. I couldn’t stand or see and had the worst pain ever in my life. I thought I was dying. The nurse had me lie down for 30 minutes and then tried to send me back to class. Thank goodness, my aunt was a secretary at the school and took me home.
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: vertigo, difficulty thinking/talking, and pain
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: having to urinate every 10-15 minutes! It’s such a pain because just standing and getting to the bathroom is exhausting then I finally get back to bed and I have to get up and do it all over again!
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: hormones, gluten, bright lights/sounds
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: I can’t stop yawning and I am very weak.
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: the effects on my job and my family.
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: taking care of my kids. Even though they are (sort of) able to take care of themselves for a while at 10 and 14, I know I am not doing enough for them.
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think: “How long will this last?” and “I’d never be able to do *this* if I had a migraine.”
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: how their relative/co-worker/neighbor has them too and what they do to fix it and be able to go about their lives.
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: “I’m so sorry.”
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think:
17. My best coping tools are: Diet Coke, water, Snickers candy bars, caffeine, dark room, rest, ice, my meds, heavy blankets, blackout curtains, my “Badger – Headache Soother Balm Stick,” silence!
18. I find comfort in: knowing my friends believe me and my girls understand what is happening and know how to take care of me.
19. I get angry when people say: “Oh, I have the WORST migraine!” while they are walking around the office, talking, working, and generally living life normally. It makes me feel like I’m not tough enough to handle mine and/or people don’t believe me when I can’t function when I get one.
20. I like it when people say: “I love you and it’s ok and how can I help?”
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: My daughters know to bring me ice packs, a water bottle, chapstick, and one of their stuffed animals!
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: “I believe you.”
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: my daughters will probably get them too.
24. Migraine has taught me: Cherish the healthy times.
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: Psalm 23: 1-3,
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: go on a gluten-free diet!
27. The people who support me most are: my girls and my friends.
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: it really is as bad as we say it is.
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: I can talk about it and not seem like I’m complaining.
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: every person is different but please believe me when I tell you I can’t stand up to walk to the bathroom, let alone go teach preschool special education.

Reader-submitted stories solely represent the personal point of view, experience, and opinion of the author, not of The Daily Headache or Kerrie Smyres.


Studies show TheraSpecs migraine glasses can reduce migraines up to 74%, relieve painful sensitivity to light (photophobia), and protect you from fluorescent lights. Best of all, they are drug-free so there is no risk of medication overuse headache. Learn more and get your own pair at www.theraspecs.com.

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