Laura’s Life with Chronic Migraine

The is a reader-submitted post.

1. My diagnosis is: Chronic Migraine
2. My migraine attack frequency is: 15 + days a month
3. I was diagnosed in: 2013
4. My comorbid conditions include: anxiety and depression. Who wouldn’t be depressed with 15 + migraine days a month?
5. I take __4__ medications/supplements each day for prevention and __3__ medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was: November 2012. I had migraines before but this was the beginning of the debilitating attacks I now experience regularly.
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: blinding, searing pain, inability to tolerate any light or sound, nausea and vomiting.
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: intense awareness of smells and strong taste buds.
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: weather and stress.
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: I feel tired for no reason, when the weather is changing I am guaranteed a migraine.
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: having to cancel plans, letting other people down, not knowing how many days I will be out of commission.
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: my daughter and letting her down, whether I will end up in the ER, controlling the nausea and pain.
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think: it’s only a matter of time. I try to cherish every second of non-migraine days.
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: complete lack of understanding or ‘Have you tried this?’ and of course I already have.
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: Poor soul! I don’t wish migraines on anyone so I automatically feel terrible for someone who experiences them. On the other hand, I feel like I might have found someone who understands my life.
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think: Why don’t any of those treatments work for me? How is it possible that of all the migraine drugs available I don’t benefit from any of them?
17. My best coping tools are: prayer and sleep.
18. I find comfort in: my faith.
19. I get angry when people say: it can’t be that bad. Or when people get angry with me when I have to cancel plans at the last minute. I’ve lost friends and a husband due to chronic migraine. People don’t understand the guilt the migraineur feels letting friends and family down when she is sick.
20. I like it when people say: they know my migraines aren’t my fault and they are praying for me.
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: acknowledge what I am experiencing. Treat me like any other person with a disabling condition. Ask what you can do to help. This never happens with people who suffer from migraines. Most people just assume they are having a bad headache. They don’t understand the disease.
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: I guess that it is a real condition and that I have tried everything available to combat my migraines so I shouldn’t feel guilty about something I cannot control.
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: it’s incurable. No matter what I do it is part of my life – a huge part.
24. Migraine has taught me: I can’t control everything in my life. I have turned my migraines over to God.
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: This will be the hardest thing you ever experience with the most heartache, but you will survive the darkest days. Don’t ever give up.
27. The people who support me most are: my boyfriend, my best friend (both of whom came into my life after my migraines had taken hold of my life), my parents, one of my sisters, most of my oldest friends and my husband deserted me.
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: it’s a real disease and far more than a bad headache.
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: anything that brings awareness to my suffering is a positive thing. People need to understand the truth about migraine.
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: it’s almost impossible at times but it is still worth living and still rewarding despite the pain and losses I’ve suffered. There are people who make an effort to understand this disease and love me anyway.

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.