This is a reader-submitted story.
1. My diagnosis is: Chronic Migraine both with and without aura
2. My migraine attack frequency is: Four to five per week
3. I was diagnosed in: circa 1990
4. My comorbid conditions include: Reunaud’d syndrome, fibromyalgia, IBS
5. I take five medications/supplements each day for prevention and four medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was: somewhere around 1983
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: sensitivity to light and scents, and pain.
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: when my hair hurts and when half of my face and head feel hugely swollen (when they aren’t). Oh, and I crave cold food.
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: SUNLIGHT, lack of sleep, barometric pressure changes (usually when it drops, but any change can be a trigger), dehydration, and many smells (onions and perfumes are big ones) and any kind of flashing or strobing lights.
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: my vision blurs and I get nauseated.
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: how it limits my activities.
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: what my husband is having to do for me because I can’t.
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think: how hard it is to find a cure because everyone’s migraines are so different.
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: “I get them, too.” I’m amazed at how many people have them.
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: “You poor soul,” and I wonder if there’s anything I can help them with.
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think: I wonder if it’ll really make a difference. Then I wonder if my insurance will cover the likely high price of the treatment.
17. My best coping tools are: A darkened room, my feather pillow, ice pack, and audiobooks.
18. I find comfort in: my husband, PJs, and my bed.
19. I get angry when people say: You have ANOTHER headache?
20. I like it when people say: They understand.
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: different things at different times, really. The biggest help is when someone (my husband, usually,) just keeps my glass full for me so I don’t have to leave my dark room.
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: I can help you.
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: how life-limiting they are.
24. Migraine has taught me: to appreciate little things.
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: I dam not really have one.
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: it’ll get worse before it gets better, and to avoid narcotics whenever possible – in the long run, they don’t help at all.
27. The people who support me most are: my husband and my daughter.
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: they’re different from “regular” headaches.
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: it helps spread the word about migraine.
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: I hope my friends don’t give up on me. One day, I hope to have a life without headaches.
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.