This is a reader-submitted story.
1. My diagnosis is: Chronic migraine without aura
2. My migraine attack frequency is: daily
3. I was diagnosed in: 1988
4. My comorbid conditions include: bipolar disorder, hypertension, high cholesterol
5. I take 2 medications/supplements each day for prevention and 6 medications/supplements to treat an acute attack (although not all at the same time)
6. My first migraine attack was: My first full-blown migraine, with vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia was 32 years ago, but I suffered from frequent headaches throughout my childhood.
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: pain, photophobia, phonophobia
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: double vision
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: weather changes, bright lights, strong scents, red wine
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: I start to feel the pain coming on – I don’t get any real warning.
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: how it affects me every day.
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: how it will change my plans.
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think: that I won’t be able to do the things I want to do.
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: pity, but lack of understanding. They often give me ‘advice’ about something I should try. Almost always, I’ve either tried it, or it’s useless.
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: I empathize with them tremendously.
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think: that it will probably not work for me.
17. My best coping tools are: I just keep going.
18. I find comfort in: my friends. I also find that when I have a mild-moderate migraine, teaching helps. (I teach undergraduates in a small college.)
19. I get angry when people say: “Oh, I have had headaches…”
20. I like it when people say: “Is there anything I can do for you?”
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: Turn out the lights.
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: “I have a new idea for a treatment.”
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: That I get daily pain and that nothing I’ve ever tried helps.
24. Migraine has taught me: patience
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: “No mud no lotus.”
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: “Hold on tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
27. The people who support me most are: my friends
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: that it is not just a headache.
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: I actually don’t do anything for it – I should!
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: It has given me strength I didn’t know I had. My primary care doctor has called me “Mr. Three Standard Deviations” because with chronic migraine and bipolar disorder, along with a number of anatomical oddities (like two left renal arteries), he’s amazed that I can function at all.
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.