This is a reader-submitted story.
1. Chronic Migraine – 33 years into this
2. 25/month average
3. 1994
4. Several kinds of Aura, Temporary blindness, Aphasia, Intense pain on left side, neck ache, hyper active prior to, depression, suicidal, does not respond to painkillers
5. Topomax, imitrex, cipralex, percacet, T3’s, magnesium, VitC
6. When I was about 10 years old
7. Blindness and not being able to think or speak. stroke like symptoms
8. burst of energy just before a big one
9. life
10. energy burst, I am happy
11. it dampens events, stops me from being the most I can be, Isolation from others
12. not being able to make it through the day, having to take too many pain killers
13. I don’t think about them between attacks. I’ve had enough
14. Indifference, cold, ignorance, stereotypes.
15. I test them and if they do, we bond, if they don’t, I call them out gently and educate
16. I get very very angry because it is usually BS stereotype building on a mass scale, then I write letters
17. Distraction, keeping myself extremely busy, dancing, art, socializing
18. Ice packs, my sons and a few close friends knowing the truth, my dogs
19. Stupid herbal remedies. A drop in the bucket. “Have you tried…….” “you won’t know unless you have tried”. I want to scream “have you had a horse kick you in the head and applied a leaf to stop the pain?!”
20. I’m sorry. I understand that that is very painful.
21. Accept me.
22. It’s not my fault. It’s okay to take more pain killers. What I have given you will not harm you. You don’t blame a diabetic for having to take insulin, so don’t blame yourself for what you have to take.
23. Untapped personal potential on a physical level
24. Patience, compassion, perseverance, intellectual stamina, empathy, wisdom, inner strength, spirituality, meditation, humility, acceptance.
25. This always ends. You’ve broken this many times. This monster does not win.
26. It’s not your fault. You do not cause this.
27. My migraine friends. My best friends. My parents now. My sons.
28. It is not a headache. It is a neurological brain disorder. It is IN the brain. Saying you have a migraine when you only have a headache is like saying you have epilepsy when you only have the shivers. Stop using migraine as your sympathy card. It is a hell card.
29. It is one more positive step towards bringing awareness and removing stereotypes. It gives a voice to those who have it.
30. There is no cause and there is no cure. It gets progressively worse for many people, myself included. So many people have been suicidal at some point in their life. There is so little hope in this disease with some 50% chance of cure like there is with other diseases. It is an unwanted marathon with no finish line and no reward. It’s not a headache …….compassion please.
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.