This is a reader-submitted story.
1. My diagnosis is: chronic migraine
2. My migraine attack frequency is: 6-18 per month until recently (medical botox is working for me!)
3. I was diagnosed in: 1990’s
4. My comorbid conditions include: degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis
5. I take __8__ medications/supplements each day for prevention and ____ medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was:1972
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are: debilitating pain
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are: aura; brain fog; difficulty thinking and talking
9. My biggest migraine triggers are: heat; over-exertion; stress; blinking light
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when: I get a “grainy” feeling in my head and pain in the back of my neck and skull; I also feel tired and out-of-sorts
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is: loss of valuable time and daily life
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about: the duration of the pain
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I hope I will not have a migraine for awhile
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually: pity or compassion or silence
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think: What do you need?
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think: Right, an excedrin . . . get real!
17. My best coping tools are: massage; ice cream; the couch and tv
18. I find comfort in: ice cream and tv
19. I get angry when people say: Have you tried . . .
20. I like it when people say: I’m sorry to hear that . . .
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is: allow me to take care of myself
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is: “You are a candidate for medical botox.”
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is: That the more migraines I have, the more I am likely to have
24. Migraine has taught me: compassion for others; to protect myself from ignorance
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is: n/a
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: learn more about diet and exercise and take it seriously
27. The people who support me most are: My dear, dear husband!
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is: it’s not a headache and that, yes, most migraineurs have tried everything
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: educating myself and, hopefully, the general public
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is: I forgive all the people who have judged, doubted, criticized, and hurt me because of their own ignorance.
thanks Kerry –you are terrific! xovm
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.