Help Theresa raise money

I will always remember my first migraine. I was on a junior high field trip at a local art museum. I was feeling pretty cute in my white pants and red sweater. Then, to my ultimate horror, I started my period. I can still hear the boys snickering behind my back. A friend led me to a bathroom where I vomited and experienced the worst head pain I had ever felt. I did not know this was a migraine back then. I had no idea that I would still be dealing with migraine thirty years later.

My migraines have morphed over the years. In the early days the visual aura (floaters & tunnel vision) would give me a solid thirty minute warning of the impending pain. Most days I was able to medicate in time. When I was not able to, I would end up in a dark room fighting the pain. However, back in those days, I always had the comfort that going to bed and getting good night’s sleep would “reset” my brain and I would wake up pain free.

Unfortunately, the days of resetting my brain with sleep are long gone. Today my migraines are chronic. I have been stuck in a persistent visual aura for the past three months. I can no longer trust my migraine warning signs because they seem to always be “on”. Along with the intense pain, I also suffer from nausea, vertigo, light & sound sensitivity, and a constant buzzing sound (tinnitus). During a migraine episode I have trouble with balance. I have also struggled with depression and anxiety from the constant pain.

I have been seeing a neurologist for the past eight years. As most migraineurs know, you will have success with one drug, or a combination of drugs, but eventually your body habituates to the medication and it stops being effective. Which puts you in an unending cycle of trying new drug combinations to see if something else will work. In addition, you have to decide if the side effects of the medication are worse than the actual migraine. Worrisome side effects I have recently dealt with are weight gain, kidney stones, high blood pressure, and excessive sleepiness.

I try to keep my migraine brain calm with a consistent sleep schedule, regular exercise, staying hydrated, eating healthy, and avoiding alcohol & caffeine. I am on a gluten free diet, which has made me feel healthier overall, but hasn’t actually helped my migraines. I recently started Botox treatments and am hopeful that I will be able to achieve “crystal clear” (zero pain) days. I have an appointment with a headache specialist this summer to get a second opinion on a treatment plan.

So how do I cope? On bad days I just focus on surviving the day. I have breathing and visualization exercises I can do along with the pain meds that will bring the pain down a notch or two. My ice cap and sleeping mask are my best friends.  Other days I try to remain optimistic that we WILL find a treatment plan that works. I keep a gratitude journal which helps me focus on the positive.

My migraine journey has been long and arduous, but there are a lot of things I am thankful for. Such as; the health care professionals that have treated me with compassion and respect. My husband, who has been my rock. My daughters (my reading and hiking buddies). My extended family and friends. My understanding employer. But most of all, I am thankful for the medical scientists that are constantly developing better migraine treatments.

I suffer from migraine disease, as did my mother and her mother. Yet I vow to remain hopeful. My daughters are at the age where I was when my migraine journey started. I know better days are ahead, and hopefully, with advances in science and medication, my daughters’ migraine journey will end not long after it begins.