If you say you suffer from migraines, chances I’ll befriend you. Not because I specifically like to be friends with fellow migraine-sufferers, but rather you know what it is like. You know what it is like to have half of your head pounding, to see an aura and know the worst is about to come, and to be so helpless. I know that a migraine may feel like the end of the world and it isn’t, but it is not synonymous -- as often confused -- with just a “bad headache.”
Anatomically, a migraine comes in four stages: 1) Prodrome- where you feel foggy and not quite right for a few hours or even days, 2) Aura- where you start becoming visually impaired and nauseous, 3) Headache- the culmination of the one-sided throbbing and photophobia, and lastly, 4) Postdrome- the migraine hangover where even a slight move of the head can cause shooting pain. The scariest part is only the headache itself can last from 4 to 72 hours. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, a migraine is the 6th most disabling illness in the world and is defined as “an extremely incapacitating collection of neurological symptoms.”
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Unlike a normal headache, a simple, or even extra-strength, Tylenol won’t be able to relieve me of my fetal position and nausea. With no concrete cure and differing treatment options, it is almost exciting to talk to someone else who suffers with migraines and see if their treatment will work for you, but more often than not, it won’t!
Having suffered from migraines since I was 10, I’ve heard my fair share of statements like “what’s going to happen to your headaches when you get older and have to face real stress,” or “you can’t always have a headache.” But I’ve also thankfully been able to surround myself with people who know that if I’m sitting in a room with the lights off and curtains closed it doesn’t mean I’m too lazy to turn the light on, people who squeeze my head for me, or people that know that while caffeine can be my kryptonite, it is also the substance that may bring me out of the black hole.
Living with migraines means that you constantly have an insecurity that the pain and vomiting may strike at any time, means that you have to ignore when people tell you that you take medicine too much and that you should just fight through. In fact, “lost productivity costs associated with migraine are estimated to be as high as $36 billion annually in the U.S.” according to the Migraine Research Foundation..
Even though I know eventually it will all be over, my hyperactive nerve cells, that send out impulses, releasing prostaglandins, serotonin and other inflammatory painful substances, make me feel the loneliest and most worthless I’ve ever felt as I just whimper, hoping not ruin anyone else’s day or plans. So to other sufferers out there, although every migraine is different and I don’t know exactly how you feel, I applaud for learning how to manage suffering from migraines, and to those who have been fortunate enough to have only experienced a few or not even one, here is a window into my world:
