Chronic Migraine, Coping

Migraine Continuum: Episodic & Chronic Labels Are Inadequate

A perpetual migraine for 18 days followed by eight days with a new migraine each day — that’s what I’ve just come out of. You think I’d be used to it, having done the severe constant migraine thing for a decade with only slight, infrequent reprieves. I suppose I was, but having had a break and then returning to it, I can see clearly how incredibly draining it is to have a migraine all the time.

Even when I felt my best this spring, I still have a migraine attack more days than not. For me, that’s easy to cope with compared to having a continuous migraine. It’s hard to articulate just how physically and emotionally taxing it is to never get a break.

Migraine is talked about as episodic or chronic, but those terms don’t account for the tremendous variation in quality of life. Someone can have a few migraine attacks a year or seven a month and still be considered episodic. Someone with chronic migraine can have eight migraine days and 15 headache days a month or have a non-stop migraine. How can two categories possibly capture that range?

Some researchers do break down episodic migraine into low-, medium- and high-frequency, though there’s distinction between degrees of chronic migraine. Hmm, degrees of migraine. I like that framing, though I wonder if it is possible to talk about degrees of migraine without people ranking their pain in relation to that of others.

2 thoughts on “Migraine Continuum: Episodic & Chronic Labels Are Inadequate”

  1. Hi Kerrie
    Sorry to her about the continuing migraines. Have you ever tried detoxing heavy metals with intravenous chelation therapy or with suppositories? I tried the latter. Got it from http://www.detoxamin.ca and I must say my headaches have gone down a notch or two in the last 2 weeks since starting. Have had headaches (mostly migraines) for going on 35 yrs.
    Also getting down into the valleys and wooded areas of my area have helped tremendously. In these areas there is little or no radiation from cell towers.
    A lot of people are saying that illness comes about from not being connected to nature. I believe it.
    Julia Hattori

    1. Thanks for sharing, Julia. I’m glad you’ve found something that seems to be helping. My naturopath has mentioned this, but I haven’t tried it.

      Kerrie

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