30 Things about My Life with Chronic MIgraine
This is a reader-submitted story.
1. My diagnosis is: Chronic Migraine, Without Aura
2. My migraine attack frequency is: 16 in May
3. I was diagnosed in: 1982ish
4. My comorbid conditions include: POTS, Major Depressive Disorder
5. I take 6 medications/supplements each day for prevention and 1-4 of 7 medications/supplements to treat an acute attack
6. My first migraine attack was when I was 11.
7. My most disabling migraine symptoms are pain, confusion, inability to concentrate, light and noise sensitivity.
8. My strangest migraine symptoms are nasal congestion.
9. My biggest migraine triggers are weather:
10. I know a migraine attack is coming on when I feel weak, woozy, and like someone is sitting on my chest:
11. The most frustrating part about having a migraine attack is if I try to do anything–even as small as doing the dishes, even if I feel pretty ok, the pain breaks through and I have to stop. Migraines make me incapacitated most days of the month..
12. During a migraine attack, I worry most about whether I’ll ever be ok enough to function most days a month.
13. When I think about migraine between attacks, I think things like am I getting one now, will what I am doing trigger another one, when can I take medication, how many days have I taken meds this month?
14. When I tell someone I have migraine, the response is usually “oh.”
15. When someone tells me they have migraine, I think, “I am so sorry you are suffering.”
16. When I see commercials about migraine treatments, I think “I wish it worked better for me” or “I wish it worked for me.”
17. My best coping tools are being in the moment and meditation.
18. I find comfort in resting, my kitty, my hubby, comfy pillows and blankets.
19. I get angry when people say nothing when I tell them I have a migraine.
20. I like it when people say they are sorry I have a migraine or that they hope I feel better.
21. Something kind someone can do for me during a migraine attack is tell me they hope I feel better or hug me.
22. The best thing(s) a doctor has ever said to me about migraine is that it wasn’t my fault.
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine is it might not ever get better.
24. Migraine has taught me to accept life as it comes.
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through an attack is, “This too shall pass.” or “this breath.”
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself, “You will get through this. You will be happy, you will find incredible amounts of joy and learn so much about the capacity of caring and love within yourself and others. You feel like you can’t do this, but you can and you will. And you will flourish though it will be very hard.”
27. The people who support me most are my husband.
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine is it isn’t just the pain, it’s an all out assault on the body that affects so many activities. I want to push through it, but often when I try, it makes me much sicker in the long run. The most important thing to do most of the time, when I have a migraine, is to rest.
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because it helps me feel like I am not alone and that migraines are acknowledged.
30. One more thing I’d like to say about life with migraine is it really sucks–it’s a terrible, terrible disease, but I hope people who have it will not give up and will try to find meaning in their lives apart from migraines–to not give up on life.
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.
Last Updated on May 10, 2016 by Kerrie Smyres