Katie’s Migraines

This is a reader-submitted story.

1. My diagnosis is: Chronic Migraine
2. My headache frequency is: Daily, apart from three days at the beginning of each month.
3. The first headache I remember was: I don’t remember it but I got my first diagnosis of daily tension headaches when I was 13.
4. My pain levels range from: a background annoyance to kill me now
5. I was diagnosed in: 1992 (I think)
6. My comorbid conditions include: possibly fibromyalgia
7. I take 10 pills and supplements each day for prevention and 7 pills to treat an acute attack
8. In addition to pain, other symptoms I experience include: nausea, vertigo, brain fog, memory loss, anxiety, sensitivity to light, sounds and smells, watery eyes, constant yawning, extreme thirst, fatigue, itchy skin, insomnia, food cravings especially for salt, clumsiness, toothache, earache, sinus pain and a blocked nose, muscle weakness, tingling/numbness down my left side and phantom smells. Most recently I’ve started seeing a little black sausage dog!!
9. Treatments I have tried include: I can’t even remember the names of all the pills I’ve tried. Plus, I eat clean, practice yoga, take every supplement recommended by the Migraine Trust and hydrate hydrate hydrate.
10. During a severe headache: I take a cocktail of painkillers, triptans, anti-nausea meds and muscle relaxants. Then I try to sleep.
11. My headaches get worse when: there is any kind of imbalance in my body temperature, blood sugar etc, any change to my sleep pattern or my over-sensitive brain reacts to bright lights, loud noises, strong fragrances and weather changes.
12. The most frustrating part about having a headache disorder is: never knowing when it’s going to strike.
13. Having a headache disorder causes me to worry about: everything!
14. When I tell someone I have a headache disorder, they usually say: Would you like some paracetomol?
15. When I see articles about headache disorders, I think:
16. My best coping tools are:
17. I find comfort in:
18. I get angry when people say:
19. I like it when people say:
20. Something kind a person can do for me during a severe headache is:
21. The best thing a doctor has ever said to me about having a headache disorder is:
22. Having a headache disorder has affected my work/school life by:
23. The hardest thing to accept about having a headache disorder is:
24. Having a headache disorder has taught me:
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through severe pain is:
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself:
27. The people who support me most are:
28. The thing I most wish people understood about headache disorders is:
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because:
30. One more thing I’d like to say about my headache disorder is:

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