This is a reader-submitted story. Want to share your 30 Things? Here’s how: Migraine & Headache Disorders 30 Things Meme.
1. My diagnosis is: Episodic Migraine
2. My migraine attack or headache frequency is: 3-5 a month
3. The first migraine attack or headache I remember was: 14?
4. My pain levels range from: 1-9, average of 5
5. I was diagnosed in: 1997ish
6. My comorbid conditions include: Depression, Asthma, Allergies
7. I take 4 pills each day for prevention and 1 pill, and sometimes 1 injection, to treat an acute attack
8. In addition to pain, other symptoms I experience include: Visual changes, photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, extreme fatigue, brain fog
9. Treatments I have tried include: Tons of meds, supplements, chiropractor, craniosacral massage
10. During a migraine attack or headache, I: Sleep, a lot
11. My migraine attacks or headaches are triggered or get worse when: I’m stressed, sleep too little or too much, skip meals, monthly hormonal changes, drink caffeine or red wine, change my routine
12. The most frustrating part about having migraine or a headache disorder is: Missing out on life
13. Having migraine or a headache disorder causes me to worry about: Losing my job and friends
14. When I tell someone I have migraine or a headache disorder, they usually assume or say: They feel sorry for me
15. When I see ads or articles about migraine or headache disorders, I think: Nothing new (mostly)
16. My best coping tools are: Meditation, yoga, having gratitude
17. I find comfort in: My pets
18. I get angry when people say: “Again??”
19. I like it when people say: “How can I help you?”
20. Something kind a person can do for me during a migraine attack or headache is: Give me a place to sleep it off or offer to drive me home
21. The best thing a doctor has ever said to me about having migraine or a headache disorder is: “I need to know everything about your medical history so I know how to best help you.”
22. Having migraine or a headache disorder has affected my work/school life by: Having to miss so much work, fearing that my employers won’t understand or be accommodating
23. The hardest thing to accept about having migraine or a headache disorder is: Never knowing when the next attach will happen
24. Having migraine or a headache disorder has taught me: Never take your health for granted
25. The quotation, motto, mantra, or scripture that gets me through hard days is: “Be grateful because some people have it worse”
26. If I could go back to the early days of my diagnosis, I would tell myself: Stop drinking so much caffeine!
27. The people who support me most are: Dave, Mom, Dad
28. The thing I most wish people understood about migraine or headache disorders is: Even when I take meds, I can’t function normally
29. Migraine and Headache Awareness Month is important to me because: It’s bringing awareness to a highly stigmatized illness
30. One more thing I’d like to say about migraine or my headache disorder is: It’s not just a headache!
Reader-submitted stories solely represent the personal point of view, experience, and opinion of the author, not of The Daily Headache or Kerrie Smyres.