Migraines suck.
Surely, I’d be the first to agree with anyone on that topic.
For nearly 5 years now I’ve been suffering from migraines.
From the Mayo Clinic, a migraine is described as severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It’s often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that it interferes with your daily activities.
For me, a migraine usually shows signs of coming on about 1 to 2 days in advance. I tend to get a tender head and scalp along with mild vision disturbances. These symptoms did not start presenting until a few months ago.
At the beginning of my journey with migraines, I had no onset symptoms and they would come, often with severe side effects and last 5 or more days. I remember the days I used to spend nauseous and unable to even look at my phone without more pain. This resulted in many missed classes, workdays and social events.
Finally, enough was enough and I went in for a consult with my doctor. I was initially diagnosed with menstrual migraines that occurred on or near ‘that time of the month’ and was caused due to an influx of hormones in my body.
As time went on, my migraine days began to slowly reduce and I was able to just use what I call my ’emergency meds’ when I feel a migraine start to come on. Lately, I have only been having 5-10 migraine days A MONTH! Which is a stark reduction in the number of migraine days I faced in the beginning. There were times when I only felt 5-10 migraine free days.
Invisible illnesses suck, migraines suck. Just because I do not present visible symptoms does not mean I’m not suffering. There are days that I have blurry vision or even a slight increase in noises around me make it worse. I’ve come to find, however, that being open and honest about what I’m going through helps in the long run. Those close to me, my bosses, and others know that I deal with this. I couldn’t be more thankful for the support system I have around me. It’s gotten so good, that just one look and my mom knows when my migraines are coming on.
So, from this, all I have to say is speak up. The more we share our invisible illnesses the more awareness is brought to them.
Yes, migraines suck, but I’m surviving, and I won’t let them stop me.