Migraine

Hi everyone-

Thank you- thank you to all who are responsible for creating and maintaining this site!! Thank you to all who share and contribute their stories making this the wonderful community it is!

As many have said, this is such a beacon of hope- providing comfort, reassurance, insight, education, empowerment and inspiration when we are at low points during the great journey of "Migraine". I'd say that I can hardly find words to express my gratitude and appreciation to find this community of support and hope; that you could not begin to understand how much it means to me; that you would not believe that you may have saved and forever changed my life-- but you DO understand and you KNOW the amazing power advocacy has.

My story is just an echo of so many others I have read here. There is really nothing new, unfortunately.

Even though I have been in crisis for the past 6months, completely incapacitated, doctors have not been willing or able to help me. They did not see my constant migraine as a real problem; my inability to work, drive, walk, talk as something that needed to be addressed; they could not diagnosis a "condition" and could not "fix" me so they seemed to want me to stop making such a fuss and just go away.

I am happy to report that your forum and articles bolstered my resolve to persevere and fight to receive treatment to actually help with my symptoms. With the doctor listings and recommendations from your site, I found a new migraine specialist. For the first time in 6 months- maybe years- I did not have to fight against a doctor to plead my case for help. HE doesn't want me to be in pain and suffering from constant migraine! HE wants to immediately end this migraine cycle, work to get the migraines under control, and even see if WE can determine additional diagnoses and triggers that are contributing.

The empowerment and overwhelming emotional release of validation is unparalleled and irreplaceable on the path of recovery. I felt and feel validation from others' experiences- I am not alone, I am not the freak in the corner. And now I have validation from a specialist who wants me to be well. I cried when he said there were so many treatment options that had not been offered or tried yet and he wanted to help me. It still makes me cry- ha, aggravates my migraine, but you can only do so much, right?

It all is still very surreal, but I have hope. When the nausea, dizziness, numbness, tingling, twitching, and pain sets in, I can think about a future when I won't have to feel that everyday. Now a visual aura with some dancing lights is a literal reminder that there IS true light at the end of this very long, deep dark tortuous tunnel of Migraine.

Many thanks,
Allison

Hello Allison, and welcome to our forum family! Our goal is to provide everyone with the information and support that we all need to manage our Migraines and/or headaches. To that end, we consider this a “safe harbor,” where nobody tries to sell us anything, and we all use “family-friendly” language so parents are comfortable letting their children read the forum with them.

Please take a few minutes to review our policies and guidelines along with the other information in the START HERE folder. For information about Migraines, a good article to begin with is Learning About Migraines - Where to Start.

What an inspirational post to read! Especially on a day when my head isn't doing all that well. This forum has been a wealth of information for me and is full of caring people who understand exactly what we go through. I'd be lost without it!

I'm so glad you decided to let us know how much this forum has helped you but don't forget, it took YOUR efforts and research to become an advocate for yourself, so many kudos to you too!

Welcome again and let us know if you have any questions and we'll do our best to help you out

Welcome Allison!!

I'm just so glad to read about the hope and success you are experiencing!!! Yes, it's time for the dancing feet to get moving!!!!

Isn't hope a glorious feeling??

Cyn

Welcome Allison,

Welcome to our family! I'm so glad you found us. And your post...how articulate and poetic. You captured the essence of all of us and our struggles and journeys.

13-14 years ago when I was first diagnosed with migraines with aura, it took me about a year to get it under control. From that point on (until 2 years ago), I was able to manage them with medication and avoidance of my triggers (well those I could control). Unfortunately though they progressed into Hemiplegic Migraines now. However, my point is...I understand where you are at.

Isn't it glorious when a doctor finally believes in you!?!

I wishing you a migraine-free day, Tonya

Welcome to the forum family!

What a beautiful, heartfelt post you've got here!

I bawled my eyeballs out for a good evening after finding the forums when I needed the most to connect to someone. There's a heap of joy and of peace when you stumble upon something you need so badly like that. I'm not the only one who's admitted bursting into happy, relieved tears upon finding the forum, either. We're in good company.

Welcome Allison!

I'm so glad you found us. I'm glad you've realized you are not 'the freak in the corner'. You are far from alone in your battle against migraines. I'm so happy that you've found a doctor who's willing to work with you and isn't just throwing up his hands. Best of luck in finding the right combo of meds to help you and I hope you continue to pop in and see us.

Meli