Migraine

I have just added that thought to my signature and I was just wondering how many of you have thought the same and hope one day that you will be migraine free.
Whether its by treatment or it just mysteriously disappears as suddenly as it started.

I am busy convincing myself that in my case its my age
(although still waiting for MRI results so I know its nothing more sinister.)
Mine started by having about 5 odd attacks in the last couple of years but this year it was 2 to 3 attacks everyday, thank goodness it is trailing off now, probably thanks to treatment but it could be doing it all by itself
I know its been a hell of a year but I feel I have turned a corner in as much as I am now accepting the darn thing and its not getting me down so much.
How do you feel?

I guess it's hard to say. My migraines have been decreasing, slowly; is it the treatment or am I "growing" out of it, or is it the new attitude I've tried to adopt.

I don't think I'm going to dwell on it much - just be happy about it.

Hi Caroline,

For the first few years after my chronic pain started, I was confident I would be pain-free some day. As the years have passed, reality has set in. I will not be pain-free, instead manage the pain I have. And that is ok.

This was a very slow process because I was always looking for answers why I was in pain. Well, I have found them. Between IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension) lupus, Migraines and Fibromyalgia I have all the information I need about chronic pain

For me, acceptance was the key. Some days are better than others. So as far as going through "a stage" - yes, I went through a 10 year stage of anger, denial, guilt and every other emotion you can think of.

But it's "all good" now.

Realistically, I don't think I will ever be completely migraine-free. If I fall in line with my family history, my migraines will be the worst now (I'm 24), and will start to calm down in my early 30s. My mom and sister both went through hard times in their 20s, but my mom is convinced my head will calm down in a few years.

That said, I do believe I will find a treatment regimen that manages my pain. (I have both CDH and migraines.) So far I haven't found it, but I think one day I will.

It varies for me day-to-day - I'm still working on acceptance. I still feel very angry and frustrated that my head is so out of control. It's been a struggle for me. I'm still in the acceptance stage, but I'm getting closer.

Feeling a little foggy today, so hopefully that made sense.

I certainly am expecting that my migraines will greatly decrease when I'm fully menopausal, since hormones are probably my most significant trigger. I do know people whose migraines have completely stopped sometime when they are in their 60's, but that's still quite a long wait for me. In the meantime, I hope to have better and better management.

My NPDH and migraines had a sudden onset. I remember the first day I had them Oct 26, 2005. And I kept thinking, it is going to get better. Then, I finally got to the point where I realized I may just never be pain-free again. It took a year and a half, for me to realize that I am not "normal" anymore. I was kind of in denial. Being in pain 24 hours a day is not normal. And of course I was REALLY angry. And everytime a migraine would hit, I'd be angry because how DARE it take the rug out from under me again.

I still get angry and feel helpless sometimes but I think my perspective of myself has shifted. I am a migrainur. I have NPDH. This is me. But, I am also a lot of other things that bring me joy and that I am thankful for and that bring me through the day. And you know having migrianes and being in pain so often has taught me a lot of invaluable lessons that I wouldn't have learned if I hadn't had this disease. (Please don't hit me with a frying pan! ) But, I eventually realized that I have to live with this disease. (As much as I tried to crawl out of my body, it didn't work!) It is part of me and I have to make peace with it if I'm going to manage it. <insert whip cracking sound> I'm not there yet. But, I'm much more calmer than I used to be. I used to freak out much more. I deal with anxiety. But, I'm a lot calmer now.
I'd love to be pain-free one day, but honestly what I really want is just to be able to manage the pain I experience.
Kelly

Oh this is like one of "lifes big questions" for those in pain.

I don't know. Mine were minimal in my youth, only around my period. Then, they became more frequent in my 20's.

I was 24 I think when I started abortives. That worked for a bit, a migraine maybe twice a month. Then everything unravelled.

I started getting them, at first, like what I would describe to be NDPH - but really it was migraine just at a 2 or 3 but all the time, because I didn't abort it.

This is when I went on preventives. I was 28. Now - I'm still on Topamax, and it's not working. I'm back to having 3-4 a week - no one wants to take me off the topa - which stinks!

I am in search of yet another neuro or whatever to just listen to me. I think I'm going to start a steroid pack today or tomorrow.....

I wish they would leave as suddenly as they came. I look back at my youth and wish for the days of just one a month - that would be a HUGE improvement from what I am facing these days!

Eileen-Ummmm, I realize I say this alot, but here we go again:

I agree with Eileen. Mine are the same way, almost to the point of exactly (I don't take steroids, at least not yet LOL)

Hmmmm, maybe you are my birthmom Eileen

Anyway, back to the original question, after 20+ years, for me, it is not a stage but a way of life. On my good days, the ones when I am not feeling sorry for myself, like today, I think, hey, a good day! Embrace it!!!

I like to hope and pray that one day they will go from the majority of my days to just a few. There is just to much new medical advances being made out there to give up hope for me!

Not saying you are giving up hope....wanted to clarify that