Discover the profound impact of migraine through the personal journey of someone who has navigated its challenges with resilience and hope. Join us as we delve into the experiences of an individual with migraine, exploring the misconceptions, treatments, and personal triumphs that have shaped her journey. From the early onset of migraine in adolescence to managing symptoms amidst family joys and societal misunderstandings, this narrative sheds light on the complexities of living with this neurological condition. Learn about advancements in migraine treatment, including CGRP-targeted therapies, and gain insights into overcoming stigma and accessing effective care. This enlightening discussion, led by a neurologist specializing in headaches, offers invaluable perspectives on the role of medical interventions and patient advocacy in improving quality of life.
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0:00 music and children are the two things in
0:04 life that make me the happiest
0:07 children and then music they’re the best
0:11 [Music]
0:12 I have three children
0:15 and seven grandchildren
0:19 who I adore
0:23 [Music]
0:26 I took my grandchildren to the zoo
0:29 but I already had a headache when we
0:31 left
0:33 I took my medication but it didn’t go
0:36 away it got worse as the day went on
0:39 for me it was important they still have
0:41 a good time I just went to my car to
0:44 rest and I threw up
0:46 while they carried on with the visit
0:48 [Music]
0:51 I was 16 when I had my first ever
0:54 migraine
0:55 I had really severe headaches but I
0:58 didn’t know they were migraines
1:00 everyone told me it’s stress you’re
1:03 tired
1:05 then my mother took me to see a
1:07 neurologist who performed an
1:08 electroencephalogram that gave no clue
1:12 and no diagnosis even before I went to
1:15 see my doctor I was at the sage up
1:17 staying with some friends one night they
1:19 picked me up off the floor my headache
1:21 was so bad that I passed out I couldn’t
1:22 stop being sick
1:24 so they brought me to the hospital and
1:26 the doctors thought I was on drugs
1:28 [Music]
1:30 a migraine is more than just a headache
1:33 diagnosis it has to be a headache with
1:35 hypersensitivity to sound or light and
1:38 in general some nausea or sometimes
1:40 vomiting but migraine symptoms vary
1:42 greatly from one person to another and
1:44 there are many other symptoms like dizzy
1:46 spells and muscle pain too
1:48 um difficulty concentrating irritability
1:51 which contributes actually to the impact
1:53 that has on someone’s life there are
1:55 times in my life like when I went
1:57 through menopause when I’ve never felt
1:59 so sick
2:00 for six weeks I couldn’t even get out of
2:03 bed I tried to drink some water and I
2:05 would vomit
2:08 and well at that point my doctor seemed
2:10 to be really desperate she just didn’t
2:13 know what to do with me
2:15 even at the hospital
2:17 they didn’t do anything
2:21 Chantal is a lot like many of my other
2:24 patients we see someone who has lived
2:27 her whole life with severe debilitating
2:29 migraines that have impacted her
2:32 personal life her working life her
2:34 family and who hasn’t had access or been
2:38 able to access the treatments that are
2:39 available for many reasons is it because
2:42 she lives in a rural area because she
2:44 worked very hard and was busy taking
2:45 care of her family so she didn’t have
2:47 time to take care of herself is it
2:49 because she thought that migraines
2:50 didn’t really count as an illness or
2:52 that there wasn’t any Treatment
2:53 available
2:54 [Music]
2:55 all my life I’ve experienced a lot of
2:57 prejudice toward my migrants for example
2:59 at work a colleague of mine
3:02 he just kept on saying oh I can’t
3:05 understand why you skip work when all
3:07 you have is a stupid migraine
3:09 when I have a migraine I bought the
3:11 Tylenol poof that’s it
3:14 the misconceptions that I’ve heard about
3:16 migraines are you work too much you’re
3:19 stressed out you need to relax you just
3:21 don’t know how to manage your stress as
3:23 if I hadn’t already tried all that
3:26 when you have to live with migraines but
3:28 then hear these prejudices from those
3:30 around you well the consequences might
3:32 be quite damaging because the person
3:34 might actually feel like they are
3:36 responsible or that they have no support
3:39 so they start to hide their symptoms and
3:42 most likely will not seek the right
3:44 Medical Care
3:46 so these patients suffer in silence
3:49 and while sometimes they spend years
3:51 like that and then end up seriously ill
3:54 over time
3:54 because they didn’t get any treatment my
3:57 neurologist Dr LaRue when I first went
4:00 to see her it was the first time that
4:02 I’d met someone who really got my
4:05 reality
4:06 thanks to Dr LaRue
4:09 my life has really improved
4:12 I have migraines much less often now I
4:14 used to have them non-stop so people
4:16 can’t believe it now I have seven to
4:18 nine migraines a month instead of
4:20 between 17 and 20.
4:22 but just the Improvement in my life it’s
4:24 great for me but I’ve noticed they’re
4:26 less powerful I still have the heavy
4:28 ones but those are much less frequent
4:32 we now have new treatments available for
4:34 migraines they target what are called
4:37 cgrp proteins what’s interesting about
4:39 these treatments is that they can be
4:41 used both to prevent and to treat
4:44 migraine attacks
4:46 and for the very first time we actually
4:48 have a treatment that is produced on the
4:51 basis of scientific understanding of
4:53 what happens during a migraine attack
4:55 and that I think is a great step forward
5:00 today with the treatments I have I can
5:03 do much more than before
5:05 [Music]
5:06 I’ve always had a vegetable garden it’s
5:09 something I’ve always loved
5:11 and recently I also started growing
5:13 flowers because I find them so beautiful
5:16 before with the children and work and
5:19 everything else I really didn’t have the
5:21 time I love it though not the weeding I
5:23 hate that but I love seeing my flowers
5:25 grow
5:26 [Laughter]
5:29 [Music]
