Welcome to our exploration of life with migraine—a journey marked by challenges that extend far beyond the pain itself. From the classroom struggles to daily routines, migraine profoundly influences every aspect of life. This video aims to uncover the complexities of migraine, from its symptoms and treatment options to the significant emotional and practical impacts it imposes. Join us as we delve into the realities of living with this chronic condition, offering insights and support to those who face similar challenges. Let’s advocate together for greater understanding and better care for migraine sufferers everywhere.
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0:00 I really loved biology class
0:05 but it was always very very hard I
0:07 couldn’t pay attention you know I would
0:09 just say lie my head down in class and
0:11 so I remember my grades in schools
0:13 suffered but it’s not because I wasn’t
0:15 studious enough it’s just that I was
0:18 physically not able to migraine is
0:21 really dictating my life
0:22 [Music]
0:28 I started experiencing migraines when I
0:31 was fairly young I would get different
0:35 symptoms like very very sensitive to
0:38 light sensitive to noise
0:40 but I sort of told myself like oh well
0:42 everyone goes through this and you just
0:44 sort of power through it and hope that
0:45 it goes away hours later but it got
0:47 worse when I was around 15 or 16 that’s
0:51 when it became not manageable anymore
0:56 migraine is a disorder that’s sub
1:00 categorized the first way that we
1:02 categorize migraine is based on how
1:04 affected somebody is if somebody has a
1:06 headache more than 15 days a month we
1:08 call it chronic migraine if it’s less
1:11 than 15 headache days a month we call it
1:13 episodic migraine it’s really the same
1:15 disorder that can fluctuate over time
1:17 depending on multiple factors women are
1:20 at a higher risk for developing chronic
1:21 migraine compared with men the overuse
1:24 of as needed medications and if there
1:26 are under treated psychological problems
1:28 like anxiety depression we know that
1:31 people are more likely to develop
1:32 chronic migraine
1:33 when I was first diagnosed with episodic
1:36 migraine I remember having this medical
1:38 note for my physician saying that if
1:40 ever I needed to leave class for a
1:41 migraine then I would be able to excuse
1:44 myself and go to the nurse’s station so
1:46 it was a lot of you know coming back and
1:48 just showing up the class and being like
1:49 what are we talking about how did I miss
1:52 all this my life literally revolved
1:54 around and still revolves around my
1:56 brain it was about not going to parties
2:00 wearing sunglasses outside like all the
2:02 time I’m always having my abortive
2:05 medications next to me
2:09 we separate migraine treatment into two
2:11 Avenues and we think about prevention
2:13 for migraine so how do you reduce the
2:15 burden of migraine and then we think
2:17 about abortive treatment or what we call
2:18 rescue treatment so things that you
2:20 would take on an as needed basis during
2:22 a migraine attack to hopefully halt it
2:24 if those are used too often they can
2:27 lead to medication overuse headache
2:28 which then can lead to
2:30 a daily headache or lead to Chronic
2:32 migraine
2:33 I think in the span of like six months I
2:36 had gone from having you know headaches
2:38 once in a while to having migraines
2:39 almost every single day
2:41 you’ve taken a board of medication that
2:43 as soon as it affects stops then you
2:46 start getting another headache again so
2:47 you have to take more it means your
2:49 preventative treatment isn’t doing
2:50 enough and I often blame myself for
2:52 having and being in so much pain it
2:55 wasn’t myself that was wrong it was the
2:58 medication that wasn’t right for me
3:04 my position said can you just track your
3:06 migraines you know just for a month just
3:08 to see and then I filled out the
3:10 calendar and just like you know counting
3:13 all the migraines that I had in a month
3:15 I was like this is a lot more than 15.
3:17 that’s when he said like okay well your
3:20 preventative treatments
3:22 offer episodic migraine they’re not for
3:24 chronic migraine we decided to move
3:26 forward with chronic migraine treatments
3:28 specifically and that was just such a
3:31 game changer
3:34 make sure that your doctor understands
3:35 what you’re dealing with actually
3:37 tracking how much you’re missing your
3:38 work and how much medication you need to
3:40 use can be a really powerful way of
3:42 actually explaining to someone how much
3:44 this is affecting your life when coming
3:46 up with a treatment plan for anyone it’s
3:49 important that we always look at someone
3:50 as an individual and the more types of
3:54 treatments we have available the more
3:56 chance we have to help and treat and
3:58 improve the lives of more and more
4:00 patients
4:03 when I was in the hospital one of the
4:05 nurses saw that I wasn’t coping well
4:07 with my migraine and the chronic pain
4:09 and so she was the one that just you
4:11 know sat next to me and said that we’re
4:13 going to find a way to make this work
4:14 and that was sort of the moment that I
4:17 realized that I wanted to be that person
4:20 for someone else
4:21 right now I’m doing my PhD full-time and
4:25 I’m working part-time at a private
4:27 medical clinic and we even have patients
4:29 that come to the clinic that complain of
4:31 headaches or migraine and now I’m fully
4:34 equipped to help them which is
4:37 an incredibly humbling experience
4:40 people deserve to be listened to and not
4:43 have their symptoms brushed off and told
4:45 to you know just go outside break some
4:48 air drink water
4:50 yes it is it’s an invisible illness it’s
4:52 a hidden Illness but that doesn’t make
4:54 it
4:55 less prevalent
4:57 and I think knowing that
4:59 I would have seen my symptoms as not
5:02 being something to brush off because
5:04 it’s so much more than just a bad
5:06 headache
5:09 [Music]
