My Migraine Story
I wanted to share a little of my story with you all today - and then if you’re willing, I’d love to hear some of YOUR story in the comments!
I’ve had migraine since I was a little girl - below you can see a picture of me and the migraine logs my mom kept for me when I was 9 years old (my mom is an angel - she was also dealing with migraine and still did all this for me!). All I remember from that time period is going through lots of testing, developing a fear of doctors, and having lots of stomach aches and nose bleeds.
During my teenage years and early 20’s I had lots of other things that took precedence over my migraine - increasing stomach pains, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and a revolving door of eating disorders. The migraine episodes were just a very familiar and normal part of my life that I pushed aside and tried to drown with over-the-counter medications.
As I got older and worked through a lot of my other issues (yay therapy!), my daily migraine episodes became less easy to power through. I finally had to start taking prescription migraine meds after I developed an excruciating stomach ulcer caused by the ibuprofen I had been taking almost daily for about a decade. Pro tip - don't do that!
By this time I was preparing to enter my dietetic internship, and the meds made my fuzzy migraine brain even fuzzier, gave me horrible nerve pain, and worst of all made me lose weight - a slippery slope for an eating disorder survivor.
I knew I didn't want to live the rest of my life reliant on medication that decreased my quality of life, so I started using the skills I’d learned in school to find my own answers. I combined what I found with previous work I’ve done around body connection, mindset shifts, and cultivating self-love ... and my migraine started to improve.
Years later and I've been able to discontinue my preventive meds and cut my triptan use in half. I've been able to earn my Registered Dietitian credentials, start and grow a business, and help people like you see more symptom-free days too! Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I never thought I'd see a day without a headache ... but here we are!
I’m so sad for the little girl who had to suffer with no answers for so long, and sad that my parents had to watch helplessly as doctor after doctor provided no real help. But I can now tell that little girl that one day, she’ll feel better and help other people feel better too!
So that’s my story and why I’m here - to guide you toward a life that’s full of more good days than bad, more hope, more time to think about something other than triggers. A life that maybe isn’t complicated by countless medications and feeling constantly out of control.
What's your migraine story? Feel free to share with me in the comments below!
