As someone who suffers from debilitating migraines, I live in constant fear of when a migraine will strike. I also fear the reactions of others -- many people think I'm making it up, and almost no one understands the extreme amount of pain a migraine causes.
1. A Migraine Isn't "Just a Headache"
A headache is an annoyance, maybe a slight discomfort. Migraines are not headaches. When I get a migraine, I go blind in one eye, my hands go numb, and I even mix my words up. Not to mention the pain is so severe it makes me nauseous and I vomit for hours.
2. We're Not Faking It
We don't use migraines as an excuse to avoid going to certain events, or to "get out" of things we don't want to go to. Trust us, we would rather do pretty much anything than deal with a migraine.
3. No, We Can't Just Take an Excedrin
Or Ibuprofen, or Advil, or Tylenol. Migraines are so strong and so painful, over-the-counter medications don't work for most sufferers. For me, even my prescription medication is no match for a particularly nasty migraine.
4. We're Not Exaggerating
Believe us when we tell you we are in the worst pain of our lives. Every time I get a migraine, it is the worst pain I've felt, and it lasts hours. The only way to stop it is to lay in a dark room for hours, sometimes even days. It sucks.
5. It's Not Our Fault
For a lot of migraine sufferers, there's no certain event that triggers a migraine. They can happen anytime, anywhere. I've had to cancel plans often because I've come down with a migraine, and I'm met with hostility and disappointment a lot of times. Migraine sufferers can't help when they get a migraine, and it's really not our fault.
6. We Are Sorry
We don't enjoy cancelling plans because of migraines. We do feel bad, especially when we let down those we love because we can't do something special that we had planned.
7. Migraines Can Hang On
I call this "migraine hangover." It's usually the day after the worst of the migraine passes, but there's a nagging headache that won't go away. The day after a migraine, I'm typically exhausted and feel very weak, like someone would after getting over the flu. It's not as bad as the actual migraine, but I'm still not 100 percent. Migraines have an annoying way of sticking with you even after the worst is over.
8. We Wouldn't Wish It On Anyone
Migraine pain is so severe, I wouldn't wish it on my least favorite person in the world. Hours of vomiting, numbness in extremities, temporary blindness, and excruciating pain -- migraines could literally be used as a form of torture if they could be voluntarily inflicted upon others.
9. We Also Can't "Make It Stop"
This is something I've been asked a lot. I tell someone I need to go home immediately because I'm getting a migraine, and the other person will say, "Well, can't you just make it stop?" If you had the flu, could you just make that stop? No? Okay then. Migraines are the same.
10. They're Hard to Control
Some migraines can be stopped just by changing diet. Some can only be stopped or lessened by taking daily preventative medication. Some migraines are triggered by hormonal changes. Some people even get Botox injections to decrease the frequency of migraines. The thing about migraines is, it's extremely hard to figure out how to control them. Some people can never figure out how to get a better handle on them.
11. They're Unpredictable
Again, some people have certain things that can trigger a migraine, but not all of the time. Sometimes I get migraines when I'm especially stressed, but I've also gotten migraines on vacations when I don't have a care in the world. It's pretty impossible to guess when a migraine will strike, and that's what makes migraines so frustrating. If I get a migraine in the middle of an exam, or when I'm far from home, or during any important event, I feel panicked. I know there's a small window of time I have to get to the safety of a dark room before excruciating pain starts, and before I start vomiting. The unpredictability of migraines is terrifying for migraine sufferers.
If you know someone who suffers from frequent migraines, give that person a huge hug next time you see him or her. Migraines are completely awful, and migraine sufferers are tough. Migraines are not simple headaches, and migraine sufferers are not wimps. We don't fake migraines or exaggerate the pain. They suck. A lot. Keep that in mind if you ever cross paths with a migraine sufferer.
