My Experience with Chronic Migraines

IMPORTANT: please do not use this as a place to vent or give advice (believe me I have tried anything you’re thinking of)

I was diagnosed with chronic migraines in 2020, there had been a lot going on before this too, but they got significantly worse after some long-term traumatic events in 2022-2023. Migraines run in my dads side of the family, but not nearly as severe as mine- we suspect I was already going to develop them but that they were made worse by PTSD. 

Chronic migraines are diagnosed when a person has at least 15 headache days per month, with at least 8 of those being migraines, for over 3 months. I have had an average of 20+ migraines every month with headaches every day for over 4 years. I am either in severe pain, or exhausted and ill from days/weeks/months of that. I can NOT live a normal life, and there should absolutely be more accommodations for migraine sufferers. 

The only thing that currently helps me is (occasionally) a big dose of sumatriptan. I have been on countless preventative medications including pills, monthly at-home injections, devices like cefaly, and even botox (50 injections in my face/head/neck/shoulders every few months wasn’t very fun). I have tried many lifestyle and diet changes, physical therapy, you name it. Nothing has worked. 

Another thing is, migraines aren’t always just extreme pain, they can make you dizzy and nauseous and many migraine sufferers (I’m one of them) have auras that affect vision. My auras are usually sparkles, black/blind spots or blurriness, but some people get pretty crazy ones. You could probably assume being dizzy and in extreme pain and having impaired vision would not be the best to drive with, right? I definitely don’t feel like I have good reaction time even doing daily tasks when I’m in that state (which is a LOT of the time). I have to think way too much about what everything I read/hear means and usually can’t even figure out words for what I want to say either. Yet there are almost no accommodations at school or work or in general for people with migraines, and the stigma is insane. 

Though even the pain alone makes me severely depressed and feel like I’m losing my mind, a lot of emotional pain comes with it too. I used to be able to do things I probably will never be able to do again. I will not be able to work the “ideal” job properly. A lot of people make me feel like i’m overreacting or a burden because it affects my mood and energy levels. There is no cure.

I want to add some sources for you guys to read if you want to learn more, but I’ve yet to find any that aren’t huge research papers. You are more than welcome to recommend some!