Make it visible

I’m going to tell you a little something. It is important to me and something that should be discussed and not ignored.

This isn’t a complaint. Or whining. But here I am. I look fine. Like nothing hurts, a regular selfie, but you can’t see my migraine attack right?

What would happen if I stopped and allowed migraine disease to take over my life? I would literally do nothing—absolutely nothing. Migraine disease has numerous symptoms, and everyone experiences them with varying severity. I know I have touched on all of this in the past, but the symptoms range from nausea, light/sound sensitivity, visual disturbances, and throbbing or pulsating on one side of your head. These symptoms are painful enough to stop you dead in your tracks.

I can speak for myself. My migraine disease is pretty severe. I live with migraine with aura and chronic migraine. I have Lyssa who alerts me when she senses the next migraine attack will hit. I have trained her to detect them by the chemical imbalance in my breath that she has been trained to pick up on.

My symptoms are nausea and vomiting, dizziness, muscle weakness, extreme brain fog(I can barely put words together), the throbbing is so intense I can see it in my eyes. Every time I change my position my head pulsates for a minute straight and I need time and have to freeze for it to calm down.

If it’s a migraine with aura attack those symptoms are different. I will suddenly start seeing a spot in my field of view and starts to grow no matter where I look it’s dead center in my field of view. That continues for about an hour and I have to stop everything until it passes. And then the migraine attack happens…sigh…I start getting pain on one side and the throbbing that makes me throw up and I’m down for the count and end up in the ER.

Why am I sharing some of the details of my daily experiences with you?

AWARENESS.

How are there supposed to be any form of medical advances, better care, and faster relief if we don’t talk about what we go through? There can’t be any change if we keep our experiences to ourselves. I understand that it can be embarrassing, or uncomfortable. Some might take it as a complaint or “here she goes again talking about the same thing’” but we have to continue educating others about migraine. Did you know there are 8 types of migraine that millions live with?

Migraine World Summit

So here I am. After running a 5K distance on the treadmill with a migraine attack, yet again. But I ask..what else am I supposed to do? Let migraine win? I don’t think you know me very well. I am an Aries. We fight. While yes, some attacks bring me to the floor, literally because I have a seizure due to the pain. But other days I turn that frustration and tears into positivity and run. I don’t let it get me down because I don’t let migraine control me. It’s hard to live with it. I had a 5th spine surgery because it of. But that is why we must keep bringing awareness and helping each other out. I’d say the biggest thing that someone living with migraine needs besides pain relief is support. It can get lonely and isolating. Supporting us and one another is a big thing. It helps us out and makes us feel heard and understood.

This is my final call for help on our journey towards the Miles for Migraine finish line. It’s just a few days away and it would mean a lot to me if you donate. Just $5- would be enough to help make a difference ❤

DONATE HERE 

I appreciate you taking the time to read and see what it’s like for someone who lives with migraine.

-gelcys