How My Treatment Plan for Chronic Migraine Helped Me

By Arielle Hicks, arsenic told to Alexandra Benisek

I've had migraines for arsenic agelong arsenic I tin remember. As a child, I was ever bubbly, progressive successful extracurriculars, and a straight-A student. One day, I had what I thought was a emblematic headache, but it wouldn’t spell away. Then for weeks, I'd only get a time aliases 2 without a headache. Then weeks turned into months.

I was falling dormant successful class. My grades were dropping. I wasn’t doing my homework, aliases doing good connected tests anymore. I stopped hanging retired pinch friends and playing sports. I didn't want to do moreover elemental things for illustration spell to nan movies because everything seemed to fuss me.

Eventually, I was capable to spot a neurologist who told maine that I had migraines. It was reassuring to get that diagnosis, to cognize that I wasn't crazy. Because astatine 13 years old, a batch of times, group say, “It's each successful your head.”

My Ever-Changing Treatment Plan

We were capable to commencement a curen scheme correct disconnected nan bat. It was a batch of proceedings and error.

But complete time, we noticed that medications unsocial weren't doing enough. It sewage to nan constituent wherever I’d beryllium admitted to nan infirmary for a fewer days to up to a week. This couldn't support happening. I was missing astir apt half a twelvemonth of schoolhouse astatine this point.

We tried thing called nervus blocks. My migraines typically commencement successful nan backmost of my head. So I’d get numbing medicine and sometimes a steroid successful that area. It was almost for illustration magic. It was instant relief. I wouldn't person migraines for weeks to a period astatine a time, aliases more. It had changed my life.

Later, my migraines would commencement to radiate toward nan beforehand of my head. We'd past do nan curen successful my eyebrows arsenic well. I retrieve that nan first clip I had it done, I cried because it helped maine spot better. It's not a pleasant point to get needles successful your head. But it's worthy it to get free of changeless regular headaches.

As I sewage older, I became eligible for Botox. I transportation a batch of tension, truthful I get Botox each complete my caput and successful my shoulders to merchandise pressure. Physical therapy is besides thing I do, to thief merchandise hostility successful my neck. I've done that connected and disconnected for nan past fewer years.

To this day, my curen scheme is still changing. I'm presently connected an anticonvulsant medication, which I've been utilizing for nan past 3 years.

Lifestyle Changes and Therapy Can Help

I’ve made manner changes, for illustration making judge I enactment hydrated, eat, and get due sleep. Those 3 were nan large things, because a deficiency of them tin origin migraines.

I started a headache diary to way what I was doing and find my triggers. For me, I recovered that cocoa and nan nutrient additive MSG lead to migraines. Another large trigger is stress. So my aesculapian squad group maine up pinch a behavioral psychologist. A batch of group pinch migraines thin to beryllium stressed, truthful it's bully to beryllium capable to person personification you tin talk to.

I’m an outdoors person. But during nan winter, nan deficiency of ray and seasonal worry origin maine to person much migraines. During this season, I've started taking an anti-anxiety med. This tin thief pinch nan pain. It besides puts maine much astatine ease, truthful I'm not getting stressed complete definite things. And that besides helps trim my migraines.

My Experience With Occipital Release Surgery

The biggest point that I've done, aft each these different treatments, was surgery. Since astir of my headaches commencement successful nan backmost of my head, my surgeon did an occipital merchandise surgery. (In this procedure, your expert releases nerves successful nan backmost of your caput from adjacent muscles and tissues that whitethorn beryllium putting unit connected them.)

That's honestly been nan champion point for me. Before, I’d person migraines that would past weeks astatine a clip pinch only possibly 2 to 5 headache-free days a month. But now, I'm only getting 2 to 3 migraines a month.

Even aft nan surgery, my doctors told maine I’m still going to person migraines each now and then. But beingness therapy, nan medication, and speaking pinch personification -- it's each really great. Treatment has fixed maine my life back.

My neurologist tin empathize, which is important to me. He had been done akin things. I look astatine him and think, “Wow, this was his life, too. And now he's a doctor, and he's helping people.” Seeing personification other spell done this and make it retired -- it's inspiring.

Know you're not unsocial and that pinch nan correct treatment, you will consciousness better.