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My name is Diana Lee, and I’m a 30-something married to a wonderful guy. We have adorable furbabies, Maisy and Felix, and a very happy life together. Oh, and I have chronic migraines.
I have had chronic migraines for about seven years. They have nearly taken over my life. I started having migraines when I was six years old, but until 2003 I had them only periodically and found it fairly easy to manage my life with them. My sure fire triggers were overheating and sun exposure, which ruined many a field trip and family vacation. I also began to notice that anytime something really exciting was going on in my life I usually got a migraine. Talk about a downer. Yes, I missed out on some really fun times in my childhood as a result of migraine attacks, but they never changed the overall course of my life. Until they did.
In 2003 I was a newlywed in my final semester of law school. I was preparing to graduate and spend the summer studying for and taking the bar, and, of course, looking for a job. I started having intense, unrelenting pain in my neck and more frequent and intense migraine attacks. At the time I assumed it was due to the stress and pressure of law school finals, graduation, studying for the bar exam and furiously hunting for the right job. I started avoiding things I’d always done, such as social drinking, hanging out with friends and reading for pleasure, because I felt bad almost all of the time and didn’t want to do anything that might make things
worse.
In the fall of 2003 I started my first real job working as a lawyer in state government. It was my dream job, and I was thrilled to be doing what I’d dreamed of from the time I learned about that type of work. I felt certain I would begin to feel better since the stress of the bar exam and finding a job were behind me. As I worked hard to learn the ropes at my new job my migraines began to get worse and more frequent rather than improving. Eventually I found myself burning through my sick leave and napping in my office to make it through the day. I was so desperate for rest that I would shut my door, turn off the light and lie down on the floor using a jacket as a pillow to get some shut eye. Once my cell phone alarm went off I’d get up and try to pull myself together enough to function in the meetings I attended as the most visible part of my job.
After trying desperately to hang on to my job, it finally became clear it was impossible. While I have retained my law license, my life has completely changed. I am on Social Security Disability and Medicare. I write my blog and do other health advocacy work and a little pro bono lawyering. I don’t go to an office or interact with coworkers. My pets are my only daily companions. Even though my life isn’t what I thought it would be, I am a very happy person. I don’t take anything for granted any more.
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"I had my first migraine when I was 12. I thought I was going blind, the spots in my vision all grouped together and everything went black. The pain was intense and felt like my head would crack open above my right eye." 
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wow…you sound just like me. having migraines since age 5 and now being 35, you’d think we would have suffered enough already. i understand the job problems because i spent many lunch hours sleeping it off in the car just trying to get through the day. i hope you can find a doctor to help you with your treatment. keeping a headache diary has helped me more than i thought it would. i track my food intake and my headaches in it so the doctor will have some idea of what i am dealing with. i read a book that changed my life, but i understand everyone is different. “the migraine brain” by carolyn bernstein MD is my saving grace and maye it could help you too. understanding the migraine brain helped me get to the migraine free life i am living now. talking to others with migraine is also very important because feeling alone is just one more symptom we have to deal with. that’s one symptom we can get rid of very easily right now. good luck with your quest for a migraine free life…i know you deserve it.
Thank you for sharing. I so enjoyed at the end when you mentioned that even though life isn’t what you thought it would be, you are still happy and take nothing for granted. I’ve just arrived at the point in my life that I’ve accepted I have to give up my great job. It’s not easy but I’ve decided the struggle of hiding my illness and appear normal is more difficult and my health is more important than a career. Now comes the fun part of trying to get on disability! As if I didn’t already have headaches! =)
Diana,
Thank you for sharing your story here. I always hate to hear when someone’s life is changed so drastically by Migraine, but you really have made your ‘mess’ your ‘message’ by making yourself available to help so many others battling the same disease.
I wouldn’t wish this disease on anyone, but I am so very glad you’re here to share your insight and knowledge with us. Thank you <3