"In a word, the scariest thing about a migraine is___________"

By Editorial Team

What scares you most about having migraines? Join the conversation! Post your response in the comments below.

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Join the conversation

marykeller
incapacitating!!
karenmullins
pain
pamg
The fear of my migraine going to the extreme like it did in 2007 when this first hit me big time. That includes Nystagmus and vomiting that doesn't stop for 24+ hours!! 🙁
cherylfirebride
The constant possibility looming that it could turn into a stroke.
1. cinders
 I have that same fear, just had a MRI to calm my fears.
not found
...pain so bad or going on so long you stop caring if you live or die.
1. nancys61
 Unfortunately, I know how you feel. It's a terrible feeling. I try to always remind myself of my loved ones so I'll never go to the extremes....
mcheadache
that this one is going to be worst than the last.
cinders
Everything listed below and that there will never be a cure. Hope is hard to find when it's chronic.
1. tonytrenton
 I am 68 and have had Migraines all my life up until about 10 years ago when I developed high blood pressure and was prescribed 'Tritace' 'Ramipril' for that condition . The Migrains diminished. I now take 10 mg twice a day 8-10 hrs apart and have not had a migraine since. My big regret is that my life has been ruined by the migraines for +- 60 years.
2. not found
 Cinders - I just told my daughter yesterday (she also had migraine) "You know what's bad about having a chronic disease? Knowing it'll never go away."
bos3812
the extreme pain, knowing it will come back the next day, and the next day and so on.
1. sandymyers
 I agree!
marlenerossman
Excruciating pain, nausea and vomiting
nancys61
That this time it'll never end...
1. mary55
 it never seems to end for me either...
2. melissamartin
 doctors always ask how many migraines do you get a week, i think about and want to say one, the same one for 5-7 days straight. They never completely go away.
zenchai1976
The scariest thing is not knowing what is going wrong, but feeling everything is going wrong. I don't know if I can trust my own senses to tell me when there is anything wrong outside of the migraine when they are so extreme.
1. melissamartin
 i totally agree
thegoodsied
the unpredictable debilitating bed confining pain that tends to last for 12-72 hours. dizziness nausea vomiting and the inability to enjoy life while it just passes you by. I feel like I am neglecting my 4 mo old daughter when i have to pass her on to someone else because of a migraine.... will she grow to resent me? how many school functions will i miss? birthday parties? I have already lost my job over this!
1. mlrbsn7
 I'm right there with u as well.
2. melissamartin
 I feel the same way about my kid. She is 5 yrs old and my mom and dad have been doing most of the raising. I've missed out on alot. I also understand the job thing, im scared to even try and get one cause i have no clue if i could keep it. Everyone tells me to go back to school, but im scared about that too. I dropped out of high school cause i had migraines and missed so much school. What if it happens again in collage.
lauraphillips
it's endlessness.
sc_64662ccfb802ba388968943d4ef99725
dying!
1. tonytrenton
 Dying is much easier and much more charming.
mary55
not being able to enjoy life due to debilitating pain and having lost so much already.
ingridzwiener
Endless
joypeters
pin, nausea, inablity to think
harphelper
Unpredictability. I never know when or where it's going to strike, and when it does I have to make a bee line back home and into bed. I can barely function with a full blown migraine, so all other activities are curtailed.
claudiaglenn
they control my life. Having 3 migraines a day, my life is controlled by this beast.
1. melissamartin
 They have controlled my life for along time. Im a 25 young lady who lives with mom and dad still as well as my 5 yr old. At times I feel I should let my parents adopt my daughter cause it is hard for me to take care of her from the couch or in my bedroom with no light shinning through/ and i move out so I dont have to be a burden in there lives anymore. I feel at times fear is controlling my life along with migraines.
simpgourdjus
Unpredictability!!!
1. melissamartin
 I have put aside on getting a job or going back to school cause I never know when it will hit. I'm scared of having to quit what im doing cause of the unpredictability of if and when will the pain come and how bad they end up being.
lifetimegirl2000
The fact that there is limited funds going to research to find out what causes thesse monster headaches.
tonytrenton
I become mentally Incompetent
maxbrown
"In a word, the scariest thing about a migraine is....knowing that it's coming"
robindunning
Thinking I might lose my eyesight.
1. melissamartin
 I hear you on that one.
mlrbsn7
Knowing if my rescue medicine is going to take away the pain or if I'm going to end up back in the hospital again.
lori29
Not knowing when or if it will end.
kristisprague
Two things: The fear of what this chronic condition is doing to my kids and the fear of having a stroke.
sandymyers
There are a number of fears, pains and frustrations but the ultimate is the fear of a stroke.
1. nicolaxoxo
 Valid concern as it is proven that migraineurs are much more likely to have strokes, especially those who have migraines with aura.
newfoundland1
Hi. I'm Val and my Newfoundland Service Dog, BUBBLES, alerts me to both Migraine and Stroke. She balances me for my Vertigo episodes and re-directs me when I become disoriented. She is my rear-view mirror, my protection against impending hazards, and when I suffer an Ocular Migraine Stroke which is intense pain around the area of my eyes, PLUS a total visual field blackout, she senses it and immediately becomes my guide dog. The OMS's are my greatest fear but not now with her by my side. I have had CMD for over 50 years, plus now I have Degenerative Disc Disease in lumbar spine and both hipjoints and Macular Degeneration. With my big lovable and highly intelligent (rescued) Newf, I can go wherever I want and she takes care of me. Who rescued Whom? Val and Bubbles - Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA God bless all of you.
1. nicolaxoxo
 Val, that is fantastic, both that you rescued Bubbles and that she rescues you now...can you please tell me more about her training? I have a service dog, Nyoko (means treasure in Japanese) and without formal training she is a "pain sniffing" dog...when I am on the verge of a bad migraine she alerts to the spot on my head where the pain is centered. My good friend also has a long coat Akita and next month she will receive the AKC award for Canine Excellence for alerting her owners to cancer..and thus saving their lives. This was 2 different times and 2 different types/locations for the tumors...both times there was no symptoms as it was early stages, so yes she did indeed save their lives. Dogs are truly man's best friend...so glad you have Bubbles. When you are able, please tell me more about her training, thanks.
melissamartin
I guess when im driving and all of the sudden a aching stabbing pain hits my head and the feeling of almost going blind, like i get spots where i cant see, and having my child in the car with me and getting into a crash. As well as knowing doctor after doctor and they cant help or tell me exactly whats wrong with me. Knowing im going to live in a pain that no one around me truly understands.
1. jgs350
 I'm scared of that too. It's happened to me on a few occasions-the blurred vision and the aura's, blind spot that happens in your blind spot and if it happens on a real sunny day even the sunlight w/sunglasses on it just renders you so handicapped. But with you and a child in a car that is so terrifying. I wish they could find something to help w/those aura's and sensativity to the sun or make sunglasses that block those dam rays! I will keep you in my prayers Melissamartin. Please take care. And to your child too.
mpoli12
I am fearful of becoming nonfunctional or incapacitated for the day or for several days. When I wake up in the morning with throbbing in my head, I know the day is lost and just hope that the pain only lasts one day.
jgs350
The scariest thing-is fearing that is this the one that will give me a stroke, because all the symptoms mimic a stroke-the numbness on 1 side of the face, the blind spot in the 1 eye, the times when it's hard to make a coherent sentence, the intense pain and the jackhammer pain behind the eye and tenderness in the temple when the scalp is sore to the touch and your vision is all out of kilter and for me the pain can last, along with the visual disturbances for 2-3 days anyway, that's the norm for me. But try to remain calm, take my meds and write them down because I very easily get confused=more so than my usual self. That is the scariest part and I'm ususally home alone during the day until about 6:00-6:30 pm. So if I did have a real stroke I would not get help or intervention until then. But cannot live your life in worry or fear because that is no way to live. Take each day as it comes and make of it what you can and take a deep breath and when you wake up the next day say a prayer and take that day as a gift and do the same-relax and do not fret because we cannot change the future by worrying about it and stressing over it. That is how I try to cope and not panic about it. How else do you go about your day/life and keep the panic/fear at bay. That is how I deal with it the best I can and be thankful for each day I have.
jones8900
debilitating..in a word janet jones
dawnschell
Disappointing my daughter when I've made a promise to take her somewhere or to do something with her.
slynnh3
I honestly don't think there is just one word that can discribe a migraine or what scares me about them. Migraine is the all powerful thing in my life I have to answer to first. It has taken over. I have chronic headache with chronic intractable migraine. I always have a headache, it never goes away. My migraines with their mind numbing pain, nausea, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, sight stealing, aggressiveness that lasts for days, weeks, months. I am scared that one day I will give up and this thing will just consume me.
1. Nancy Harris Bonk Moderator
 Sarah it is very difficult to be in chronic pain every day, all day, I understand that. And I think you have a good point about there not being one word that describes migraine or its scary aspects. What I do know is that taking each day one at a time is all many of us can do, and that is OK. Getting through today was good, I try not focus on the agony of tomorrow because it will be here soon enough. Migraine can become all consuming if we let it. Let's not let it, ok? Talking about it certainly helps me, how about you?
kimberlyflick
The scariest thing is wondering if this is an aneurysm.
joyfulton
no life
jerriross-stamps
I'm adopted, but after learning that my biological aunt had a brain tumor removed, and had had a stroke, I worry about all of the possibilites. Brain Tumor, Stroke, Aneurysm....
rebeccadoremus
The blocks of my life that are missing. Years ago my husband got me the best gift - a GPS. He programmed our home address and saved it as a favorite. To this day I have never saved any other addresses in the GPS. When I am out on a service call and get a migraine, I have help getting home now. I may still not remember the trip, but it helps me to pay more attention to what I am doing. So much of my life has been erased.
babs1945
Fear that it is something else, something worse. Dementia and brain tumors come to mind.
nicolaxoxo
As with many of you, I suffer from chronic daily migraine with aura. It has ruined my life. I no longer drive due to the unpredictable and sometimes complete loss of vision. If I were only endangering my life, I would still be driving...but after 2 accidents (no injuries, only involved my car thank goodness) I had to admit it was just not safe. What if I hit someone and either killed or maimed them for life?...what if that person had a perfect life and I selfishly took it away? So I choose not to drive (my doctor backs me on this 100%). It is a real handicap. I am too poor to pay for cabs for anything but essential trips, not that I am well enough to do much but when I do get a rare day with less pain (headache is always there) it would be nice to have some fun...just a foreign concept now. So to answer the original question, greatest fear WAS harming another person. Now it is that I will no longer be able to function enough to take care of myself and I have no money for assisted living, which is what my doctor recommends.
nfrede
My fear is that sometimes I will take whatever I can find that might make it go away, and that I might take too much, or the wrong things at the same time, that could kill me. When I'm having one, I don't care what I take, if there's a chance it will make the pain stop. I've had them for 45 years, so my kids hardly had a mom while they were growing up, & now my oldest daughter gets them, and I wouldn't want her to fel the same way, about taking whatever she can get her hands on, like I've done, thankfully without doing any harm to myself, other that daily rebound headaches. I have nerve damage from spinal surgery, that causes pain in my arms and hands, so I take stuff for that, which continues the rebound cycle!
rajashreemenon
Chronic
sara
Powerlessness.
laalaa81
ETERNITY - this will just never end - HELPLESSNESS - not being able to care for myself or others