YOU are your healthcare provider.
Sometimes people write to me about how lost they feel when coping with migraine, how unarmed and uneducated they are.
Friends who also cope with migraine disease confide that they have no idea how I manage to learn so much about the affliction and confess that they don’t know a whole lot about it.
There’s no great mystery here, folks, and no magical way to suddenly understand what’s happening to your body when you are in the midst of a migraine episode. As you probably know by now, there is a dearth of headache specialists in this country, and primary care doctors (and even neurologists) tend to be uninformed when it comes to the mechanism of migraine and current research and treatments. I cast no blame on the doctors, mind you—it’s just the state of things, and the reason why we need to push for more educational initiatives for healthcare providers.
The most efficacious way to learn about migraine is to educate yourself. You can rightfully assume that most well-meaning health websites don’t keep up with the latest accurate information about migraine. I’m grateful that Migraine.com is now on the scene; my only disappointment in regards to the site is that it didn’t exist a decade ago.
Do your research. Learn about the disease’s mechanisms, and keep track of your episodes with a headache diary/migraine journal. Try to be more in tune with your body, and do your best to regulate your sleep schedule, your meal, and your exercise routines. This is YOUR life. Don’t wait around for someone else to fix it. I probably sound like a bully, and perhaps that’s apt: what other wakeup call do you need? When hours if not days (if not months!) of your life are being whisked away due to the debilitating effects of migraine, you can’t afford to lose another minute. Take control. The first step is to educate yourself.
What are you waiting for?
Community Poll
Do you feel comfortable advocating for yourself to your healthcare provider?
Join the conversation