Draining the Life Out of You

I am a fairly energetic person, or at least I was before the migraines became so consistent. Even through the episodic migraines I have lived with for years now, I always managed to find a way to power through and be productive on most days, with the exception of the really bad ones. On the occasions that I get the extreme migraine, it definitely knocks me off of my feet until my medication can eventually get it under control again.

Will my abortive medication work today?

Lately, I have noticed a downward trend with my migraine pain. My abortive, which used to work exceptionally well, has started to lose its effectiveness. I still count on my medication to break the cycle of most of my episodes, but on the rare occasion that I have a bad attack, the medicine is beginning to falter. For a while, I could count on my medication to get the job done, but unfortunately, that's beginning to change. On some days, the medication works great, while on other days, it barely even takes the edge off.

Why sleep does not resolve migraine fatigue

When the medicine doesn't work as well, I end up enduring the pain for considerably longer, which can lead to a depression or just a generally unhappy mood. It has also begun to take its toll on me physically. More and more, I find that even after a good night’s sleep, I have no energy when I get up in the morning. The persistent pain causes severe migraine fatigue, regardless of how much sleep I can get at night.

How am I getting through the day?

The alarm goes off, and I sit up and turn the alarm off just like before, but lately, I've been spending the next fifteen to twenty minutes sitting on the edge of the bed with my face in my hands. I spend this time trying to grasp that the new day has arrived, and it is time to get started once again. These are the days where I spend almost half of my day fighting to stay awake work. Unfortunately, eating does not seem to help one way or another, beyond the fact that if I do not eat, I am almost certain to end up with another migraine.

Addressing migraine exhaustion with your doctor

At this point, I am not sure what to do about it. I am afraid to ask my doctor about trying a different abortive medication because, on most days, the one I have really helps. But on the days that my current medication does not help, it almost seems to make things worse. I have also experienced that anytime I try to explain the draining or exhausting feeling from the migraine pain, the doctors simply want to prescribe antidepressants. It's as if the doctors don't realize or understand that the pain from a severe migraine can drain you physically and emotionally, without you having to be officially depressed daily.

Do your migraines drain you physically and emotionally?