Dark Room

I am realizing now how much my migraines are affected by environmentaltriggers, especially...

Odors, pollution and smells including: smog, cigarette smoke, perfumes and chemical odors, cooking smells, basically all smells!!
Lights, such as: bright lights or glaring lights, fluorescent lights, flashing lights or screens
Dusty conditions
Dry conditions
Patterns, including: stripes, checkers or zigzag lines
And DON'T FORGET... LOUD NOISES....

I have had to change my life and identity so dramatically I barely recognize myself. I am in pain so much of the time and when I'm not I'm really TIRED. Probably from the Topiramate and all the pain.

I take pain killers at night which I know is really quite controversial for migraineurs. Nothing else works for me.

I know my impact on my family is hard, I'm always dimming or turning off the lights, telling them to be quiet, and I just don't have the energy that I used to. I used to laugh all the time and be such a free spirit. And now I'm really confined to my bed and my life and world is so small.

I'm not saying I'm not grateful. Because I am. I am so grateful to have a beautiful son and loving husband. I just don't know how it got this bad. Not working. No doctors you can really trust. I'm not looking for others to answer these questions, I just know some other people must be or have been in similar situations.

It's so extreme that we are moving our family into our upstairs of our house and will be renting out the downstairs so that I don't have to work. Got to be creative to make ends meet I guess. But it is another big life change to get used to.

I have had migraines for 15 years. I hope things change for the better one day.

Thanks for reading.