Migraines and Autoimmune Disorders
My migraine victory is a recent victory, but like all of us who suffer migraine, we know when our body is right. The very first day I eliminated the cause, I knew what it was like to have my life back.
Getting my life back
For the first time in my life, I am able to read, write, socialize, eat good foods, like oatmeal, and cook every day. I am able to use my brain, too! I was so excited the first day I spent hours downloading and playing brain puzzle games. I have my life back.
Working and migraine
The story of my migraines reminds me a lot of a conversation I had with my mother about a girl who just started working with me. That was 5 years ago when I could still muster some work despite my migraines. It was her first day. After a couple hours on her shift, she was sobbing and getting ready to leave. Apparently, her migraines had decided this job, like so many others, was not for her. She was desperate for advice as she had tried many doctors and many medications. I gave her my phone number in case she ever needed support. Later I went home to tell my mother, a medical professional, what happened. She rolled her eyes and said they always assume those people are drug abusers. 5 years later, she is proven right and yet, so wrong.
Lifelong migraine pain
Migraines have ruled my life for 10 years, from embracing homelessness to considering death. As a victim of the gas-lighting nature from the medical community, like so many others, I believed it was me and tried everything I could. My successful attempts did nothing to stop the disabling effect my chronic migraine and its warning symptoms had on my life. Dejected, I stopped trying, became my heaviest in body weight and lived my life with indecisiveness in great fear of making the wrong decision and exacerbating a debilitating migraine as I had done for the past 10 years. From morning to night, I did nothing but lie on my bed and zone out. Embarrassed, I came up with many excuses for what I was doing in my room to keep my nosy and overachieving family from seeing how I lived my life. We can only handle so much pain.
Searching for answers
A couple of weeks ago, I chose to make another attempt at determining the cause of my migraines. I studied my triggers like a mathematician constructing a geometric proof. When nothing made sense, I went through the process of my migraines, unassuming and purely logical, like a detective. I found the cause. It was the medication I had been taking for my autoimmune disorder. Not only do I have all the side effects listed on the drug manufacturer’s website, not only does it cause headaches – which always leads to a migraine for me and not only is that not the only side effect that would cause a migraine for me, I also matched the signs of overdose.
Understanding my doctor's imperfections
My doctors forgot to consider my medication when treating me. Like I had done with them, they treated the blood-work like a deity as society told them to do. My mother was right, it was drug abuse. The only problem was I, nor that girl, were the drug abusers, the doctors were, but like every crazy-making relationship, all fingers were pointed at us. Whether I will consider the aspects of that medication and take it respectively or decide to get rid of it entirely, I am still deciding. For now, I am celebrating. I hope to create my own website where I can share my migraine as well as my autoimmune disorder story in more detail, as well as my story with withdrawal, help others find the steps needed to figure out the cause for their migraines, and advocate for those suffering from migraine.
Join the conversation