Since a child

Well, I grew up on a farm with a father that would make John Wayne look like a smurf. I tried to tell my parents about the blinding pain that I was in as a child but was consistently told "quit your damn whining or I will give you something to whine about".

With this attitude from my parents, I did not actually have my doctor involved until I was about 14, at which time my doctor told my parents "your child has a problem with migraine headaches", my father responded with "this is the first time I am hearing about it", after I was trying to tell him about it for 7 years. Once the doctor did start to treat me, the pain just got worse, and for a time I self medicated with large amounts of alcohol and OTC painkillers.

It wasn't until I nearly overdosed one night that I decided that I was not going to let the pain beat me and try to deal with it in a better way. I got to university with an 80 average but found out that neither the university or I, was prepared to deal with daily migraine headaches. Eventually they got to the point where they were causing partial paralysis of the left side of my body, this would not be bad to deal with if I wasn't left handed. I spent seven years in university, working on two different degrees (Physics/Math and Philosophy). I did this because I could not find decent work that would be compatible with my health condition. So, I now manage a retail electronics store for a company that still does not recognize the problems that my migraines can cause. By the way, saying migraine headache is like saying nuclear firecracker.

Over the years, I have had much counseling to deal with the pain so I am not suicidal or self destructive. Even with counseling, I have not met any who can actually appreciate what it is like to wake up every morning knowing that the only thing that is going to make today different from yesterday is the intensity of the migraine. I have gone to very many neurologists and right now I am able to work while enduring the level of pain which was something that I was not able to do on my previous medications.

I also find that at work nobody can relate to what I am going through, so it is quite a solitary experience.