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Smooth Sailing to Troubled Waters

I was first diagnosed with migraines at the age of 19... I was met with the typical notion that it was all in my head. My first neurologist was a joke and would not try any known migraine medications. Instead, put me on Prozac and told me I was depressed.

How did my pregnancy change my migraine?

I dealt with this until the age of 24 when I got pregnant with my first child. After that, the migraines went away and I was blessed to be migraine free for 10 years. Then one day I forgot who my son was, I couldn't speak right, I lost the use of the right side of my body and I was rushed to the emergency room.

What type of attacks do I have?

We found out I was suffering from a hemiplegic migraine. I guess I was living the saying go big or go home! The migraines returned full force. That was over two years ago. I have had a few more hemiplegic attacks but mostly it's the chronic migraine that does me in. In the last 10 months, I have had a total of 6 migraine-free days. I am at my wit's end and I struggle to get through every day.

How was I treated in the emergency room?

I went into the ER on Monday night because it has been too much pain and I wanted to try magnesium to see if would help with getting rid of the migraine. I was treated like a drug seeker. I do not even take prescription pain meds because I fear having rebound headaches. The stigma attached to migraine and these doctors that are uneducated about our conditions and the different way they present in each patient is making it hard for a person like me who needs real help to trust those that are supposed to help me.

Will Botox work for me?

I continue to have hope that the Botox injections that my neurologist and I have started will work but I must say it is hard to have a positive attitude after 295 days of migraine...

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