Taking It One Day At A Time

I started getting migraines as a teenager, mostly hormone related at that point, and they continued that way until I was about 33 years old. I didn't know they were migraines, my mom just told me they were "bad headaches" like my maternal grandmother got and there was nothing that could be done. All I knew was they were pure misery.

When they started getting worse, and by worse I mean more frequent, I saw my PCP and he told me they were migraines and referred me to a neurologist. That was in 2001. Since then I have tried many different medications until I found the right one - Relpax - to use an abortive medication. I have had 3 of 4 MRI's (lost count, when you've had one...) and numerous blood tests because I had other neurological symptoms pop up (hand tremors, cognitive issues, balance problems, problems walking).

In 2007, I was diagnosed with chronic migraines. I was at a point in my life where I was just miserable. I literally lived with migraines daily. I did not enjoy my life, it was hard to enjoy my then 10 year old daughter. My doctor put me on a daily preventative cocktail of Topamax 50mg twice daily and Verapamil 120mg once daily - it was a miracle for me! The meds gave me my life back - well sort of, I still average 8-10 migraines a month depending on the time of year, but let me tell you it is a drastic improvement over what I was living with. I still use Relpax 40mg but can only use 2 per week due to possible rebound so I also use Norco 5mg when needed.

When my daughter was 10 she was diagnosed with migraines, sigh. But I find that I am able to help her better because I understand what she feels and is going through when she has a migraine. She is now 15, and her migraines have caused problems for her at school and I find myself a more capable advocate for her as a migraineur than if I were not.

I am a single mom (divorced), so it is just the two of us. But we are good for each other, we have the empathy and understanding for each other that other members of our family seem to be lacking. We are taking life a day at a time, enjoying the good moments, taking care of each other during the "migraine" moments.