THE SILVER LINING OF MIGRAINE SUFFERING

Having suffering with chronic migraine disease for over 25yrs, i have endured many ups & many many downs. With my life in constant maybe, we'll see and i can't promise stage, i've learned to adjust (well to the best any migrainer can). I've learned to miss concerts, lunches with friends, holidays, birthdays and a plethora of other days, even the, should have been normal ones. As one living life as a migraine sufferer you can get depressed, frustrated, feel hopeless and many other not so great feelings. So i have decided to look for the silver lining. In my goal to do so, i believe i found a few silver linings. Maybe some of you know the same ones. Maybe some of you can add to the list.

1. I have become a more empathetic person to all who hurt.

2. I do not pass judgement on people whose pain is not visible.

3. My children have grown to be very empathetic & caring, helpful people. Not just to their mom, but to those they come across in life.

4. I am a very determined person. I have become determined beyond expectations to find a cure, not just a tolerable existence. But a life free of pain. And you all know what kind of side effects, crazy combinations and all other way out things doctors will have you try to "see if it'll help". Iv tried all recommended so far except for botox. My insurance won't cover it. And let me tell you, i'll eventually get it done, i'm just still working on it. Knowing how well it has worked for my sister definitely keeps me going on this one.

5. I try to keep my ignorance to myself. Throwing out pieces of advice about a subject i don't know? Nope. I tell someone i'm sorry they are going thru something. But that's all i have. No, have u tried this or u don't look sick will ever come out of this mouth. Providing the world with less ignorance is a huge silver lining in my eyes.

6. I don't lie. My children learned early on the mom RARELY says i promise. There's a reason for that. I can't always follow thru. So this one is actually a twofer. First i don't lie, second my children know that a promise is something you keep no matter what and is never to be taken lightly. If you don't mean it, don't say it. Saves a lot on the I'm sorries by the way.

7. I truly value the pain-free times in my life. Like little presents from God. A minute or an hour or sometimes an entire day. Some people will never value what they have every day. Us migraine sufferers know better.

I think on some level being a migraine sufferer makes us better people. No, we may not be able to work or make it to all planned events. But we appreciate what pain free-time we are given. We teach those immediately around us lessons that are invaluable to have in life. And we ourselves have learned plenty of lessons along our own pathway in which migraines have joined us.

I know all of us out there would rather not suffer another minute, myself included. But i must admit, there are plenty of things i have learned (my silver linings), that i would not have, if i wasn't a sufferer.