I am not an expert on how to properly move on to a new doctor.  Sometimes, depending on a person's circumstances or medical issues, moving on is a natural progression.  From the many stories I've read from other Migraine patients, the terrible treatment they receive from ignorant and uncaring doctors, forces the choice to move on.  In most of the situations where I chose to cut ties with a doctor, I simply stated that we have exhausted all possible treatments and that I'm choosing to seek more specific treatments from a doctor who specializes in Migraine disease and treatment.  Doing this isn't easy to do though, because for us, we rarely feel like we are in control of our disease nor what our doctors suggest (or don't).  Many times we feel we are at the mercy of our doctors and even though we know that it's better to move on, we feel obligated to stay.

Breaking up, in any kind of relationship, isn't easy and none of us eagerly look forward to do it.  Yet, it is an necessary component in order to grow.

What one thing would you do for the Migraine community if money were no issue?

If I had unlimited access to money I would provide everyone with migraine specialists, transportation to and from appointments, and provide funding for the research desperately needed to find a cure and medication formulated to treat Migraine disease specifically.

Some understand migraines, some don't.  It's Father's Day.  Write a letter to your father or the man closest to you, and talk to him about your migraines. Dear Daddy, I know that it pains you to have a child who is in chronic pain.  As a parent myself now, I understand how helpless and heartbreaking it is to see your child suffer.  The hardest part of my disease is how long I have had it without adequate relief from the pain.  Because I am in pain so much of the time I don't like to complain or be a burden to the people I love.  It pains me to have to hear the helplessness in your voice when you learn of another migraine attack I've had.  As a child in pain, you were the most effective pain medication I ever had growing up.  Just being able to have you rub my head or back gave me comfort that no ill ever could.  The way that you would calm my tears and ease me into sleep made all the difference in the world.  It's because of that that I don't like being alone in the worst pain of my life.  Every minute felt like an eternity waiting to hear you whistling while you walk through the door.  I tried to be brave and withstand the agony as best I could, but it would eventually break me.  Your presence gave me the permission to be a little girl again instead of a pain warrior.  I want you to know how grateful I am to have a caring father who understood my condition and pain.  I have met other migraineurs who were not as fortunate as I was.  I continue to have support of my friends and family.  Thank you for being there then and now. It means more to me than you'll ever know. Happy Father's Day! Jaime

Well, I guess I never really considered myself to be a leader.  I'm too scared of failure.  I'm not much of a follower either as I don't like people telling me what to do.  I am very stubborn and stuck in my ways of doing things.  So, maybe "get out of the way" is more my type.  I have always wanted to do things on my own without anyone interfering.  Working alone is where I feel most comfortable and confident.  I work well in teams and find it better to be the first to suggest ideas than to sit and wait for someone else to pitch theirs.  I am very democratic but would rather not be a part of it.  You can say that I am a loner and I am very much wrapped up in my own head.  Being a leader isn't something that I see myself becoming intentionally.  I don't like feeling responsible for others' success because I would put way too much pressure onto myself.  I never fare well under pressure.  I wind up imploding in on myself and being way too critical of my capabilities.  At the root of it all, I'm just a scared girl who wants to be good at everything and fail at nothing.  I can't bear letting people down or having to get someone's approval of my performance.  So I just do what I need to do for me and if it helps others along the way then that's an added bonus.  I can't take confrontation so I'd rather go it alone.  It's a lot easier disappointing myself rather than a group of people.  Therefore, get out of my way and let me do it my way.  Everyone will wind up benefiting in the end.

I'm way behind on the blog challenge.  My fibromyalgia flared up very badly causing my wrists and fingers to spasm, stiffen up and have a constant dull and/or sharp pain.  Since this assignment an be about anything, I'll write about my diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  Fibromyalgia is a condition involving painful muscles, ligaments, and tendons.  It isn't related to tissue inflammation like arthritis, although it feels very much like it.  Like Migraine disease, fibromyalgia affects mostly middle aged women.  Pain associated with fibromyalgia may occur in four or more distinct areas of the body and is related to "trigger points".  These can affect muscle spasm and pain when pressure is applied.  Trigger points are often found in the elbows, shoulders, back of the head, knees, and sides of the breast bone  The presence of widespread pain and trigger points, occurring for three or more months, is necessary for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.


Migraine and fibromyalgia are comorbid conditions.  Hypothalamus neuroendocrine dysfunction has been proposed as a brain mechanism common to both fibromyalgia and migraine.  Both conditions also share the mechanism of central sensitization of pain neurons.  You are also more likely to have anxiety and depression if you have both fibromyalgia and migraine.  I was diagnosed in November 2011 after having widespread pain in all 18 trigger points.  I also displayed symptoms such as IBS, excessive sweating, tinnitus, chronic fatigue, insomnia, and dizzy spells.  I was miserable and didn't want nor need another chronic pain condition.  My rheumatologist put me on Inderal LA (propranolol) and Flexeril as a preventative.  It is working pretty well but I still get flare-ups from time to time.  The latest one kept me off of the computer because my hands and wrists were writhing in pain.  Right now my ankles are still sending shooting pains down to my heels and I can't move my toes without them getting spasms.  No so enjoyable.  It's still something that I'm learning to cope with.  i find myself getting angry about it and then feeling disdain when i can't find a comfortable position to lie in because everything hurts.  Yeah, it's not easy living with two chronic pain conditions, but I have no choice but to adapt to this life.

Works Cited

Staff. (2012, June 25). MHNI Michigan Headache and Head Pain Treatment - Other Pain Disorder. Retrieved June 25, 2012, from Michigan Headache and Neurology Institute: http://www.mhni.com/faqs.fib.aspx

Psychiatric News Alert: Migraine May Be Risk Factor for Eating Disorders: Are young women who have migraine more likely to develop an eating disorder (ED)? Researchers from the Biochemistry Laboratory for the St...

You are the most AMAZING mother I know.  The way that your children look at you and appreciate you is such a blessing.  You have the biggest and most generous heart.  All you want is for the people that you love to be happy and to feel loved and special.  You are so amazingly gifted in so many ways.  You are extremely intelligent and thoughtful.  You are a brilliant poet and writer.  Your way with words stuns me.  Everything is so descriptive and you have a way of evoking emotion and thought with your writing.  Your attention to detail creates such wonderful and thorough work that many appreciate and can rely on.  You value your friendships and show a great source of support for them.  You are understanding and nonjudgmental.  You are extremely funny and so down to earth.

Me National Migraine Awareness Month is initiated by the National Headache Foundation. The Blogger's Challenge is initiated by www.FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

My Migraine movie monster has to be the Incredible Hulk/Torturer.  Ever since I was a little girl with Migraines, the Hulk has been my monster representation of pain.  Migraines are like having a monster in your head who decides to smash everything up in your brain whenever he gets angry.  When they get going, Migraines are mean, angry, and destructive.  It literally feels as though something or someone is banging pieces of heavy steel against your skull while simultaneously stabbing your temples and/or eyes with hot pokers.  Yeah, not very pleasant at all.  The worst part of it is not knowing how long this particular rage of fury will last.  Will be a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks?  There's no way of knowing when Migraines get angry.


Just like this picture here, my brain feels like it's in a losing battle with the most physically strong and overpowering monster that ever lived.  And don't cry. Tears seem to make Migraines more angry and they cause more pain when you do.  So, no matter how badly you hurt you're just asking for more trouble if you let those watery drops fall out of your eyes.  Having a Migraine is like being a prisoner of war.  I've been captured by the enemy and it is torturing me for information that I don't have.  The twisted part of it is that Migraines know there's nothing to get out of me but they like to see me writhe in pain regardless.  They are the epitome of evil.  It's like once the Hulk gets tired the Torturer steps in to finish the job.  Migraines are the purest forms of agony that I know.


I could never wish this onto anyone.  Every time I have a Migraine where the pain is undoubtedly a 10 or higher, I am shocked by how much it hurts.  It's so horrific and for me, it's also very sad.  I can vividly remember being 8, 9, 10 years old in the same kind of pain and I cry for her.  No child should ever have to experience any pain, especially this kind.  There's no pretty way to describe the monster that I live with every day.  It isn't polite nor considerate.  Neither is it compassionate.  I live in fear of it because it's sole purpose is to destroy.  Destroy families, relationships, faith, trust, bonds, self esteem, and positivity.  Oh yes, Migraines are dirty, nasty little fighters.  You tell me how well you could survive with that living in your brain.

The most ridiculous thing ever said to me?  Well, over 26 years there have been many but the most recent one that almost made me fly off the handle took place in the ER about seven or eight months ago.  I had a migraine for weeks that wasn't going away and none of my medication was helping so I had my husband take me to the ER.  The doctor asked me what was going on and I explained to him how long I've had migraines for, how long this one has been, and what medications I'm on and what I can't take due to allergic reactions.  He then asked me what I wanted and I simply said that I wanted the pain to stop.  This idiot then said to me smugly, "You know there's no cure for Migraines."  I wanted to jump off that bed and slap the shit out of him.  I snapped back and told him that I knew there is no cure and that I want this Migraine that I've had for almost a month to finally stop hurting so that I can function.  Now, if that isn't the most ridiculous thing ever said about Migraines to a Migraineur from a doctor then I don't want to know what is.  Well, after I gave him that no-shit Sherlock response he then asked me what do I want them to give me.  Really??  Well, they gave me a dose of Morphine, Toradol, and Phernergan in my IV that made me feel super drugged up.  My nose got so stuffy that I couldn't breathe and I could not get comfortable on that stiff ER gurney.  Then, an hour later, the nurse gave me another dose of Morphine in my IV.  Needless to say, I was so damned drugged it was ridiculous.  I had no control over my body and five hours after I got home and the drugs started to wear off I got the worse rebound Migraine ever.  So, that trip was useless.  All I got was pissed off and over-medicated.  So not worth the aggravation.  This is why I hate going to the ER or urgent care for a Migraine.

Excedrin Migraine is not effective for true Migraine headaches, especially for us Chronic sufferers.  So don't ask me if I ever tried it because your sister had a Migraine once and it went away 30 minutes later.  Guess what, your sister didn't have a Migraine.  She just had a very bad headache.  Now, if taking two Excedrin Migraine actually worked for me, would I have gone to the lengths of getting a neurostimulator implanted in my body to help manage my daily pain?  I think not.  The biggest misconception on my list is that Migraine is "just a headache".  No it isn't and there is a difference between the two.  The definition of Migraine, from the Migraine Research Foundation website, is not just a bad headache.  It is an extremely debilitating collection of neurological symptoms that usually includes severe recurring intense throbbing pain on one side of the head (although in 1/3 of Migraine attacks, both sides are affected). Attacks generally last between 4 and 72 hours and, in addition to head pain, are often accompanied by one or more of the following:  visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face.  Migraine is a syndrome and a neurological disease.  "A headache gives little to no warning, and is usually a throbbing or pulsing inside of your head.  Headaches last about an hour to three hours, but do not interrupt every day life as badly as Migraines do.  Also, a headache does not cause you to feel sick, doesn’t give you a sensitivity to light, sound or smells, and is usually just a throbbing pain in your head.  The good thing about headaches is that unlike Migraines can be treated with over the counter drugs without having to go to a doctor.” (http://www.triggeroptics.com/difference_between_headache_migraine.htm) So, make sure you have got your facts straight before you ask a Migraineur whether or not they have tried Excedrin Migraine for their Migraines.  It would be wise to just turn around and walk away rather than having the possibility of getting cursed out by someone in agonizing pain.  It’s disrespectful and dismissive of our disease.

National Migraine Awareness Month is initiated by the National Headache Foundation. The Blogger's Challenge is initiated by www.FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.