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migraine awareness month

As June is Migraine Awareness Month, one of our amazing Shona community members, Grace, has shared her story of her experience with migraines,  to raise awareness about this often misunderstood condition. She has very bravely shared details of her personal experience, so we hope you enjoy reading her story, and come away with a better awareness of migraines.

What actually is a migraine? 

You may be wondering what a migraine actually is. There’s a significant misconception around migraines, hopefully this explanation can help explain it somewhat. A migraine occurs when the usual balance of chemicals in the brain is altered, causing blood vessels to expand. This expansion affects surrounding tissue and irritates nerve endings. Migraines affect 1 in 5 women and 1 in 15 men in Ireland, which is approximately 12% of the population.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma surrounding migraines that they are merely just a bad headache and that it’s an overreaction. This couldn’t be further from the truth; migraines are a very serious illness. There are many types of migraines, such as vestibular, abdominal, hemiplegic, and medication-induced. Those who frequently suffer from migraines, like myself, typically have triggers. Some of mine include chocolate, cheese, dehydration, hot weather, bright lights,and fragrances.

Understanding Headaches and Migraines

This is my story

Growing up, I often experienced headaches, sometimes they were debilitating and left me unable to leave my bed for hours on end. I would have to sit in the dark with an ice pack and would often vomit for hours until I finally fell asleep. That was the more severe scenario, and fortunately, these episodes only occurred a few times a year. Unfortunately, sometimes this was on special occasions like birthdays and Christmas. One year that stands out in my mind is when I woke up on Christmas morning a few years ago feeling the opposite of excited. I could barely make it down the stairs due to the pain in my head, and at that moment, I couldn’t care less about the presents Santa had brought. I laid down beside my mam in the hopes that a mothers love would be enough to make me feel better, and I watched my sisters open their presents with joy. Despite my mam not being able to cure my headaches, she has always been my biggest supporter and has constantly helped me in any way she can. I don’t know where I would be without her.

Common Foods and Drinks Can Trigger Migraine - Doctor Rowe

In early 2023, these headaches started happening daily. I was in constant pain, had many sleepless nights lying awake in pain, often felt faint and dizzy, and felt like I had pins and needles constantly. I began to miss days of school and had to go home early due to the pain and vomiting. This continued for months. During school, I would bring in toothpaste and a toothbrush so that when the inevitable happened and I would get sick , I could remove the foul taste from my mouth. I even got sick during my first Junior Cert exam in the summer of 2023. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it; I had to sit the exam. These debilitating headaches continued throughout the summer and even followed me on my holidays. Despite the lovely weather and beautiful scenery, the main thing on my mind was the pain. I began Transition Year and the pain still hadn’t subsided, I decided that something had to change.

Confusional Migraine: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More

After numerous doctor appointments, blood tests, and MRI’s, I was diagnosed with chronic migraines with an aura – also known as classic migraine – where vision is affected by flashing lights, bright spots, and blurred vision around 60 minutes before the migraine begins. In order for your migraines to be classified as chronic, you have to experience more than 15 migraines per month. At that point, I was having about 30. After further appointments, I was put on medication to help manage my migraines. The medication took some time to start working effectively, but it has paid off over several months now. My migraines have decreased significantly – less than 20 per month –which is a massive improvement.

Seek support when you need it!

If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms I’ve mentioned or are suffering from daily pain like I was, please don’t hesitate to tell your parents or guardians and book an appointment with your general practitioner (GP). It’s not normal to experience daily pain, and there are many medications and tools available nowadays – such as cooling caps, pizotifen, sumatriptan, Maxalt, Cefaly, and many more. You are not alone; it’s okay to struggle. To those who are reading this who have friends,family or classmates who suffer from migraines, please refrain from saying “stop overreacting,” “it’s just a headache; we all get them,” or “take some medicine; you’ll be fine.” These words can make them feel invalidated and like their pain is not real Instead, try offering them comfort and support.

Thank you all for reading my story. I hope this has helped your raise awareness around migraines.

Grace x

Don’t forget…

One of the most important messages in Grace’s story, is the value in raising awareness and doing our best to never invalidate someone else’s pain or experience. As well as that, it’s so important to not suffer in silence. If you are in pain, from potential migraines or otherwise, always speak to someone about it; a parent, a guardian, and/or your GP x

If you’d like even more information, support and resources on Migraines, we recommend checking out Migraine Ireland 


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