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I was born with migraine disease in February of 1964, discovered its name somewhere around 1987, and have spent the last 30 years learning how to manage the illness. I wish migraine didn’t have to a…

I was born with migr…

I was born with migraine disease in February of 1964, discovered its name somewhere around 1987, and have spent the last 30 years learning how to manage the illness. I wish migraine didn’t have to accompany me during the Bucket List phase of my life, but that’s not how incurable illness works, is it?So far, migraine has joined me caving in Canada, cruising down the Rhine in Europe, and watching the aurora borealis in Alaska. This year, my husband and I chose to lay eyes on some of the great wonders of the world – the pyramids and temples of Egypt. Friends and family questioned our sanity…

My migraine disease has evolved as I’ve aged. No major surprise there. So has my eyesight, flexibility, and my weight. Such is life. Migraine episode frequency has changed along with hormonal shifts…

My migraine disease …

My migraine disease has evolved as I’ve aged. No major surprise there. So has my eyesight, flexibility, and my weight. Such is life. Migraine episode frequency has changed along with hormonal shifts from puberty through Menopause. Recently, I noticed an increase in migraines starting up during the night. For several months, I brushed them off as weather-related. Kansas storm fronts were notorious for triggering sinus and/or migraine issues.Let me go back a bit. For decades, my jaw has popped a little if I chewed gum or ate something extra chewy like baguette bread or caramels. I told my den…

It’s tough to limit myself to only three wishes about migraine. I suppose asking for unlimited wishes is off the table. In that case, here are the troubling aspects of migraine popping into my head …

It’s tough to limi…

It’s tough to limit myself to only three wishes about migraine. I suppose asking for unlimited wishes is off the table. In that case, here are the troubling aspects of migraine popping into my head today.1. I wish people would listen to me when I try to educate them about migraine disease.I feel like a broken record, repeating the same things to the same people. When people compare a migraine to a headache, I go through my explanation of how a migraine is much more than a headache, and they keep calling it a headache. I even had one person compare a migraine to a hangover. Seriously!?Then th…

“What was my worst migraine episode?” That’s a tough question to answer. Over the course of 6 decades, I’ve had many of those episodes. In my early migraine years, I hated missing fun with fam…

“What was my worst…

“What was my worst migraine episode?” That’s a tough question to answer. Over the course of 6 decades, I’ve had many of those episodes. In my early migraine years, I hated missing fun with family and friends because of a migraine attack. I didn’t like it when I couldn’t carry out my responsibilities at work either. All those situations were in the running for my worst episode, but none really stood out.In my later migraine years, knowledge and a good plan have eased my migraine life. Thanks to my migraine management plan, which includes trigger avoidance and prescription medicine, …

Hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know who coined this phrase, but it is annoyingly true. I’ve lived with migraine disease for over half a century. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked back at my…

Hindsight is 20/20. …

Hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know who coined this phrase, but it is annoyingly true. I’ve lived with migraine disease for over half a century. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked back at my migraine history through the lens of current knowledge and said, “I wish I would have known about this back then.”Sometimes these moments of hindsight are because of brand new developments from the hardworking scientists who study migraine disease. Other times it’s because I didn’t know the right questions to ask, the people who had the answers didn’t tell me, or it was before the inter…

“You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” – English ProverbDevelopers began building my neighborhood in 2018 and hired a management company in 2022 to oversee the collection of…

“You catch more fl…

“You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” – English ProverbDevelopers began building my neighborhood in 2018 and hired a management company in 2022 to oversee the collection of homeowners’ association dues, maintain common areas, and act as a neutral party between residents and the developers. In 2024, developers completed the neighborhood and turned control of the HOA over to the residents.Some of my neighbors approached the situation with zealous enthusiasm and made angry accusations. They accused the developers and the management company of hiding costly details, l…

Episodic migraines during the first 5 decades of my life aren’t a mystery. I can tell you about those experiences because I lived them. Speculating about migraines during the second half of my life …

Episodic migraines d…

Episodic migraines during the first 5 decades of my life aren’t a mystery. I can tell you about those experiences because I lived them. Speculating about migraines during the second half of my life is a little more difficult. I decided I needed to have a conversation with my doctor to get answers for a few of my migraine-related senior concerns.1. How does migraine typically evolve in older adults?A lot of migraine warriors experience hormonal-related migraines, which can be a problem beginning in the 50s. If hormone Therapy or other medications to treat symptoms of hormonal changes, such as…

You can’t take your foot off the gas when it comes to migraine disease. I know this because I took my foot off the gas somewhere around 2010. I forgot that migraine changes right along with the body…

You can’t take you…

You can’t take your foot off the gas when it comes to migraine disease. I know this because I took my foot off the gas somewhere around 2010. I forgot that migraine changes right along with the body’s hormonal cycles. It had been a long time since puberty, back in the late 1970s.Menopause didn’t come out of nowhere. I just didn’t think about it until I answered the knock on the door and there it was with all its baggage. With all the research I had done over the years, I couldn’t believe I knew nothing about the relationship between menopause and migraine. After 5 decades of living, …

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, the film industry released Shrek 2, Mark Zuckerberg launched The Facebook (Yes, this was what it was called.), and I turned 40 years old. I knew my ma…

In 2004, the Boston …

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, the film industry released Shrek 2, Mark Zuckerberg launched The Facebook (Yes, this was what it was called.), and I turned 40 years old. I knew my major and minor migraine triggers and had developed good Relationships with the group of people I called my migraine team.I did my research when it came to migraines. That’s one of the best ways to battle the illness. I utilized information on the internet and learned a great deal at a Lunch and Learn seminar presented by a local school of medicine. I avoided exposure to my triggers as much as pos…

My migraines started in my childhood in the late 1960s. I experienced a couple of “Tammy’s headaches” a year as a child. Not frequently enough to cause a great deal of concern, but often enough …

My migraines started…

My migraines started in my childhood in the late 1960s. I experienced a couple of “Tammy’s headaches” a year as a child. Not frequently enough to cause a great deal of concern, but often enough for my parents to take me to the doctor at a young age. The doctor misdiagnosed the problem as an allergic reaction to something. I learned how to treat the condition by sleeping it off in a quiet, dark room, and life went on.By the time I entered college, the frequency of my episodes increased to about four a year. I didn’t even notice the increase in episodes happening at the time. Gradual cha…

To understand a migraine warrior’s knowledge, picture an iceberg. The tip of the knowledge iceberg contains the basic facts of being a migraine warrior, visible to anyone who takes the time to see.I…

To understand a migr…

To understand a migraine warrior’s knowledge, picture an iceberg. The tip of the knowledge iceberg contains the basic facts of being a migraine warrior, visible to anyone who takes the time to see.I usually do not hide my sensitivity to light, sound, and smell from the people around me. The effects of head pain and nausea are obvious to others as the episode escalates. Television ads and social media posts share the familiar symptoms of migraine and provide information about preventative and abortive treatments for all to see.I talk openly with my doctor about the status of my migraines at …

Migraine disease requires certain behaviors from me. More accurately, migraine prevention dictates many aspects of my life. One of the best ways to prevent an attack is to limit exposure to my known t…

Migraine disease req…

Migraine disease requires certain behaviors from me. More accurately, migraine prevention dictates many aspects of my life. One of the best ways to prevent an attack is to limit exposure to my known triggers. To do this, there are certain things that I will not do.Outdoor events: As much as I would like to go to outdoor concerts, Riverfest activities, and Ketch’s Burger Battle in the park, the risk surpasses the reward. All it takes is one cigarette smoker combined with the Kansas wind to trigger a migraine attack and ruin my day. Outdoor seating at a restaurant carries the same risk, so ind…

Spring was in the air when my husband and I walked into our investment agent’s office for our annual financial review. Considering the state of the markets these days, I wasn’t expecting the offic…

Spring was in the ai…

Spring was in the air when my husband and I walked into our investment agent’s office for our annual financial review. Considering the state of the markets these days, I wasn’t expecting the office on the other side of the door to hold a pleasant, heartwarming surprise. I was really not expecting that surprise to be related to my migraine disease.After the standard greetings and discussion of how everyone had been doing over the last year, our agent asked me if his office smelled OK for me. His words didn’t register for a moment, as was evident by the puzzled expression on my face. He re…

Migraine is a fact of life for millions of people, including me. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines migraine illness as:“A type of headache characterized by recurren…

Migraine is a fact o…

Migraine is a fact of life for millions of people, including me. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines migraine illness as:“A type of headache characterized by recurrent attacks of moderate to severe throbbing and pulsating pain on one side of the head. The pain is caused by the activation of nerve fibers within the wall of brain blood vessels traveling inside the meninges (three layers of membranes protecting the brain and spinal cord).How can any rational person expect me to apologize for conditions generated by the internal reaction between nerve fibers and b…

That’s easy. I’d ask for a cure for all migraines so there would no longer be such a thing as migraine warriors. Since I would be able to eat anything without worrying about triggering a migraine,…

That’s easy. I’d…

That’s easy. I’d ask for a cure for all migraines so there would no longer be such a thing as migraine warriors. Since I would be able to eat anything without worrying about triggering a migraine, I would also need to wish for the metabolism of a teenager. Then, of course, I’m going to need large sums of cash to celebrate all the things I would be able to do without the hindrance of migraine.Since those three wishes make for a very short article, let’s see what I’d wish for if a straight-up migraine cure was off the table. What three wishes could improve the quality of life for someo…

Have your migraines changed as you’ve grown older? Mine, too. My migraine story is nothing special. I have arrived in my postmenopausal years with my migraine disease having evolved alongside the re…

Have your migraines …

Have your migraines changed as you’ve grown older? Mine, too. My migraine story is nothing special. I have arrived in my postmenopausal years with my migraine disease having evolved alongside the rest of my body in what I describe as a textbook example of life with migraines.In the late 60s, all the 70s, and most of the 80s, I didn’t know my headache problem was anything more than bad headaches. My illness struck only a few times during the year and played out the same each time. The typical order of things was as follows:I squinted at household lights and winced at the sound of a neighbor…

When I was growing up, my mom often told me, “You need to be able to take care of yourself no matter what life sends your way.” I took her words to heart and developed into an educated career woma…

When I was growing u…

When I was growing up, my mom often told me, “You need to be able to take care of yourself no matter what life sends your way.” I took her words to heart and developed into an educated career woman who was quite capable of living her own life.Migraine disease has other ideas about how I should live my life and insists on getting in the way from time to time. Like any good story’s villain, migraine desires control over its victim. Most of the time, I’m able to fight my own battles against my illness with assistance from medication and other treatment techniques. Seldom do I reach out fo…

I’m 59 years old. Aging with migraines isn’t all bad. My menstrual cycle-related migraines are long gone, and I’ve acquired the migraine Wisdom necessary to develop a working management plan for…

I’m 59 years old. …

I’m 59 years old. Aging with migraines isn’t all bad. My menstrual cycle-related migraines are long gone, and I’ve acquired the migraine wisdom necessary to develop a working management plan for my illness. I do miss a few things from my youth like metabolism, energy, and the ability to Sleep anytime I needed to sleep.From the time I was a toddler until somewhere in my mid to late 20s, sleeping off a migraine was a major player in how I treated an attack. Everything evolves, I suppose. Sleep is harder to come by these days, what with hot flashes, a snoring partner, and worrying about whe…