STRENGTH IN EVERY STORY™
A Sense of Humor Helps Ease the Pain
Kimberly’s Story, November 2024
As told by: Valerie Stevens, Edited by Fabiola Palomo
Diagnosis received: Tension-type headache, intractable migraine, cervicogenic headache
Symptoms: Head pressure, neck tightness
Kim has a great laugh! It engulfs you and pulls you along for the ride. Her ability to laugh is helping her deal with the re-emergence of her daily headache.
In 2014, Kim received breast implants. By 2015, Kim began experiencing daily headache attacks, which lasted a year. That same year, she was also diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. After 2016, her headache attacks became infrequent, occurring intermittently over the next 8 years. However, in May 2024, the daily headache attacks returned.
Kim first began making appointments with neurologists and physical therapists to ease her pain by having access to a work-based health insurance, which became helpful for receiving the necessary medical care. Kim believed her breast implants were contributing to her headache attacks.
Kim was first diagnosed with tension headache and intractable migraine. “I always have a headache,” said Kim, revealing that 30 days a month, Kim has either a headache or pressure in her head. For about 25 days out of each month, Kim experienced mild symptoms and pressure, which she rated as a 2 or 3 on a pain scale. She can typically ignore them for 2 or 3 days. However, on the remaining 5 days out of the month, Kim experienced intense attacks that ranged from 8-10. Those “knock you out,” said Kim. Kim defined “knockout headaches” as full-blown attacks with severe pain that usually last an entire day.
Kim’s prescribed calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) helped at times, though not as effectively as she had hoped for. She had also received botulinum toxin injections, but the treatment brought little relief. Ten weeks into the injections, she started treatment with fremanezumab. The combination of medication worsened her pain, causing tightness in her neck that led her to lose her job. “I was in severe pain and couldn’t leave my house for months,” shared Kim.
After stopping both treatments, Kim began exploring alternative approaches. She underwent a procedure called percutaneous implantation of cervical ligaments (PICL) at an orthopedic care center to treat what was later identified as cervical instability—the underlying cause of her cervicogenic headache. She has also received blood platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and plans additional PRP treatments to strengthen her neck and lessen inflammation.
“I’m finally on the road to recovery, hopefully, after being misdiagnosed by 4 neurologists as having a migraine when I was really having cervicogenic headaches…” Kim said.
Since the procedure, she’s noticed gradual improvement—only 2 headache attacks in the weeks that followed. To find relief, she takes acetaminophen.
When speaking about her headache journey, Kim prefers to keep her condition private, sharing only when necessary. Her coworkers are supportive, “They’re nice, but I don’t like telling everybody,” she admitted. However, after a trip to the ER, it became clear to her coworkers how serious her condition is.
At home, her family is supportive, though they don’t fully understand what she goes through. Her parents regularly ask how she’s feeling, her husband takes care of most meals, and while her college-age son doesn’t quite grasp the extent of her condition, he assists her if needed, “My family is supportive but doesn’t completely understand,” shared Kim.
In keeping with her desire not to solely rely on medications, Kim has several other alternative methods to ease her head pain. She stays active by working out, practicing yoga, and unwinding by watching TV. Physical therapy is another go-to, given the massages, “The best thing is to take time for PT, the massages feel good.”
Handling anxiety is another coping tip from Kim: “If you have anxiety, work on it because stress makes headaches worse.” She has found that CBD helps ease both her pain and anxiety concerning her headache attacks.
For Kim, the gold standard for alleviating her head pain is swimming. When swimming, her head pain seems to disappear, “I should do everything in the pool—work, entertain,” she joked. “I wish I could swim every day.”
Through it all, she’s learned that a sense of humor goes a long way, “I don’t find many things funny these days,” she admitted, “but when I do, they’re good.”