I started having vascular headaches after a car accident in 1999. At first, they started out as infrequent, mild annoyances with extra sensitivity to sunlight. But as I grew older, they began to impede on my life.

Some months I will not have a migraine at all. But others times, like now, I have them for three to seven days straight with little relief. They are always over my right eye and I have sensitivity to light. To survive I have to be in a completely blackened room or put the pillow over my head.

When I have migraines, I cannot be with family members. I get cranky and depressed and have to isolate myself in my room. When I worked in retail, I could not even begin to meet customers as the bright light would be torture to me.

Fortunately, now they can be controlled with the blood control medicine my doctor prescribes me (I do not have blood pressure). However, I still would have “seasons” of migraines throughout the year.