I am a migraine sufferer and have been for many years. In 1987, a young man, who had been coming to our hospital’s Emergency Room for seven years with headaches, went to the Cleveland Clinic, and was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died soon after.
My gynecologist, who knew I had been having migraines, referred me to the Cleveland. Clinic, where they did many tests on me, including a CT scan. I had the whole headache thing: nausea, vomiting, horrible one-sided headache, and inability to function. I was diagnosed by the doctor with Common Migraine headache. Then the nurse showed me a video and gave me important information and literature to help me. I was put on a beta-blocker to help keep the migraines from being so severe and so often. When I got home to West Virginia, I researched headaches, contacted the National Headache Foundation and became a member. I began teaching Headache Seminars in my community with the help of literature from the NHF and Susan Barron. I am a retired R.N., but continue to try to help other migraine sufferers. By the way, once I learned about auras or signs of migraine, I realized that the holes in my vision before my headache hit meant that I have ‘classic’ migraines. Sadly, migraines are genetic and can be inherited by our children and grandchildren. Some of the doctors at our hospital actually referred their migraine patients to me for teaching, using my research and the NHF’s newsletter and informative literature brochures.
