From Episodic to Chronic in Six Months: Émilie's Migraine Story
Summary
TLDRThe video script narrates a personal journey with migraines, detailing the struggle from episodic to chronic migraines and the impact on daily life. It discusses the categorization of migraines, risk factors, and the importance of individualized treatment plans. The speaker's experience with ineffective medications and the transition to chronic migraine treatments is highlighted. The narrative concludes with the individual's aspiration to help others as a medical professional, emphasizing the need for understanding and proper treatment of migraines as a serious condition.
Takeaways
- 🧠 The individual struggled with migraines that significantly impacted their ability to focus and perform in school.
- 📉 Migraines began at a young age and worsened around the age of 15 or 16, leading to a diagnosis of episodic migraine.
- 🏥 Migraines are categorized as chronic if they occur more than 15 days a month, and episodic if less frequent.
- 👩⚕️ Women are more likely to develop chronic migraines, and psychological factors like anxiety and depression can contribute to their development.
- 💊 The overuse of as-needed medications can lead to medication overuse headaches, potentially worsening migraine conditions.
- 📝 A medical note allowed the individual to leave class for migraines, highlighting the need for accommodations in educational settings.
- 🤔 The individual's life revolved around managing migraines, including avoiding social events and always having abortive medications at hand.
- 🔄 After experiencing daily migraines, it was realized that the current treatment was not effective, leading to a switch to chronic migraine treatments.
- 📊 Tracking migraine frequency and impact on daily life is crucial for adjusting treatment plans and demonstrating the severity of the condition.
- 👩🎓 The individual's experience with migraines inspired them to pursue a career in medicine, aiming to help others with similar conditions.
- 🌟 Listening to and validating patients' experiences with migraines is essential for providing effective care and support.
Q & A
What was the individual's experience with biology class?
-The individual loved biology class but struggled to pay attention due to migraines, which affected their grades.
When did the individual start experiencing migraines?
-The individual started experiencing migraines when they were fairly young.
What are the symptoms the individual experienced with migraines?
-The individual experienced sensitivity to light and noise as symptoms of migraines.
How is migraine categorized based on the frequency of headaches?
-Migraines are categorized as chronic if someone has a headache more than 15 days a month, and episodic if it's less than 15 headache days a month.
Which gender is at a higher risk for developing chronic migraine?
-Women are at a higher risk for developing chronic migraine compared with men.
What factors can contribute to the development of chronic migraine?
-Factors contributing to chronic migraine include overuse of as-needed medications, under-treated psychological problems like anxiety and depression.
What was the initial treatment approach for the individual's migraine?
-The initial treatment was for episodic migraine, which included a medical note allowing the individual to leave class for migraines and go to the nurse's station.
What are the two avenues of migraine treatment mentioned in the script?
-The two avenues of migraine treatment are preventive treatment to reduce the burden of migraine and abortive or rescue treatment taken during a migraine attack.
Why did the individual's condition worsen to almost daily migraines?
-The individual's condition worsened due to the overuse of abortive medications, which led to medication overuse headaches and chronic migraine.
What was the turning point in the individual's treatment?
-The turning point was when the individual's doctor recognized that their preventive treatments for episodic migraine were not suitable for chronic migraine and decided to move forward with chronic migraine treatments.
How did tracking migraines help the individual?
-Tracking migraines helped the individual and their doctor realize the severity of the condition, leading to a change in treatment approach to better manage chronic migraine.
What is the individual's current situation regarding their migraine and career?
-The individual is now doing a full-time PhD and working part-time at a medical clinic, where they are equipped to help patients with headaches or migraines.
What is the message the individual wants to convey about invisible illnesses?
-The individual wants to convey that invisible illnesses like migraines are prevalent and should not be dismissed, as they significantly impact the lives of those who suffer from them.
Outlines
🤕 Struggling with Migraines in School
The speaker recounts their difficult experience with migraines starting from a young age, which affected their ability to focus in school. Initially dismissing the migraines as something everyone experiences, they later realized the severity when it became unmanageable around the age of 15 or 16. Migraines are categorized into chronic and episodic based on the frequency of headaches. Women are more susceptible to chronic migraines, and factors like medication overuse and untreated psychological issues can exacerbate the condition. The speaker's life revolved around managing their migraines, affecting their social life and requiring constant preparation with abortive medications. The narrative emphasizes the importance of proper treatment, distinguishing between preventive and abortive measures, and the speaker's journey from episodic to chronic migraine management.
📈 Tracking Migraines for Better Treatment
The speaker discusses the pivotal moment when they began tracking their migraines, which revealed the frequency exceeded 15 days a month, indicating a shift from episodic to chronic migraine. This realization led to a change in treatment approach, focusing on chronic migraine management. The speaker emphasizes the importance of communication and documentation to ensure healthcare providers understand the severity of the condition. The narrative also touches on the broader implications of migraine treatment, highlighting the need for individualized care and the potential for various treatment options to improve patients' lives. The speaker's personal experience and the support from a nurse inspired them to pursue a career in helping others manage migraines, leading to a fulfilling role in both academia and clinical practice.
🎓 From Suffering to Helping: A Migraine Warrior's Journey
The final paragraph concludes with the speaker's transformation from a migraine sufferer to an advocate and healthcare provider. They are currently pursuing a PhD while working at a medical clinic, where they are equipped to assist patients with headaches and migraines. The speaker reflects on the humbling experience of being able to help others with their condition, emphasizing the importance of listening to and validating patients' experiences. The paragraph underscores the invisibility and underestimation of migraines as an illness, advocating for increased awareness and understanding to ensure that sufferers receive the support and treatment they need.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Migraine
💡Episodic migraine
💡Chronic migraine
💡Abortive treatment
💡Preventative treatment
💡Medication overuse headache
💡Sensitivity to light and noise
💡Tracking migraines
💡Invisible illness
💡PhD and medical clinic
Highlights
The narrator loved biology class but struggled with attention due to migraines.
Migraines began affecting the narrator's life from a young age, causing sensitivity to light and noise.
Migraine frequency is categorized into chronic (more than 15 days a month) and episodic (less than 15 days a month).
Women are at a higher risk for chronic migraines compared to men.
Overuse of as-needed medications and untreated psychological issues can lead to chronic migraines.
The narrator was diagnosed with episodic migraine and was given a medical note to leave class when needed.
Migraine treatments are divided into preventive and abortive (rescue) treatments.
Overuse of abortive treatments can lead to medication overuse headaches and chronic migraines.
The narrator's migraines escalated to almost daily occurrences within six months.
Preventative treatments for episodic migraines were insufficient for the narrator's chronic condition.
Tracking migraines for a month revealed the need for a change to chronic migraine treatments.
The narrator emphasizes the importance of doctors understanding the impact of migraines on daily life.
Individualized treatment plans are crucial for managing migraines.
The narrator's experience in the hospital inspired them to help others with migraines.
The narrator is currently doing a PhD and working at a medical clinic, helping patients with headaches and migraines.
Migraines are an invisible illness that should not be dismissed as 'just a bad headache'.
Transcripts
I really loved biology class
but it was always very very hard I
couldn't pay attention you know I would
just say lie my head down in class and
so I remember my grades in schools
suffered but it's not because I wasn't
studious enough it's just that I was
physically not able to migraine is
really dictating my life
[Music]
I started experiencing migraines when I
was fairly young I would get different
symptoms like very very sensitive to
light sensitive to noise
but I sort of told myself like oh well
everyone goes through this and you just
sort of power through it and hope that
it goes away hours later but it got
worse when I was around 15 or 16 that's
when it became not manageable anymore
migraine is a disorder that's sub
categorized the first way that we
categorize migraine is based on how
affected somebody is if somebody has a
headache more than 15 days a month we
call it chronic migraine if it's less
than 15 headache days a month we call it
episodic migraine it's really the same
disorder that can fluctuate over time
depending on multiple factors women are
at a higher risk for developing chronic
migraine compared with men the overuse
of as needed medications and if there
are under treated psychological problems
like anxiety depression we know that
people are more likely to develop
chronic migraine
when I was first diagnosed with episodic
migraine I remember having this medical
note for my physician saying that if
ever I needed to leave class for a
migraine then I would be able to excuse
myself and go to the nurse's station so
it was a lot of you know coming back and
just showing up the class and being like
what are we talking about how did I miss
all this my life literally revolved
around and still revolves around my
brain it was about not going to parties
wearing sunglasses outside like all the
time I'm always having my abortive
medications next to me
we separate migraine treatment into two
Avenues and we think about prevention
for migraine so how do you reduce the
burden of migraine and then we think
about abortive treatment or what we call
rescue treatment so things that you
would take on an as needed basis during
a migraine attack to hopefully halt it
if those are used too often they can
lead to medication overuse headache
which then can lead to
a daily headache or lead to Chronic
migraine
I think in the span of like six months I
had gone from having you know headaches
once in a while to having migraines
almost every single day
you've taken a board of medication that
as soon as it affects stops then you
start getting another headache again so
you have to take more it means your
preventative treatment isn't doing
enough and I often blame myself for
having and being in so much pain it
wasn't myself that was wrong it was the
medication that wasn't right for me
my position said can you just track your
migraines you know just for a month just
to see and then I filled out the
calendar and just like you know counting
all the migraines that I had in a month
I was like this is a lot more than 15.
that's when he said like okay well your
preventative treatments
offer episodic migraine they're not for
chronic migraine we decided to move
forward with chronic migraine treatments
specifically and that was just such a
game changer
make sure that your doctor understands
what you're dealing with actually
tracking how much you're missing your
work and how much medication you need to
use can be a really powerful way of
actually explaining to someone how much
this is affecting your life when coming
up with a treatment plan for anyone it's
important that we always look at someone
as an individual and the more types of
treatments we have available the more
chance we have to help and treat and
improve the lives of more and more
patients
when I was in the hospital one of the
nurses saw that I wasn't coping well
with my migraine and the chronic pain
and so she was the one that just you
know sat next to me and said that we're
going to find a way to make this work
and that was sort of the moment that I
realized that I wanted to be that person
for someone else
right now I'm doing my PhD full-time and
I'm working part-time at a private
medical clinic and we even have patients
that come to the clinic that complain of
headaches or migraine and now I'm fully
equipped to help them which is
an incredibly humbling experience
people deserve to be listened to and not
have their symptoms brushed off and told
to you know just go outside break some
air drink water
yes it is it's an invisible illness it's
a hidden Illness but that doesn't make
it
less prevalent
and I think knowing that
I would have seen my symptoms as not
being something to brush off because
it's so much more than just a bad
headache
[Music]
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