My Migraine Story

Summary

In this video, the creator discusses their personal experience with migraines, highlighting the importance of Migraine and Headache Awareness Month in June. They share their journey from first experiencing migraines to discovering the trigger was their birth control. The video serves as a cautionary tale against self-diagnosing and emphasizes the need for medical advice, offering insights into the debilitating nature of migraines and the importance of seeking professional help.

Takeaways

• 📈 The video creator uses AdSense earnings to purchase a ring light, enhancing video production quality.
• 🌟 June is recognized as Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, prompting the video's focus on migraines.
• ⚠️ The video is a deviation from the usual archaeological content, aiming to raise awareness about migraines.
• 🏥 The creator emphasizes that the video is not for medical advice and urges viewers to consult professionals for medical concerns.
• 🤔 Migraines are described as severe, potentially disabling headaches, often with additional symptoms like nausea and light sensitivity.
• 🧬 The exact cause of migraines is unknown, but they are linked to environmental factors, stress, genetics, and hormonal changes.
• 🌐 Globally, about 15% of people suffer from migraines, with women being affected more frequently than men.
• 📜 The earliest description of migraine-like symptoms dates back to ancient Egypt, around 1500 BC.
• 🩺 The video shares a personal journey with migraines, including the experience of auras and the impact on daily life.
• 🚫 The creator warns against self-diagnosis via internet searches and the importance of seeking professional medical help for migraines.
• 💊 The video concludes with the discovery that the creator's migraines were triggered by birth control, leading to a change in medication.

Q & A

What is the new addition to the set mentioned by the speaker?

The new addition to the set is a ring light, which helps the speaker avoid depending on the weather for proper lighting.

Why did the speaker choose to make this video during June?

The speaker made this video during June because it is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, making it an appropriate time to discuss migraines.

What is the primary goal of the video according to the speaker?

The primary goal of the video is to raise awareness about migraine symptoms and to encourage viewers to seek professional medical help if they experience migraines. The video is not meant to offer medical advice.

How does the speaker describe migraines?

Migraines are described as severe headaches that often incapacitate people. They typically affect one side of the head, are pulsating in nature, and can last from a few hours to a few days. Additional symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivities to light, sound, or smell.

What does the term 'aura' mean in relation to migraines?

An 'aura' refers to a period of visual disturbance that can act as a warning sign before a migraine occurs. About one-third of migraine sufferers experience auras.

What was the speaker’s initial reaction to their first migraine experience?

The speaker initially dismissed their first migraine, thinking it was just a bad headache or a leftover symptom from a recent cold. They didn't seek medical attention and continued working despite the pain.

What pattern did the speaker notice in their migraine occurrences?

The speaker noticed that their migraines followed a monthly pattern, with one migraine occurring in May, one in June, and two in October. The frequency increased in November and December.

What event prompted the speaker to finally seek medical help for their migraines?

The speaker sought medical help after experiencing three migraines in one week in early December, which prompted them to make an appointment with a doctor.

What did the doctor suggest as a potential cause of the speaker’s migraines?

The doctor suggested that the speaker’s migraines could be triggered by their birth control, specifically the dual-hormone pill they had been taking. Hormone changes can trigger migraines, and the doctor advised the speaker to stop taking the pill immediately.

What advice does the speaker give to people who experience migraines?

The speaker advises anyone who experiences migraines to seek medical help immediately, rather than ignoring the symptoms or relying on internet searches for medical information.

Outlines

00:00

💡 Introduction to Migraine Awareness

The speaker introduces a video deviating from their usual archaeological content to discuss migraines, motivated by June being Migraine and Headache Awareness Month. They clarify that the video is not for medical advice but to raise awareness about migraine symptoms. The speaker defines migraines, mentioning their debilitating nature and additional symptoms like nausea and light sensitivity. They note the uncertainty around causes but mention environmental, stress, and genetic factors, as well as hormonal changes, which disproportionately affect women.

05:01

🌐 Historical and Personal Context of Migraines

The video script delves into the historical context of migraines, citing ancient Egyptian descriptions and the Greek origin of the term. The speaker then shares a personal anecdote from Easter 2017, detailing the first experience of a migraine with an aura, which they initially mistook for an eye floater. They recount the headache's intensity and how it was dismissed by themselves and others as not requiring immediate medical attention, reflecting a common but misguided approach to such symptoms.

10:04

🚑 Escalation and Medical Consultation

The narrative continues with the speaker's experience of migraines becoming more frequent and severe, leading to a panic attack and a visit to the emergency room, fearing a stroke. Despite the scare, tests at the hospital came back normal, and the speaker was advised to see their GP. The GP linked the migraines to the speaker's birth control, which contained hormones that could increase the risk of migraines and blood clots. The speaker was advised to stop the medication and was prescribed preventative treatment for migraines.

15:04

💪 Overcoming Migraines and Advocacy

In the final paragraph, the speaker expresses relief after their migraines ceased following the change in birth control. They reflect on the newfound empathy for those with chronic migraines and urge viewers to be supportive rather than dismissive. The speaker concludes with a call to action for viewers to seek medical help promptly if they experience migraines and to engage in Migraine and Headache Awareness Month activities. They also invite viewers to follow them on social media for more content.

Keywords

💡Migraine

A migraine is a severe type of headache that often incapacitates individuals, and can be classified as a disability due to its debilitating nature. In the video, migraines are described as typically affecting one side of the head, pulsating in nature, and lasting from hours to days. They can also be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivities to light, sound, or smell. The video's creator shares personal experiences with migraines, emphasizing their impact on daily life and the importance of seeking medical help.

💡Adsense

Adsense, referred to in the video, is a program run by Google that allows content creators to earn revenue by displaying ads on their websites or YouTube channels. The creator mentions using Adsense money to purchase a ring light, which is a type of lighting commonly used in video production to improve the quality of lighting in videos. This keyword is tied to the video's theme as it demonstrates the creator's ability to invest in their content production due to the success of their channel.

💡Aura

An aura is a sensory phenomenon that can precede a migraine and is experienced by about a third of migraine sufferers. It is described in the video as a period of visual disturbance, such as seeing spots or flashes of light, which serves as a warning sign that a migraine is about to occur. The video creator relates their personal experience with auras as a precursor to their migraines, providing a firsthand account of this symptom.

💡Archaeological content

The term 'archaeological content' refers to the creator's usual video topics, which are centered around archaeology. The video script mentions a deviation from this regular content to discuss migraines, indicating that the channel primarily focuses on educational or informational content related to archaeology. This keyword is important as it establishes the creator's area of expertise and the nature of their usual content.

💡Disability

In the context of the video, 'disability' is used to highlight the severity of migraines, as they can be so debilitating that they prevent individuals from functioning normally. The video creator discusses how migraines qualify as a disability due to their ability to significantly impact a person's daily activities and work.

💡Hormones

Hormones are chemical messengers in the body that regulate various functions, including mood, growth, and metabolism. In the video, hormones are mentioned as a potential factor contributing to migraines, especially in women, whose hormone levels can fluctuate more than men's. The creator's personal experience suggests that hormones from birth control pills might have triggered their migraines, illustrating the complex relationship between hormones and health conditions like migraines.

💡Birth control

Birth control refers to methods or devices used to prevent pregnancy. In the video, the creator discusses how their migraines were potentially triggered by a dual hormone birth control pill, which contains both estrogen and progesterone. This keyword is significant as it ties into the narrative of discovering the cause of the creator's migraines and the steps taken to mitigate them.

💡Mini pill

The mini pill, as mentioned in the video, is a type of birth control that contains only progesterone, unlike the dual hormone pill which contains both estrogen and progesterone. The creator switched to the mini pill after their migraines were suspected to be linked to their previous birth control method, indicating a change in their healthcare routine to manage their migraines.

💡Medical professional

Throughout the video, the term 'medical professional' is used to emphasize the importance of seeking advice and help from qualified doctors or healthcare providers when dealing with health issues like migraines. The creator advises viewers not to rely on their personal experiences or comments for medical guidance, but instead to consult with medical professionals for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

💡Panic attack

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or anxiety that can lead to physical symptoms like difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, or feeling lightheaded. In the video, the creator describes experiencing a panic attack due to their fear of having a stroke, which was triggered by an increase in migraine frequency and misinformation found online. This keyword is relevant as it adds an emotional layer to the narrative and highlights the psychological impact of health concerns.

Highlights

Introduction of a new ring light funded by Adsense earnings, enhancing video production quality.

Announcement of a video deviation from regular archaeological content to raise awareness about migraines and headaches.

Clarification that the video is for awareness, not medical advice, and a disclaimer about the presenter's qualifications.

Description of migraines as severe headaches that can incapacitate individuals and are considered a disability.

Migraines are often accompanied by additional symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell.

Migraines are believed to be linked to environmental factors, stress, genetics, and hormonal changes.

Globally, about 15% of people suffer from migraines, with women affected two to three times more than men.

Historical context: the earliest description of migraine-like symptoms dates back to ancient Egypt around 1500 BC.

Etymology of the word 'migraine' from the Greek word 'hemicrania', meaning pain on half of the head.

Personal account of the presenter's first migraine experience in 2017, mistaking it for a sinus infection.

Recognition of 'auras' as visual disturbances that precede migraines in about a third of sufferers.

The presenter's initial dismissal of migraines as a serious medical issue and the delay in seeking medical attention.

Description of the pattern of migraines increasing in frequency and severity over time.

Urgent advice to seek medical help immediately if experiencing sudden or frequent migraines.

The presenter's panic attack and hospital visit due to a fear of having a stroke, triggered by internet research.

The discovery that the presenter's birth control medication was likely the cause of her migraines.

Recommendation to switch to a different form of birth control to manage migraines and the subsequent relief.

A call to action for viewers to be sympathetic and supportive towards those suffering from migraines.

Encouragement for those experiencing migraines to seek medical help early and not delay treatment.

Transcripts

hey everybody welcome back to my channel

we have a new addition to the set

today which i can't really show you

because it's behind the camera

but thanks to the adsense money that

i've made for my videos i now have a

ring light

ooh fancy which is really nice to have

because it means that i don't have to

depend on the weather

outside to film videos so that my

lighting doesn't put me like

half in shadow today's video is going to

be a deviation from my regular

archaeological content

i've been thinking about making this

video for a while and

since june is actually migraine and

headache awareness month

i thought that now would be an

appropriate time to do so before i even

get into it i want to be clear

that me putting up this video is not me

asking for people's medical opinions

and is not meant to provide any kind of

medical advice or guidance

to anyone watching the intent is more to

provide

awareness of the symptoms of a migraine

and to and to help you recognize the

symptoms

and that it is time to go seek help from

a medical professional

please do not base your medical

decisions for yourself

upon what i have done slash did

and do not ask me in the comments

you know i'm having this situation what

should i do etc

my only response to those kinds of

comments will be go see a doctor because

i am not qualified to answer those

questions for you

so migraines what are they chances are

that you either

know someone who has them or you've had

them yourself usually i think people

would describe migraines as

a severe headache that can often

incapacitate people

it actually does qualify as a disability

because they are so bad that you cannot

really

work through them according to wikipedia

migraines typically affect

one side or one part of your head and

they are pulsating in nature

and they can last from a couple hours to

a couple

days they also sometimes have additional

symptoms like

nausea vomiting and sensitivities to

light sound or smell

we don't exactly know what causes them

to happen to some people and

and not others but people are fairly

confident that it's something

to do with things like your environment

and stress as well as genetic factors

changing levels and hormones also seems

to play

a part in giving people migraines as

women tend to be affected two to three

times more than men

and our hormone levels as some of you

may know tend to go up and down a bit

more

the underlying mechanisms of migraines

aren't fully known

but we do know that it is involving the

nerves and blood vessels within your

brain

across the world about 15 of people

suffer from migraines and it is suffer

my two archaeological facts that i'm

going to squeeze into this video

is that our earliest description of

migraine-like symptoms comes from

ancient egypt

written in a papyrus that was written

around 1500 bc

so around 3 500 years ago the word

migraine

comes from the greek word hemicrania i'm

not sure if i'm saying that right

which translates to pain and half of the

head so very descriptive

so now that we kind of know what

migraines are how does this all apply to

me personally

let's time travel back to easter

2017. i was working in

lincoln in england where i was provided

with 24 7

accommodation for work but my life

itself was still very much

based in edinburgh my partner was there

and i was still paying rent for a flat

up there i was just working down south

for a period of time after the long

weekend for easter

i had come down with a cold which took

me out for about two days

on the day that i was coming back to

work i was feeling much better

obviously and i vividly remember as we

were driving to site at 6

30 in the morning that we were driving

into the sun and all of a sudden i got

what i would call like a sunspot but is

also known as like an eye floater

in my eyes and so because we were

driving into the sun it wasn't

exactly that unusual so i like tried

closing my eyes and stuff like that and

like blinking a couple times to get rid

of it

but it wouldn't go away i remember

thinking like that's kind of weird

but i just dismissed it ignored it and

eventually it

went away i got to work and i started my

day digging and shortly afterwards i got

this

killer headache right behind

one of my eyes i can't exactly remember

which i think it was this one

it kind of felt almost like a headache

that you get during a sinus infection

where this was

like intense pressure in your head

except it wasn't just like when i looked

down but it was definitely worse than

any of the headaches i've had when i've

had sinus infections it was and i would

have categorized it as a time as like

the worst headache i had

it definitely slowed me down but because

i had just come off of sick leave

i wasn't really eager to take more sick

days and i thought it was just maybe

left over

from that so i just kept working after

like an hour or two i think it went away

and then around one of our breaks i was

chatting to my co-workers and i was

saying oh yeah i got this really bad

headache today

and i was describing it and one of my

co-workers said oh

you just had a migraine and i was like

what

i've never had one of those before how

can i just like suddenly have a migraine

i also learned that the sun spot that i

had seen in my eye while on the drive-in

was actually an

aura which is a period of

visual disturbance that like warns you

that you're about to get

a migraine and about a third of the

people that suffer from migraines get

these

the co-worker who alerted me to the fact

that i had a migraine was somebody who

regularly got migraines and so he was

just kind of saying oh yeah like people

get them and

nobody really knows why or what causes

them etc

it was a very like casual response not

like oh that's that's wrong you need to

go

see a doctor immediately later that

evening i also spoke to my partner

who when i told him about it had a very

similar response

saying you know you know oh it's just a

migraine like he had a migraine

years ago that i think actually

incapacitated him for a day and then

never had one again

we had a friend who had a migraine that

was so bad one time

he got like sent for an mri or something

like that this kind of like response

that i got to me didn't signal that this

was a

medical situation that i immediately

needed to deal with additionally

i hadn't registered at a gp or doctor in

lincoln when i'd

kind of moved there for work i still had

a doctor up in edinburgh who

obviously doesn't work on the weekends

which was when i was usually visiting

edinburgh

and i wasn't keen to waste like an

evening going to like a hospital or a

walk-in clinic in lincoln

to just be told that like oh yeah you

had a migraine there's nothing we can

really do

this was a hundred percent not the right

thing to do

and a bad idea do not brush it off

like i did if you suddenly have a

migraine out of nowhere or you start

having migraines

go see a doctor immediately after i

decided like oh yeah this isn't really

something i need to bother with

i proceeded with my life i had a

migraine in may

another one in june so they seem to be

doing like a bit of a monthly pattern

then i went three months without any at

all and then

i got two in october about two weeks

apart

very much remember one of them because

it took me out when i was in the midst

of cooking my canadian thanksgiving

dinner that i was gonna serve to some

friends that evening

which was very inconvenient because i

couldn't just like stop

cooking but thankfully it went away

before

my dinner was served and so everything

turned out okay

every time i had a migraine i had an

aura precede it which was very helpful

retrospectively because it kind of gave

me enough time to realize what was

happening

like pack up at work like tell my boss i

was going home sick and usually gave me

enough time to go home

my way of dealing with them was very

typical for a lot of people i would go

home

and go into a dark room and attempt to

sleep for a couple hours which usually

got rid of it

i might have taken like ibuprofen or

like paracetamol or like a minor

headache medication but i don't really

remember

but typically i think on the scale of

migraines mine were pretty minor

the later on episodes when i started

having more of them

i did started getting nausea but i never

got the vomiting which is good and while

i was somewhat sensitive to light it

wasn't like as bad as i've heard it

being for other people

so i had two migraines in october i had

two migraines in

november and then in very early december

i had three within the space of one week

at this point i was living back in

edinburgh full time i wasn't in lincoln

anymore

and this increase in the amount of

migraines i was getting

basically gave me the kick up the butt

to make an appointment to speak to my

doctor

i think that i would have called my

doctor on a tuesday after i had the

third migraine

and i got an appointment for the

thursday and then

hit the proverbial fan excuse my

french

so i will admit that i am a bit of a

warrior and

in between when i made my doctor's

appointment and when i actually had the

appointment

i made the carnal mistake of

looking up my symptoms on the internet

specifically

like an increase or a change in the

pattern of how often you get migraines

do not do this do not do what i did

instead

speak to an actual medical professional

don't look stuff up on the internet it's

never helpful

i don't know what search term i put in

exactly but what i basically got back

was a bunch of pages talking about the

connection between

migraines and strokes so basically from

reading that stuff

i got it into my head that this increase

in the amount of migraines i was getting

that was my body telling me that i was

like about to have a stroke

which was terrifying especially since at

that point in time

i had absolutely no idea what was

triggering them like i said they've gone

on and off

and there wasn't like any specific thing

that i could pinpoint

that had caused them to have to start

happening i did have

a family history of migraines my

grandmother

got them but my mom doesn't but that

itself was like quite tenuous and it

just didn't make sense to me that i

would start getting them at like 28

29 when i had never had them before

previously in my life

fast forward to wednesday evening fast

forward to wednesday evening so like the

night before my doctor's appointment my

partner and i were

driving to the grocery store to do our

weekly show on the way there

i got an aura which based on

my bad internet search put me into

a full-on panic attack which i i'd never

had before in my life this was the

fourth one that i'd had in a week

and so i just convinced myself basically

that like i was about to have a stroke

so while my partner was driving i was on

the

phone with like the nhs i don't know if

i called like

the emergency hotline or like the

24-hour medical hotline there are two

different things

but i was speaking to an operator on the

phone who was asking me about my

symptoms while we were in the car

and that's when my panic attack made it

so that

i started having trouble speaking so

like she was asking me stuff and i just

like couldn't

get the words out i couldn't even really

think of them i couldn't say them i was

stuttering when i was trying to put

words

out so again this only like reinforced

to me the idea that i was like

having a stroke because speech problems

are one of the classic signs of someone

having a stroke the operator basically

said

okay you need to go to a hospital just

to make sure that you're okay

there's no point in sending an ambulance

because you're already in a car drive to

the nearest hospital

so my partner put it into gear drove us

he himself was quite scared as well but

he did very well under pressure

um once we got to

the emergency room we registered and

spoke to some staff and i described what

was going on

i think the lady the operator had like

called ahead to warn them that i was

coming

but i think when i got to the emergency

room it

became clear probably quite quickly that

i wasn't actually having a stroke i

walked in

under my own power like you know i

didn't have half of my body just like

peace out i was able to speak a bit more

and

the longer i was there the more and the

more that like i calmed down

the better i got despite this they did

check me out anyway and did like a bunch

of like heart rate tests and all this

kind of stuff we were there for a couple

hours

which kind of reassured me that i wasn't

imminently about to have a stroke so

like

yay for publicly funded healthcare

getting to the hospital kind of

reassured me that even if i was having a

stroke

i was going i was somewhere where i

could get taken care of and like not die

so i calmed down which meant that all of

my tests came back fine

and the hospital sent me home but said

obviously like keep your appointment

with your doctor the next day to talk

about a bit more in depth the next day

i went to my appointment with my gp i

gave her the full story including what

had happened the night before

and the first thing that she asked me

after i finished was

what kind of birth control you were on

which at the time was the

dual hormone pill called seasonal which

is

estrogen and progesterone and you take

it so that

you only get your period four times a

year like on a quarterly basis rather

than a monthly basis

and i had been on it since i was like 19

so almost

like a decade by that point when i told

her this she said to immediately

stop taking my pill as those of you who

have taken the pill you will know that

one of the potential side effects is an

increased risk of strokes and blood

clots

and as we said at the beginning hormones

and changing hormone

levels are one of the things that could

potentially cause migraines so yeah so

she told me to immediately

stop taking my pill and she also gave me

a prescription

for medication that i could take when i

started getting an aura which

if i took it in time should either make

it so the migraine didn't happen at all

or that it

was like drastically reduced from how

bad it could be

so going out of that appointment i i did

what she said i got my medication

i stopped my pill and my migraine

stopped a week later

i started the mini pill which is a

single hormone birth controls uh it only

uses progesterone

not estrogen and now i actually have the

single hormone implant

in my bicep which means i don't have to

like take a pill or anything

which is completely separate but like

highly highly recommend that

i had one like kind of residual migraine

about a month later in january but since

then

i haven't had a single migraine so

that's about four years

this would make it seem that the thing

that was triggering my migraines

was my birth control which is something

that

is a bit weird because like i said i've

been on that for

quite a long time and somehow it just

like suddenly

changed and it didn't like me anymore

i'm

incredibly grateful that my migraines

are stopped and i dread the day

that i may or may not ever get them

again i can't describe

how deflating and defeating it felt when

i got that residual migraine in january

because to me that was like oh no

we got rid of one trigger but they're

not completely gone but luckily since

then i've been okay

i wouldn't necessarily wish a migraine

on anybody

but having them definitely gave me a new

appreciation

and respect for people who do suffer

from like chronic migraines

i've heard people dismiss them as like

they're just like oh they're just a bad

headache like what's the big deal you

know you're making

a big deal out of nothing which is not

something anybody would say if they'd

had

a migraine so the next time someone you

know has a migraine

be sympathetic not a skeptic and if you

ever have a migraine

go see your doctor sooner rather than

later don't be stupid like me

and wait months it's not entirely likely

that if i had gone to see a doctor right

away i wouldn't have had

anything beyond that first migraine

that's all folks if you liked this video

give me a thumbs up

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subscribe to my channel and hit the bell

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i put out new videos if you

have any questions comments or concerns

that are not asking me

for medical advice please put them down

below

if you would like to take part in my

green and headache awareness month i've

also included a link in the description

to like the official page which has like

a bunch of observance days and

information stuff on how you can

participate my twitter and instagram are

also below if you'd like to follow me on

there

i am trying to be better at posting on

instagram

so that there is actually content there

for you guys to see on a regular basis

but it's

it's an uphill battle i'll be frank

thank you so much for watching guys and

i'll see you next time bye