What you should know about migraine

if you don't suffer from it.

I've been suffering from migraines for over 10 years. If you are lucky enough never to have had one, don't ask me what it feels like. You really don't want to know. It's such a terrible pain.

Having migraines makes me frustrated for two reasons. Firstly, they completely wreck my life on the days when I get an attack. Secondly, people who are not migraine sufferers, or who do not have a loved one who is a migraine sufferer really don't get it most of the time.

I like making plans and being organised. Migraines make planning even more complex, sometimes nearly impossible. I need to think about where I will get water from to keep hydrated throughout the day, about the food I will eat (the least processed I can get, not always easy on the go), how I will travel if I am unable able to drive home, I have to come up with cover lesson contingency plans if I am poorly in the morning and can't get to work. And even if I take all precautions in the world, a migraine can still hit me. For no apparent reason whatsoever.

I hate cancelling plans and calling in sick. If I could have one wish, it would be to get rid of the migraines. I can deal with all sorts of inconveniences and difficulties in my life, but I would really like migraines to finally go. For ever. There is nothing fun in throwing up, getting pins and needles, visual disturbances and finding it barely possible to move around the house.

And even when the attack is over, you get a migraine hangover. And even next day I find it difficult to focus, I'm tired and feel as if a dog chewed me up and spat out into a cold puddle. 

People who are nor migraines sufferers annoy me when they try to give me advice about how to prevent or manage my migraines or when they clearly think that I'm faking it. I've been really lucky in my workplace that my managers understand the drama of having migraines and Mr Magic has also proved to be brilliant at helping me deal with migraines. But not everybody is so lucky. 

We need to educate people about migraine. It's a neurological disorder with debilitating symptoms, but no known cure. Many people are undiagnosed or not treated properly by their doctors. Migraine affects the quality of life so massively that more awareness might make all the difference to people who struggle.