8 Things I Wish People Knew About Migraines
Key takeaways:
Erika Cortez, 30, was a college student in California in 2017 when she started having disorienting dizzy spells.
She was diagnosed with a kind of chronic migraine. Over the last 5 years, she has reduced her daily migraines to about two a month.
Medications can help some people, but she has chosen instead to manage her chronic disease by avoiding trigger foods, taking vitamins, and controlling her environment.
Erika Cortez, 30, was an undergrad student at University of California, Irvine in 2017 when she started having disorienting dizzy spells.
The spells would get so bad that she couldn’t shower by herself, and she couldn’t drive for nearly 6 months. Eating made her feel sick, too.
She describes the attacks this way: “You can't control where your eyes are going. You can’t control what your body's doing. And it gets to the point where you're so nauseous, that you're constantly throwing up.”
She moved back home and began physical therapy to help her walk in a straight line, and she even saw an array of doctors.
Some suspected she had Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear that can lead to dizzy spells.
She gained more control over her symptoms and returned to finish her undergrad degree. In 2018, she was diagnosed with chronic vestibular migraine, one of many different varieties.
Erika now lives in her grandparents’ house in Hayward, California, with her family, boyfriend, three dogs, and two cats. She will soon begin taking courses toward a career in health data analytics.
Here are eight things she says others should know about migraines.
1. Migraines are not the same as headaches
People often think they are just bad headaches, she says, but they are more complex.
Experts say headaches are only one of many migraine symptoms. In addition to severe head pain, people experiencing migraines may have nausea, more sensitivity to light, sound, or smells, extreme fatigue, and dizziness.
2. They can take a toll on your mental health
Erika says a lack of control over your body can do a number on your mental health.
“It’s like you have no control over yourself, like you have no control over your life.”
Episodes can come on suddenly with, for example, the smell of someone’s perfume.
“It can ruin your whole day. You feel isolated. And at the same time, you're trying to figure out how you can manage this and still live my life.”
3. Food and drinks can be triggers
For Erika, soy sauce is a huge trigger as well as most fermented foods. Foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG), bananas, and many other foods also trigger her migraines. But triggers are not the same for everyone with migraines. Others report effects from foods such as avocados or sourdough bread, she said, but she is not affected by those. Alcohol can also trigger her migraines, so she doesn’t drink.
“I would feel drunk without even drinking because of migraines,” she says.
4. Doing your own research is important
Finding what brings on or worsens a migraine takes individual trial and error, Erika says. Being plugged in to social networks is also important to learn from other people’s experiences.
5. Migraines can strain and strengthen relationships
Migraines limit your ability to go out to eat or drink with friends as well as go to concerts or performances with flashing lights and loud noises. That’s hard for a young person, Erika says. Friend circles can narrow. But adversity can also strengthen bonds, she says.
“For me and my partner, it brought us closer together. Yeah, there were tears. Yeah, there were fights. But at the end of the day, he always believed ‘you're gonna get better, you're gonna get better.’”
He learned to cook when she couldn’t, she says, and “was really there for everything.”
Similarly, her family not only supported her in every way but also looked to change the whole family’s diet when certain foods were linked with Erika’s ill effects. They looked more carefully at household products they were using when the products caused Erika discomfort.
6. Young people are not exempt
Early on, Erika participated in chronic pain management groups and many of the women were older.
She says she thought, “I'm so young. How could this be happening?”
Erika says she came to find out lots of young people are living with chronic migraines.
“We're just not talking about it. We're not putting it out there.” She says people her age often think they just need more sleep or that it will go away.
She hopes that people’s hesitancy to share their experiences changes. “Let’s talk about it,” she says.
7. Some people choose to manage without medications
Erika made a personal decision to stop taking medications after years of trying different options.
She says she experienced side effects with some medications that changed her mood, brought on nightmares, and weren’t worth the small benefit she got from them. Others with migraines, however, might find medications in combination with lifestyle changes helpful.
Instead, she takes vitamins every day, avoids trigger foods, and tries to control her environment.
Her daily regimen includes vitamins B2 and D, magnesium, and iron. She drinks water regularly and says acupuncture helps manage the pain. When the pain is severe, she ices down the back of her head and neck.
She said she has gone from having migraines every day to about twice a month, but they can still last all day.
8. You are not alone
Erika urges anyone who experiences migraines to get connected with any of the numerous support groups on social media or through their healthcare system or other groups.
According to the American Migraine Foundation, at least 39 million Americans live with migraines.
Even so, Erika believes that important information can come from learning about others’ experiences.
“There are so many other people that are out there who are willing to give you these answers for free,” she says, adding, “I’m always open for people that need help.”
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