Meeting of the Minds
偏头痛兽医
Terri Dean-Alexander，47;Ligonier，PA：She has migraine attacks almost every day and started the Migraine Support Group on Facebook to help her cope. She’s married to Lance Alexander, and they have one son, Matthew, 16.
Natalie Divino, 43; Sandy, UT:患有18岁的偏头痛障碍，她大多数日子都有偏头痛，这就是为什么她总是戴上太阳镜。她是妈妈到一个13岁的继森，哈里森，嫁给了埃里克分校。
Margot Andersen，60s;Glenview，IL：A yoga teacher and social worker, she also teaches mindfulness meditation and is the founder of the Center for Resilience and Growth (creating-resilience.com). She’s had migraine for 55 years.
When you live慢性偏头痛,你可能会感到无助或一个xious at times. But learning resilience and practicing gratitude can empower you to lead a more enjoyable, productive life. Here, three women tell how they manage migraine and stay in the positive lane.
When were you first diagnosed with migraine?
Terri Dean-Alexander:I was first diagnosed at age 27. My episodes started after an asthma attack. I have intractable chronic migraine, which means I have a constant migraine. With my kind of migraine, it would be beautiful. But then the next day, I could take it and it would do absolutely nothing.
Natalie Divino：I probably started exhibiting symptoms of migraine when I was an infant. My parents have told me I had terrible colic and would cry for hours. We now know that colic can be a precursor to or a symptom of migraine. When I was 4 or 5, I would have terrible stomachaches—another sign of migraine in children. Then when I was 18 and about to leave for college, I got “the big one,” with aura, which sent me to the ER. I had migraine off and on throughout college, but after I graduated, which was a big life change for me, I had a headache every day for a year.
Margot Andersen:I’ve had many serious health issues and personal tragedies in my life. Every challenge has helped me learn something about my resilience, courage, and strength. I was diagnosed with migraine at age 17. It became chronic when I was in my 40s. I got my master’s degree in social work and went into a very high-pressure, lucrative business career in sales and marketing. I was earning mid–six figures, and I was a very high achiever. I was the top salesperson in my industry. But it all came to an end when I was 47, as I was having so many migraine attacks that I was forced to change careers.
What type of pain are you dealing with every day?
Terri：我的基线疼痛等级是一个6，我仍然有时候最多10次。
娜塔莉：我每天都有头疼。唯一改变的是我拥有它的程度。我的医生告诉我，每天都有头疼，每天都有偏头痛，但如果我在1到10级遇到2或3的疼痛，那么它真的没有那样注册。
马尔科特：大多数日子我可能头疼了。在一些新的药物的帮助下以及与我的头痛专家的美妙伙伴关系，我几乎每天都在外。但是，我有很多日子患有偏头痛症状，并且无法离开房子。
你的治疗计划是什么样的？
Terri：I have a phenomenal neurologist. I take medications for nausea, and I get medication infusions nine months out of the year. Summertime is when I have the fewest migraines, so I take a holiday from infusions and just keep up the rest of the medications. I am getting a port put in so that I can receive infusions through it.
娜塔莉：每个月，我服用注射药物。对于救援药物，我通常会转向我的医生推荐的东西。大约10年前，我遇到了丹亨利，米德，他的家人创立了丹尼尔·拜伦亨利偏头痛基金会，以纪念他们的女儿，他们在1999年17岁的17岁时达到近10年的偏头痛疾病。亨利博士是亨利博士a headache specialist, and I remember him saying to me, “We don’t give up. There are lots of things we can try.” I recently began to take a drug for acute-onset migraine. It looks to be very promising; the first day I took it, I was able to get up and cook dinner, much to everyone’s surprise.
马尔科特：I am a great guinea pig and am willing to take the risks of trying new medications as they come out. Currently, one drug is helping me. For me, part of being resilient is to develop “response flexibility,” and if one new medication doesn’t work, I move on to something else.
你采取了哪些积极的步骤来帮助自己感觉更好？
Terri：我的偏头痛支持小组在Facebook上让我感动，让我意识到我并不孤单。我第一次和我的朋友一起开始它，我现在有10个人协助我。我们会去上网和呻吟和呻吟并抱怨。然后人们开始看到我们，突然间，我们有600名成员，现在是1,525名成员，我们正在增长。每天有25至30个帖子，在一个月的时间内，我有超过5,000点评论。你意识到有这么多人比你更糟糕。当你看看你周围的社区时，我认为你会感谢你拥有的东西。我的座右铭是“痛苦的力量”，我的生活。
娜塔莉：我想对我的丈夫和我创造的生活感激不尽。我们可以做这么多的事情：旅行，看音乐会（当然，当然有耳塞），与朋友一起吃饭，享受靠近我们的大家庭。在我丈夫和我上床睡觉之前，我们告诉自己，我们很幸运。我们背部有衣服，冰箱里的食物，一个屋顶，爱我们的人，以及我们爱的人。我们还想要什么？我们很感激所有祝福人生，大而小。
马尔科特：我学会了平静地生活。我已经和平与我不受控制偏执的事实。这对我来说，这是一个日常精神练习，“我有接受。”我每天都在欣慰的练习中开始。我说，“谢谢你，我在这里，”然后我试着在过去的24小时里想到三件事，我很感激。当你寻找发生的事情发生了一些事情，你就会重新兴起你的大脑来寻找积极的事情。寻找生活中的积极事物，并品尝好处。我不考虑我不能做的事情。我想到我能做什么，即使它只是小事。对自己富有同情心和善待这一点非常重要。 I have chosen to live a life of giving back, which creates, for me, meaning and purpose.
What advice do you have for others who have migraine?
Terri：Don’t take headaches or migraine attacks lightly since they could be a sign of another illness. Seek medical attention if you feel any abnormal symptoms. And if you have any new symptoms, I would definitely get yourself checked out by a doctor.
马尔科特：即使你感觉不舒服，也会接触你爱和信任的人。与其他人联系，以提高您的幸福感。尝试像针灸，按摩，音乐，着色或一心数点或冥想应用程序的东西。当你感觉不舒服时，很容易被孤立和断开。如果你感觉不舒服，那么难以让你的一天有一个计划。如果我必须执行计划b并取消我的一天，那没关系。如果我必须执行计划C并整天睡觉，那就是一种慷慨的自我同情。
What to Read Next
