To continue the gripping tale of my lifetime as target of a relentless, undiagnosed, assault by an army of aches, pains, nightmares, anxieties and internal disorder.
Then—you'll recall—Bingo! I hit the jackpot. No red flag; my brain just went into business for itself; a blizzard of thoughts; words; scenes; voices. Out of control; unhinged.
To my Internist it was a stroke; classic; ordered an MRI.
Long story short; the MRI was negative and an hour later I sat watching a neurologist examine the image, review my medical history, then listen and nod as I related the story of my life.
He smiled reassuringly.
You have migraine; it might scare the hell out of you, but it doesn't kill. That frightening episode was a deja vu; just migraine saying hello.
Upside? Finally; in my fifties; I'd been diagnosed. Downside? I had migraine; not simply a murderous headache, but an affliction that attacks just about every part of the body.
My questions?
Is there a cure for migraine? Answer: fageddaboutit, kid; you've got it and that's that. Migraine's been around for centuries; still waiting for the magic bullet.
Did I inherit migraine? Not me. In my family, I'm the Lone Ranger.
Treatment? Lots of drugs floating around; mainly mitigating the pains of migraine headaches. The mob waiting in line? Wired up seven days a week, ready to rumble. Migraine never sleeps.
Frankly; far as I know, migraine's never been seen. Certainly, never subjected to research. Not a particle; a speck anywhere in our blood. Clearly, those of us diagnosed with migraine share the very same symptoms; migraine is real; it's not imagined. Problem is, we know what it isn't; we just don't know what it is.
Where do I come out?
Well, for me; personally; diagnosed with migraine and living with migraine forever, I have more than a suspicion that migraine attacks aren't random. They don't just come out of the blue. There's a relationship at work; a sequence; that triggers the action; and enough time has passed so that I've become certain that there's a connection between the feeling I've referred to and the attack that follows.
For me, the trigger is an emotionally-loaded date; a significant birth; a death; unexpressed feelings; an unresolved issue; being blind-sided by not remembering the anniversary of a heart-wrenching event.
My experience; nothing can trigger a migraine for me more surely than me, myself; and the only way to address that is to be aware and engaged; to deal with my issues immediately; now. Later is too late.
Finally; the big question: Is a migraine treatment on the horizon?
Well, if—as I believe—it's me who lights the fuse, then it just has to be me who cuts migraine off at the pass.
Can I do it?
Nearly. Almost.
I mean, really close.
But…no cigar.
Yet.