In honour of Migraine Awareness Month, please do NOT say any of these things to your loved ones who suffer from migraines. Not only does it not help, it makes it hurt more.
What NOT To Say
- Did you take Tylenol? (Tylenol does NOTHING and yes I took medication, as soon as it hurt because I knew how bad it would be.)
- I get migraines too (It’s fine if they do but you can tell by the way they say it if they get migraines or just headaches. Don’t say it unless you are SURE it’s migraines.)
- Did you try “insert silly remedy here”? (the answer is usually yes but it’s an old wives tale or something and doesn’t really work or no, of course not that’s ridiciulous.)
What You CAN Say:
- Is there anything I can do to help? (You may not be able to take the pain away but maybe you can do a task for us so we can rest.)
- Say I’m sorry you are in pain or something like that. (No it’s not your fault but that doesn’t mean a little sympathy isn’t nice.)
- Do you want some crackers or a warm/cool cloth for your head? (Good suggestions that many will take.)
Migraines are debilitating, horrible things that I wouldn’t wish on my worse enemy. I can get them for 1 day or 5 days. I can’t think when I have them, it’s called brain fog. I’m nauseous, sometimes actually vomiting. My head feels like it’s going to explode, sometimes literally pushing against my head from the inside. Sometimes it’s so bad I have to lie down in a dark room with a cool cloth and NOT move a millimeter (1/8”) If I move even that much, the pain is searing. My neck hurts, my face hurts, my sinuses hurt. It’s horrible. - I hope one day the medications that really DO help migraines can be more affordable for everyone or they find a cure. See what you can do to help spread the word about migraine awareness month.
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