For Years, I Had No Idea My Epic Migraine Attacks Were Tied to My Menstrual Cycle

June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.

As told to Nicole Audrey Spector

I was in college when I had my first migraine attack. It was so severe it knocked me out for three days. On the second day, I shut myself away in a dark room, where I was vomiting nonstop and on the verge of passing out.

Terrified, thinking I was having a brain aneurysm, I went to the health clinic on campus as soon as I was able to walk and tolerate being in the bright outdoors. I was still really shaken up as I described my symptoms to the doctor, but he checked me out, told me there was nothing wrong and sent me home.

I called my mom, whom I’m very close to, and she insisted that we pay a visit to our family doctor. So she picked me up and drove me to his office. Thankfully, he was concerned and got me in for a same-day appointment with a neurologist for a brain CT scan to rule out tumors, strokes and seizures. That came back all clear. I also had an EKG because I’d felt like I was losing consciousness. That came back clear, too.

None of the medical professionals I saw had any idea what was going on with me. I went back to school with over-the-counter pain medication and hoped it wouldn’t happen again. But it did. Every few weeks these attacks would strike out of nowhere, sending me into a brutal oblivion of pain, weakness, sickness and fear.

Jaclyn with her mother and nephew.

One fortunate aspect, I suppose, is that eventually it got to a point where I could feel when a migraine attack was coming on, which allowed me to build a schedule around them. After college, I started what would be a long-standing career in public education — initially as a substitute teacher. I carved my life around these attacks, and if I felt a migraine attack starting, I wouldn’t take a job.

Every single time I had a migraine attack, I felt certain I was dying. They were always that bad. One time, in the middle of an attack, I went to the emergency room. I was smeared with puke, bleary-eyed and clearly in very bad shape. The doctor on duty accused me of “faking” my migraine attack in order to get narcotics. Finally, once I agreed that I could arrange a ride home, he gave me an injection of pain medication. I’m not sure what it was, but it made me sleep for 12 hours straight. But that was the only time I was given real pain relief. All the over-the-counter stuff I took was useless. I’d just throw it all up.

This mysterious agony went on for 10 years. At times, living with migraine attacks made me depressed and anxious. I often thought I was just going crazy, plain and simple, but I have to say, I did manage to lead an independent and fulfilling life even with them. It was just really hard. I was always the woman with some weird illness that would spontaneously take over.

When I was 28, I went to my OB-GYN for a routine exam and told her about my migraine attacks. She really listened to me and said, “I think you have menstrual migraines.” I didn’t know it yet, but these words changed my life — miraculously so.

Jaclyn with her sister and niece.

I’d never heard of migraine attacks being tied to your period, but my OB-GYN explained that it was common. For some people, when our hormones fluctuate wildly, particularly during ovulation and menstruation, migraine attacks can strike. Your migraine attacks may feel like they’re happening at random — especially if you’re not on your period when you get a migraine attack — but in fact, there can be a rhythm to it.

My OB-GYN recommended I go on a type of birth control that would stop my period for three months and keep my hormones from fluctuating, which was a trigger for my migraines. I was eager for relief and didn’t hesitate to get started. Once I got on the medicine, the migraine attacks radically decreased. I experienced them one day a month rather than six. This medication was effective for a while, but eventually it stopped working. I switched to another birth control and that helped a lot.

During this time, I saw my family doctor again, right before he retired. I told him what was going on. He prescribed me a nasal spray used to treat the onset of migraine attacks and take the pain and nausea way down. This, too, worked for a while (though it had the unpleasant side effect of making me feel like the world was in slow motion). After several years, the spray stopped working, too, so I switched to a different medication. So far, so good. A silver lining when a medication stops working? There’s usually something that can take its place, or so I’ve found in my experience. I’m not worried.

I just turned 44 years old, and I’m doing great. My migraine attacks are almost completely under control and when they do creep up on me, I have a way to fight them before they get severe. I’m really at my best — focused on my career, bonding with my family and just doing the things I want to do in life.

I want others to know that if you’re suffering from anything that is going un- or misdiagnosed, don’t give up. Keep talking! If a doctor treats you insensitively, move on to the next medical professional. You will find someone who will care and help you — even if it takes a decade. Though I surely hope it won’t.

This educational resource was created with support from Pfizer.

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