Headache

I'm curious about how long people's pre and post migraine phases last. I feel like mine are pretty long, but maybe it's normal for them to last 2-4 days on either end. The result is that I basically always feel rough even if I don't have an active headache. What are your experiences with the cycle of a migraine?

#Migraine

I said I had a headache. Every day. A daily headache. The cadence was correct, but the rest wasn’t. “Headache” made me sound functional. Like someone you could offer Advil to.

The problem was language itself.

The original sin was the brain injury. But then the problem became language. My brain wasn’t working the same way, and the part that explains things was also damaged.

Language for pain has always failed. It’s a white whale. I had inadequacy stacked on inadequacy. So I made up a word: headpain. Not headache. Not trauma. Not static terms. Just: headpain. A hum, a throb, a shutdown. An endless, structureless dissonance.

It felt like being full of noise. Not sound—noise. Hissing, screeching neurons glitching out. Fridge motors triggered flinches like firecrackers. Sometimes I felt underwater. Other times, jagged sparks of sensation.

I used to live in language. English major. Linguistics grad school. Former CMO. I wrote thought leadership. I made things mean things. I was proud of that.

Then suddenly, everything meant nothing. I lost words mid-sentence. I couldn’t hold thoughts in my head. The worst part: I remembered what it used to be like.

I had watched my father, late in Alzheimer’s, struggle for words. I saw his frustration. I felt it later in myself.

Except I passed. I could still say “I’m fine.” I could still mask. I wore dark glasses indoors. No one expected much. There was grace. I gave myself none.

That’s the noise: not volume but distortion. Misfires. Glitches. Knowing what you want to say and losing it in transit. The panic of not being able to speak what you feel.

Pain language is useless: sharp, dull, throbbing, stabbing. None of it fit. I was trying to explain a full-body system crash with a box of crayons.

So I used stand-ins: “headache.” “tired.” “overstimulated.” They weren’t true. Just shapes.

People took me literally. Thought I meant what those words usually mean. They didn’t know I was walking around inside a howling, flickering error code. And I didn’t know how to tell them.

Because the words didn’t exist. And even if they had, I wasn’t sure anyone would believe me.

That’s the cruelty of brain injury: it messes not just with what you know, but with how you know. And how you say what you know.

The world saw me as competent. I could still string a sentence. I still sounded “fine.” I wasn’t. I was glitching.

So I wrote. Alone, in a dark office, with a desk lamp and a half bottle of Albariño. I started, not for clarity or for an audience, but to tell myself: I’m still here.

The noise didn’t stop. It hasn’t. But writing gave it shape. Shape is salvation. It has edges. It takes up space in the world.

I couldn’t silence the noise. But I could name it. And in naming it, I made space for others to hear the truth buried inside.#TraumaticBrainInjury #ChronicIllness

Two things: From about 1999-2015, I experienced 2-4 debilitating migraines a week. Stress was rampant in my life then: a hateful ex, money issues, workplace animosity, kids, and, and..and... You get the picture. Life did settle down, stressor went away and so did migraines.

Fast forward to present day and the stressors have gone back up: more money issues, caregiver stress, house projects, PTSD triggers, and more. Since fall,I've been having what I call regular headaches--tylenol would keep them at bay. Well, this week, I developed intense eye pressure, visual disturbances, nausea, and headache that woke me up. So the optometrist tells me that it's not glaucoma or anything 'major'. It's dry eye, and it was feeding the headache, which made the dry eye worse, which fed the headache. Interesting part is that the form of my migraine changed, which is why I didn't recognize it as such.

Questions:
1. Has anyone ever had a break from migraine and then had them resume?
2. Has the form/type of your migraine ever changed?

I'm feeling so down. More than usual. My heart hurts. I just feel like I'm losing traction with my health. I'm trying to do the right thing , go to appointments, establish specialists, coordinate care between them. But I'm losing hope. I'm not making any progress. The symptoms are really bothering me. But my neuro-ophthalmologist made it clear he doesn't Rx numbing eye drops. And the headache specialist Rx don't seem to be helping. And OMG my back pain is at 8 right now. The pain meds aren't working. One good thing is I am getting a walker with a seat next week. I'll be able to walk and rest when I need to.

#BackPain #Migraine #Depression

Lately, I've been struggling with depression, anxiety, and migraines. These challenges have made daily life overwhelming, and I often feel isolated and unsure of where to turn.​

I'm reaching out to this community in hopes of finding support and understanding. If you've faced similar experiences or have advice to share, I would deeply appreciate hearing from you.​

Thank you for taking the time to read my message.​

#MentalHealth #Depression #Anxiety #Headache #Migraine #Addiction #Loneliness

I started TMS on Tuesday for a major depression, but I heard that it might help with fibromyalgia. I’m only on day four, but thankfully, I haven’t had any serious side effects. I’ve only had a mild headache for about an hour or so after treatment. Nothing has worked for my fibromyalgia so I am hopeful. In over 20 years Trintellix is the only medication that has stopped me from crying excessively. 🤞🏻

#Fibro #Cancer #Grief

I started TMS on Tuesday for major depression, but I heard it could help with fibromyalgia. I’m only on day 4 and thankfully I haven’t had any serious side effects, other than a mild headache for about an hour or so after treatment. I’ll keep you posted. Nothing has worked for my fibromyalgia. Trintellix is the only medication that has dampened my excessive crying in over 20 years. 🤞🏻
#ChronicFatigue #Fibro #Cancers

Sitting outside with Buddy enjoying the sunshine. Mowed the yard, Changed the pressure switch on the irrigation pump and then called the professionals and made a appointment for them to come out Monday afternoon to see if they can find and fix the problem. That brings up another subject on every member here. How many of us come to forums or Dr Google as I like to call it to find our problems? Technology is both good and bad. Dr Google when you look up a diagnosis makes you think you’ve got 3 months to live when it’s only a headache.Always see a Dr to get a correct diagnosis and treatment plan. One thing that goes closely with mental health is physical health which includes nutrition. I see so many members write BPD on their profile. If you’ve ever seen the DSM manual which is about 4 encyclopedias thick, it list millions of traits that 99.99% of civilization has. So I’m guessing we all have BPD. When I was a lot younger we would all ask ourselves would we rather lose our minds or our bodies? Since today is a high pain day for me I have to ask myself that again. What’s worse is I can’t answer the question. But tomorrow will be a better day! Always think positive! I’m glad she posted a picture of her new guitar. It motivates me to organize my music room which I’ll be doing tomorrow morning. I’ve been to busy or to sore to think about It the past couple of months. After my injury I lost a lot of movement with my left arm and hands and fingers. It took me a little over a year of PT to regain some strength and dexterity of my fingers so I do feel blessed. As I’m starting to ramble, I want to wish all of you another beautiful day…..David