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Why I Choose to Share Posts About My Hemiplegic Migraines

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I have to admit, I did a little victory dance inside the other night. I was reading about migraines on Mayo Clinic’s website, and right there, in their main section on auras and migraines, was a little one sentence blurb about hemiplegic migraines.

That’s it, one sentence. But that one sentence is a huge step.

I have suffered with chronic migraines for two years now. Every kind of migraines possible, I’ve got it. Yup, even hemiplegic migraines. Hemiplegic migraines in particular are so severe that they mimic strokes. I have a facial droop on the left side of my face, I start to stutter, and everything in me just shuts down when I get a migraine. If it gets really bad, I melt into what I call “neurologic goo” which is where all of my neurological and neuromuscular systems just go haywire.

I share about my condition with you, my family and my friends because a “migraine” does not adequately describe what I go through. When I say I have a migraine, most people think of splitting headaches, vomiting, and light sensitivity. (Don’t worry, I get those too). But this, this hemiplegic monster, is beyond any kind of migraine you could have possibly dreamed in your life.  It’s not “just a migraine.” It’s not “just a headache.” It’s a whole systemic shutdown. It’s partial paralysis. It’s rare — so rare that I often have to explain the condition to my own doctors. So yes, I am going to share articles on it. Yes, I am going to raise awareness.

And while, I’m at it, I’m going to do the same for other disabilities, other diseases, and other plights. We live in this wonderful bubble on social media, a perfect highlight reel of all the wonderful moments in our life. But there are those of us, many of us, struggling in silence and in sickness. So I share. I share articles, and I share my own story. My “behind the scenes” might not compare to your highlight reel, but to me, this is my reality. I live it and own it. If my sharing or my writing helps someone, somewhere, then what I have done is worthwhile.

Follow this journey on Living Without Limits.

Originally published: September 12, 2016
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