by Pia Ersfeld
My mother is calling. I have a migraine. Bad combination. We still talk. Means: She talks. But whatever. Your hairdresser has a friend whose sister-in-law also has migraines. And my mother's hairdresser's friend's sister-in-law got rid of them (the migraines, not the hairdresser) with an apple diet. Shouldn't I try that instead of taking so many medications? I love this undertone. And unsolicited therapy suggestions.
Almost every day someone tells me about pain therapy. Snake venom has already been suggested to me - then I'll be dead, but it won't hurt anymore. Dance your chakra – wherever. Or chanting mantras. Do that in a rented apartment! Then you will be admitted straight away.
What is that supposed to achieve?
So today apple diet. Sounds more appetizing than Mayr's migraine cure with the dry rolls. Apple pie, applesauce, apple juice. Yummy! However, I don't understand how it works. Doesn't this result in well-groomed diarrhea? Presumably the migraine disappears into the sewer system due to the suction of the damaged intestine.
“Mother, I had brain tumor surgery. This isn’t a normal migraine for me.” “Oh, child,” says mother. With my second favorite undertone. “I’ll get you the book for it.”
I breathe in deeply and exhale slowly. She only wants the best for me.
To be honest, I no longer need anything to start a pain therapy library.
When you have constant headaches, you learn that happiness is the absence of pain. And from well-intentioned lectures.
Good advice everywhere
“Kopp?” a lady shouted at me two days later as I sat on the tram with a tormented face. Her hearing aid was probably lounging on the sofa at home. I nodded. "Uuuh," she threw her hands in the air. “There can be a song that makes sense.” Please don’t, I thought. “So I can’t tolerate anything then.” Me neither.
She leaned forward and increased the volume by 30 decibels. “Healing stones, I told him.” My remaining facial expressions reacted skeptically. “You look like that, but it works! Just do two in the carafe. You can always pour it on.” Knowing me, I drink it too. Then I have another problem: bladder stones or something like that.
What actually says on my forehead when I have a migraine? “Please finish me off by describing your pain experiences in detail here and now. Don't leave anything out! Additionally, cite articles from 'Woman without a Heart'. In full length – including the stair lift advertisement, please.”
Maybe I should get the following tattooed on my forehead: “Thank you very much for every tip you didn’t tell me.”
With kind permission from Pia Ersfeld
More wonderful experiences on her blog “Ms. E. notes..”
Very humorous and nicely written... (-; I think that if you can listen to advice, it's from people who have had positive experiences themselves. I just heard from a young woman a few days ago that singing helped her with migraines Helps! Like many other complaints, it's probably that everyone has their own path and has to find out for themselves what works for them. So never stop trying.
Dear Anika,
unfortunately it hasn't occurred to me for a long time to check here again to see if there are any new comments.. ;-)
I apologize for the late response!
It is really relieving to read that “internal” people also experience negative things in the system and with unwise advice.
As a non-medical person, you are always left stunned by incompetent doctors who don't admit their lack of knowledge, but prefer to send you home with the burden of a demonstrably ineffective treatment option.
You are welcome to link to the text or my blog at any time.
I'm happy for everyone who finds out about our problems with migraines in everyday life! Greetings to the big city from
Pia Ersfeld
Thank you for this article!!!
He speaks from my heart and I just laughed out loud.
I will also print it out or link it to a friend if I may?
I am “lucky” that both of my parents have migraines, although not as frequently per month as I do (heredity sends their regards).
As a result, I never received similar advice from my immediate family. I have a lot of friends who work in the medical field, so this isn't coming from them.
However, I can tell you a thing or two about advice from the very wide circle of friends of mine and my mother.
From the Indian faith healer in London, acupressure from a nun (which we even tried - in front of the pain clinic :) ), homeopathy from THE ONE HEALER - for others it's completely different, a low-carb diet recommendation from a well-known German migraine practice With several practitioners and our own clinic, almost everything was included.
What I actually find bitter is that these dubious ADVICE are not only given by “well-meaning” laypeople, but also by “experts” such as neurologists and psychologists.
Yes, I am a “destroyer” – in recent years I have been horrified by how incompetent, etc. many of my colleagues are.
If I didn't work in the medical field myself (albeit in a different role and specialty), I would have been guilty of malpractice and fraud in recent years (false diagnoses in order to be able to prescribe out-of-label use medications without possibly giving any justification to them to have to write to the statutory health insurance company etc., incorrect assessment of NW keyword drug-induced depression) and and and have been done
- this is now slowly going too far - I have written myself into a rage!
With many warm greetings from a big city in Germany,
Anika G.
Dear Mr. Müller, dear Beate and dear Mr. Wirz,
I am very pleased that you enjoyed my text and that you are even passing it on!!
We people with chronic pain don't have a voice: we can't see our suffering, especially since we can't even be seen when we're suffering. Because in these hours and days we lie alone in a darkened room.
When my trigeminal nerve rages in my forehead for so many days without a short break, like it is now in the hot and humid weather, I no longer notice any of my humor.
But I think he'll show up again at some point.. ;-)
Until then, you all have pain-free or even pain-free days!!
Kind regards from Pia Ersfeld
Good day,
This article speaks from my heart. Even as a pain doctor, you are constantly confronted with the most absurd therapy suggestions. I will print out the article to display in our hospital's pain clinic. Well-intentioned is not always good. Many greetings and all the best S. Wirz
Dear Ms. Ersfeld,
I think it's wonderful that you don't lose your sense of humor despite the often unbearable pain.
I don't have a migraine but hemicrania continua but that's no less funny. Because you are in constant pain. The great art is to hope for understanding of the environment, because you often don't see how much you are suffering. Either I like to hide it or I don't like to wear it outside. I wish you peaceful and pain-free or low-pain days,
Your Beate
Hello Ms. Ersfeld,
thank you very much, I had to laugh so much because I have the same tattoo on my forehead.
I'll pass your story on to a few friendly tipsters. I'm curious to see if they can laugh about it too. Kind regards
V. Müller
Dear Mr. Judge,
Now your email touches me!
Thank you for your kind words!
You are certainly also affected; if you are here, then you know our suffering.
I wish you many pain-free days without stupid comments from outside!!
Warm greetings from
Pia Ersfeld
Dear Ms. Ersfeld,
viewed with humor – of course, whenever and wherever possible.
I had to smile while reading it - and that's always a good thing, there's far too little laughter anyway!
Then I wanted to read your article to someone and realized that I was so moved by your words that I was probably going to cry while reading it.
So I have now printed out the article and will pass it on for you to read. Your article is moving! Thanks for that :-)
Hello, dear Ms. F.,
I'm glad that the text was able to distract you from the migraines a little!! ;-)
There is no book yet, but in the small, clear moments that migraines and mastocytosis still allow me, I will continue to write my blog.
Get well soon to you!
Wonderful... despite the migraine (which was fading) I was able to laugh, and for that (small) moment the pain was really more bearable... does that mean I just need Ms. Ersfeld's book, the blog or her herself with cheering "stories"? I'll start the blog...