A typical case
Nobody who doesn't suffer from migraines themselves can describe the suffering as well as someone affected. So that healthy people can also get an idea of what migraine means, we let a patient have her say and listen to her carefully:
Anneliese
“For years I have hoped that doctors could help me with my headaches. I am now 54 years old, have a harmonious marriage and have a satisfactory employment relationship. From the age of 10 until today I have had recurring headaches. The attacks of pain became more intense as I got older, the pain becoming harder and more throbbing. The pain usually occurs on one side of the left side of the head. The back of the head, the hairline, the forehead and the temple are always affected, sometimes the base of the shoulder and the entire head.
The attacks particularly occur on weekends. Then I have to lie in bed the whole weekend, close the curtains and I can't eat anything for two days because of the misery. The headaches usually start between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., regardless of whether I'm working or on vacation, whether I have to work a lot or little, whether I eat regularly or irregularly, whether it's raining, whether the sun is shining, whether it's cold, whether it's warm, or the weather changes. I generally avoid alcohol, cigarettes, spices, wine and chocolate.
I like to eat sweets, like compote, fruit, cakes, sometimes I even need sweets. When I throw up I feel a little better, but the pain doesn't go away. I have been taking medication since I was 10 years old. EEG and computer tomography were unable to reveal the cause.
Physiotherapy and massages improved somewhat in the short term, but acupuncture had no effect. The headache attacks rarely last just 24 hours, usually 48 hours and increasingly often up to 72 hours. The attacks are increasing and such pain now occurs about once a week.
I have to go on sick leave again and again because of my headaches, last year even once for six months because the attacks occurred so frequently that there was no other option. A six-week treatment with injections, physiotherapy, mud packs and relaxation therapy was beneficial, but the headache still occurs. And the cause could not be determined. Why do I have to live with this torture? Is there no way out? What can I do, where can I turn? IM very desperate. I can’t and don’t want to live like this anymore…”