Chronic Migraine Mom

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) blockers are the latest and greatest in the treatment of chronic migraines. They are completely revolutionary and widely regarded as the new miracle for migraine treatment. Much like triptans when they first hit the market back in the day, CGRP blockers are the new rockstar of migraine pharmaceuticals. The desperate race to obtain them and the ensuing battles with insurance to cover them is well underway. So why did I not jump in immediately with both feet? I have been in chronic pain for most of my life and have tried pretty much everything. After years of chronic pain already under my belt, I was the fourteen year old kid on a plane to Canada to try the first triptan, Imitrex, before it had been approved in the US. So naturally, family and friends have wondered what’s with all the feet dragging now?? After years of countless medications and horrific side effects, I have some pretty serious baggage around new medications. I have been foll

I was eight or nine years old when I snuggled in my dad’s lap and asked him. I was coming off another painful migraine attack and I needed to know. If they had known my existence would be so full of pain and their lives would be spent watching me suffer and searching fruitlessly for relief, would they have made a different choice? It was an honest question, but only now that I am a parent can I truly grasp the weight of what I was asking and how heart wrenching it must have been for him to be put on the spot like that. My dad has always been a man of few words. He has a quiet strength about him. He has never needed to dominate a conversation. His way of showing love is in quiet acts of service rather than words. I used to play at trying to get him to actually say “I love you” by telling him I loved him even though I knew it made him a bit squirmy. I knew it was uncomfortable and not his way, but once in a while he’d say it back anyway. I always felt it though, without question.