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Caring for Someone with Migraine
By Dr. Sylvia Lucas
It can be frightening to see a
person you care for suffering and not understand what
they are experiencing. Understanding the condition that
your loved one is experiencing helps you more
effectively support and care for them. People with
migraines may look fine on the outside, but in reality
they can be experiencing disabling pain, may not be able
to think clearly, and have sensitivity to light and
sound. While normally insignificant, bright lights,
strong smells and even the noise of a television can be
very disturbing during a migraine.
People who have never experienced a migraine often times
do not understand what migraine sufferers go through
when a migraine occurs.
“I have experienced first-hand the challenges of
communicating my experience with migraine to family
members and co-workers,” says Teri Ranieri who has
suffered from migraines for 40 years. “Fortunately, my
two children are understanding of my condition, but not
everyone in my life has been so sympathetic. Many people
have believed I fake the pain of my migraines. They
can’t seem to realize how I’m really feeling on the
inside because I don’t appear physically ill.”
Ranieri experiences many of the typical symptoms of
migraine: sensitivity to light, throbbing pain on one
side of the head, nausea and occasional vomiting as well
as sensitivity to sounds and smells. She often has to
lie down in a dark, quiet room and hope the pain and
nausea will go away.
“It is important to understand what a person with
migraines is going through, so you can provide them with
emotional support and understanding, as well as helping
care for them through a severe debilitating migraine
that could last for several hours to days,” said Dr.
Sylvia Lucas, clinical professor of neurology and
rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington
Medical Center. “Many people with migraines do not even
know they have migraines, so as a caregiver, encourage
your loved ones to talk to a doctor because diagnosis is
the first step to effective relief.”
When caring for someone who suffers from migraines,
there are two simple things you can do to better
understand migraines and help your loved one:
Learn as much as possible about migraine
Attend migraine appointments with your care-recipient
“My migraines can last as long as 24 hours and are very
debilitating,” says Ranieri. “They can prevent me from
doing even the simplest tasks. When I have a migraine,
for example, I am unable to even make dinner for my
family because I’m sick to my stomach, my head is
pounding and the smell of food makes it worse.”
If a loved one suffers from frequent bad headaches but
has not been diagnosed with migraines, encourage him/her
to visit www.HeadacheQuiz.com take the quiz and share
the results with their doctor.
By learning more about migraines, you can better
understand how debilitating the disease can be and how
to appropriately help migraine sufferers find relief.
Dr. Sylvia Lucas is a clinical professor of neurology
and rehabilitation medicine at the University of
Washington Medical Center. Editorial assistance for this
article was provided by GlaxoSmithKline. The Headache
Assessment Quiz and HeadacheQuiz.com are properties of
GlaxoSmithKline.
Take the Headache quiz
headachequiz.com
This article was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline
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