Originally posted on Multiple Sclerosis News Today

Searing pain and tears characterized my life for years because of multiple sclerosis-associated migraines. I remember those feelings as clearly as day because they diminished my quality of life.

One radiant morning, my mom, friend, and I went to a coffee festival in our hometown. It was a fun day full of laughs, good coffee, and even better company. But it soon went downhill.

After the festival, my friend and I went to grab a bite to eat, but nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. I tried my best to snap out of it because I hadn’t seen my friend in a couple of months, and I wanted to make the most of our time together. But snapping out of it wasn’t in the cards.

I thought eating would help eliminate my nausea, but sadly, it made matters worse. All I wanted was a dark room and my bed. I didn’t know it at the time, but my worst migraine ever was brewing.

A 3-day battle

By the time I got home, I was aware only of flashing lights and pain. My temples and eyes were pounding as they never had before. I locked myself in my room, turned the lights off, put my phone on airplane mode, and stared at the ceiling. But moments later, I ran to the bathroom to vomit, which made me dizzy and lightheaded.

I then took a dose of my prescribed migraine medication, but it did nothing to help, so I continued lying in the dark. Any sound or light worsened my symptoms. My mom checked on me periodically, but there wasn’t much anyone could do for me.

The excruciating pain remained for so long that it felt like I was going to be hurting for the rest of my life. Eventually, I began to sob because I couldn’t bear the pain anymore, but crying only made it worse. There was nothing I could do besides sleep. I was in and out of sleep for three days because my migraine would not subside.

It finally ended after the third day, but I was incredibly drained from the battle. It took me a couple days to fully recover from the pain.

After this occurrence, I told my doctor that I couldn’t live like this anymore. Even though this migraine was my worst, I’d been having episodes almost weekly. I was always terrified of the next migraine, because they grew more severe each time.

My doctor put me on a medication that lessens the frequency and severity of my migraines, which has helped tremendously. Now, my migraines visit about once a month and last a day.

But sometimes I recall the migraines I used to have and wonder, “How did I live like that?”