Ashley's battle with migraines

As mentioned in our first post, we will be sharing the stories of Om members on our blog. Each story is being generously shared so that we can learn from, support, and empower one another. 

Thank you so much Ashley!

Hi, my name is Ashley. I have had 3-4 sporadic migraines a year since I was 13. However, in February of 2015 I began to suffer severe daily migraines. I was referred by my neurologist to a specialty neurologist for migraines. These migraines would not go away no matter what triptan, DHE, steroids, narcotics, nerve blocks, or infusions I was given. This resulted in 5 hospitalizations total in 2015. I have mixed and have taken nearly every preventative medication separately and am still in the process of taking them in combination with help from my migraine specialist. Towards the end of November the severity of my migraines went down. Today, I still suffer daily migraines. They have not been as severe as they were but I can only get the pain down to a 3 out of 10 on a pain scale. Through this constant daily battle, I have also been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I have learned to work on getting into daily routines and limit everything I do in my life. Everything is a trigger in varying degrees for both migraines and fibromyalgia. My pain tolerance has grown tremendously but I still do not have any pain free days. Every day is a battle that I will keep on fighting, taking things one day at a time. 

Sarah: If you were to give 1 helpful tip to others battling migraine, what would it be?

Ashley: One helpful tip that I would give is to stay hydrated no matter how sick you get.

Sarah: Any additional words of encouragement you'd like to share with the Om community?

Ashley:  I want people to be more aware and open about their battles. I don't think that anyone should have to hide their pain.  I would also like to let others know that there are people to support you in your battles and to ignore those who think it's all in your head. What you are going through is real and somehow, someway we will get through this!

Thank you for sharing your powerful story Ashley. Namaste,

-Sarah