Updated April 24, 2015.
In our articles, we talk a great deal about scientific advances, medications, great books. In our chats and on the forum, I "hear" your frustrations of the never-ending pain, the doctors who don't listen, the meds that don't work or make you sick, the ER staff who ignore you, the families who don't understand. After years of living with Migraine disorder myself, I understand that.
What happens to us as a result of living with these frustrations and fears and the pain is that we begin to feel a desolation and a terrible loss of hope.
I've been feeling it from many site visitors and people who have emailed me recently, and that is what I want us to address in this feature.Â
Now, I'm not going to try to tell you that I have all the answers to these problems. Of course I don't! What I want to tell you is that you have or are capable of having more answers and control of your situation than you realize. We tend to go to the doctor and do as he or she says without questioning. After all, the doctor knows best. Well, I've quit doing that. That's not to say that I don't respect my doctor because I do. Think about this, though. Your doctor has to keep up with information on countless illnesses, injuries, diseases, diagnostic tests, medications, and more. Who can possibly remember all of that correctly every time? Recently, my family doctor's nurse called to say that he was sending me Imitrex Nasal Spray. My response was, Wait a minute. I have a deviated septum. That won't work." I was right. He had forgotten about that. Had I not questioned that prescription, I would have used Imitrex Nasal Spray for my next Migraine, and it would have done nothing.
Because I was being proactive and questioned the prescription, he prescribed a different medication, one that worked for me.
Some points to consider:
You get the idea. NOBODY knows you or your headaches and/or Migraines as you do. So, my next question is this, Who is the most valuable person to your health? I'll give you a clue. It's not your doctor, or your pharmacist, or your neurologist. It's YOU.Â
We so often feel helpless, overwhelmed, and totally drained of both the internal and external resources we need to cope with headaches/Migraines. What I'm leading up to is that when we feel that way is exactly when we need to remind ourselves that we can be our own best resource. That's the WHY of the empowerment of which I speak. Now, let's move on to the HOW.
Empowerment -- WHY?
In our articles, we talk a great deal about scientific advances, medications, great books. In our chats and on the forum, I "hear" your frustrations of the never-ending pain, the doctors who don't listen, the meds that don't work or make you sick, the ER staff who ignore you, the families who don't understand. After years of living with Migraine disorder myself, I understand that.
What happens to us as a result of living with these frustrations and fears and the pain is that we begin to feel a desolation and a terrible loss of hope. I've been feeling it from many site visitors and people who have emailed me recently, and that is what I want us to address in this feature.Â
Now, I'm not going to try to tell you that I have all the answers to these problems. Of course I don't! What I want to tell you is that you have or are capable of having more answers and control of your situation than you realize. We tend to go to the doctor and do as he or she says without questioning. After all, the doctor knows best. Well, I've quit doing that. That's not to say that I don't respect my doctor because I do. Think about this, though. Your doctor has to keep up with information on countless illnesses, injuries, diseases, diagnostic tests, medications, and more. Who can possibly remember all of that correctly every time? Recently, my family doctor's nurse called to say that he was sending me Imitrex Nasal Spray. My response was, Wait a minute. I have a deviated septum. That won't work." I was right. He had forgotten about that. Had I not questioned that prescription, I would have used Imitrex Nasal Spray for my next Migraine, and it would have done nothing. Because I was being proactive and questioned the prescription, he prescribed a different medication, one that worked for me.
Some points to consider:
You get the idea. NOBODY knows you or your headaches and/or Migraines as you do. So, my next question is this, Who is the most valuable person to your health? I'll give you a clue. It's not your doctor, or your pharmacist, or your neurologist. It's YOU.Â
We so often feel helpless, overwhelmed, and totally drained of both the internal and external resources we need to cope with headaches/Migraines. What I'm leading up to is that when we feel that way is exactly when we need to remind ourselves that we can be our own best resource. That's the WHY of the empowerment of which I speak. Now, let's move on to the HOW.
In our articles, we talk a great deal about scientific advances, medications, great books. In our chats and on the forum, I "hear" your frustrations of the never-ending pain, the doctors who don't listen, the meds that don't work or make you sick, the ER staff who ignore you, the families who don't understand. After years of living with Migraine disorder myself, I understand that.
What happens to us as a result of living with these frustrations and fears and the pain is that we begin to feel a desolation and a terrible loss of hope.
I've been feeling it from many site visitors and people who have emailed me recently, and that is what I want us to address in this feature.Â
Now, I'm not going to try to tell you that I have all the answers to these problems. Of course I don't! What I want to tell you is that you have or are capable of having more answers and control of your situation than you realize. We tend to go to the doctor and do as he or she says without questioning. After all, the doctor knows best. Well, I've quit doing that. That's not to say that I don't respect my doctor because I do. Think about this, though. Your doctor has to keep up with information on countless illnesses, injuries, diseases, diagnostic tests, medications, and more. Who can possibly remember all of that correctly every time? Recently, my family doctor's nurse called to say that he was sending me Imitrex Nasal Spray. My response was, Wait a minute. I have a deviated septum. That won't work." I was right. He had forgotten about that. Had I not questioned that prescription, I would have used Imitrex Nasal Spray for my next Migraine, and it would have done nothing.
Because I was being proactive and questioned the prescription, he prescribed a different medication, one that worked for me.
Some points to consider:
- Who is with you 24/7? You are.
- Who is best qualified to know exactly how your headaches make you feel? You are.
- Who knows best how a medication works for your headaches and how your body reacts to it? You do.
You get the idea. NOBODY knows you or your headaches and/or Migraines as you do. So, my next question is this, Who is the most valuable person to your health? I'll give you a clue. It's not your doctor, or your pharmacist, or your neurologist. It's YOU.Â
We so often feel helpless, overwhelmed, and totally drained of both the internal and external resources we need to cope with headaches/Migraines. What I'm leading up to is that when we feel that way is exactly when we need to remind ourselves that we can be our own best resource. That's the WHY of the empowerment of which I speak. Now, let's move on to the HOW.
Empowerment -- WHY?
In our articles, we talk a great deal about scientific advances, medications, great books. In our chats and on the forum, I "hear" your frustrations of the never-ending pain, the doctors who don't listen, the meds that don't work or make you sick, the ER staff who ignore you, the families who don't understand. After years of living with Migraine disorder myself, I understand that.
What happens to us as a result of living with these frustrations and fears and the pain is that we begin to feel a desolation and a terrible loss of hope. I've been feeling it from many site visitors and people who have emailed me recently, and that is what I want us to address in this feature.Â
Now, I'm not going to try to tell you that I have all the answers to these problems. Of course I don't! What I want to tell you is that you have or are capable of having more answers and control of your situation than you realize. We tend to go to the doctor and do as he or she says without questioning. After all, the doctor knows best. Well, I've quit doing that. That's not to say that I don't respect my doctor because I do. Think about this, though. Your doctor has to keep up with information on countless illnesses, injuries, diseases, diagnostic tests, medications, and more. Who can possibly remember all of that correctly every time? Recently, my family doctor's nurse called to say that he was sending me Imitrex Nasal Spray. My response was, Wait a minute. I have a deviated septum. That won't work." I was right. He had forgotten about that. Had I not questioned that prescription, I would have used Imitrex Nasal Spray for my next Migraine, and it would have done nothing. Because I was being proactive and questioned the prescription, he prescribed a different medication, one that worked for me.
Some points to consider:
- Who is with you 24/7? You are.
- Who is best qualified to know exactly how your headaches make you feel? You are.
- Who knows best how a medication works for your headaches and how your body reacts to it? You do.
You get the idea. NOBODY knows you or your headaches and/or Migraines as you do. So, my next question is this, Who is the most valuable person to your health? I'll give you a clue. It's not your doctor, or your pharmacist, or your neurologist. It's YOU.Â
We so often feel helpless, overwhelmed, and totally drained of both the internal and external resources we need to cope with headaches/Migraines. What I'm leading up to is that when we feel that way is exactly when we need to remind ourselves that we can be our own best resource. That's the WHY of the empowerment of which I speak. Now, let's move on to the HOW.