Surviving the Storm: When Teens with Migraine Are Not Believed

(Part Two of a Three Part Series About Growing Up with Migraine)

“You’re not going to make it in life. You won’t amount to anything.” My high school speech teacher’s eyes were wide with anger and frustration. My eyes were cast upon the ground with shame, uncontrollable tears flowed silently. My speech teacher thought I was just another 15-year-old girl that loved skipping school. She thought me missing the final was an act of rebellion. My passionate teacher was unaware that the day of the final, I could barely walk to the bathroom. A 10-step journey from my bed to the toilet took me 10 minutes, gripping the walls with my chewed nails. But here I stood before her, completely able bodied and ashamed.

Reaching my hormonal years turned my migraine disease from a tornado into a tsunami. When I was around 13 or so, I started experiencing body weakness with my migraine attacks. I could barely stand on my own, let alone walk. Looking back, I now know my childhood Abdominal Migraine attacks were turning into Hemiplegic Migraine attacks. Hemiplegic Migraine is migraine with stroke symptoms. My doctors discovered more comorbidities that were unusual for my young age. I was going to different ER’s all over the city for my reoccurring, extreme migraine attacks. Groups of doctors would gather around my bed like you see in the movies. They scratched down notes and talked openly about me and the war going on inside of my body. Doctor after doctor would say it didn’t make sense, so it must be a psychological problem.

Little did they know that the medical professionals themselves were creating medical trauma for me, therefore creating C-PTSD and making my mental state worse. I was a self-loathing teen who hated herself more than anything in this world. It was obvious to my teenage mind that I was the problem. Doctors didn’t believe me. My migraine attacks weren’t getting any better. Family members wanted to put me in an insane asylum because they were out of options.

I spent every day of my life for many years, trying to convince myself not to end my life. Every day. I only stayed on this planet for my mother. My mother was there for me no matter what, I couldn’t abandon her. That is the ONLY thing that kept me alive. And sometimes that wasn’t enough. What was the point of life if I’m fighting to just exist during my childhood? I couldn’t get too emotional, not even happy, or it would trigger a migraine attack to worsen. What was the point of anything?

Imagine what my life could’ve been like if I were believed by doctors. Teenage me did NOT deserve everything she went through. But she took it, dealt with it and buried it deep inside. Now imagine millions of other kids and teens going through this, because they do! My life would’ve been so different if I were taken seriously and not blamed. There are teens out there that lost their mental battle against migraine. They decided to leave us early. I do not blame them. I say, “That could’ve been me.” Our children need to be believed when they have migraine and headache disorders. It could save their life.

This blog was written by Cynthia Cooper, a Migraine at School Ambassador. 

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