The key to sympathizing with a sufferer is understanding our migraines and what causes them. A few people who made comments before are WRONG stress IS a trigger, but let me clarify. NORMAL people who experience stress don't necessarily get migraines (otherwise a lot MORE people would have migraines) rather people who have migraines (which is a disease) can get a migraine from stress. USUALLY there are other contributing factors, finding your triggers will help you prevent SOME but not all your migraines. REMEMBER the more triggers you experience the more likely you are to have a migraine (and the more likely it is that the migraine will be a BAD one). So you may be experiencing another trigger along with stress that is causing your migraines. A VERY helpful migraine website is the MAGNUM website... www.migraines.org it was very helpful in teaching me about migraines so I could share it with my husband. My husband has been VERY understanding about my migraines from the beginning (because usually when I had them they were severe enough to be disabling, causing me to vomit and unable to move, that's a little hard to ignore or say I'm crazy). I agree with you getting him to learn more about your condition is going to help him be more understanding. Also try the topamax website (even if you are not taking the drug), it gives real people giving their testamonies about their experiences with migraines, while yes it DOES push the drug topamax, I found myself saying... "Yeah! ME TOO!" If words on a page will not sway your husband, maybe hearing the voices of these women will help him hear your complaints coming from someone else, and make him realize you are NOT crazy and other people experience the same things you are! Husbands are weird we can say things until we are blue in the face, but they don't hear it (or understand it) until they hear it from someone else. We migraine sufferers are NOT whiners, not neurotic crazies, our pain is real! Without the support of those around us (especially spouses) it makes our suffering that much greater!

I know what you are going through--my husband doesn't understand them either.  He can't get past the "but it's just a headache" thing.  Even though he's seen me puking, unable to walk or see, it's still "just a headache", and he expects me to be able to do things while in full blown migraine like visit his family and play with his 4 and 6 year old niece and nephew... meanwhile, I've got my head in the toilet....

 

I am thankful that in my immediate family I have a lot of support.  Most of the women (my mom, my grandmom and greatgrandmom, aunts, and cousins all get migraines) know exactly where I'm coming from, they've all experienced the hell of a bad migraine.  

 

I can also relate to my husband with not really being able to comprehend the full scope of the pain.  Even though as a child and young adult I knew migraines were agonizing and debilitating (I had seen my mother suffer for years), untin you feel that pain, you CAN'T truly know.  I've broken many bones (my current wrist break I think is #6... or is it 7?) but the pain of a broken bone is in NO WAY as intense and debilitating as a migraine.  I got my first one at 29.  In an instant, I knew and understood what my mother went through, and goes through.  To think of all the times she felt so horrible, so sick,and in so much pain, but she would muster as best as she could to make sure I got to dance class, to go to family functions, to even do the basics.  Wow.  It gave me a whole new appreciation of all that she had done, and all that she bore.  She's one tough lady!

 

The other posts refer you to some great resources.  The letter on this site is awesome, and does a great job explaining what a migraine is like.  (getting the spouse to read it can be difficult...)  I think it would also be great for him to read some of the posts here to get an idea of what migraneurs actually go through.  MAGNUM is also a great site with lots of information on migraine.