When I was in my early 30’s, my Migraines were wreaking havoc with my life. I was newly married with two newly acquired teen-aged sons and had gone back to college full-time. Unfortunately, I was also having severe Migraines, sometimes two or three times a week. I couldn’t care for my family, go to class, or even function for days at a time. Yet another local neurologist was a total waste of time and money, so our family doctor referred me to a neurologist a 90-minute drive away. My first thought when I met this doctor was that he had to be someone’s grandfather. It was more than his age. He looked gentle and kind, and he really looked at me when we talked. More importantly, it seemed that he was actually listening to me! Then came some of the most precious words I had ever heard, “If you’re willing to be patient and work with me, you don’t have to live like this.” That statement actually brought tears to my eyes. For the first time, this doctor explained to me that there were medications that, when taken on a daily basis, could actually help prevent my Migraines! Nobody had ever told me that before. Thus, he was the first doctor to tell me about Migraine preventives and prescribe one for me. After almost a year of periodic appointments and medication adjustments, the medication was keeping my Migraines pretty much tamed. It seemed miraculous, but I was only having about six or eight Migraines a year!

This blissful state of existence lasted for several years. Although this doctor had helped me gain control of my Migraines, he hadn’t taught me anything about them, even that Migraine is a disease. Thus, I was still very ignorant of even the basics, and thought this wonderful reduction in my attacks would last forever. Well, forever turned out to be several years, but that was hardly forever. By the time I was in my early 40’s, the frequency of my Migraines was increasing again. Unfortunately, my grandfatherly neurologist had retired. I’d already been to and fired every neurologist in my home town, so my primary care doctor referred me to another neurologist a 90-minute drive away. She was also supposed to be a Migraine specialist.