I still vividly remember my first migraine. It was towards the end of spring term of my freshman year. It was a Wednesday – the Wednesday before final exam week. I had gotten home around 4pm. Following my normal routine, I quickly changed into my work-out clothes and proceeded to run on the treadmill for the next hour or so. During my run, however, I experienced what would be the first of many flickering-vision incidents. The bright-red, digital numbers on the treadmill began to flicker, slowly fading in intensity and then regaining their original appearance. I could no longer keep track of my running pace for my legs were fading in and out of my vision. The room seemed to disappear and then reappear, all within a matter of a few seconds.

Presuming that I might have been dehydrated, I got off the treadmill and rehydrated myself with a sports drink. By then, the dimming and flickering of my vision had ceased but, I admit that I still did feel a bit disoriented. Thinking nothing of it at the time, I got back on the treadmill and resumed my run.  After a few minutes though, the same symptoms recurred. I decided to call it quits for the day and then, after lying down on the carpet for a while, went upstairs to take a shower. I had assumed that a shower would cure the flickering vision and my sudden onset of lightheadedness; however, the shower only exacerbated my symptoms. The dizziness and lightheadedness got worse and a slight, almost-unperceivable throbbing had begun near my temples. After literally a five minute shower, I stepped out drenched and leaned my back against the cool, marble-tiled wall of my bathroom. The sitting position that I had initially assumed gradually switched over to a fetal position. The last thing  remember before my mom burst through the doors is the blood pulsating near my temples…the agonizing, excruciating pain in my head that could no longer be playfully termed an “ache” but rather a monster…

Since then, my migraines have become far worse in severity but increasingly predictable. For instance, I have a rough idea of when to predict a migraine; I have potential dates starred on my calendar just like any other regular event would be recorded. However, whereas a routine event , such as a piano recital or a meeting, requires 3-5 hours at the most on my calendar (aside from work), a migraine requires approximately 3 days or so to “run its course.” Should the migraine arrive on a “starred” day, then it is sure to come announced. As mentioned prior, the first sign for me that a migraine is to be expected is flickering vision. Photophobia, or the fear of light, follows closely after.

Any source of light or brightness is blinding and should I foolishly choose to open my eyes during this photophobic stage of my migraine onset, my eyes will begin to tear relentlessly. It is during this stage that I find it absolutely necessary to retreat to my room and lie down on my bed in the dark. Regarding the decorum of my room, I decided to “remodel” it following my first three or four migraines. What was previously a white-walled room with cream-colored curtains became a beige-walled room with dark gray curtains, or the “bat cave” as I fondly refer to it, in order to prevent the entry of any sunlight. Following these two stages, with the flickering vision stage lasting about a half hour or so at the most and the photophobic stage lasting an hour to two hours, the migraine arrives.

While lying down on my bed, I can feel the onset of the headache portion of the migraine. It begins with a forceful rush of blood near the temples of my head. If I listen closely enough, I can even hear my own pulse – the contraction of my heart, followed by the expansion of a given artery due to the increase in blood pressure. I realized during the headache portion of my first migraine that this headache is positional, meaning that should I choose to either sit or stand up, the pain will only become more severe. And so, I lay flat and supine on my bed, staring up at the blank ceiling wishing that it would just all end. During this time that I am lying down, although the headache is far less in severity than if I were either sitting or standing up, due to the repeated pulsating of blood near my temples, I am unable to think, let alone sleep peacefully. So, the three or more days that the migraine is in-house, I am completely incapacitated, reduced to lying in bed listening to my rhythmic pulse. As for what signals a migraine onset for me, I have yet to link my migraines to any sort of stimulus.

Since my first migraine had arrived the week before finals week, my physician and I had both presumed that the migraine might have been stress-related. However, following the next three or so migraines, which just seemed to arrive when I was possibly the least-stressed or not stressed at all, we figured that the migraines were probably not stress-induced. I’ve perused textbooks and read on-line medical journals searching for any sort of answer and I feel as though all of my efforts to discover a cause have been in vain. While most migraine sufferers are eventually able to pinpoint a stimulus, whether it be stress, a particular type of food, or any form of visual stimuli, my migraines are not known to have a cause. Along the same lines, regarding prescription medications, I’ve tried almost everything and none of the pills that I have tried have led to any sort of relief. My only goal now is to understand the underlying cause of my migraines and figure out at least a temporary cure before I begin medical school.

Inspired by my migraine history and as a current pre-med major and prospective physician, after obtaining my medical degree, I hope to eventually conduct migraine research so that I may discover a cure – not just for me but for all of those that suffer from migraines. Not only do migraines inflict physical pain, they also have a detrimental effect on one’s personal life. I am forced to plan my life around my migraines. I know that if a migraine is to arrive within the next week or so, then I have complete all of my school assignments prior to its advent. I also have to turn down many social events that I am invited to so that I will not suffer a public migraine onset.  I eagerly await the day that I will be rid of my migraines. For now, however, I will have to continue to suffer through my migraines and plan my life and daily events around them, as both medical school and migraine research are still a long while away.

Giby George is currently a sophomore at Drexel University, majoring in biological sciences with a pre-med concentration.