Sayre, 28, lived with chronic migraine for years before getting a diagnosis.
Sayre tells SELF that she experiences some form of head pain nearly every day.
Migraine diagnosis is often a long and frustrating process.
Nhung Le
Candace Helton, 32, saw three doctors over a period of six years before getting a migraine diagnosis.
She found it hard to explain her headaches to doctors because her symptoms and headaches were inconsistent.
Sometimes I experience them once or twice a month, sometimes not at all, she says.
The pain was inconsistent as well.
But as years went by, I realized that these headaches were happening more and more often.
The process of getting a migraine diagnosis was disheartening, Helton says.
So what, exactly, is getting in the way of diagnosis?
Neurologists say there are a few factors at play.
For starters, there is no single diagnostic test for migraine.
What makes diagnosis tricky is that there are multiple conditions that share some of the symptoms of migraine.
That can be extremely frustrating for some people, Dr. Rosen says.
Another complicating factor in migraine diagnosis is a persons ability to access specialized care.
Seeing a specialist isnt always an option either, given that there are so few of them around.
Finally, migraine is an often mysterious condition surrounded by myths and misconceptions.
Finding the right migraine treatment often involves trial and error.
you’re able to’t treat it the same each time.
The same is true when it comes toDIY approaches.
These days, theres a glimmer of hope as far as migraine treatment is concerned.
But that provides other challenges as well, he says.
Migraine treatments range fromacute medications to preventive onesas well as non-drug therapies.
She found a bit of relief, but thedizzinessstill made her feel awful.
Within about two weeks of making these changes, I burst back to life, she says.
That said, migraine triggers can also be unavoidablelike the weather or hormonal fluctuations.
I paid attention to the triggers that preceded the headaches and what actions brought relief, she says.
This can be very helpful in picking up patterns and finding triggers, Dr. Sheikh says.
