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Life is full of uncertainty, but imagine for a moment never knowing when or where debilitating pain might strike you. Suffering from migraines can mean not knowing whether the next day will be productive or spent in a battle to perform normal activities. A migraine can dictate the activities over the next few hours or days for its victim. At this very second someone is lying in a dark room unable to work, take care of their family, or pursue any activity other than desperately wishing for relief because of migraine symptoms. Perhaps you may never know the agonizing pain yourself, but the condition is still costing you. According to PubMed.gov migraine headache episodes annually tally up to 17 billion dollars in medical costs, lost wages, and falls in work productivity across the United States.

My introduction to the subject of migraines was far from voluntary. One day as I worked at home a small ache in my head started throbbing. I couldn't look at any light sources. Even the glow from the screen of my laptop felt like the jab of a needle between my eyes. Instead of letting up the pain doubled, and then tripled in the next few hours. At first I was simply annoyed. After a long period of aggravation I was finally getting somewhere with my work and I kept a fairly tight schedule to take advantage of the new energy a few successes had generated. I was missing out on a planned T.V. night with my family as well.

Lying in a dark room not only didn't fit in my plans it wasn't working. If anything the pounding in my head was getting worse as the hours ticked slowly by and my turbulent stomach was in such chaos it wouldn't even allow me the smallest sip of water. Fearing I'd pass out from either pain or dehydration the only choice was a trip to the emergency room. Finally after spending some quality time with an I.V. of morphine and anti-nausea medication I was able to go home after promising to see my family doctor as soon as possible. The E.R. doctor's parting words were about the seriousness of this problem. As he mentioned while discharging me once you've had a genuine migraine you realize the difference between this experience and a simple headache. Oh, did I ever realize the difference!

There are many different forms and types of migraine and they differ in the courses of treatment. The most common migraine suffer doesn't have what are known as aura symptoms. They do have pain and lots of it. The criteria for a non-aura form of migraine is an excruciating

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