Looking Forward to Something Good Triggers Migraine?

Stress has been a trigger for my migraines, but I'm talking about work stress or school stress. When I was in college, I would invariably go into status migrainosus immediately after my final exams were over. My migraines would last for 3-4 solid months, and there were times when I was forced to sit out the following semester due to prolonged migraine.

My migraine pattern at the time was to go into status migrainosus for 3-4 solid months, followed by a pain-free "break" of several months. I miss those pain-free "breaks" more than I can say. The "breaks" enabled me to get through college with honors and to take an occasional vacation.

Now my migraines have gone CONSTANT and the days of vacations are behind me.

One summer I had a dream vacation to Hawaii all planned out and paid for. My dad had a lot of money, and I hadn't taken very many vacations in my life. Since I was getting straight A's in college, I guess my dad wanted to reward me. (My dad has good moods and very bad moods----highs and lows like a roller-coaster.)

Exactly 2 days before I was scheduled to fly to Hawaii, a migraine came on. It was mid-summer and the stress of college was behind me until school resumed in September. I was always extremely careful to avoid any food triggers. It was completely abnormal for me to go into status migraine in the middle of the summer with no trigger, but it happened. I wasn't under any "stress" at all----I was just looking forward to my vacation to Hawaii.

Has anyone had a migraine triggered by looking forward to something good? (I can imagine that doing something intensive like planning a wedding could cause emormous stress, even though a wedding is a positive event.) But I'm talking about just anticipating a low-stress event, like looking forward to a vacation or something else that's fun and low-stress.

I literally had no stress that summer. I had been on a few vacations before, so packing up wasn't anything unduly stressful. This was supposed to be my opportunity to RELAX after all the stress with college and migraines. I've never before gotten a migraine when I was anticipating something positive, especially something low-stress like a vacation.

Maybe I would have gotten a migraine even if the trip hadn't been planned. Maybe it was all just a random act of fate.

That summer, instead of going to Hawaii I ended up in the hospital with DHE-45 dripping into my veins (it did NOT stop the migraine). I eventually just had to "wait it out". That particular migraine lasted for 42 agonizing days. Then one morning I woke up and the migraine was gone. (Those were the days!) I felt like I'd been put through the wringer both emotionally and physically, but the pain was gone and I would have been well enough to travel or go to college or whatever.

My dad got all of his money refunded for the trip. My dad promised me that I'd get to go to Hawaii in the near future. He told me to just focus on getting well and that there would be a trip to Hawaii in my future.

Once my migraine was over, I asked my parents if I'd still get to go to Hawaii. My mom said "I think so", but my dad controls all the money. My relationship with my dad has always been very rocky, so I didn't feel comfortable pressuring him to reschedule the trip. I made it known that I really wanted to go to Hawaii and waited for my dad to reschedule the trip. The trip was a gift from my dad and he did all of the scheduling and controlled all the money. I think my dad actually wanted me to beg and plead for him to reschedule the trip, but I really didn't feel comfortable doing that.

For unknown reasons, my dad never did reschedule the trip to Hawaii. He had the money, so that wasn't an issue. Somehow the moment had passed, and I missed out on a trip to Hawaii all because of a bloody migraine. (In retrospect, I probably should have begged and pleaded). Instead, I felt no sense of urgency because of the promises that my dad had made to me regarding finances and vacations in the future.

I suppose hindsight is 20/20. I knew that my migraines were progressively getting worse, but I never expected my migraines to go CONSTANT 24/7. And I believed my dad's promises. My dad had treated me really badly in the past, but for about a year or so he actually seemed to be sorry for the past abuse, hence the offer of the vacation to Hawaii. I guess I wanted to believe that my dad was really "turning over a new leaf" and that he would be nice to me.

Only two years later, my father went back to his old ways and treated me really badly. The main reason why my dad treated me badly was BECAUSE of my migraines! I was a perfectionist straight-A student who tried so hard to live up to my father's standards of "perfection". Unfortunately, migraines can mess up any attempts to be "perfect". When I had to take a semester off due to migraine, I know that my dad was disappointed in me, even though it wasn't my fault that I got migraines.

Thanks for letting me vent about my missed opportunity. It's one of the biggest regrets of my life, because I never expected to end up in chronic pain due to migraine. (Obviously migraine has caused me to miss out on all sorts of things in life, but I just wanted to give one specific example).

To my fellow migraineurs, try to seize the day, if you can. Migraine and other illnesses can really rob a person of a normal life.

Best Wishes,
Brenda

I'm truly sorry to hear about that. You are def correct though. Migraine takes away ALOT. Although I havent I am just now recently starting to be greatly effected by it, I've watched my mom suffer and miss out for YEARS. It's heartbreaking. I pray that you find something that works for you and you have many good oppertunities ahead. You have suffered MORE than enough.