Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
My migraine headaches started approximately 33 years ago. Actually last month, in May
and ... very intense pain. The pain was so bad, it would make me pass out. I wasn't able
to function as a normal person. I just wanted to be normal like everybody else but it seems
like as each month, each year went by, we go doctor to doctor, medication after medication,
treatment after treatment, and nothing changed. I just became sicker and sicker and it just
became my life.
Yeah, a lot of time it took a combination of things just to survive. We would do medications.
We would do special diets. We would do a chiropractor. We would have three different doctors and
we'd be doing something with all of them at the same time just trying to make it.
I have tried every migraine medication that you can even think of. For six weeks, did
great and then my system just rejected it and it didn't do anything. Just the stress
of going to another doctor knowing he's not going to find anything. Is he going to find
anything? How long is this going to last? Maybe it's going to last three months and
then they're going to give up on me and I'm just going to get pain medicines [inaudible
00:01:15]. From every doctor, you get pain medicine even though they're going to give
you maybe something that's going to deter the headache or something when you feel the
onset of a headache, you always have in your back pocket the pain medicine.
I always took what they told me to take which did absolutely nothing. What's the next best
thing? Is oh well, double it up. I could double it up and it did absolutely nothing to me.
The day we had to go see him, I had one of my worst blown out headaches. We were in the
waiting room full of other patients. I actually didn't see anybody hurting because I was so
into all of into all my pain. Finally we went and were called back there into the room and
I just got up on the bed and I'm on my all fours with my head into the table. Anything
you can do just to push on a hard surface to relieve the pain. It's almost like you
need a vise to hold your head. Dr. Reed walked in the room and he said, "Ms.
Daugherty?" and I said, "Yes, sir." I don't even recall looking up at him. He saw all
the pain I was in, didn't ask my history, didn't ask what doctors I've been to, didn't
ask what medications. He just looked at me and he said, "Ms. Daugherty I'm going to help
you." It was just ... this was my miracle I've been waiting for. We talked about putting
in a temporary one. He asked me and I said, "Yeah, let's go for it." We had the temporary
one. All the wires ... he stuck the wires in. They were in my forehead or in my head,
in the side and in my neck and all the exterior wires were just hanging. It's like I was a
computer or something. He put it in and immediately when they woke me up, no headache.
Had a headache on the table when I went in, came out and had absolutely no pain. We did
that trial for four days. I was headache free for four days. I mean, there was no if and
buts. We didn't question it. We made the appoint ... he said, "When do you want to do it?"
and we said, "As soon as possible." The money issue is always a stressor with
Janice. He said, "I'm going to take care of you and we're going to find ways. We're going
to work with your insurance company and we're going to find ways that you can afford to
do this." That was a big relief to her because for me, I was going to say, "I'll do whatever
I have to, to pay for it," but she was determined that she ... we got to put a cap on it somewhere.
He told her from the beginning he would work with her insurance company to make this something
that she could do. We went in for the surgery two weeks later.
Actually it was August 31st of 2007. Went in with a headache and he looked at me and
he said, "You're going to come out with no headache." I started out with two leads in
my forehead and two in my neck. They took one out of my neck because it really wasn't
situated where it needed to be. We've got two leads in my forehead and one in my neck,
connectors on the side, connector in the back and then it goes down. I have a battery in
my right hip. It's going strong. They don't limit any mobility or anything.
No. Nothing. She could do ... she worked out, jog
I can do anything. I can ... I jog three miles a day. I can work out. I can run around the
backyard with my grand kids. I can pull them in a wagon. I could jump on a trampoline if
I had to. I actually am thinking about running in a marathon. It's been a miracle. Dr. Reed
is my miracle doctor and this is a miracle treatment for me. I think it could be for
other migraine patients and for my husband. He was on my side the whole time, never gave
up and I love you.