It took six years to identify the condition that caused my chronic pain: a blood sugar dysregulation condition
Seven years ago, when I was 27, I got my first-ever migraine. Ten months later, it was still there.
Even after the 10-month migraine ended, frequent weeks-long migraine attacks and bouts of stabbing “icepick” headaches kept me in pain more often than not. I was a software engineer at Facebook, but had to take leave from work because looking at my laptop screen made my head scream in revolt. I would never go back.
Natalie Mead publishes a Substack called Oops, My Brain about life with chronic illness and recovery. She is also working on a memoir about the tension between love and caregiving in chronic illness