Whoopi Goldberg Says Chronic ‘Monster’ Migraines Caused Fear in Her Daily Life
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Because a migraine leaves little physical, bodily evidence behind, those who experience them are constantly validating episodes as more than “just a headache.” And Whoopi Goldberg is one of those people.
“[Others] don’t understand it,” The View co-host, 65, told SELF. “And there’s no real way that you can make them understand what it feels like, so they’re always slightly condescending. Like, ‘Oh, a migraine? Aww…’”
In addition to the painful symptoms migraines bring, they also cause anxiety because you never know when one will pop up. “The impact has been fear, basically,” Goldberg, who has dealt with the condition for 40 years, explained. “You start to get one and [wonder], is the whole day going to be shot? How do I explain to somebody that I’m in the middle of doing this and I should probably stop? I just want to go in the bed, I just want to go in the closet, but you gotta power through.” She compared them to “a monster that would show up in your house whenever it felt like it.”
The warning signs and symptoms of migraines are different for everyone, but Goldberg knows one is coming on when an aura that resembles “a strip of silver aluminum foil” appears in her peripheral vision. Experienced by a third of migraine sufferers, auras often look like “colored lights, zig-zagging patterns, dots, and prism effects that tend to shimmer or scintillate and migrate across the visual field,” Bradley Katz, M.D., a neuro-ophthalmologist at the University of Utah’s Moran Eye Center who specializes in treating migraine-related light sensitivity previously told Prevention.com. They can also take an olfactory form and present as a chemical-like, unpleasant smell.
“Others can suddenly become confused, have trouble speaking or thinking of words, or experience numbness or tingling on one side of the body—stroke-like symptoms,” Dr. Katz added. These migraine precursors can last 20 to 60 minutes and are followed by throbbing head pain localized to one side, hypersensitivity to light and smells, and nausea and vomiting.
A single migraine episode can last from four to 72 hours, and after subsiding, can leave lingering fatigue and dizziness known as post-drome or a “migraine hangover.” As of right now, there’s no known cure for migraines, but Goldberg feels lucky to have found a prescription medication that works for her: Nurtec ODT. She’s now a spokesperson for the drug.
“It made me kind of want to cry or break into song, one of the two, because it was such a relief,” she said. “It was so nice to know that that was one less thing now I was going to have to worry about.”
Unfortunately, because different types of migraines exhibit various triggers and symptoms, Nurtec ODT isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. However, there are other treatments that can keep pain at bay such as staying hydrated, having a little caffeine (as long as it’s not a trigger), creating a quiet, light-free, smell-free sanctuary, and taking over-the-counter pain relief. If you can’t find solace in these measures, it’s important to see a doctor and map out a care plan for your specific needs.
“The current treatment options are effective for some people,” Wade Cooper, D.O., director of the University of Michigan’s Headache and Neuropathic Pain Clinic in Ann Arbor previously told Prevention.com. “What happens is a lot of people have migraines and kind of deal with it, which is really sad. Often, people don’t treat them in the first place or they stop going to the doctor. They just accept them and become dejected.”
But that doesn’t have to be the case, and Goldberg says she’s proof that the right treatment can change your life. “The possibility is there of eliminating something that is not working well for you,” she says.
Go here to join Prevention Premium (our best value, all-access plan), subscribe to the magazine, or get digital-only access.
You Might Also Like
