Name: Sofiya
Age: 70
Location: Saddle Brook, NJ
Years with Migraines: 13
Occupation: Programmer
How long have you had migraine?
It’s going to be 13 years this year. I had a lot of stress at my work and I started to feel burning pain and pressure in my head. Sometimes I had an aura. I was seeing zig-zag and it finally closed my vision and I saw flashes and bee combs in front of me. My left leg would become numb and my left arm would be restless. I ended up in the emergency room and I was told I had a migraine. I’d never had a migraine before.
When do you usually get migraines?
I get migraine in different parts of my head and different time of the day. There is no pattern.
When I first started getting migraines I went on internet and found list of items that are not good for people with migraines to eat and I cut all those foods out. Then I planned to go on a trip to Italy and I told my doctor I wanted to eat pizza so he told me to start little by little to add things back in. Now I eat almost everything in moderation. My biggest migraine trigger is stress but you cannot avoid stress. I just do the best that I can. I start going to work one day a week. After I started using CEFALY I work in the office three times a week and two days from home. I hope eventually I can work in the office every day.
What have you tried pre-CEFALY?
I was up to almost 20 pills a day when my migraine started. I have tried different medication for last 13 years. It helped for a while and stopped. My neurologist recommended to get neurotoxin injections and I got them on June 1st last year. My migraines got very bad. I have had severe migraine for 20 hours a day. I was in ER. I went to a special headache center. I got answers – it’s very complicated case, I was not responding to any medication. My neurologist prescribed topiramate but I got problems with my digestive system and kidney stones.
I went for acupuncture once a week. Acupuncture and topiramate helped me a little bit. But I had to stop taking it because of kidney stones. Then my neurologist recommended me CEFALY.
What does your migraine feel like?
I don’t have burning pain anymore. It’s like pressure. I cannot say it’s throbbing, it used to be but now it’s pressure in different parts of my head. It’s just traveling in my head.
How did you hear about Cefaly?
My neurologist told me about it.
What’s your Cefaly experience like?
I bought CEFALY and started using it on January 26. I stopped using topiramate on January 29. Usually I use preventive every day. I used acute only 3 times. I do not use any medication now. I’m still getting headache a few times a day. But they are not so bad and I have them for 5 – 10 minutes. I did not have headache one day in February and for two days in March. I don’t use any medication at all anymore, not even over the counter medication. I have to take care of my digestive system and I have to take care of my kidney stones. I am getting better. The CEFALY helps and I am going to continue to do this. I believe for now, for me, this is the best solution for my migraines. I also don’t have aura anymore and now I can drive again.
What made you want to share your story?
I went to the CEFALY blog and I did not find anybody that had burning pain and I did not find anybody who had my type of aura. Before neurotoxin injections I was reading everything on the internet and talk to people. I was trying to get information on what could help me. Now I found something that helped me I want other people to know about it. I believe CEFALY and acupuncture — those two things together are helping me. I don’t take any medication anymore. The medications they just cause big problems for me.
