30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

I originally did this two years ago and some things have changed.  I updated my answers for this years Invisible Illness Awareness week, which is September 9-15th.

1. The illness I live with is Chronic Migraine.
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year 1986.
3. But I had symptoms since I was between one and two years old.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is being a mom despite being in pain.
5. Most people assume that an Excedrin Migraine will take my pain away.
6. The hardest part about mornings are getting out of bed in pain to get the kids ready for school.
7. My favorite medical TV show is Grey's Anatomy.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is my iPhone.
9. The hardest part about nights is waking up in pain often.
10. Each day I take 6 vitamins/supplements.  I no longer take prescription medications. (No comments, please)
11. Regarding alternative treatments I have tried acupuncture, massage therapy, hydro colon therapy (HCT), acupressure, meditation, chiropractic care, and naturopath/homeopathic treatments.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose neither.

13. Regarding working and career, it's an impossibility right now.
14. People would be surprised to know that I suffer from depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, RLS (restless leg syndrome), carpal tunnel syndrome, and arthritis too.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been not being able to have a "normal" life.

16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was raise money for research.

17. The commercials about my illness make treating migraine look as simple as taking an OTC medication.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is taking ballet class.

19. It was really hard to have to give up control of what my day would be like.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is blogging.

21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would dance.
22. My illness has taught me resilience and humility.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is how they had a migraine once and took an Excedrin Migraine or Advil Migraine and it went away and never came back and asking if I tried that.
24. But I love it when people show genuine care and compassion.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them I know it's hard but never give up.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is my strength.

28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was drive me to urgent care.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because I want people to know my illness exists.

30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel seen and validated.