Migraine is a common condition, with around 10 million people in the UK impacted by it. While anyone can be affected by migraine, it is two to three times more common in women than men. Around a third of women experience migraine at some point in their lifetime.

In a 2022 survey on women’s experience of migraine, the extent of the impact was striking:

• 88% of women said migraine has impacted their social life
• 86% said it has impacted their work life
• 80% said it has impacted their general health
• 76% said it has impacted their family life.

Here three women, Charlotte, Abigail, and Emily, tell us about their experience of migraine and how it has affected their careers, social lives and relationships.

“The mum guilt really is huge” – Charlotte

My migraine experience has impacted pretty much every aspect of my life, and it has also hurt my loved ones.

I came across the resources on The Migraine Trust website, and I used the headache diary alongside a period tracker app. I realised how much of a factor hormonal changes were having on the pattern of my migraine attacks. It made sense – when migraine really ramped up for me, it was in my early to mid-teens. It’s clear that this was likely when I was experiencing a lot of hormonal changes too.

When I think back on my healthcare experiences, I realise how poor the care was. GPs would often just encourage me to try other medications and suggest that things like diet and exercise were the underlying issues (I know that a balanced lifestyle can be good for general wellbeing, but the number of times doctors suggested this was ridiculous).

My daughter has then had to grow up seeing her mum in pain regularly, not able to do all the things we want to do together and that just breaks my heart. Recently I came across some of her drawings where she’d been tasked to draw something that makes her happy (she drew a picture of her and her dad, playing on the trampoline) and something that makes her sad (she drew a picture of her mummy lying down, feeling ill). The mum guilt really is huge. The constant juggling of “I’m starting to feel ill, but I need to do a food shop. If I go into the supermarket the lights will make me feel so much worse, but then if I don’t go, what will we have for tea? It will have to be something easy, but that’s not very healthy”. It can feel endless.

You can read more of Charlotte’s story here.

“What hurt me more than anything was the lack of understanding” – Abigail

At the age of 16, I experienced my first hemiplegic migraine attack, although I didn’t know at the time that’s what it was. The headache I was experiencing was severe and prolonged but besides this I felt a tingling sensation in my left limbs. I was alarmed but figured I’d probably been lying down in a strange position. It wasn’t until I went to the bathroom later and looked up in the mirror when I noticed a significant ‘droop’ in the left side of my face. Adding the fact that I had struggled to even walk to the bathroom I slowly started to become petrified.

As a Black woman, I’ve also noticed doctors have a perception of my pain tolerance being higher because of my skin colour too. Sometimes I’ve felt gaslit by health professionals, to the point I’ve been questioning if I’m in as much pain as I think.

I tend to come across as an empowered young woman who has no struggles, but this is a battle I’ve been fighting for years.

What hurt me more than anything was the lack of understanding, which I still experience to this day. The second guessing and doubt from employers still remains. Most people don’t even know that I live with hemiplegic migraine.

Sharing my story is important to me not only to inspire others but also myself. I’m perfect the way I am. I can and I will overcome anything and the same goes for you.

You can read more of Abigail’s story here.

“As well as migraine, I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis and adenomyosis. Navigating life with multiple chronic conditions is incredibly challenging” – Emily

I was diagnosed with chronic migraine with aura and abdominal migraine ten years ago, when I was 16 years old. Lots of scary symptoms began in school where I had throbbing, intense headaches, sickness, numbness and fatigue, tingling, body pain. One morning I woke up and my face was drooping on one side, I felt like I was having a stroke.

As well as migraine, I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis and adenomyosis. Because of these conditions, I am on medication that has put me into chemical menopause at the age of just 25. In some ways, I did notice an ease in my migraine attacks when I entered chemical menopause, I suppose because of the different hormones involved. In other ways though, navigating life with multiple chronic conditions is incredibly challenging. There is definitely an interplay in symptoms, and trying to manage multiple conditions is tough. Emotional stress is a big factor in living with chronic conditions and I do notice that this can be a migraine trigger for me. With migraine, I am always being careful with what I eat and which events I go to in case an attack is triggered. It’s exhausting.

Now, I’m slowly starting to learn to live with migraine and starting to accept the condition. At the same time, I’m continuing to advocate for myself and others. The Migraine Trust website has felt like such a safe space to me – particularly when you’re first diagnosed, there’s not a lot of guidance or support. Seeing others’ stories online helped me to feel like it wasn’t just me. It’s also been a huge learning experience, reading through different peoples’ stories and seeing the huge variety of symptoms people can have. I’m now determined to use my passion to advocate for others and campaign for change!

Getting support

Better understanding of the many ways migraine can impact women’s lives is important, as is the right support. If you’d like to learn more, you can catch up on our Managing Your Migraine: Migraine in Women session. You can also sign up for our upcoming Managing Your Migraine: Migraine and Hormones session.

If you need information or support on any aspect of migraine, our helpline is available on 0808 802 0066 or you can get in touch with us online.