by Yuri Cárdenas: For Complete Post, Click Here…
If there are two things I know, it’s technology and migraine disease. But my relationship with technology took on a whole new meaning when I became disabled by chronic migraine.
I lived in the San Francisco, California Bay Area through the two tech booms when I built websites in the 90s, programmed interactive educational toys, and went on to produce and design those toys and games. Eventually, I moved on to interactive installations. So, I know ‘tech’.
Using the internet as a tool
I research the migraine-related suggestions I find online and ask my headache specialist about them. Thanks to technology and the internet, I have access to information that leads to access to treatments.
I learn something new every day I go online: medication ideas, nonpharmaceutical treatment ideas, and equally as important, I find connection, emotional support, and validation.
Chronic migraine can be terribly isolating. When sensory input can be uncomfortable to unbearable, many of us have to stay away from most social environments.
Migraine also faces so much global stigma that it is hard for people to understand what you’re going through. Thanks to places like Facebook groups and Instagram, I have access to thousands of people living with the same disease as me, people who understand.
Devices and tech
My physical relationship with technology has changed a lot as well. I grew up with a mother who needed hearing aids, and later needed voice-to-text, so I knew about assistive devices. It took me years before I looked to tech to help my life with migraine disease.
Technology can actually help treat migraine symptoms or even prevent an attack. Neuromodulation devices can be used to stimulate nerves and modulate atypical neural pathway behavior. There are currently five devices on the market that act on different nerves.
I have tried two that don’t work for me, and one that I cannot live without. While most are costly and inaccessible for many, some devices allow returns and are worth looking into. Like all things migraine, you have to try it to know if it will work for you.
