Migraines are severe headaches that cause intense pain. They are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light, sound, smell, and touch

Gila is twelve years old and lives in Philadelphia. She’s a charming, happy-go-lucky social butterfly. She loves spending time with her friends, especially playing jump-rope and ball games, swimming, horseback riding and other active, outdoor activities.

When did you start getting migraines? How did you know they were migraines?

When I was in sixth grade, I started getting very, very bad headaches. They went on for hours and often lasted for more than a day. Of course, my parents took me to the pediatrician. He suggested making sure I was drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and taking Tylenol and resting when a headache hit, but none of that helped. Eventually the doctor referred me to a neurologist, who is the one who diagnosed me with migraines. He told me I was his youngest patient to experience such severe migraines.

We tried to cut out chocolate and other common migraine triggers, which was hard, but it didn’t help.

We couldn’t isolate a trigger for the migraines; my headaches wouldn’t follow any pattern. They just came and bulldozed into my life.

What are migraines?

Migraines are severe headaches that cause intense pain. They are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light, sound, smell, and touch. There are usually additional uncomfortable symptoms such as dizziness and changes in vision (like blurry vision or seeing blinking or twinkling lights or stars). For recurring headaches to be considered migraines, they need to be at least several hours long (They can continue for up to a few days!) and recur at least twice a month.