Louize – A True Warrior

Louize, the marketing director of a stock exchange-listed technology corporation, manages her professional life with remarkable efficiency, despite the challenges posed by her health. Diagnosed with migraine with aura at the age of 13, Louize endured extremely strong weekly attacks during her teenage years, a period marked by intense academic pressure as she strived to maintain top grades. Her ambition and dedication as a student were unwavering, even as she navigated the debilitating symptoms of her condition. The severity of her migraines eased significantly after high school, granting her almost a decade of relative respite. However, the birth of her first child marked the beginning of a new chapter in her struggle with migraines.

After becoming a mother, Louize's migraines initially reappeared at a modest frequency of 1-2 attacks per month. The situation worsened significantly during her second pregnancy, which was particularly challenging, with frequent and severe migraines from the second month until labor. Balancing her demanding career and the needs of her two young children, Louize was facing 7-12 migraine attacks monthly.

Hellish Road

Louize has tried all types of migraine medications, from Triptans to blood pressure medication and Botox injections. Some medications worked fairly well for a little while, but a big problem with all medication-based migraine care in her adult years was the terrible or extremely bad side effects. This is a very common problem among migraine sufferers, especially those who are close to a chronic state of migraine or are already in it. Aimovig (a biological medication) worked pretty well for the first five months, but it also caused rather severe nausea during the first two weeks after each injection. Then, quite rapidly, from the sixth to the eleventh month, the side effects worsened, and the medication's impact on her migraines diminished. With a highly demanding position at work, it's safe to say Louize faced enormous challenges. With all her responsibilities, I don't blame her at all for feeling pretty desperate to get out of that hellish mess when she asked for my help in August 2023.

It’s remarkable that she continued to excel in her professional role, but we all have our breaking point. Nobody can hold on for unlimited time with that kind of health problems without “house of cards” collapsing at some point, if not getting proper help.

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“What If I Don’t Get Well?”

Louize was highly motivated, and no wonder—she had a lot at stake: her career and her family's well-being. A rather large mortgage on their house was also one of her worries. "What if I don't get well and get fired?" she asked. I convinced Louize that she was going to get out of harm's way and that she had my full support all the way through her battle with migraines.

A True Warrior

We launched the intensive self-care period in August 2023, and after a somewhat sluggish two weeks at the beginning, Louize started to find the perfect rhythm for self-care, which fit well into her extremely hectic schedule. She even has some travel days monthly! After one month of the intensive period, Louize's migraines had decreased by 50%. I remember how much energy she had at that point and her big smile. "Now, go ahead and beat the bugger," I said to her. She laughed, and she has certainly done so! One of the great features of her "new life" is the small changes we made to her time management system and breaks. With her busy schedule, all the recovery and care sessions need to be frequent but short, shorter than for someone who doesn't have such responsibilities. She has handled everything like a true champion. Her style reminds me of my late friend Bob, and how he was at home in the middle of a hostile environment, with all the pressure and challenges. Louize is doing great nowadays. Like many of my migraine clients, she ran the intensive self-care program for the first two months and has been mastering the follow-up program. She is a true warrior.

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