MAEVE’S STORY

It felt like I was being hit over the head with a hammer

Maeve Dixon, 47, first began to have migraines in her teens – though at the time she didn’t really know what it was.

“I had quite a few really bad headaches that meant missing a day of school, but only a couple. It didn’t cross my mind at the time that it could be anything more serious,” she said.

However, when Maeve, from Glasgow, was in her early 20s, she started taking the contraceptive pill, and noticed the headaches becoming more severe – and occurring more regularly.

“I felt like I had been hit over the head with a hammer,” she said.

“The first one happened in the middle of a lecture at university and I just had to get up and go home.

“I just didn’t know what was happening.

“I didn’t make the connection at the time and it took me a few years, but I soon realised it happened at the same time every month and coincided with my period. “For two or three days, I would have to lie in bed and just stay there until it subsided.

“I remember once being through at my brother’s house in Edinburgh and having to lie down on his sofa for two days because I couldn’t function long enough to make the journey home.”

Maeve visited her doctor, who diagnosed migraines. She said the contraceptive pill could be causing them.

But despite coming off the pill, the arts development officer still experiences migraines 20 years on.

“They happen less regularly now, especially since I had my son, Gabriel, who is now five. “But I still get migraines, probably once or twice a

Medication has helped reduce Maeve’s headaches

month. They are now less painful but more visual – I see flashing lights and it can be a struggle to focus and see clearly.

“I can tell when one is coming as I usually get a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

“They’re still debilitating and if I’m at work I usually need to go home and have a lie down or a sleep to get rid of it.” Maeve was previously prescribed opioid drugs to help, but had to come off them as they upset her stomach. She is now on a drug called Paramax, which is a combination of painkillers and anti-sickness medication. “It helps, but doesn’t take it away. Even if I catch it before it hits full force, I still feel like I have a bit of a fuzzy head,” Maeve said.

“But when you suffer from migraines and realise what a horrible condition it is, anything that can make you feel better is a bonus.”

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