Karen Smith has carefully documented her migraine attacks for 7+ years, after having occasional migraines a few times a year since her early 20s. That rate dramatically increased in her 40s and she began a quest to better understand migraine disease.
Ms. Smith created a social media-based support group for people with migraine and began to speak out about her own pain and the disruption caused by chronic, frequent migraine attacks. She has seen a variety of medical and alternative medicine specialists and ruled out many possible therapies through trial-and-error. Ms. Smith is pleased to finally be seeing improvements through a combination of lifestyle changes (constant vigilance around adequate sleep!), a TENS stimulator device, and the new class of anti-CGRP medications.
In addition to being a person with migraine, Ms. Smith is also a mother of two, a former technology consultant, freelance writer, and aspiring science fiction and fantasy author. Her hobbies include gardening, knitting, and weightlifting. She lives with her two kids, two dogs, two cats, spouse, and a hefty collection of migraine rescue remedies in the suburbs of Chicago.