You ’ re not alone . Connect with the NHF online community on Facebook and Twitter . Or visit www . headwisemag . org .

Found on Facebook :

Have you experienced a time when you thought someone wasn ’ t taking your disease seriously ? Eileen G . – An easier question to answer would be , “ Was there a time when someone DID take my disease seriously .” Since you can ’ t “ show ” or “ prove ” migraine or fibromyalgia , my life is one big eye roll . :(

Debra G . – I think that could be the hardest part of this condition to live with . Having relationships with people is very difficult . People don ’ t understand why most of the time it “ appears ” you are fine . Mine are every day , all day .

Marcy L . – No one takes it seriously until I ’ m in the hospital over and over again and having to go get MRIs , CT scans and take massive amounts of medications to try to control the disease .

Overheard on Twitter at # Headaches # Migraines :

@ MadamConnect Who did I think I was to go to Super # Walmart with two kids , a man and a # migraine ! # success today will deserve a medal !

@ SiSystemsDana Yet another # migraine headache from a perfume smell . Love the perfume , but please don ’ t wear it so strong . Please , please , please , please !!!

@ curryalley Eyes going cross-eyed , the sunlight hurts and I want to throw up . Not good . # migraine

Environmental factors can provoke a headache or migraine . When are your headaches the worst ?

How do you describe the impact of your migraines and headaches to others ? Katharine Z . – I ’ ve tried numerous times and in a variety of ways , but only the people closest to me really understand even a little bit . I ’ ve had the same headache for almost 12 years . That means everything I do is affected by it , and that is very difficult to explain to someone who hasn ’ t been there .

Patsy C . – I had to miss my father-in-law ’ s funeral recently due to a migraine . That ’ s something I can never get back .

Wanda R . – At this point in my life , I just say , “ I have a migraine , no can do .” Short and simple . If I stress about their reaction , the migraine gets worse . And I no longer care what they think . The migraine is bad enough .

What type of research would you like to see completed ? Joy P . – I ’ m ready for a cure already !

Richard H . – Understanding the mechanism of the headache precisely would give an understanding of how to prevent it — i . e ., how to develop abortives and preventives . And research on controlling pain in a sustainable way that did not itself become a liability would improve our quality of life .

Summer 19 % 17 votes

How many people in your family , including yourself , suffer from migraine ?

One 25 votes

Fall 2 % 2 votes

Winter 6 % 5 votes

No difference 64 % 56 votes

Two 26 votes

Not sure 1 vote

Three 19 votes

Spring 9 % 8 votes

More than three 18 votes

Source : NHF Facebook survey , July 2011

Do you have a question you want answered by an NHF expert ? Send it to editor @ headwisemag . org , and it might appear in our Reader Mail section .

www . headwisemag . org | National Headache Foundation 7