Living With Chronic Migraines and Fibromyalgia

I was stuck this past weekend with the reality of what I'm going through; living with chronic migraines and fibromyalgia. Don't get me wrong, I deal with both conditions every day and it is very real to me each moment. It colors all my thoughts and decisions. It has a huge impact on what I do. Heck, I'm here writing about it regularly. But I spend so much time in the thick mud of coping and living with these diseases that sometimes I don't see it clearly.

Then I will have a moment, like I did on Saturday when we were out walking our dog, when it occurs to me just how much my life has been impacted by chronic pain. I think about the last 7 years of doctor appointments, pills, lost days, physical and mental challenges, brain fog, nausea and the like. I'm both a little impressed that I've managed to make it through this for so many years and intimidated by the thought of the years ahead dealing with the same.

The truth is that I never could have imagined ALL of this. When I think about the totality of my experience with chronic pain so far I feel...sad.