For anyone who has ever had a migraine, you will know and understand the sentiments of my desperation. About six months ago, I had the migraine of all migraines that could not be tamed. It was not the kind that could be defeated by a couple Excedrins, a long nap, and a dark room. No, it was more like a try again in seven to ten business days, and then maybe you will return to a functioning human being and contribute to society again. I have always had really bad headaches, but in the last five years, they have morphed into migraines. The migraine that about broke me was the worst I have ever experienced. Calling off sick was not an option (well, maybe it was, but I was not willing to be defeated by a migraine). I continued to attend my internship and muddle through all squinty-eyed and miserable. Being in a hospital, the rooms are either really dim or brighter than the sun itself; there is no in-between. It was day nine of this monster migraine. The radiology suite was brighter than it had ever been before, but that was remedied quickly. The patient overhead the exchanges between me, my supervisor, and the radiologist as to why the room was darker now than usual. It is not very often that we get a patient for a swallow study who is that engaging in conversation, but this one was. It went a little like this: “You have a migraine? I can fix it.” My first thought was “right, sure you can.” We got through the swallow study, and as I was taking my gloves off to go over the results, the patient takes my hand and presses on a pressure point. To my shock, it worked. I felt some relief but was informed this would only last until lunch time and someone would have to keep doing it to relieve my migraine. The day went on, and I had to keep having someone press on my hand. I decided that after nine days, an urgent care visit, and a patient handing out migraine advice was enough. I had to have a more permanent fix. While the medical research is minimal, the anecdotal evidence of a daith piercing was strong. Now, let me preface this by saying that I am the least likely person to voluntarily submit myself to having a large needle being shoved through my head, but desperate times made me do it. When my day interning was over at six, I drove straight to a tattoo and piercing parlor that I felt comfortable going to based on the amazing reviews. A friend met me there for some moral support and to drive in case I passed out following this adventure. I knew going into getting a daith piercing there was a fifty-fifty chance it would work in combatting migraines. For some, it does not help, but I was hopeful. I also did not have that much to lose. It either worked or it did not, and I was stuck with a piercing for a while. I was, however, hesitant to be over excited when the migraine went away instantly. I continued to be cautiously optimistic when days went by without a migraine and then weeks and then months. I think it is safe to say that for me, this was successful. It has been six months with not a single migraine. I feel like I would have had one by now if it did not work considering I was having at least two to four a month prior to the piercing. The reason a daith piercing combats migraines is because it pierces through a pain receptor center and basically replicates having a permanent acupuncture needle in that pressure point. While that sounds scary, and I do not even want to think about all the things that could have gone wrong had the piercing taken a turn south, I was confident in the person I chose to perform the piercing. I think that was the key to the successful outcome. My advice for anyone considering a daith piercing for migraines would be to pinch the pressure point yourself to see if you feel any sort of relief. I did, and this is a good indicator of whether or not you are a good candidate for it working. Another thing I recommend is researching your professional piercer. I dug deep into the reviews across multiple platforms before committing to letting a stranger poke a hole in my ear. The healing process is quite different from how I remember it from when I got my ears pierced in preschool. Any time cartilage is involved it takes longer to heal. The average healing time is six to twelve months for a daith piercing. I feel like mine is either fully healed or really close to being healed after six months. The first couple of months were a little rough only because I am a left-side sleeper and that is the side of my piercing. Other than that, I did not have any problems with infections or poor healing. Following good cleaning practices is key to avoiding keloids and risk of rejection. A piercing may not be for everyone, and I did not think I would ever get a piercing like this. Of course, I was worried about being able to hide it for professional reasons, but it goes unnoticed most of the time. Migraines are nothing to mess around with, and after seeing a doctor and reading stories of success, that is what ultimately brought me to doing it. Living with the ticking time bomb of a migraine hitting at any minute was not something I was looking forward to and knew I had to have a long-term remedy. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2020
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