It’s a revelation that reflects the depth of migraine pain. Shruti Suresh says during her worst migraine attack, she overdosed on pain meds and revealed she’d have rather die than feel the pain. Today, Shruti is a migraine advocate, shining a light on the emotional and mental health issues surrounding migraine. In this episode, Shruti talks about the systemic nature of migraine, and how we need to address all areas of health when living with chronic disease.

Among the highlights in this episode:

1:21 : Shruti started an Instagram page out of frustration, to help people with migraine feel less alone

2:33 : Shruti describes why she started “Migraine India”

3:24 : Doctors and friends used to say Shruti was faking migraine

5:08 : Dr. Peter McAlister, Director of the New England Center for Neurology, describes how early treatment of migraine is linked to better outcomes later in life

6:25 : Shruti describes her worst migraine attack

6:44 : “I ended up overdosing on pain meds,” says Shruti

7:38 : Dr. McAlister describes medication overuse headache

8:37 : “I'd rather die than feel this pain, because nobody believed that it was that bad,” revealed Shruti

9:17 : Shruti describes how she got to such a low point

10:58 : Shruti encourages others to reach out and talk to someone when you feel alone with migraine

12:43 : Shruti describes health care in Canada

13:53 : How migraine affects Shruti’s work life

17:04 : How migraine affects Shruti’s life as a mother

18:14 : Dr. McAlister talks about depression taking over a person with migraine

24:15 : Shruti validates her migraine 

Contact Our Host

Joe Coe, Director, Education and Digital Strategy at GHLF: jcoe@ghlf.org

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