Migraine as a child. Migraine on vacation. Migraine at work. Whatever their age and wherever they are, people around the world struggle with migraine. In this episode, we hear from a leading migraine advocate who shares his journey and how he now helps people overcome the stigma of migraine.

“I would get these periods I sort of called them like a honeymoon response, where you're so hopeful that it works that it actually does for a period of time,” says Carl Cincinnato, Executive Director of Migraine at Work and co-host for the Migraine World Summit. “But then you kind of run out of “hope-ium.” And all of a sudden you go back to your baseline of regular attacks.”

Some highlights in this episode:

:52: Listener feedback

2:28: Carl talks about having a tension headache when he contracted COVID

3:37: Joe’s experience getting a headache after receiving a booster shot

5:03: Carl describes the first sign of migraine when he was playing sports

6:14: Migraine forced Carl to make excuses as he dealt with isolation, pain, and depression

7:06: Carl’s journey spending money and seeing specialists to deal with his migraine

8:09: Carl turns to “hope-ium” to fight back against migraine

8:17: Migraine is “like a form of torture” for Carl

9:24: Carl found support but from other people with migraine

10:30: Carl describes his depression dealing with chronic migraine

1151: What exactly is “hope-ium”

12:43: Carl’s goal of finding the healthiest version of himself

14:07: Carl describes his first migraine attack before he was 10 years old

14:48: The turning point for Carl came during a disastrous holiday with his partner

15:17: Migraine forced Carl to leave his job

15:56: The goal at the Migraine World Summit

17:37: A personal lesson for Carl

18:37: A major challenge is dealing with the stigma of migraine, especially at work

20:42: Advocacy at work in the migraine community

Contact Our Host

Joe Coe, Director, Education and Digital Strategy at GHLF: [email protected]

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