NOVEMBER 15, 2011
I have wanted to write something on the website for a while but I was so busy with college applications and school that I didn’t have much time. First off, I just want to say that Dr. Ducic really saved my life. The headaches coupled with the ridiculous amount of medication I was on, most of which made my headaches worse, really took a toll on me. I was depressed and not myself. The worst part about having chronic headaches is that people just don’t understand how bad it is. “Just take an aspirin” is something I heard quite often. If someone can’t see what is ailing you, then they decide that it doesn’t exist. That mentality was particularly true for most of my doctors. Once they failed to find a cause, they decided nothing was wrong with me and I would have to just “grow out of it.” Obviously, they didn’t look hard enough, because Dr. Ducic knew exactly what was wrong with me. Granted, the surgery was really exploratory in nature and there is no test to find out if your nerves are compressed, but he was very confident that nerve compression was the source of my headache from the first time I talked to him. I only wish that neurologists and headache clinics would take a look at Dr. Ducic’s research on nerve compression and the results of the surgeries he has performed; this surgery could save thousands of lives.
I had a constant headache throughout my junior year in high school. Looking back, I’m not sure how I even passed junior year. As a result of my medication, I don’t have much of a memory from August of 2010 until about November of 2010. It also gets a little foggy from March until the beginning of June. I was unable to read text for most of the second semester of school, which made studying for AP tests and final exams pretty much impossible. Fortunately, my teachers where very understanding and I have some friends who very graciously helped me get my homework done; at one point, a friend of mine basically became my pre- calculus teacher. The entire time I was sick, my mom would continue to type my symptoms into the computer and see what came up. Our recent Google searches were things like “stabbing pain on side of face,” “chronic headache,” “chronic migraine,” “teenage headache,” and “constant 24/7 headache.” Searching around like this was how we found out about Dr. Ducic (It also made my doctors hate my mom because she was always throwing around crazy solutions for my pain and possible diseases during my appointments). I am extremely lucky to have only gone through this for a year and a half. Most of the other people I have talked to suffer for years, sometimes even decades, before they find something that helps them. This is the real reason we started this website; my parents and I want to help people get better. If we can help one person get their life back, then everything I have gone through is worth it. I am not saying that everyone’s headache is a result of compressed nerves, but I think the more people talk about a cure and research it, the more people will become aware of possible treatments and cures for chronic migraines and headaches.
As of today, I am doing amazing. I can read again (YAY!!) and am doing very well in school, besides having a major case of senioritis. The first surgery got rid of about 70 percent of my pain. I still have a constant headache on the side of my head, around my temples, but that should be taken care of with my surgery in December (we are counting down the days). I am finally almost back to normal! My mom just put a package in the mail for Dr. Ducic and his team containing a nutroll (an amazing Serbian dessert) and a card. After my first surgery, she vowed to send him one if he cured me. In retrospect, I’m glad that I went through all of this. When my life started to be taken over by the side effects from my medications, I began researching the medications themselves and wondering what really made them work. I also started looking into a career as a Pharmacist. I am currently interning at a local pharmacy for school credit and I love it! I can’t wait to start college in the fall. My decision letters from all of the colleges I applied to should be arriving in December. The realization that all of this is coming to a close is very exciting, but it also makes me think about all the people who haven’t found relief yet. Hopefully this website, and others like it, will help others who suffer from chronic headaches find a cure. Thank you to everyone who has read my story. Keep telling your friends about it! The goal is to help as many people as possible find relief!
Dayna