Lena’s quest for healing: chronic migraines

Chronic Migraine:  Lena's Quest for Healing

Migraine disease has taken over Lena's life. What was once a fairly manageable anomaly has become unimaginable daily pain.  Social events, taking a walk, having company, talking on the phone, helping friends—all erased from her life due to chronic migraine.

Lena is ultimately seeking a highly optimistic Ayurvedic treatment in India. She has been working with an Ayurvedic doctor in the U.S. but since this treatment is not covered by her health insurance, she has determined that traveling to India for treatment is the most cost effective solution.  As a close friend of Lena’s, I have turned to crowd-funding for journey for healing.

A 30-40 day stay in an Ayurvedic clinic will cost $4500 - $6000, depending on complexity of treatment and length of stay.  This includes daily in-patient treatment, herbs, lodging, and meals for her entire stay.  Comparable treatment in the United States would cost more than 10 times that amount. 

Lena has exhausted all sick leave, intermittent family medical leave (FMLA), and short-term disability leave.  And (coincidentally?) she's been laid off as of the end of September.  Now without a job and suffering a debilitating illness, our very dear friend and optimistic, courageous Lena continues her quest for healing and hope that her life can be lived again.

To all friends, family, colleagues and strangers alike, please consider supporting Lena on her everlasting, hopeful journey to healing and wellness.

With sincerest gratitude,  


Mandy

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Following is more information on Lena's history and current situation, chronic migraine, and Ayurvedic treatments.

What is Chronic Migraine?  



By definition, chronic migraine means 15 or more days a month of migraine pain and accompanying disability.

Chronic migraine means living in fear every single day that a sledge hammer is sneaking up on you.



Even the in-between days are severely affected.    






Feel free to visit Lena’s Pinterest Migraine Page to see more memes, gif, art and quotes that can help explain the many facets of Migraine Disease. 

https://www.pinterest.com/lenanda/migraine/



Lena's Migraine History: 

Migraine attacks have always been a part of Lena's life, as an occasional episode of a day or so.

In November 2016, Lena began experiencing multiple migraine attacks per month.  The number and severity continued to increase and by December 2018 had become completely disabling.  
 
Her neurologist placed her on short-term disability for 2 months of rest.  Her sweet, loving, but worried  mother came across the country and stayed with Lena from Dec 2018 to mid-March2019, to assist her daughter to convalesce.  

Just five months after having to take short term leave, Lena was laid off by her employer of 11 years. 

Frustrated and in chronic agony, Lena is at a crossroads with regards to her health.  She is hoping to find a path back to the long and wonderful list of simple things she once enjoyed, simply living her life in the company of friends.

What Lena has already tried by way of treatments:

The most asked question from friends, family and colleagues is: HAVE YOU TRIED …..? Chances are the answer is YES (andthank you all for wanting to help)!  

So far she has tried conventional treatments and experimented in  natural healing modalities and so much more:

• Consultations at Tufts, Brigham and Women's, Mass General, other renowned hospitals
• Dozens of prescriptions, supplements, eating regimens
• Chiropractic, yoga, acupuncture, Reiki
• Clinical Trials, the new FDA 2019 approved miracle CGRPdrug,
• Steroid injections
• Botox
• Sleep studies, massage, craniosacral therapy, meditation and rest…to name a few.
 
In Lena’s words, each treatment supplies some amount of help, but she’s “still feeling trapped in a body I don’t understand anymore.”

About Ayurvedic medicine:

Ayurveda is the traditional Hindu system of medicine, which is based on the idea of balance in bodily systems and uses diet, herbal treatment, and yogic breathing.  The word "ayurveda" is Sanskrit: आयुर्वेद, Āyurveda, meaning knowledge of life and longevity.  For further information on Ayurvedic Medicine, please refer to the below Johns Hopkins article: 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ayurveda

 The Clinic:

 https://sites.google.com/view/drrajuayurvedic/the-raju-family