By: Olivia McCown –

Being a student is hard. Teenagers have to keep up with homework while balancing a social life and extracurriculars. Consider how much harder it would be if, in the middle of the school day, the lights and sounds seem to be blaring in your head. Your brain is throbbing, the world is spinning around you, and you feel like you’re going to be sick. When you mention your pain to your classmates, they dismiss it as “just a headache.” Forced to go home because of the pain, you come back to class having missed so much that you have no idea what is going on anymore. This is the world of Elyse Plock, a freshman at Southeast.

In the United States, over 38 million people are affected by migraines. Nearly one in every four households include someone with frequent migraines. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, it is the sixth most disabling illness in the world. But for Plock, none of this information is new. Plock has had frequent migraines ever since she was in fifth grade.

“It was kind of a progressive thing,” said Plock. “I started getting headaches and they started getting a lot worse, to the point where I was missing a lot of school, and having to go to doctors all the time.”

Having migraines causes Plock’s lifestyle to be different than the average high schooler.

“I miss a lot of school, so my grades aren’t the best. I can’t go out a lot because I have makeup work or my head will be hurting so I can’t go anywhere.”

Migraines are quite different than headaches and far more severe. But not everyone understands that.

“Everyone dismissed it in a way, because they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s just a headache,’ but they didn’t realize there is actually a big difference,” said Plock. “It bothers me a little bit because there is a big difference. But I learned how to deal with that and advocate for myself.”

Migraines cause more than just throbbing head pain. They can also cause visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, numbness, and sensitivity to light and sound.

Plock has tried several methods to try to remedy her condition, but with little success.

“First I went to my doctor, and they referred me to a chiropractor and a neurologist,” said Plock. “The chiropractor didn’t really help, and the neurologist has prescribed quite a few different medications and I’ve been on and off different ones, different trials and stuff, but nothing seems to work.”

Despite four MRI’s and countless tests, doctors still can’t find the root of her problems. Some common causes of migraines are allergies and genetics, but there are many other possible factors.

“My doctors said it would go away around high school,” said Plock. “[But] as I started getting older, it has actually gotten worse, so they don’t really know.”

According to The Migraine Research Foundation, although 25% of sufferers would benefit from preventive treatment, only 12% of all sufferers receive it.

Plock doesn’t merely suffer from headaches. It is harder and more serious than that.

“There is a difference,” said Plock. “People just need to understand that.”