Naomi's fight: endo and migraine
One chronic illness is hard enough, let alone two.
Our friend Naomi is a WARRIOR. We connected in 2023 after seeing her story online — she was right in the thick of battling an ongoing migraine that completely debilitated her.
Forget thinking a hangover headache is rough. Dealing with chronic migraine is 10 times worse. For some, it’s an ongoing daily battle that affects vision, sensitivity to light and sound, balance, nausea + a ton more. It’s completely life-altering.
On top of this, Naomi also deals with endometriosis, which has been equally as tough. She’s spent most of her life looking for answers and being set back by soooo many hurdles.
Over the last year, her story has evolved so much. We’re gonna let Naomi take the floor (in her words) to tell us her original story from Jan 2024 vs. the update she gave us recently.
January 2024
Growing up in a family of people who were chronically ill, I always thought my symptoms and experiences were just normal. I can remember the exact day my chronic migraine started. I woke up with one, similar to ones I had had sporadically throughout my childhood. But after this one passed, another came on. And then another, and then another.
I knew what was happening because my mother has chronic migraines as well. Growing up watching her be completely debilitated made this transition so much scarier for me. Soon, I was having migraine attacks daily. I was lucky to already have a lot of knowledge about the treatment and management, so I was able to start seeing a neurologist fairly quickly.
It’s been about 2.5 years since becoming disabled from chronic migraines. It’s been a rough ride but I’ve finally started to come to terms with it and have built acceptance.
During my flares, there’s not much I can do besides being in a dark quiet room and rest. I can also become very agitated, sometimes quite snappy, and just super emotional overall. Emotionally regulating when you’re in so much pain is very difficult. It really creates a loss of identity in yourself because it strips you from being able to go out and express yourself in ways you usually would. This can then cause a lot of insecurity which can often affect your relationships, too.
My best advice for anyone experiencing migraines or another invisible illness is to trust and know that what you’re feeling and going through is real. I can promise you that whatever you’re thinking or feeling, there’s thousands of people who feel the same way and understand. This too shall pass and you will have good days again.
November 2024
When we last spoke I had been receiving treatment for both conditions with not much improvement. I started sharing my journey online around the same time as my diagnosis. I’ve fallen in love with this community.
Since we last spoke, I flew to Sydney to receive specialist surgery where I was diagnosed with stage 4 endo. Since then, I’ve had major improvements in my daily pain and symptoms. I have been receiving new treatment for migraine which has been really helpful. And I’ve also recently seen a geneticist and cardiologist to investigate some of my unexplained symptoms, and to my surprise we are now looking at a hyper mobile ehlers danlos syndrome and dysautonomia diagnosis. This has been a massive revelation and has truly explained so many of my symptoms and struggles.
Connecting with the chronically ill and disabled community online has put me in touch with some amazing specialists and knowledge I didn’t have before. Through talking to people in a similar position to me, I’ve learnt how to advocate for myself better.
Trust your instincts and follow your gut. I went through multiple instances of medical gaslighting and misdiagnosis, and the best thing I did was trust my gut and learn how to advocate for myself. It’s a lot easier said than done, but you know yourself best and you will absolutely reap the benefits when you can lean into that. Keep pushing! It will get better.
Naomi’s Yours Only routine
We wish we could wave a magic wand and rid Naomi of all of her conditions. Of course Yours Only skincare can’t, but Naomi still loves using the range on her dry skin. See her faves below.
I use CLEAN Cleanser almost everyday in the shower. I wash my face, body and hair with it and I LOVE it. As someone who has really dry skin and scalp, I find it leaves me feeling clean without stripping my skin. I don’t leave the shower with tight and dry skin like I normally would.
I follow this up with COAT Moisturiser. I love the way it soaks into my skin without being left sticky and I haven’t had any issues with my dry, flaky skin since using it. Game changer.
Our friends (left to right) Naomi, Ebonie and Bella
So grateful we’ve met this incredible human. She came to our VIP community event in November, where she got to be one of the first people to find out that we’ve launched in 300+ Priceline stores across Australia.
Got a health story like Naomi that you’d be keen to share with us? We are all ears. We share a story every week on socials from our community, to help raise awareness so others know they aren’t alone.
Join the Yours Only community and share with us here.
