“To my colleagues, I am known for my focus and dedication to work. However, few people know that I have been suffering from migraine for more than 20 years.”

Gao Lei recalls the very first time she was attacked by a headache. It was during her senior year of high school.

“During the intense preparation for the college en-trance exams, I suddenly felt dizzy, as if the world was spinning, and it was accompanied by a particu-larly severe headache. At that time, I thought it was just due to the stress and fatigue from studying. After lying in bed for about 1 or 2 hours, the symp-toms gradually eased, so I didn't think much of it.”

Later, as a medical student, Gao Leis studies were extremely demanding, with numerous exams to pre-pare for. The headaches continued to plague her, causing immense suffering during her graduate studies and later, when she started her career and settled down with a family.

Many people attribute headaches to excessive stress or fatigue, leading to delayed treatment.

“After enduring nearly a decade of torment and gain-ing access to professional knowledge through my medical studies, I was finally diagnosed with mi-graine in a specialized hospital.”

After being diagnosed with migraine, Gao Lei explored various treatment options and tried differ-ent painkillers, but the results were less than satis-factory.

Her coping mechanism became a mix of painkillers and a quiet space to alleviate the pain. This reliance on painkillers continued for another 10 years.

Two years ago, Gao Lei learned about a clinical trial of a monoclonal antibody medication for migraine and applied to join. It is a migraine preventive treat-ment that is injected, and she underwent this treat-ment for about 9 months with very good outcomes. Previously, she had frequent headache attacks and she often needed to use painkillers for more than 10 days each month. After the treatment, she had no significant attacks except for 4 or 5 days before and after her menstrual period.

The unbearable headaches were gone.

“In the past, painkillers were my life-saving medica-tion. Now, after preventive treatment, my migraine symptoms have been greatly relieved, and I have gradually resumed normal work and life. I hope that those who suffer from migraine like me acknowledge and face the disease, and believe that with improved diagnosis and treatment, we can bet-ter live our lives.”