My name is Rachel Morgan. I'm 41 years old and live in Austin, Texas, with my husband and two kids.
Four years ago, I had a stable career in HR, a busy home life, and enough energy left over for dinners out and weekends away.
But migraines slowly erased all of that.
They started as rare once every couple of months.
Then once a week.
Then multiple times a week, until it felt like half my month was lost to pain.
Every time, it followed the same cruel pattern:
A strange flicker in my vision…
The tight grip around my forehead…
Then the stabbing pain behind my right eye.
And soon after nausea, dizziness, sound sensitivity, light sensitivity.
I'd shut myself in my bedroom.
Blackout curtains. Ice pack. Total silence.
Praying that sleep would come before the worst of it hit.
My 8-year-old daughter stopped inviting me to her soccer games. She knew I’d probably have to leave halfway through. Or not show up at all.
At work, I used up all my PTO.
I had to cut back my hours.
I was terrified I’d lose my job entirely.
Meanwhile, the medical bills piled up.
Over those four years, I spent around $28,500 trying to find relief:
💸 MRI scans, CTs, blood work: $3,200
💊 Prescription medications: $7,800
🧪 Neurologist and specialist visits: $6,400
💉 Botox every 12 weeks: $4,200
🌿 Supplements, acupuncture, diet trials: $3,900
🧬 CGRP meds: $3,000+
Some meds gave me brain fog. Others made me gain 20 pounds.
Botox didn’t help at all. CGRPs worked for two months then stopped.
I tried hormonal therapy, CBD oil, magnesium.
I cut out gluten. I tracked triggers. I journaled. I meditated.
Still the migraines came.
Until finally, after my third ER visit in six months, my neurologist said:
“Rachel… to be honest, I’m not sure what else to try.”
That night, I sat in the car in the clinic parking lot, and cried until I couldn’t breathe.
Not from pain.
But from hopelessness.
Because after 14 medications, years of lifestyle changes, and nearly $30,000 spent…
I still had no answers.