It's not just a headache. Not even close.
In this episode, Jess is joined by Ellie Fitzgerald, The
Cyclist's most regular guest and, as it turns out, a fellow
migraine sufferer, for a conversation that is equal parts
validating, practical, and genuinely funny. If you've ever had
someone tell you to just have a Panadol and drink some water,
this one's for you.
Ellie takes us right back to her very first migraine at nine
years old, Easter weekend, a backseat full of chocolate, and
three days bedridden. From there, migraines became a constant
presence in her life through primary school, intermediate, and
beyond. Two or three days a week at her worst. Vision loss so
complete she couldn't see the paintings on the wall in her
classroom. A 40-minute aura that gives her just enough warning
before the headache, the nausea, and the numbness down her left
side set in. At 35, she's still navigating them.
Jess shares her own experience, three years of chronic tension
headaches so severe she couldn't see properly, a visit to the
headache clinic, and the medications she's tried along the way.
They compare notes honestly, including what works, what doesn't,
and what they wish people around them understood.
This episode covers the full picture of what living with
migraines actually looks like, the aura, the attack, and the
migraine hangover that sometimes hits harder than the migraine
itself. The triggers that are impossible to fully pin down. The
jobs affected, the opportunities missed, the wedding day fear
that it would all fall apart. The moment Ellie's boss wouldn't
let her go home while she was vomiting behind the shop counter,
because her boss had never experienced a migraine and just
thought she had a headache.
They build a practical migraine toolkit together, what Ellie
always keeps in her handbag and what's always waiting at home,
including the eye mask, the full sugar Coke, the salty fries, the
peppermint roller, sunglasses, earplugs, and electrolytes. They
also talk about Cadence Head Ease, the riboflavin-based
supplement Jess and Kat developed for exactly this community,
which Ellie has been on for three months and credits with
reducing the severity of her attacks.
This is a short episode, intentionally so, because Jess wants you
to send it to someone. A partner, a friend, a boss, anyone who
has ever minimised what you go through. Because understanding is
the thing that makes it easier to live with.
Find Ellie on Instagram @ellie__haines
Find Cadence Head Ease:
https://www.cadencewellbeing.com/products/headease
Follow and connect
Instagram: @wearethecyclist
Website: wearethecyclist.com
Hit play. And send it to someone who needs to hear this.
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