|
 Sarah Hackley wishes she could say that. The Austin-based writer and
editor suffers from headaches so severe, "it feels like someone is
jamming an ice pick into my temple while dropping an anvil on my
head."
Nowadays, she gets attacks at least twice a week, sometimes daily.
But twice in her life time, the 31-year-old mom of two has
experienced migraines that lasted for an astonishing two years.
Migraines may not exert just physical pain or emotional duress. They
could hurt the pocketbook, too, and blow up the most careful
financial planning.
Hackley quit her job, working part-time from home, and has spent
many thousands of dollars visiting specialists around the country.
She isn't saving much for retirement.
"Migraines are a huge deal for your finances, because they influence
what you can do," says Hackley, author of "Finding Happiness with
Migraines."
Saving is already hard for most Americans. Throw in a debilitating
condition that can leave you bedridden, wracked by pain, sensitive
to light, noise or smells, and unable to work. How will your bank
account fare then?
"Part of the suffering is that migraines take such a huge hit on
people's lives and finances," says Carolyn Bernstein, clinical
director of the Comprehensive Headache Center at Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center in Brookline, Massachusetts.
"You are unable to go to work, you are using up all your vacation
time, and you are prevented from being able to advance in your
career," Bernstein says.
COSTS TO WALLET, LIFE
These recurring headaches torture a surprising number of people -
about 36 million Americans, or 10 percent of the population,
according to the New York City-based nonprofit Migraine Research
Foundation.
Each year, that translates to 113 million lost work days, a cost to
employers of $13 billion, and $50 billion in annual healthcare
services.
Migraines can torpedo finances at multiple stages of your career.
They can affect your education, by encouraging sufferers to drop
out; your prime earning years, by hampering productivity and
promotions; and your golden years, with the pain pushing you into
early retirement.
"When migraines are out of control, they can set people up for a
lifetime of underachievement," says Dr. Richard Lipton, vice-chair
of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the
Bronx, New York.
Part of the challenge is that migraines are mysterious and
individual in nature.
Still, there are a few key strategies migraine sufferers can use to
minimize the financial hit.
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DON'T SUFFER IN SILENCE
"See a doctor and get treatment right away," advises Lipton.
A tailored personal strategy might include taking preventive
medication on a daily basis, avoiding triggers that could range from
missing meals to getting irregular sleep or drinking alcohol, and
having additional medication on hand for when the migraines hit.
To control ongoing healthcare costs, consider medical savings
accounts. You will be forking out for everything from deductibles to
co-pays to out-of-network services, and you should at least be using
pretax money to cover all that, saving you on the order of 30
percent.
Bernstein provides this example: If you are on three different
medications to control your migraines, each one with a co-pay
costing $10 a month, that's $360 for the year.
Add in physical therapy 10 times a year, each session with a $25
co-pay, for another $250 annually. Other treatments like acupuncture
could prove effective, but might not be covered by your insurance
plan.
PROTECT YOURSELF
If attacks are causing you to be away from work fairly consistently,
you may be seen by higher-ups as someone who cannot be counted on,
and miss out on plum assignments or promotions. Or worse, be first
in the firing line if there are staff cutbacks.
As a result, "ask your doctor for a letter to give to your Human
Resources department," advises Bernstein. "That way you won't get
penalized for having migraines. Once it's documented, you have some
degree of protection."
As for Sarah Hackley, she is able to work only a few hours a day, or
a migraine is triggered, laying her out for a full week.
But with the help of doctors and fellow sufferers at online
communities like Migraine.com, she can at least manage her money and
her migraines.
"It's an expensive condition, but all the support out there is
invaluable," she says. "You can't put a price on that."
(Editing by Lauren Young and Bernadette Baum)
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