Don’t live in fear of the next migraine. With today’s breakthrough treatments, there’s every reason to believe you can finally put a stop to the headaches — for good!

After struggling with infertility difficulties for three years, Johnene H. and her husband were beyond thrilled when she finally wound up pregnant with their first daughter.

“We had no luck after four rounds of IVF, and went on a brief vacation to take a break from everything and — poof! — wouldn’t you know it, we wound up making it happen the old-fashioned way!” Johnene laughs. And while Baby Julie was a happy surprise — the increasingly frequent and severe headaches Johnene experienced over the course of her pregnancy were not.

Johnene assumed the headaches — as well as the nausea, sensitivity to smells and light and occasional dizziness — were all due to the pregnancy, but when they continued through the second and third trimester, and then worsened even after Julie was born, she knew they must be something more and visited her family doctor.

“I honestly was worried I had a brain tumor!” Johnene remembers. “Luckily I had been keeping track of my symptoms in my pregnancy journal, so I was able to present them to my doctor all at once. She calmed my cancer fears and said she suspected migraines were the culprit. She recommended a headache specialist who confirmed it, and prescribed me triptans.”

For years — and through the birth of son, Noah — the triptans helped keep her migraines under control. But as she approached 40, suddenly she realized she was taking the medication twice a week or more.

“My neurologist explained that in some people migraine is a progressive condition. He suggested I try one of the new preventive treatments, which had pretty good results in some of his patients.”

Johnene received her first dose of the injectable treatment in the office that day, and was shown how to give subsequent injections at home.

“I was nervous to use a needle at first, but it was easy — and had an immediate effect. I was down to one migraine a week after the first dose!”

With her newfound freedom from migraine, Johnene has decided to go back to school to study nursing.

“The kids are grown, and I’ve had so many medical professionals come in and out of my life — from the fertility treatments to my migraines—that I wanted to give back and extend that same care to someone else. And now that my migraines are under control, I can!”