I got told to "do more yoga" after waiting 1 year to see a specialist on the NHS

155 migraines into the year, and it’s 7th November 2022. Half of my year I’ve spent with a migraine, and the other half I’ve spent recovering. Today, after waiting for almost a year on an ever-growing NHS waiting list, I’m finally going to see a neurologist.

I was referred to Neurology in December last year, and after more than 155 migraines, I finally have my appointment. In the meantime, I’ve been put on 5 different types of medications throughout the year that “accidentally” have the potential to help people with migraine: antidepressants, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers, all with their own side effects. Low mood, depression, fatigue, weight gain. Oh, and headaches. These medications also happen to be relatively cheap.

But today is the day that I have my shot at getting access to the good stuff, the treatments that tend to be more expensive, but also more effective: botox for migraine, and CGRP monoclonal antibody injections. These can only be prescribed by a neurologist. I go into my phone appointment armed with all the facts I’ve collected from 1.5 years of documenting every migraine. On paper, I qualify for the expensive treatment- more than 15 migraine days a month and failed 3 or more preventative treatments.

The neurologist starts the call by asking, in an annoyed tone, why I’ve been referred to this clinic, rather than one slightly closer to my home address. I picked this clinic because it is a specialist headache clinic with the shortest waiting time (or so I thought), so it sounded like a no-brainer. She kept interrupting me when I spoke about my experience and the medications I had been on, and my heart started to drop. She suggested I stay on my current medication or go back to one I’d already tried.

She asked me about my weight, which was strange; weight gain can be a symptom of chronic illness rather than a cause. She suggested that I should manage my condition with “lifestyle changes”. Okay, well I don’t smoke, stopped drinking, gave up caffeine, eat regular meals, and I am vegan so all I eat is vegetables. I told her how I try and walk 3-4 miles a day, but she said I need “proper exercise”. I burst into tears. How am I supposed to do intensive exercise every day when I often can’t even cook for myself, or sometimes even open my eyes and move around when I have a migraine? My migraine attacks make me feel nauseous, with a pulsing pain around one eye, and sensitive to light, sound, and movements. And when I don’t have a migraine, I’m recovering from one.

She also said I should do more yoga and stop eating carbohydrates. Really?! Am I talking to a neurologist or an Instagram influencer?! There are no reputable sources that support completely removing carbohydrates from your diet to help chronic migraine, and the long-term effects of this type of diet are not well understood. I can’t believe I’ve waited a year for this! When I was crying in pain for months on end, the thought of eventually getting this appointment is what kept me going. Oh, and also, apparently over-the-counter painkillers, like ibuprofen and aspirin, can help with migraines- who would have known?!

I feel this is a symptom of a bigger problem. The NHS being underfunded is a core contributor to why healthcare professionals may deny patients expensive healthcare. In this individualistic conservative society, it is expected that you’ll just have to solve your problems on your own. I am not the only disabled person to be told to do yoga or to try a fad diet; this puts the blame on the individual, suggesting that I should just be able to overcome my illness if I try hard enough. The truth is, I just need access to external support and healthcare.