Health and (un)Wellness

What does it mean to thrive with a health condition like migraine? This tangled web of accepting, surviving, and thriving is the topic of choice for this very last episode of Health & (un)Wellness’ first season, Mighty With Migraine. Kat and Skye explore their complicated feelings about thriving (they aren’t there! and that’s OK!), share what they’re most proud of accomplishing despite both of...

True or false: Empathy and compassion are muscles that can be strengthened. In this episode, Kat and Skye share their thoughts on this topic and some other dos and don’ts when it comes to supporting someone with migraine. (Hint: We don’t want you to fix us, we just want you to sit with us in our discomfort.) Kat gets emotional on the mic about her family’s adoption of spoon theory over the years,...

Advocacy doesn’t have a singular look — it can be quiet or loud; it can happen in your homes or on Capitol Hill. In this can’t-miss conversation, Kat and Skye have the honor of speaking with Morgan Fitzgerald, a migraine advocate, neuroscience Ph. D. student, and creator of the Life With Migraine community. Morgan shares her migraine journey — a tale of both hope and recovery — and how she stumble...

Sharing is caring — especially with chronic illness — and in this week’s episode, Skye and Kat trade tips, tricks, hacks, and tools with three of their Mighty colleagues who also live with migraine: Alexandria, Anjana, and Jess. They share what works (and what doesn’t) for managing their symptoms and do a little reflection on what they wish they would’ve known a little earlier in their migraine jo...

Go ahead and press pause on your FOMO. For anyone who struggles to socialize or keep plans, this episode is for you. Kat and Skye get real about how migraine affects their friendships, share tips for navigating holidays, and warm their hands by the absolute dumpster fire that is canceling plans when you live with an invisible chronic illness. Head to The Mighty for a transcript of the episode and...

In this week’s venting-sesh-turned-productive conversation, Kat and Skye are joined by headache specialist and executive committee member of the International Headache Society Global Patient Advocacy Coalition (IHS-GPAC), Olivia Begasse de Dhaem MD, FAHS. Together, they discuss why people with migraine struggle to succeed in the workplace (spoiler alert: it’s not them), how others can support them...

Be it depression, anxiety, PTSD, or another comorbid mental illness — we cannot talk about migraine without discussing mental health. In this episode, Kat and Skye set down their humor in exchange for vulnerability. They share their personal experiences with chronic pain, anxiety, and depression; and how grief, fear, and isolation factor into the equation. Come for the realness, stay for the glimm...

Ready for a rant about the outdated 0-10 pain scale? There will never be enough time to fully demystify the stigma surrounding migraine, but Kat and Skye sure give it the college try! In this episode, they’re joined by Amy Wickstrom, Executive Director of the American Migraine Foundation, and Dr. Christine Lay, Chair of the American Migraine Foundation, and a neurologist and headache specialist wh...

Ah migraine, the most annoying third wheel of all time. It’s a universal truth that migraine affects our relationships in ways both good and bad. In this episode, Kat and Skye get honest about dating — just wait until you hear about Skye’s experiment with dating apps — as well as their connections with family and friends. If you sometimes (read: always) feel like a burden to the people you care ab...

Migraine diagnosis? Check. Next up? Navigating that “little thing” we call treatment. On this episode, Kat and Skye are joined by neurologist Juliana H. VanderPluym MD FRCPC, who specializes in headache medicine (and also lives with migraine!). Together, the trio travel the educational road of treating migraine by exploring the differences between acute and preventive medications, as well as bridg...

The foundational building block of living with migraine starts with a diagnosis (our insurance companies tell us they need it?). In this episode, Kat and Skye share their own migraine diagnosis stories, discuss the differences between neurologists and headache specialists, when it might be time to seek out professional help, and share a few starter Qs for your first (or tenth) appointment. Head to...

The inaugural season of Health & (un)Wellness — Mighty With Migraine — kicks off with this well-rounded primer on the common yet disabling neurological disease. Meet hosts Kat and Skye as they explore some foundational migraine vocab and rant about barometric pressure changes. Come for the brain-bending info, stay for the laughs! Head to The Mighty for a transcript of the episode and to read r...

Welcome to Health and (un)Wellness — a podcast brought to you by The Mighty, where we put the human back in health. For our first season, Mighty With Migraine, join hosts Kat and Skye — who have over 33 years of lived migraine experience between them — as they lead you through 12 relatable, educational, (and sometimes self-deprecating) conversations. From brutal misconceptions to accessibility in...