Humans Of Core Clapton: Lina's Story
It’s now been 9 years since I’ve been living with chronic migraines… living in pain can’t be understood unless you experience it. It changed my personality and my whole life. Once optimistic and full of life, I turned sad, scared and frustrated because no matter what I’d try, I was in pain. And it was hard not to think that this is now going to be the norm for the rest of my life…
Imagine for a moment: a pain so bad that it causes you to be bed bound in a dark room for days, a pain that centres in the head but also travels with burning sensations to the back and shoulders. Imagine the fear of leaving the house as you don’t know when you could be suddenly struck with a new migraine attack. The uncertainty of not knowing what could be the trigger, so to prevent it… is it loud music, intense lights, stress or something I’ve eaten?
I believe my migraines started as a reaction to the environment I was working in. I wasn’t suited for working in an investment bank. Originally from a polish countryside town where everybody knew and helped each other, I found that working in the corporate structure left very little personal freedom. Highly stressed, target-driven and fast-paced - that was my daily routine. Not so different from the workplace of many others, but I believe my particular situation was especially hard.
The truth is that my managers were bullies and I was harassed based on my nationality and gender. But being an ambitious person, I wanted to figure out a way to make my workplace a positive environment, suited to mine and everyone’s needs. I tried and tried and eventually paid with my own physical and mental health. I feel that my headaches had a lot to do with the fact that my concerns weren’t heard. My head was working overtime, it’s quite symbolic of the situation. I finally left 4 years later, completely exhausted and imbalanced, but the headaches remained with me…
Throughout the years I visited neurologists, pain management consultants, physiotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists. I took plenty of medications to the point of receiving steroid injections in the back of my head. But nothing ever really lasted… I was totally helpless and that’s when I came to visit Core Clapton.
After all I’ve been through, I really was quite sceptical at first - I didn’t really understand what osteopathy was. I thought the only way to release the pain was to go as deep as I could into the centre of it - stimulate it as much as possible, a ‘no pain no gain’ kind of thing. But with Ruby’s osteopathic treatment the movements are so gentle that in the beginning I didn’t think anything would change. The following morning I woke up and for the first time for the whole day I wasn’t in pain. So I thought ‘ok, it is probably a fluke’. In between treatments, however, I kept being free of pain, to a point I now feel confident I will be able to manage without regular treatment soon. I still have an occasional headache but it doesn’t last all day and I don’t have to take any medication. I know that when I wake up the odds are I will be pain free - it’s an incredible joy.
I feel back to my old self: creative and energised, and I want to continue to engage with the world from a pain free state of mind. What is incredible, is that Core Clapton is a community based charity. Privately, osteopathy can be quite expensive and Core Clapton offered me an opportunity to access affordable treatment. This treatment has been miraculous for me, I could not recommend it more.
