ROBIN ROBERTS:

Living with recurring migraines

means so much more than dealing

with the pain of just

a headache.

In fact, migraines can alter

virtually every aspect

of a person's life,

including the most mundane

daily functions many of us

take for granted.

Here now is one woman's

dramatic story

of her invisible disease

and how she finds hope.

It's in our series

In Their Own Words,

Moving Beyond Migraine.

JENNIFER VINO: Anywhere I go,

I'm always on edge, anticipating

a migraine, and what if it

happens.

Always thinking for the worst

case scenario.

ROBIN ROBERTS: Jennifer Vino

is a public school administrator

who has lived

with intense recurring migraines

for more than 20 years.

JENNIFER VINO: I usually feel

pain in the ear, kind

of a tenseness in the neck.

And then in the head,

usually just around that eye

socket, the temple area,

a full throbbing, sort

of vice-like sensation,

as well as

stabbing-- a stabbing pain.

ROBIN ROBERTS: For Jennifer,

most mornings start

with a headache

and replacing

the previous night's icepack

with a fresh one.

JENNIFER VINO: Every morning, I

wake up, right away go

downstairs, put my ice pack

on my head.

I seem to always have some type

of ache.

I have to be careful of not

saying oh, this is just

a headache

and not paying attention.

DR. MICHAEL SMITH: Migraine is

a series of biochemical changes

in your brain.

It's a neurological condition.

It's not just a headache.

Headache is only one symptom.

You can have

visual disturbances.

JENNIFER VINO: The aura

I can maybe ignore and get

through.

DR. MICHAEL SMITH:

The sensitivity to light,

nausea.

JENNIFER VINO: It's when

the wave of nausea hits.

It just becomes this almost

like a shock

throughout the whole body.

DR. MICHAEL SMITH: They can last

for days on end and recur

multiple times a month.

JENNIFER VINO: So I keep

my extra injections, my needles,

in here.

ROBIN ROBERTS: To treat

her migraine, Jennifer has tried

almost every prescription

and treatment available.

JENNIFER VINO: Beta blockers,

anti-seizure medications,

antidepressants.

I tried Botox.

In the back of your head,

there's almost a clawlike set

of muscles.

And so I will get injections

in that claw area

and also across the eye socket.

And nothing has really seemed

to work consistently

over a long period of time.

ROBIN ROBERTS: And it's not just

meds.

Jennifer wears specialized

glasses to block

painful fluorescent light.

She keeps the overhead lights

off when working in her office,

and sunglasses are a must, even

when it's cloudy.

JENNIFER VINO: If I don't wear

sunglasses outside, even

on a rainy day,

I could be pushing myself

a little too far.

ROBIN ROBERTS: But even with all

the proactive steps she takes--

JENNIFER VINO: I've been

bookmarking stuff

for fourth grade

and third grade on Connecticut

and US regions.

ROBIN ROBERTS: --living

with migraine

can still be a gamble.

JENNIFER VINO:

Being an administrator,

I am constantly running around.

SPEAKER: What did we notice?

Because there were

some great discussions

I heard going on

with your partners.

JENNIFER VINO: I'm in meetings.

I'm having conferences.

And it's a lot.

On a not so good day,

there is that feeling of relief

as soon as I can get out

of the building

and be secluded in my car.

And there's times where I've

driven home crying, just

because it is that relief.

I feel like I can go mind

over matter

for a good part of the day,

but once I let myself feel

the pain, it just does become

consuming.

SPEAKER 2: They've asked me,

well, is she really that sick,

or does she just not want

to come?

ROBIN ROBERTS:

Like many migraineurs,

Jennifer often struggles to make

and keep plans because

of the unpredictability

of her migraine.

JENNIFER VINO: Certainly, I have

great friends who know

at the last minute I might call

and just cancel on them.

It's almost like the migraine

becomes a child of its own

that I have to take care of.

ROBIN ROBERTS:

Even after a full day

of adjusting her life

for her migraine, Jennifer even

needs to protect against them

when she's asleep.

Before bed, she uses the Cefaly

device, which delivers

electronic pulses to the nerves

around her eyes and forehead.

JENNIFER VINO: It's definitely

helped with the severity

of my daily headaches,

and I find that it can take

the edge off, which has been

great.

ROBIN ROBERTS: In the morning,

the 24-hour cycle of guarding

against migraine

will start all over again.

JENNIFER VINO: People will say,

wow, I'd never know.

You're always smiling.

How do you do it?

TRACY STOCKWELL: Knowing

that it's such a big part

of her life, the fact that she

is functioning on a very high

level with that pain

as a backdrop

is just astounding to me.

ROBIN ROBERTS: And Jennifer

is determined not to let

her migraine win.

JENNIFER VINO: When they are

a daily part of your life,

you have a choice to either try

and work through it,

or you succumb.

And if I did that, I would have

a really miserable life.

ROBIN ROBERTS: Are migraines

impacting your life?

You can go to webMD.com/migraine

to assess your approach

to managing them.

You are going to get

personal life strategies

for living better that you can

discuss with your doctor.