Erika Penzer Kerekes has had migraines for more than 30 years. When she has one, the throbbing pain in her head can make it impossible to do her job. She's a communications manager for a nonprofit in Los Angeles. "I'm usually able to abort the headache soon after I feel it coming on by taking medication and having a cup of coffee. But there have been times when I've had to shut the door to my office, turn off the lights, wrap ice packs around my head, and stretch out on the floor with my feet up the wall until it passes," she says.
Migraines can be made worse by stress, exhaustion, bright lights, and noise. That can make the job a tough place to be. More than 90% of people with migraines are unable to work while they're having one. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, Americans lose 13 million workdays each year because of migraines.
Kerekes says her boss knows her situation and is accommodating. Plus she says her company has a generous sick-leave policy. But not everyone feels so free to talk about having migraines.
Can you be honest about your migraines? Is it really OK to miss work for a headache?
To Tell or Not to Tell
The decision to share the information with your supervisor depends on your situation. Many people prefer not to discuss it. Instead, they just try to power through the day. But if your migraines are severe and happen often enough that you need accommodations, it's best to be upfront, says Merle Diamond, MD, president of a headache clinic in Chicago. "Tell your boss you have a medical condition and are working with a health-care provider to manage them as best you can," she says. In many cases, it may be better for your boss to know the truth than to draw her own conclusions about why you're wearing sunglasses in the office or coming in late.
"There is a lot more info out there about migraines today. And people are getting better care at work," Diamond says. But it wasn't always like that. "Migraine used to have a real stigma. People would say, 'Oh, you just can't cope, you can't handle the stress of the job,'" says Diamond. She points out that migraines are a condition that deserve the same support and empathy as other debilitating conditions.
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