I grew up with a parent with migraines and over the years, I’ve had friends who experience migraines too. It’s always been so mysterious to me because rarely is there one specific trigger. It’s just like one day, a migraine will come on and a person has to stay in a dark room and they can barely walk or do much of anything. Over the years, some migraine-sufferers have found help in various medications. Serena Williams is the face of Ubrelvy and she swears it works on her migraines in a matter of hours. Meanwhile, Khloe Kardashian is the face of Nurtec, another migraine medication. I’m all for women getting paid and all that, but it is curious to me that Big Pharma is getting celebrity endorsements for migraine meds. But whatever, if it helps, it helps. Anyway, Khloe decided to do a little promo on Twitter this week:
Khloé Kardashian is having a hard time keeping her head up. The 37-year-old vented about her ongoing battle with migraines on Twitter Monday after forgetting her medication at home.
“I wish people understood how debilitating migraines can be,” the Good American founder wrote. “I get so frustrated when people tell me to push through and it’s just a bad headache. if only they knew!! That feeling is torturous and indescribable.”
Fans quickly weighed in, with some suggesting she put her phone down because it wouldn’t help her feel any better. Kardashian eventually confirmed that she was feeling better, but was still frustrated.
“I was simply venting because I had to push back a meeting due to my migraine,” she explained, continuing, “when I apologized and explained why I couldn’t make it earlier, everyone sort of rolled their eyes.”
Kardashian’s tweets garnered thousands of replies, many from other people who also struggle with migraines. She responded to several of her followers, sharing that the migraines have affected her time with her 3-year-old daughter, True.
“I feel so badly when I get one especially when they come in between me and my daughter,” Kardashian responded to a tweet. “She’s only three years old so she doesn’t understand that I genuinely cannot lift my head up when I experienced one.”
Surely Khloe needed to name-drop her migraine medication in there? That would have made it a clear social media advertisement: “Ugh, people need to understand that migraines are debilitating, thank God I can go home and take my Nurtec!” Anyway, yes, people who don’t experience migraines do tend to underestimate how rotten they feel and how it’s different than “oh, it’s just a little headache, buck up!” My mom’s migraines have been so bad, she vomits from the pain. People can’t be anywhere with bright light and it hurts to move.
Oh, look, she totally tagged her sponsor.
I feel perfectly fine now. Thank you. I took my medication and I’m good to go. I have something at frustrated with people diminishing someone else’s pain. Thank you @NurtecODT https://t.co/8eUsH7h84V
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) August 9, 2021
I love you guys!!!!! I’m so sorry to all of the migraine sufferers on my timeline! 💜🙏🏽
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) August 9, 2021
Photos courtesy of Khloe’s Instagram.
Awww. Someone should tell her about Botox. Poor girl. Oh.wait….
I used to suffer from migraines…not able to handle light or sound, I would even tie the belt of my robe around my head as tight as I could to alleviate the pain. I eventually went to a headache clinic and got botox injections in my head (yes I said in my head) and have been headache free for 12 years.
Migraines suuuuuuuck. I’ve suffered from them since I was born. Before I was verbal I would scream and scream (and not breath) until I passed out.
They got a bit less frequent as I’ve aged but they’re still terrible when they come, and I’m also much better at avoiding my triggers (food dyes, gluten, too much sun, etc) And! Everyone’s is different. It’s such a wild medical phenomenon.
Truly this. I’ve had migraines since I was 7, and I have mostly grown out of them(now in my thirties) but they were and remain crippling when they occur.
My first/childhood neurologist used to say that generally people discount how debilitating migraines can be. I was really lucky that I had great support- from grade 2 onward my teachers and parents had a migraine protocol they developed for me(everything from turning the lights low in class, to lowering the volume of everything).
I’m not sure about Khole shilling this medication since i don’t trust anything that family shills for but I really like her bringing public awareness to the issue.
I’m not a Kardashian fan, but she’s not wrong about the migraines. I literally go blind in my left eye when I get them. And the days before a migraine are so weird and unsettling.
I sometimes do too, and the first time it happened I was super freaked out because I didn’t know why I couldn’t see out of my left eye for 15 minutes.
My doctor later confirmed it to be an ocular migraine, and said it was like my brain was warning me about what was coming. Now if it happens I take some medication (I’m lucky in that OTC meds still work on my headaches / migraines) and then hope for the best.
I’ve only ever had a few but mine come on with starbursts in my left eye. The first time was really freaky, I had no idea what was going on! Since then I now know to quickly take some ibuprofen and go somewhere dark and quiet and that knocks them out before they get really bad.
I broke my leg a few years ago and it hurt less than an ocular migraine. I swear by Maxalt. I’m usually functional about two hours after taking it.
My migraines cause me to vomit too. I hate them so much.
Question: Can you just buy these products or do you need a prescription from your doctor? Like can celebs just do promo for prescription-only meds in the US?! My migraine medication is pretty strong and only available via prescription.
It’s probably one of those online concierge medical services with a doctor on hand to sign a prescription. Answer a questionnaire, get some meds.
You need a prescription from your doctor. She’s just endorsing what her doctor has found that works for her. She probably contacted the maker and told them she uses it and would be interested in promoting it. Serena does it and there’s an actor who does a diabetic med.
To me, a celebrity endorsement means run the other way. Serious migrained sufferers know that there is a lot of trial and error to find something that works. I cannot imagine going to my doctor and asking for something because a Kardashian told me it works. Even if she’s actually telling the truth, the fact that it works for her is wholly irrelevant.
Nurtec is also new enough, that insurance requires you to try several of the other, older meds, before they’ll prescribe it. I have chronic migraine and Nurtec has been a lifeline when Imitrex doesn’t cut it.
Migraines are HORRIBLE.
But I would never buy a product this woman promotes. Ever. EVER.
Same. I’m glad my migraines can be controlled with Imitrex because if I was offered Nurtec I’d be like no sorry let’s try something else.
Luckily my migraines have calmed down but I still get a headache every damn day.
That’s a little harsh don’t you think? I would agree 100% if she was promoting some weight loss tea or some stuff like that, but a migraine prescription? Just like thyroid and depression medication, finding a migraine medicine that works for you is hit or miss. It could be that she may be promoting it a lot because it works for her and she is thankful for that. If it worked for me, I wouldn’t care if the devil himself promoted it.
Nope. I don’t believe a word that comes out this person’s mouth. I will never watch/buy/use anything they suggest.
@Jamie- let me rephrase mine. Her commercial sets my teeth on edge so badly that I would never go into my doctor and say “hey I’d like to try Nurtec.” The current one with True is okay-ish but her first one was awful and turned me off to the product.
And like I said, my current medicine is working so yay and if it stopped and the doctor did suggest Nurtec then I’m not going to say no I won’t take that because a Kardashian promotes it. I’m saying her promotion is not effective because it makes me want to run away from the product. At least the Ubrelvy commercial is like “I had a migraine and I took Ubrelvy and now I can play tennis.”
Ads for medications in general are just plain unsettling.
I love when they tell you conflicting side effects like could cause constipation or it could cause explosive poop. You need to pick one because it shouldn’t be able to cause both.
not thrilled she touts nurtec, but it really works, and is also a preventative. ignore the human and try the meds.
Yeah me too. I wish everyone understood the pain, but that would mean I wish everyone experienced migraines. I puke. I see floaters coming at me at warp speed as though I were in space. Can’t walk. Can’t lie down. Can’t sit. Can’t move my head. Can’t cry. And those who puke during migraines, how does THAT feel? The pressure from throwing up sends the migraine into uncharted territory. AmIrite?
And then my husband chimes in … Have you had enough water? 😐
MerlinsDad says he sees barcodes in front of his eyes as a warning sign. He’s learned to jump on the Excedrin Migraine immediately and then just go in the bedroom and lay under the fans. We have blackout curtains (I like sleeping in a cold dark room, he usually doesn’t) which helps. Usually he’s good after 2 hours, but if he ignores the signs, it’s awful
My sympathies to anyone suffering from them
Yes. If I can get the pain to move, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Excedrin Migraine doesn’t really do it for me, but if I take that, or anything else, with a couple of packets of BC Powder, within an hour or two the throbbing pain moves and shifts to another location. And in the throws, any movement is welcome lol.
@ MerlinsMom, I use the Excedrin migraine as well. I also keep my bedroom dark, quiet and cold. I also place an ice pack behind my neck and on my forehead. It helps!!
This is so interesting. The pandemic has changed mine so that now my eyes don’t focus, I get brain fog, and they last five days. I use rizatriptan and when that doesn’t work, magnesium spray in my neck and lower skull and peppermint oil on my lip and temples. And weed.
I get migraines, but I still function to the best of my ability. I pretty much use Excedrine, and if I know I’m not doing anything for the next 12 hours, I might use prescription medication. My neurologist says that a lot of migraines are hormonal. This makes sense the closer I get to menopause the worse and more frequent they are. Fun fact: If you are looking to have disability insurance, headaches are disqualifying. So scale back or treat with over the counter medication if you are looking to buy a policy.
Yeah, many people really don’t understand migraines. And even many doctors don’t seem to understand them… I’ve been getting a migraine every week since the pandemic started, I don’t know what my body is doing, but it really sucks. The light sensitivity is especially is so debilitating, you can’t do anything except listen to a podcast or something on low, if you’re lucky, for many hours. It’s really lonely and a bummer to know its a beautiful sunny day outside and you can’t enjoy it…
I’ve had migraines since middle school. I take a daily medication and then an as needed one if I just get one out of the blue that the daily med doesn’t manage. I used to use something called Maxalt that really made me feel loopy, I’d take that when a migraine would ‘come on’, but my doctor switched me to Ubrelvy and that stuff is amazing. It works in less than an hour, doesn’t make me feel weird and has zero side effects. I’d say that Nurtec is very similar to it. Mine are hormonal (but those are rare), food related (which that I can manage), sometimes weather related and stress related. It’s super fun. I really only get them about once every other month, so a box of Ubrelvy lasts quite a while. But a migraine is pretty miserable.
which daily do you take, if i may ask?
My daughter suffered from migraines where she would get auras before (which was a good sign so she could prepare herself) and would end up vomiting during the episodes. I felt so helpless. She had medication that would help her sleep it off which was good. in 2017 she ended up having a seizure while jogging and is now on medication for that but no more migraines. it’s so strange how the body works.
I got a migraine Friday night that caused me to throw up my night time controlled meds. I ended up getting very little sleep and it kicked off a 2 day sickness that was probably me detoxing from the controlled meds which feels like the flu but I had a low grade fever so we couldn’t rule out covid. I got tested on Monday and my husband had to stay home from work Monday and yesterday because we didn’t know if it was covid. Turns out it wasn’t covid but now migraines have just gotten way more complicated due to the pandemic. I couldn’t just take more meds because of how tightly they are controlled and we had no clue how much my body had absorbed before I threw up.
I got a migraine Saturday night after being outside in the sun/heat all day with the kids (not drinking enough water) and only had one tab left of my migraine medicine. I gritted my teeth together so hard to avoid puking it up so I wouldn’t lose the medicine! Thankfully it kicked in and the nausea subsided. My second favorite part of migraines is how they seemingly go away and then come back at the slightest trigger for the next 1-5 days.
I mean, she’s not wring about migraines, but I love that she wasn’t SO debilitated that time that she didn’t make sure she tagged Nurtec so she got paid for the post.
I’ve never had a migraine and even rarely get headaches. When I do get a headache I find it intolerable, so I’ve never underestimated how debilitating migraines can be. Why wouldn’t we believe someone else just because we don’t have first hand experience? I’ve always believed migraine sufferers. Khloe’s post, like almost everything they “share” with the public, feels staged and contrived. I don’t believe anyone “rolled their eyes” because Khloe had to push a meeting back, does anyone really believe that?
Not really. I’ve always thankfully had sympathetic co-workers who understood when I had to stay home because of a migraine. I’m sure if I was chronically late or absent there might be some eye-rolling if they thought I was lying.
Ubrelvy has been a life changer for me.
I’m glad Ubrelvy works for you. It makes mine worse.
When the migraine is over everything is foggy, isn’t it? You can’t kneel down or lift any weight otherwise you get a ghost of pain, even 24hs after the episode.
It’s terrible, and those people saying “it’s just a headache” make me so mad! I remember an episode of Dr House where he locks one of his colleagues in a dark room and “attacks” him recreating the effects (noises, bright lights, etc) to make him understand what it really is about.
I suffer from migraines at least once a month (right before my period). My mom got them too. I find that exercise and drinking a lot of water every day helps. No medication I’ve tried helps. Sometimes I throw up, and the majority of the time I sleep all day to get through the pain. The day after I’m usually in a migraine fog. I’m tired, dehydrated, groggy, and overall not super coordinated. I get ocular migraines too, and when those hit I have huge blinds spots/gaps in my vision, then a wicked headache later.
So. Much. Fun.
I would never buy products anybody from this family was promoting.
*jesus christ*
As if she’s the only migraineur on the planet.
Migraines are horrible.
My son has been getting migraines almost monthly since he was 2.
I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy.