Republic of Ireland football legend Tony Cascarino has opened up on his experience with debilitating migraine attacks.
When he was playing football professionally, he would get about six migraines a year, most of which lasted for about 24 hours.
Tony Cascarino, 60, said he only began experiencing migraines when he was in his late twenties.
Despite having terrifying symptoms on his first attack, Tony knew straight away what was happening.
“My migraine only began when I was 28 years old. I still remember my first attack vividly. I was driving along the M25 in London when I noticed a flicker in one of my eyes and soon my vision became blurred,” he said.
“My mother has been a migraine sufferer all her life so I had an idea that I was about to have an attack.”
Tony’s mother, Theresa O’Malley, told him to pull in at the nearest petrol station where she would come collect him. He remembers pulling his coat over his head and letting the seat back as he waited for her.
“Later that evening came the nausea and vomiting. That was my first introduction to migraine and it wasn’t very nice,” he said.
This is similar to the experience of many migraine sufferers, with the disease named the 7th most disabling worldwide and the 4th for women. It is a complex condition that can cause vision problems, confusion, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and even loss of speech and temporary paralysis.
Some have even likened migraine symptoms to that of a stroke, with many experiencing slurred speech, numbness or pins and needles and muscular weakness.
It may seem like ‘just a headache’ to some, but Tony knows that’s not the case.
Speaking to the Migraine Association of Ireland, he said: “Having suffered with recurring migraine for a number of years now, I know first-hand the disability it causes.
“Sometimes people say to me that it’s only a headache. In response to that, I say that comparing migraine to a headache is like comparing robbing a bank to stealing a pen.”
When Tony was playing football professionally, he would get as much as six migraines a year. They would last for about 24 hours and he said that he was “lucky” that it never forced him to miss a game, only the odd training session.
He remembers on one occasion being so unwell with a migraine that he was physically unable to phone his manager at Aston Villa to explain what was happening. His wife had to make the call for him.
The next day, his symptoms had left but he was so “shattered” he couldn’t even train for the match the following day. Tony said: “I couldn’t even tell the physio at the club whether I could play or not.
“Luckily, I was fit by the following day and somehow managed to play one of my best games.
“The manager used to joke that he wished I’d get more migraine attacks if that was the way it made me play.”
Tony felt that suffering from migraines and being a professional footballer was not a good mix because it could affect your transfer value and whether “teams wanted to buy you and rely on you”.
Nowadays, he would get about three attacks a year, often in the summertime. When he feels it coming on, Tony’s “best bet” is to go straight to bed.
Recently, he suffered his first attack that lasted for more than 24 hours.
For migraine sufferers, pinning down the trigger factors is often a crucial way to ensure they stay attack-free. Tony has yet to decipher exactly what causes his.
He said: “Diet doesn’t seem to be a factor. Late nights don’t seem to be an issue either. It could strike after I’d been to bed early some other time.
“Similarly, alcohol doesn’t seem to be an issue. Neither is stress or pressure. In fact, sometimes, my attacks seem to strike when I’m relaxing or on holiday.
“I was well known as a footballer for my heading ability and people often wonder if that had anything to do with my migraine. However, that didn’t seem to be a trigger factor either. My patterns appear to be totally random and without pattern.”
He did, however, notice an improvement when he moved to France. This was put down to different training styles, drinking more water and generally eating healthier, which he feels may have helped him.
Unfortunately, migraine triggers are highly individual, which means they can be hard to pin down. The Migraine Association of Ireland have a number of resources available to help anyone who may be struggling to manage their migraines.
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