2023-10-10 10:38:55
by Margherita De Bac
The host of Piazzapulita talks about living with his “life partner”: «The pain began as a teenager. I treat myself with monoclonal antibodies”
ROME «I was in the pharmacy buying some medicine, I didn’t have time to answer», justifies Corrado Formigli, host of Piazzapulita, on Thursday evening on La7. «I no longer need this medicine, but if I don’t have it with me I don’t feel at ease. It was a lifesaver for many years because I needed it to try to counteract the pain of the attacks.”
And now how do you treat migraine without aura, i.e. without blurring of vision, which you have suffered from since you were a child?
«The turning point was a new therapy based on monoclonal antibodies, injections that I received throughout 2022 and whose effect is lasting. I was able to enter the treatment protocol thanks to the severity of the disease. I had up to 10 seizures a month. Nothing had any effect. An unspeakable suffering.”
How is living with the migraine that you call your life companion?
«It’s not life. You just enjoy a piece of it. You are an invalid, especially when you wake up in the morning with your temples throbbing, drained. And maybe it’s the day you have to sit through four hours of live broadcast.”
Was he able to get on the air?
«Migraines are cruel and pitiful at the same time, at least to me. On Thursday my adrenaline rose and it was as if it counteracted the crises. Then on Friday I collapsed. Sometimes I went on air after trying everything to get relief. I filled myself with drugs of all kinds to the point of intoxication. Nothing. A nightmare”
When did it start?
«I was 12 years old. Mom immediately understood that something was wrong. As an excuse to skip school I used other systems, such as the mercury thermometer placed on the radiator. At the time we lived in Florence and the very good professor who examined me explained to me that migraines do not have a single cause. It is a reaction to environmental stimuli.”
What type of migraine do you have?
«The one without aura. I have excruciating seizures which, while not causing blurring of vision, prevent me from doing anything. When I was young I was capable of staying in my room in the dark for an entire day. As an adult I have learned to live with it.”
Worst memory?
«December 2014, I am the first European reporter to enter Kobane, Syria, passing through Turkey. I forget the backpack with the drugs in a smuggler’s car. Desperate, devastated, I go live. The helmet on the head exacerbates the pain. It was the most important service of my profession and the worst moment of my life.”
Does the public notice his condition?
“Maybe yes. When I’m sick I keep my hand on my forehead as if to block the pangs and I appear more tired.”
What are the environmental factors that trigger crises?
«Everyone reacts in their own way. The wind, cold or heat, bothers me. And then the whisky. When I drank a little, I woke up the next morning with flames in my head.”
Family history?
“Dad described to me his excruciating headache, which however had a specific cause, trigeminal neuralgia.”
You use a metaphor to describe crises.
«Alone, surrounded by water».
Today on newsstands for free with the «Corriere della Sera» is the guide «Headache, how to deal with it». Fifty questions to clarify the most common doubts and misunderstandings
October 10, 2023 (modified October 10, 2023 | 10:38)
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