Susie Youssef has confessed she suffers from crippling migraines that force her to keep a bucket under her desk while on live television.
The Project host made the comments during Sunday’s episode of the current affairs show following a segment on the ‘gender pain gap’ which claims women’s pain is not being taken seriously by the medical profession.
“That’s an incredibly important conversation and it includes some amazing women who are willing to open up,” the 40-year-old began.
‘I have chronic migraines and have suffered from them for years. Light sensitivity is an issue and my job is to be in front of the light,” she added.
“You all witnessed it and I did this show with a bucket under the desk, afraid I was going to throw up from a migraine,” Susie told her co-hosts.
Susie Youssef (pictured) has confessed she suffers from crippling migraines that force her to keep a bucket under her desk while on live television
“It’s one of those things that I hope people take more seriously. I was fortunate that medical professionals heard me,” she continued.
‘I have had countless friends who suffered from endometriosis and were not listened to. It’s an important story.’
Migraines usually feel like a very bad headache and can cause a throbbing pain on just one side of your head.
Patients sometimes experience warning symptoms such as feeling tired, craving certain foods, mood swings, or a stiff neck before a migraine strikes.
Others develop problems with their vision, feel dizzy or even have difficulty speaking and attacks can last between two hours and three days.
The Project host made the comments during Sunday’s episode of the current affairs show after a segment on the ‘gender pain gap’
‘I have chronic migraines and have suffered from them for years. Light sensitivity is a problem and it is my job to be in front of the light. You all witnessed it and I did this show with a bucket under the desk, afraid I was going to throw up from a migraine,” Susie told her co-hosts.
Noises and bright lights can often make migraines worse.
Taking painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol can help reduce pain in some cases.
Other patients use triptans, medications that act like serotonin: the “feel good” chemical in the brain that helps calm overactive pain nerves.
Some people also take medications in combination with anti-nausea medications that help keep you from feeling nauseous or getting sick, an unpleasant side effect of migraines.
The gender pain bias highlights how many women feel they are treated worse by the healthcare system due to its innate sexism – with one doctor blaming the medical system for seeing women as ‘dramatic or manic’.
Recently Dr. Amir and Dr. Nisha the subject, who told the British Lorraine show that prejudice occurs in medicine.
According to Dr. Amir: ‘What it refers to is this unconscious bias of women [have] painful and medical conditions are disregarded or not taken as seriously as those of men simply because of their gender.
‘And that’s because women can be dismissed as the fairer sex, or as having a lower pain threshold, or as being dramatic or manic.
“All of these terms are misogynistic and apply to women, not men.
“And all of this means that women’s painful medical conditions are either delayed in diagnosis, misdiagnosed, or not treated properly, prolonging their suffering.”
“It’s one of those things that I hope people take more seriously. I was fortunate that medical professionals heard me,” she continued