You’ve had a long day at work. You want to come home, eat supper, unwind, and play with the kids, not necessarily in that order. Once the kids are all tucked into their beds you want to be intimate with your wife. You are disappointed when she tells you, “Not tonight honey, I have a headache.” As a migraine sufferer myself, I can personally tell you that a headache is not the same thing as having a migraine. I was diagnosed 13 years ago after being admitted to an emergency room because of a “really bad headache.” Most headaches do not make you cry, want to throw up, or cause changes in your vision. 10% to 15% of sufferers are given a warning and experience auras just before the migraine strikes. This could be seeing flashing lights, blurred vision, dizziness, and numbness, just to name a few.
Migraines aren’t just another “headache” or an excuse to get out of being intimate with their spouse. According to Wikipedia, migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, severe headaches, and nausea. Migraines rank in the top 20 of the world’s most disabling medical illnesses. Migraines are caused by a rapid widening and narrowing of the blood vessel walls in the head and brain. It doesn’t help the sufferer to know what causes a migraine since there is still no cure for them. We live our daily lives wondering when the next migraine is going to attack and leave us laid up in a dark room with no lights or sounds and away from our families. This stress and anxiety can also cause a migraine. It seems to be a double-edged sword.
Medicinenet.com claims that 300 million people suffer from migraines worldwide. There are 28 million sufferers in the United States alone. 25% of women and 8% of men will experience a migraine some time in their lifetime. 50% of those will be before the age of 20, 98% before the age of 50, and 5% before the age of 15. Most migraine sufferers are between 25 and 50 years old. 70%of all sufferers have to fight their migraines due to hereditary. Mamashealth.com says that if both of your parents suffer from migraines, you have a 75% chance of having them as well. If one of your parents suffer, you have a 50% chance of having them. Due to hormones, women will suffer from migraines 3 to 4 times more than men. That’s about 10% of the population. When my daughter turned 12, she began experiencing migraine headaches.
While there is no cure for migraines as of yet, there are some things you can do to help prevent the attacks. It is recommended that you should eat mini-meals throughout the day and never allow yourself to become hungry. Sleep, too much or too little, can also affect your chances of having a migraine. Avoid any known triggers such as chocolate, cheese, nuts, hot dogs, and alcoholic beverages. Some birth control pills can cause migraines so please check this out with your doctor. Sometimes no matter what you do to give yourself better odds, they will strike anyway. Some symptoms of migraines are sensitivity to light and/or sound, nausea and/or vomiting, changes in your vision, and mood changes shouldn’t come as a surprise.
There are some fascinating statistics on the Migraine Research Foundation website. In the United States, more than 157,000 workdays are lost each year due to migraines. 60% of people who have migraines have one or more severe disabling attacks each month. Migraine sufferers require 112 million bedridden days per year. Migraines cost American employers approximately $13 billion each year in missed work days and impaired work function. People suffering from migraines report an average of 35 migraines a year. I personally experience some sort of migraine headache on an average of 15 per month. Even taking extra precautions don’t always help.
Migraines are usually unilateral, meaning the pain is usually on one side of the head. About 1/3 of the time the pain will be bilateral, on both sides of the head. Headaches that always occur on the same side of the head should alert your doctor to consider a secondary headache, for example, one caused by a brain tumor. Some tests that can be run to make sure there isn’t another underlying cause, are a CT scan, MRI scan, or a spinal tap. I’ve had the CT and MRI scans run to make sure there wasn’t something else causing the headaches and both came back normal. If you believe you are a migraine sufferer but haven’t been officially diagnosed, please see your family doctor who can then refer you to a neurologist who specializes in migraines.
In the meantime if you are experiencing a migraine, there are some things you can do to help. Try taking some Advil or Excedrin Migraine, or some other over the counter medicines. Go to a dark room by yourself. No people, pets, lights, or noise allowed! Put ice packs on the back of your neck and/or on your forehead. Rest and try to relax. If you find that over the counter medicines are doing nothing for you, you may have to go to an emergency room.
When going to the emergency room with a migraine, the first thing the doctors seem to think is that you are there just for the narcotics-Demerol, Vicodin, Percocet, etc. Most of the doctors will just give them to you and send you on your way to make room for other patients who need their attention. I have some of these medications prescribed to me through my neurologist and they aren’t always enough. If you are looking for these medications to take the migraine away, these won’t do it for you. They mask the pain or take the edge off, but they do not stop it. When I have to go to the ER, which is about 2 or 3 times a year, I go in with my Doctor’s Plan for a steroid, numbing medicine, and nausea medicine IV drip that takes about 3 hours to administer. Yes, it is a 3 hour waste of a day, but this is what I have found works for me. My migraines can last days, so if I can end it by giving up 3 hours of my day, it’s worth it to be migraine free for the next 3, 4, 5 days.
I have been through the laundry list of preventative, abortive, and symptomatic prescription medications for migraines. What works for most people, doesn’t work for me. However, I do know several people who have also had to go through the list of trials and testing medications. According to Wikipedia, triptans are a family of tryptamine-based drugs used as abortive medication in the treatment of migraines and cluster headaches. In an effort to understand better, these are drugs that are taken at the onset of a migraine in hopes of aborting it. It can take up to 2 hours, IF it’s going to work. Some do for some people and not for others. I have been through about 20 different ones. The problem with triptans, even when they do what they are supposed to, is that they can cause reoccurring headaches for one or more days. The narcotics do the same. A migraine can last from a few hours up to several days. Part of this has to do with the rebound headaches that these medications can and do cause.
There are some natural remedies out there if you’d rather stay away from the harsh effects of narcotics and triptans. Some suggest going to a chiropractor. I’ve done this and again, sometimes it works, but for me it can also make it worse. Biofeedback, acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbs, supplements, etc. Supplements can be vitamin C, B6, niacin, choline, omega 3, nuts, fish, flax seed oil, wheat germ. Some recommended herbs are feverfew, lavender, sage, mint, and rosemary.
Migraines can’t be treated by eating an apple a day. There is no cure, but there are some things that you can do to better your chances from day to day. Again, get plenty of sleep, but not too much, avoid large amounts of salt, sugar, chocolate, caffeine, and strenuous exercise.
I have a niece who if she eats salty foods or adds salt to foods, she is guaranteed to get a migraine. After 13 years I have found that if I already have a migraine, if I drink an ice tea and eat some M & M’s, I can kill the migraine without further medication. But, if I don’t have a migraine and I eat chocolate or drink ice tea, I can guarantee I will get one. Each person is different and what works for you might not work for me and what works for me, might not work for you. This information is provided for your convenience and information. I am a person living with migraines, but I am not a doctor. I have tried to make sure my information here is accurate, but it may contain errors,omissions, or inaccuracies. It is not to be considered as medical advice. Some headaches are caused by other serious problems that require medical treatment. Please see your doctor before trying any of the remedies listed in this article.
