I know a thing or two about migraines. In fact, if you were a reader back in 2013, you may remember my post, When the Pill is a Pain: Birth Control After Birth. In the article, I described my struggle with migraines – even recounting my very first episode, which I can still recall vividly – and my theory with respect to the use of oral contraceptives.
It’s been four years since I wrote the article, and I’m happy to report that since discontinuing the pill, I have not experienced a migraine with aura. However, I still suffer through unilateral, pulsating head pain on a fairly regular basis, normally triggered by changes in hormones and even weather. And while I’m not entirely certain they would all be classified as migraines, I’ve learned to manage my symptoms and am often able to minimize my down time.
Do you, or does someone you know, suffer from migraines? You can find a quick migraine test on www.migrainecanada.org, a website dedicated to education about migraines, brought to you by the Canadian Headache Society. Here, you’ll also find helpful links, videos and other tools to help you understand more about this debilitating condition.
I’d also love for you to join a very informative Facebook Live, hosted by Migraine Canada and taking place on Wednesday, June 21st at 9PM EST. Dr. Sian Spacey and Dr. Elizabeth Leroux will talk about headaches, migraines and their symptoms and treatment options. The chat will be approximately 15 minutes – everyone is welcome to attend!
In anticipation of Wednesday’s chat, I found a few points on www.migrainecanada.org I’d love to share:
1. A person is subject to migraine attacks because there is something different about their biochemistry, not because they have psychological problems or because they don’t know how to handle stress.
2. Most people with migraine have intermittent headache attacks with pain free intervals lasting days or even months between attacks. However, some individuals with migraine will eventually develop very frequent attacks and even daily headaches. When this happens, several possible causes need to be considered.
3. Migraine is more than just a headache. Many people with migraine will have nausea and even vomiting with their attacks. Others experience marked sensitivity to light and sound during their headaches. A minority of people with migraine, up to a third, will have neurological symptoms an aura before some or all of their headaches, like disturbed vision or numbness and tingling. Fortunately, these symptoms are temporary and usually last less than an hour. People often worry that they are having a stroke when they occur, but unlike a stroke, aura symptoms generally do no harm.
4. Migraine is considered a Primary headache type. This means that it is not caused by or is secondary to other medical conditions, such as head trauma or brain tumors. These other conditions can cause headaches, but these headaches are not called migraine headaches. The relationship between other conditions and migraine can be complex, however. For example, some people will find that a head injury makes their migraine worse, or they may even experience migraine-like headaches for the first time after a head injury.
Wishing you all a healthy (and migraine-free!) day! Hope to see you at the chat. Click here to access Migraine Canada on Facebook.
My brother is currently suffering from severe migraines. Some of the symptoms are freaking me out, like the vision loss.
Suffering from severe migraines can be also very stressful when they start consuming your days.
We do have migraines in the family, my brother had them and they lasted for days. Of my children 2 girls and a boy suffer from migraines. One daughter suffered neurological symptoms like incoherence, tingling, couldn’t read- so vision impaired whilst I was with her. She’s not had another since living in Australia which is weird. One son has auras and I have ocular migraines, which thankfully are painless so far at least.
My Migraines have improved from 4-5 a month to 1 every couple months. But when one does stick I battle it for up to 3 days. I have no choice but to go to bed, being up right makes me want to vomit and light/noise I can’t tolerate.
I suffer from blinding migraines , they are so awful , but i have been dealing with them since i was 6 years old , but must of mine are triggered by food (MSG) and sometimes lack of sleep , i used to get the numbness to warn me , my tongue would go numb or my hand , now i get now warning to take and Advil or whatnot , thanks for sharing ill def be checking out the migraine test :)
My 12 year old gets migraines and it’s really scary when he gets sick from “just a headache”. His dad had them when he was a kid too and luckily grew out of them. We have found that he gets them more often when he’s not getting enough hydration but we really haven’t been able to pin down one cause.
How was the chat? I suspect that it was very informative and helpful for a lot of people suffering from migraines.
I have suffered from very bad migraines since I was little, usually triggered by periods, lack of sleep, stress or changes in barometric pressure. They can be so debilitating and overwhelming that I can’t stand light, noise, voices, movement… They are definitely “more than just a headache” for me and I have so much sympathy for all the others who also experience them.
I had horrible migraines due to hormonal fluctuations for many years until menopause. I get the occasional migraine still.
One of the many unpleasant symptoms I am currently experiencing with pre-menopause! Ugh!
I used to suffer with migraines when I was working, but since I’ve retired have only had a couple. I think that stress and hormones were a trigger in my case. My sister however is struggling with them.
Migraines are the worst! They are absolutely debilitating. I found that caffeine was a serious trigger for me.
Interesting information! For years I have had intermittent auras that never progress to a full on migraine. Since there wasn’t intense pain I never sought treatment and just assumed they were stress triggered.
I recently read an article that said that claimed that STOPAIN, a medication you can get in the US is remarkably good for migraines.
Headaches and migraines can be totally debilitating and trying to get through it and through the day can be really hard depending on the cause because sometimes you can’t get rid of them without getting sleep or drugs.
I have been lucky I do not have migraines but my daughter has them and she does suffer a great deal.
I am sorry you experience migraines. They are terrible. I am lucky that I only get one very rarely but when I do it is awful and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I usually get the nausea and blinding pain that keeps me in bed.
Good to keep track and notice these symptoms