On Again Off Again Migraine for 3 Weeks
Migraine
Migraine is a medical condition. A migraine headache is unremarkably an intense, throbbing pain on one, or sometimes, both sides of the head. Migraine hurting and symptoms affect 29.5 million Americans. Well-nigh three out of four people who have migraines are women. Migraine is the virtually common class of disabling headache that sends patients to come across their doctors.
What is migraine?
Migraine is a medical condition. Well-nigh people who suffer from migraines get headaches that can exist quite severe. A migraine headache is ordinarily an intense, throbbing pain on 1, or sometimes, both sides of the head. Most people with migraine headache experience the pain in the temples or behind i eye or ear, although any part of the caput can be involved. Besides pain, migraine also can cause nausea and airsickness and sensitivity to light and sound. Some people as well may run across spots or flashing lights or have a temporary loss of vision.
Migraine tin can occur any time of the day, though it oftentimes starts in the morning time. The pain can final a few hours or up to one or two days. Some people get migraines one time or twice a week. Others, only one time or twice a yr. Most of the time, migraines are non a threat to your overall health. But migraine attacks can interfere with your day-to-solar day life.
We don't know what causes migraine, simply some things are more common in people who have them:
- Most often, migraine affects people betwixt the ages of 15 and 55.
- Most people accept a family history of migraine or of disabling headache.
- They are more common in women.
- Migraine ofttimes becomes less severe and less frequent with age.
How mutual are migraines?
Migraine pain and symptoms bear on 29.5 million Americans. Migraine is the nigh mutual course of disabling headache that sends patients to come across their doctors.
What causes migraines?
The exact cause of migraine is not fully understood. Most researchers think that migraine is due to abnormal changes in levels of substances that are naturally produced in the brain. When the levels of these substances increase, they can cause inflammation. This inflammation then causes blood vessels in the brain to not bad and printing on nearby nerves, causing pain.
Genes likewise take been linked to migraine. People who get migraines may have abnormal genes that control the functions of certain brain cells.
Experts exercise know that people with migraines react to a variety of factors and events, chosen triggers. These triggers tin can vary from person to person and don't e'er lead to migraine. A combination of triggers — not a unmarried affair or event — is more than likely to set off an assail. A person's response to triggers also tin can vary from migraine to migraine. Many women with migraine tend to take attacks triggered by:
- Lack of or besides much slumber
- Skipped meals
- Bright lights, loud noises, or strong odors
- Hormone changes during the menstrual cycle
- Stress and anxiety, or relaxation afterwards stress
- Weather changes
- Booze (often red wine)
- Caffeine (too much or withdrawal)
- Foods that containnitrates, such as hot dogs and dejeuner meats
- Foods that contain MSG (monosodium glutamate), a flavor enhancer found in fast foods, broths, seasonings, and spices
- Foods that containtyramine, such as aged cheeses, soy products, fava beans, hard sausages, smoked fish, and Chianti wine
- Aspartame (NutraSweet® and Equal®)
To pinpoint your migraine triggers, proceed a headache diary. Each solar day you take a migraine headache, put that in your diary. Besides write downwards the:
- The fourth dimension of day your headache started
- Where you were and what you were doing when the migraine started
- What you ate or drank 24 hours before the attack
- Each twenty-four hour period yous have your period, not only the first day (This tin allow you and your doctor to see if your headaches occur at the aforementioned or like fourth dimension as your period.)
Talk with your md nearly what sets off your headaches to assistance find the right treatment for you.
Are there unlike kinds of migraine?
Yes, at that place are many forms of migraine. The two forms seen nigh often are migraine with aureola and migraine without aura.
Migraine with aura (previously called classical migraine). With a migraine with aureola, a person might take these sensory symptoms (the so-called "aureola") ten to 30 minutes before an attack:
- Seeing flashing lights, zigzag lines, or bullheaded spots
- Numbness or tingling in the face or easily
- Disturbed sense of odor, sense of taste, or touch
- Feeling mentally "fuzzy"
Simply one in 5 people who get migraine experience an aura. Women have this grade of migraine less often than men.
Migraine without aura (previously called common migraine). With this course of migraine, a person does not have an aura merely has all the other features of an set on.
How can I tell if I take a migraine or just a bad tension-blazon headache?
Compared with migraine, tension-type headache is generally less severe and rarely disabling. Compare your symptoms with those in this nautical chart to see what type of headache you might be having.
| Symptom | Tension headache | Migraine headache |
|---|---|---|
| Intensity of hurting: Mild-to-moderate | 10 | x |
| Intensity of pain: Moderate-to-severe | x | |
| Quality of pain: Intense pounding or throbbing and/or debilitating | x | |
| Quality of pain: Distracting, but not debilitating | x | |
| Quality of pain: Steady ache | x | x |
| Location of pain: One side of caput | x | |
| Location of pain: Both sides of head | 10 | x |
| Nausea, airsickness | x | |
| Sensitivity to light and/or sounds | rare | 10 |
| Aura before onset of headache | x |
Note: Rebound headache may have features of tension and/or migraine headache. Adapted from a table produced by the American Council for Headache Education.
Although fatigue and stress can bring on both tension and migraine headaches, migraines can exist triggered by certain foods, changes in the body'southward hormone levels, and even changes in the weather.
There as well are differences in how types of headaches respond to treatment with medicines. Although some over-the-counter drugs used to treat tension-type headaches sometimes help migraine headaches, the drugs used to care for migraine attacks exercise not work for tension-type headaches for most people.
Yous can't tell the departure between a migraine and a tension-type headache by how frequently they occur. Both can occur at irregular intervals. Also, in rare cases, both tin occur daily or almost daily.
How tin I tell if I have a migraine or a sinus headache?
Many people misfile a sinus headache with a migraine because pain and pressure in the sinuses, nasal congestion, and watery eyes often occur with migraine. To find out if your headache is sinus or migraine, enquire yourself these questions:
In add-on to my sinus symptoms, do I have:
- Moderate-to-severe headache
- Nausea
- Sensitivity to light
If you respond "yes" to two or 3 of these questions, so well-nigh likely you have migraine with sinus symptoms. A true sinus headache is rare and usually occurs due to sinus infection. In a sinus infection, yous would also likely have a fever and thick nasal secretions that are yellow, green, or blood-tinged. A sinus headache should go away with handling of the sinus infection.
When should I seek aid for my headaches?
Sometimes, headache can indicate a more serious problem. You lot should talk to your dr. most your headaches if:
- You lot have several headaches per calendar month and each lasts for several hours or days
- Your headaches disrupt your home, work, or school life
- You have nausea, vomiting, vision, or other sensory problems (such as numbness or tingling)
- You accept pain effectually the eye or ear
- You have a severe headache with a stiff cervix
- You accept a headache with defoliation or loss of alertness
- You have a headache with convulsions
- Yous have a headache subsequently a accident to the head
- You lot used to be headache-costless, merely now have headaches a lot
What tests are used to find out if I have migraine?
If you think you go migraine headaches, talk with your doc. Before your appointment, write down:
- How often you accept headaches
- Where the pain is
- How long the headaches last
- When the headaches happen, such as during your period
- Other symptoms, such equally nausea or blind spots
- Any family unit history of migraine
- All the medicines that you are taking for all your medical problems, fifty-fifty the over-the-counter medicines (amend all the same, bring the medicines in their containers to the doctor)
- All the medicines you have taken in the past that you can remember and, if possible, the doses you took and any side effects y'all had
Your doctor may also do an examination and inquire more questions nigh your health history. This could include past head injury and sinus or dental problems. Your doctor may exist able to diagnose migraine just from the information you provide.
You may get a blood examination or other tests, such every bit CT scan or MRI, if your md thinks that something else is causing your headaches. Work with your doctor to decide on the all-time tests for y'all.
Are migraine headaches more common in women than men?
Yes. About three out of four people who have migraines are women. Migraines are most mutual in women between the ages of 20 and 45. At this time of life women often have more chore, family, and social duties. Women tend to report more than painful and longer lasting headaches and more than symptoms, such as nausea and airsickness. All these factors make it hard for a woman to fulfill her roles at work and at dwelling house when migraine strikes.
I get migraines right before my period. Could they be related to my menstrual bike?
More than half of migraines in women occur right before, during, or after a woman has her flow. This ofttimes is called "menstrual migraine." But, just a pocket-sized fraction of women who accept migraine around their period only accept migraine at this time. About have migraine headaches at other times of the calendar month too.
How the menstrual cycle and migraine are linked is however unclear. Nosotros know that only before the bicycle begins, levels of the female person hormones, estrogen and progesterone, become downwards sharply. This drop in hormones may trigger a migraine, because estrogen controls chemicals in the encephalon that bear on a adult female's hurting sensation.
Talk with your doctor if you call back you have menstrual migraine. You lot may discover that medicines, making lifestyle changes, and home treatment methods tin prevent or reduce the pain.
Can migraine be worse during menopause?
If your migraine headaches are closely linked to your menstrual bicycle, menopause may make them less severe. Equally y'all go older, the nausea and vomiting may subtract likewise. About two-thirds of women with migraines written report that their symptoms improve with menopause.
But for some women, menopause worsens migraine or triggers them to starting time. Information technology is not clear why this happens. Menopausal hormone therapy, which is prescribed for some women during menopause, may exist linked to migraines during this fourth dimension. In general, though, the worsening of migraine symptoms goes away once menopause is consummate.
Can using birth command pills make my migraines worse?
In some women, birth control pills improve migraine. The pills may help reduce the number of attacks and their attacks may become less astringent. Merely in other women, the pills may worsen their migraines. In still other women, taking birth control pills has no result on their migraines.
The reason for these different responses is not well understood. For women whose migraines become worse when they take birth command pills, their attacks seem to occur during the last calendar week of the cycle. This is because the concluding seven pills in most monthly pill packs don't take hormones; they are at that place to continue you in the addiction of taking your birth control daily. Without the hormones, your body's estrogen levels drop sharply. This may trigger migraine in some women.
Talk with your doc if y'all think birth control pills are making your migraines worse. Switching to a pill pack in which all the pills for the entire calendar month comprise hormones and using that for three months in a row tin can ameliorate headaches. Lifestyle changes, such every bit getting on a regular slumber pattern and eating good for you foods, tin can aid too.
Tin can stress cause migraines?
Yep. Stress can trigger both migraine and tension-type headache. Events like getting married, moving to a new home, or having a baby can cause stress. Merely studies show that everyday stresses —not major life changes — cause most headaches. Juggling many roles, such equally being a mother and wife, having a career, and financial pressures, can be daily stresses for women.
Making time for yourself and finding healthy ways to deal with stress are important. Some things you can do to help preclude or reduce stress include:
- Eating salubrious foods
- Being active (at to the lowest degree 30 minutes most days of the week is best)
- Doing relaxation exercises
- Getting plenty slumber
Try to figure out what causes you to feel stressed. You may be able to cut out some of these stressors. For example, if driving to work is stressful, try taking the jitney or subway. You can take this time to read or mind to music, rather than deal with traffic. For stressors you can't avert, keeping organized and doing as much as you can alee of time volition assistance you to feel in control.
How are migraines treated?
Migraine has no cure. Just your migraines can be managed with your doctor's help. Together, you will notice ways to care for migraine symptoms when they happen, besides equally means to help make your migraines less frequent and astringent. Your treatment plan may include some or all of these methods.
Medicine. There are two ways to arroyo the treatment of migraines with drugs: stopping a migraine in progress (called "abortive" or "acute" handling) and prevention. Many people with migraine use both forms of treatment.
Acute treatment.Over-the-counter pain-relief drugs such as aspirin, acetaminophen, or NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen save balmy migraine hurting for some people. If these drugs don't work for y'all, your doctor might want you lot to try a prescription drug. 2 classes of drugs that doctors oft try beginning are:
- Triptans, which work by balancing the chemicals in the brain. Examples include sumatriptan (Imitrex®), rizatriptan (Maxalt®), zolmitriptan (Zomig®), almotriptan (Axert®), eletriptan (Relpax®), naratriptan (Amerge®), and frovatriptan (Frova®). Triptans can come as tablets that you eat, tablets that deliquesce on your natural language, nasal sprays, and as a shot. They should non be used if you have centre disease or high blood pressure.
- Ergot derivatives (ergotamine tartrate and dihydoergotamine), which work in the same way every bit triptans. They should non be used if you accept heart illness or high blood pressure.
Most astute drugs for migraine piece of work all-time when taken right away, when symptoms first begin. Always carry your migraine medicine with yous in case of an attack. For people with extreme migraine pain, a powerful "rescue" drug might be prescribed, also. Considering not everyone responds the same way to migraine drugs, you will need to work with your doctor to find the treatment that works best for you.
Prevention. Some medicines used daily can help preclude attacks. Many of these drugs were designed to treat other health weather, such as epilepsy and depression. Some examples are:
- Antidepressants, such as amitriptyline (Elavil®) or venlafaxine (Effexor®)
- Anticonvulsants, such every bit divalproex sodium (Depakote®) or topiramate (Topamax®)
- Beta-blockers, such as propranolol (Inderal®) or timolol (Blocadren®)
- Calcium channel blockers, such every bit verapamil
These drugs may not preclude all migraines, but they tin can help a lot. Hormone therapy may aid prevent attacks in women whose migraines seem to be linked to their menstrual cycle. Enquire your doctor nigh prevention drugs if:
- Your migraines do non respond to drugs for symptom relief
- Your migraines are disabling or cause you to miss work, family activities, or social events
- You lot are using pain-relief drugs more than than two times a week
Lifestyle changes. Practicing these habits tin can reduce the number of migraine attacks:
- Avoid or limit triggers.
- Get upward and go to bed the aforementioned time every twenty-four hour period.
- Swallow healthy foods and exercise not skip meals.
- Engage in regular physical activeness.
- Limit alcohol and caffeine intake.
- Acquire ways to reduce and cope with stress.
Alternative methods. Biofeedback has been shown to aid some people with migraine. Information technology involves learning how to monitor and control your trunk'south responses to stress, such as lowering heart rate and easing muscle tension. Other methods, such as acupuncture and relaxation, may help salve stress. Counseling as well can aid if you think your migraines may be related to depression or anxiety. Talk with your doctor most these treatment methods.
What are rebound migraines?
Women who employ acute pain-relief medicine more than than two or three times a week or more than x days out of the month tin set off a wheel called rebound. As each dose of medicine wears off, the pain comes back, leading the patient to take even more than. This overuse causes your medicine to stop helping your pain and really start causing headaches. Rebound headaches tin can occur with both over-the-counter and prescription hurting-relief medicines. They tin also occur whether yous take them for headache or for another type of pain. Talk to your doctor if you're caught in a rebound cycle.
I'k pregnant. Can my migraines withal be treated?
Some migraine medicines should not be used when you lot are pregnant because they tin can cause nativity defects and other problems. This includes over-the-counter medicines, such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Talk with your dr. if migraine is a problem while you lot are significant or if you are planning to become pregnant. Your doctor might propose a medicine that volition help you and that is safe during pregnancy. Domicile treatment methods, such equally doing relaxation exercises and using cold packs, as well might assistance ease your pain. The good news is that for almost women migraines improve or end from nearly the third month of the pregnancy.
I am breastfeeding. Will taking medicine for migraine hurt my baby?
Ask your doctor about what migraine medicines are prophylactic to take while breastfeeding. Some medicines can be passed through breast milk and might be harmful to your babe.
What are some ways I can forbid migraine?
The best style to foreclose migraine is to notice out what triggers your attacks and avoid or limit these triggers. Since migraine headaches are more common during times of stress, finding healthy ways to cut down on and cope with stress might help. Talk with your doctor about starting a fitness program or taking a class to learn relaxation skills.
Talk with your physician if you demand to take your pain-relief medicine more twice a week. Doing and then can lead to rebound headaches. If your doctor has prescribed medicine for y'all to help prevent migraine, take them exactly as prescribed. Ask what y'all should do if y'all miss a dose and how long you should accept the medicine. Talk with your md if the corporeality of medicine you are prescribed is not helping your headaches.
What should I do when a migraine begins?
Work with your medico to come up with a plan for managing your migraines. Keeping a list of abode treatment methods that have worked for you in the past also can help. When symptoms begin:
- If yous take migraine medicine, accept it right away.
- Drink fluids, if you lot don't accept nausea during your migraine.
- Lie down and rest in a nighttime, quiet room, if that is practical.
Some people find the post-obit useful:
- A common cold cloth on your head
- Rubbing or applying pressure to the spot where you feel pain
- Massage or other relaxation exercises
Did we answer your question about migraine?
Source: https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/migraine
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