MIGRAINES AMONG OTHER AILMENTS

MIGRAINE FACTS
Migraine headaches are familiar to millions of people around the world. More women suffer these awful pains in the head than men and that might be due to hormonal fluctuations starting at puberty, running through menstruation, manifesting during pregnancy and finally ending mercifully with the onset of menopause. There are children and teens that get these headaches too. Some are the result of stress.

Characterized by the reoccurrence of chronic pain in the head, migraines last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours and that depends on what type you have and the severity of the migraine. Whatever it is you can be sure it’s quite disabling.

Coupled with the pain are a slew of other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal quirks, emotional stresses, depression and anxiety. Then there is the sensitivity to sound, light and smells that either bring the migraine on or amplify the pain to where you think your head is about to explode. Usually by that time a quiet dark place is sought by the sufferer to crawl into and “hibernate” from the rest of the world. A lot of “normal” people don’t realize the implications of such stimuli to those that experience migraine headaches.

The pain of the migraine is found usually on one side of the head and occasionally at the back of the head and sometimes feeling like it’s behind the eyes. At times an early warning signal called an aura announces an oncoming migraine. Auras appear in different ways and since we are all different, the descriptions of an aura vary dramatically. Most auras are seen as squiggly lines, bright lights, wavy ray-like lines with prism-like color, blurred vision, double vision and blind spots or areas totally devoid of anything (like half of a photograph being there and the rest of the picture being black). Auras occur about 30 minutes before the onset of the migraine itself which once started eliminates the presence of the aura. Some people experience a “silent migraine” which is an aura followed by no pain what-so-ever.

Migraines by themselves are bad and a lot of people suffer them that way but there a several other diseases and disorders that have migraines as one of their symptoms too. As in all ailments, migraines vary in types. Understanding what types exist generally would help grasp the reason why it’s in the list of symptoms for other illnesses.

MIGRAINE TYPES
• The common migraine which is a migraine without an aura.
• The classical migraine which is a migraine with aura.
• Basilar migraine. This type has an aura which reveals itself with dizziness, slurred speech, tingling on both sides of the body and hearing changes. Passing out occurs and often the sufferer is mistaken as being intoxicated, on drugs or having a stroke. The headache that follows this aura is typical for migraine. People with a family history of migraine help in the diagnosis of this type.
• Hemiplegic migraines are another form that is genetic. Considered as rare and quite severe, this variety develops motor and sensory disturbances on one side of the body such as paralysis, numbness and a pin-pricking feeling that usually disappears with the arrival of the headache.
• Ophthalmoplegic migraine is another rare variety that exhibits pain around the eyeball causing weakness in the muscles around the eye.
• Pregnancy migraines, actually due to hormonal instability, are experienced by about 80% of pregnant women from the third month to delivery.
These are just a few varieties of migraines that cause misery by themselves. Just imagine having some other ailment bring on a migraine. For some people never having a migraine until they come down with one of several diseases that have migraines associated with the ailment they suffer from, is a whole new experience.

MIGRAINES LINKED TO OTHER ILLNESSES
There are many disorders having migraines as part of their symptom list. One such kind is fibromyalgia which essentially is a nervous disorder that can bring about migraines. Other studies reveal a possible link between migraines and other diseases. For example:
• In about 4% of people suffering migraines, heart attacks were most common. Especially in women who have migraines with auras.
• Women having migraines with aura in middle age seem to develop brain lesions more readily than women without migraines. Studies are in the process of determining whether cognitive or functional impairment are also linked with the migraines.
• One study reports that women with migraines are more likely to develop MS (Multiple Sclerosis), however this study is very inconclusive.
• Migraines have been tied to epilepsy too. My late husband had epilepsy and experienced bad headaches occasionally. He was always concerned about these headaches bringing on a seizure and would chill out to relieve his anxiety as well as the pain.
• Stroke
• Depression

PROGNOSIS
When having migraines it’s important to know what to do. Treat them as a migraine and seek medical attention if it worsens or gets out of control. Pain in the head should be taken seriously because it could also be a warning of something other than just a headache.

Tags: aura, cause of migraines, enlarged blood vessels, genetics, Hormonal, menstration, migraine, migraine triggers, stress, Weather