What is a Migraine?

What is a Migraine?

Millions of people suffer from debilitating headaches known as "migraine". Many of them are misdiagnosed and left untreated. According to the National Institues of Health:

"Some people dismiss migraines as nothing more than a normal headache exaggerated in the telling. But Dr. Stephen Silberstein, director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, recently told an NIH audience, "A migraine is more than a headache." Dr. Silberstein, speaking at a seminar sponsored by NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health, stressed that migraines have real physiological causes and effects well beyond those of the common tension headaches most people have. "Migraines are not in the mind," he stressed.

Classic migraines begin 10-30 minutes before the arrival of the actual headache, with a phenomenon known as an aura. People experiencing an aura may feel pins and needles, have trouble speaking, have muscle weakness, and commonly have visual disturbances — seeing things such as flashing lights, zigzag lines, bright spots, or a loss of part of their field of vision.

Common migraines aren't preceded by an aura, but people may experience some mental fuzziness, mood changes, fatigue, and the unusual retention of fluids beforehand.

Both types of migraine bring intense pain, often along with an increased sensitivity to light. Migraine is also sometimes accompanied by diarrhea, increased urination, nausea and vomiting. The pain of a migraine usually lasts 1 to 2 days, but can last 3 or 4 days. "

Although athletic men such as basketball's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and football's Terrell Davis have had migraines, they are more prevalent among women. Women start getting migraines more than men after their first menstrual period, highlighting the effect that hormones can have on the condition."

excerpted from Migraines Not in the Mind by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.

If you experience the signs and symptoms of migraine with aura, such as temporary vision loss or floating spots or zigzag lines in your field of vision, see your doctor immediately to rule out more serious conditions, such as stroke or retinal tear. Once these conditions have been ruled out, future migraines with aura can be considered not to be a sign of a more serious condition and won't require a visit to your doctor, unless you notice unusual or worsening symptoms.

(c) 2007-2008, Theda Foster, CEEMP All rights reserved.
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