Migraine Headaches

Mirgraine sufferers may spend a lifetime trying to figure out how NOT to have another headache. If you've ever experienced one of these painful events, you no doubt understand what I mean. Yesterday I accompanied my daughter to her doctor for a recheck after being treated for migraines. This guy really knows his stuff about migraine headaches - probably because he, too, suffers from them. I thought I'd share what I learned.

Family history is one of the first things a physician may choose to explore with a patient suffering from severe headaches. Unfortunately, migraines are hereditary. If there is no family history, then it becomes likely that further testing should be done, i.e. CAT scans or MRI's to rule out blood clots or other problems with the brain or optic nerve, etc. Even though such tests may still be performed for complaints of severe headaches, it's a good bet that the sufferer inherited the malaise if it is indeed a migraine.

A migraine can be triggered by different stimuli. This is what many of us spend years trying to determine. Some common triggers are: wine or alcohol, certain foods or preservatives, hormonal changes in the body, changes in barometric pressure, smoke, dry air, or certain odors. Personally, I can almost predict when rain is imminent. As mentioned in a previous blog, I am most often the designated driver. I can only spend a short amount of time in a highly perfumed environment (like a candle shop). Smoke - whether from a fireplace or a cigarette - will send me scurrying out of the room. My headaches began when I first took birth control pills. I turn on humidifiers as soon as I turn on the heat in winter time.

So what do you do when you're in the grips of the most excruciating pain imaginable? pain that curls you into the fetal position, causes you to wear sunglasses even at night, keeps you scurrying to the bathroom, and sends you home from work.

There are prescription medications called Triptans that are on the market now. If taken at the first indication of a migraine, they will work their magic on the nerves in the brain to keep the headache from occurring. Different triptans work better for different people. I take Zomig; my daughter takes Imitrex or Relpax. The trick is to take them at the initial onset of the pain. Give it a couple of hours, and you should be back up to snuff, mostly pain-free.

If, however, you find that you're needing these medications more than, say, 4 times a month, you should talk to your physician about a medication to be taken daily on a regular basis. What happens is this: you feel the onset of a headache on day 1, so you take a triptan. The headache goes away. Day 3, you feel another headache coming on, so you take another triptan; headache goes away. Ditto for day 5. At this point, you can be assured that there will be another headache on Day 7 and Day 9 and so on. These latter headaches are called Rebound Headaches and are actually being caused by the repeated use of the medication. What I learned from this physician is that your best bet is to NOT take the triptan on Day 5. You may suffer one day, but you won't continue to have headaches on days following.

Sometimes a migraine occurs in spite of the triptan, or if you don't take the medication early enough. These are called Breakthrough headaches. There is an Imitrex epi-pen available for severe migraines in cases like this. (I've gotta get me one of these.) Another thing to do is get an injection of Phenargan to knock you out. The serotonin released when we sleep helps combat migraines. Chances are, when you do wake up, you'll be headache-free. I have to report here, however, that my headaches occur even when I am asleep. They will awaken me throughout the night. No doubt there is a medical response to this, but I don't know what it is. Also, my headaches tend to last two to three days. At times I beg for someone to just shoot me.

Another, less conventional, headache relief that I've discovered comes from my chiropractor. Now, my daughter's physician does not believe that this kind of treatment works; she asked him. (I kept my mouth shut; I was merely a visitor - not his patient). But my chiropractor can adjust my neck and manipulate my cranium, thus relieving pressure on nerves and vessels, and allowing the "juices" therein to flow more freely. I gotta tell you, more often than not, it works. He also advises me to put ice at the base of my skull and over my eyes. That feels good, too. I'm a believer; it's definitely helped my migraines.

Can migraines ever be cured? It doesn't sound like it. Will they ever diminish? My daughter's doctor suggested that it's possible that they may change after a woman gives birth - either for the better or for the worse. I think that, as time goes by, we learn to manage our headaches better, and that may seem to make them diminish. Unfortunately, I also believe I'll be plagued with migraines for as long as I live. I wish someone would tell me this theory is wrong.

Let me emphasize here that I am certainly NOT a medical professional. What I've written is only what I've heard from doctors, or what I've discovered for myself. Certainly if someone is having a severe headache, they should have it checked out by their own physician. There are plenty of methods by which to determine if it is a migraine or something much more serious.

I'm also interested in what fellow migraine sufferes may have discovered. Feel free to share in the comments section for me and for other readers to learn.