The Quest for Migraine Headache Relief

Your Information Source for Migraines

There are many reasons why you may be on an information search regarding migraines. You may suffer from migraines. Someone you know and care about may suffer from migraines. You may have just had a family member or yourself diagnosed as having migraines, or you could be a student doing a research paper on migraines. Regardless of why you are researching the topic of migraines there is plenty of information to be had on the subject.

The medical disorder, migraine is known as a neurological syndrome. The main characteristic that most individuals encounter is painful headaches, and nausea. This common condition affects more women than it does men.

The pain from the migraine is generally located on one side of the head and can be described as throbbing or pulsating in nature. The headache usually will last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours in duration and can be moderate to severe in intensity. There can be other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or sensitivity to light or sound that accompany the headache.

There is another aspect of migraines and that is the presence of an "aura" in at least 1/3 of those who experience migraines. An aura is serious of complaints that occur prior to the onset of the migraine that can include the appearance of bright lights, zigzag lines, or distortions of shapes in various colors and sizes that appear in the line of vision. The vision field may also decrease and appear like tunnel vision or a curtain-like effect over one eye or dark spots that slowly spread. There may be auditory changes such as hearing of voices, or sounds in the environment such as buzzing. They may experience strange smells, or feelings of numbness or tingling on one side of the face or arms and legs. They may get a sense of being separated from one's own body or a feeling like their arms and legs are moving independently from the body. They may feel anxiety, or fear during the aura or a weakness or unsteadiness. Saliva may collect at the corners of their mouth. Sometimes individuals experiencing an aura are unable to understand or comprehend words that are spoken to them during the aura. They may become extremely tired, sweat profusely or feel warmth throughout the body.

By far, the most common form of migraines occurs without auras. Besides the migraines with or without aura there are other ways of describing migraines such as familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM), which are those, which are caused by ion channel mutations. Individuals with this type of migraine usually experience limb weakness on one side of the body, with visual, sensory or speech difficulties. Another type of migraine is the abdominal migraine, which is where children have symptoms of migraines without the head pain. Symptoms are nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain that lasts from 1 to 72 hours.

Acephalgic migraine and menstrual migraine are two other types of migraines. Acephalgic migraines are those in which the individual usually experiences auras but do not experience the headache. Menstrual migraines have two characteristics the menstrual related migraine (MRM) and the pure menstrual migraine (PMM). The MRM is moderate to severe in pain intensity and occurs around the time of the monthly period and at other times too. The PMM occurs only around the time of the woman's monthly period.

What Is Triggering Your Migraines?

Researchers, doctors and patients have been able to identify many triggers for migraines. Knowing what triggers your migraines can be beneficial to you in that you can either avoid them all together by paying attention to staying away from your triggers or at least minimizing the symptoms by taking preventative medications when you know you will not be able to avoid your triggers.

Common triggers that have been identified are reactions to food or other allergy producing substances, bright lights, loud noises, stress that is either physical or emotional in nature, changes in your patterns of sleep, exposure to tobacco smoke or being a smoker yourself, fasting, consuming alcoholic beverages, and hormonal fluctuations. Some individuals have even reported that when they have a tension headache that often triggers a migraine headache to start.

Exploring these triggers:

Food or other allergy producing substances - If you happen to have a particular food as a trigger for your migraines...the reaction is cumulative; in other words...if you eat a large portion of the food item that is a trigger for you then the corresponding reaction is going to be huge too. The food as a trigger concept is not in agreement by most researchers so whether or not a particular food is a trigger for you is determined on an individual basis. It is probably wise if you are experiencing a food trigger for migraines that you have a food allergy skin test conducted so that you can determine if what you are experiencing is a case of food allergies with headache being one of the allergic reaction symptoms. One more noteworthy mention regarding food and migraines is that there have been some cases where migraine suffers have noticed that if they eat at a Chinese restaurant where MSG is included in the cuisine served that they experience a migraine afterwards. Excluding all other triggers, it may be possible for the individual to be allergic to MSG and have that allergic reaction result in a headache that could trigger a migraine attack. We do know that headaches are a symptom of allergic reactions including reactions of an allergic reaction to food and chemicals in food such as MSG. We also know that tension headaches can trigger a migraine so the connection is possible between the ingestion of MSG and the onset of a migraine. Like any other triggers the possibilities of food being a trigger needs to be explored on an individual basis between the doctor and the patient.

Bright lights and loud noises ñ Most of those who suffer from migraines will include sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises as a symptom of the migraine and not as a trigger. Migraines are a neurological event and as such science has many areas that are unknown. The exact cause for migraines is still largely unknown although cases have been studied on an individual basis and between doctor and patient what works best regarding things to avoid (triggers) serves the purpose. If avoiding a noisy atmosphere such as a crowded, noisy bar helps you to avoid migraines, who is to argue? Avoiding bright lights may not be as easy to accomplish because we can control the lighting in personal spaces like at home or perhaps in a separate work environment like an office but if you work in a cubicle that you share with 20 other employees you are not likely to be able to control the lighting choice.

Stress ñ Physical and emotional stress can be identified using a journal or by making use of psychological counseling. Counseling is also a good avenue for exploring how to deal with these stresses. Stress induced migraines are quite common because there is an obvious link between our emotional state and our physical state.

Tobacco smoke and alcoholic consumption ñ These are both lifestyle choices and decisions about participating in smoking or drinking needs to be based on individual decision making processes. Certainly health concerns often force us to re-evaluate these lifestyle choices. The unfortunate situation arises when an individual is forced to be exposed to and inhale second-hand tobacco smoke especially if that turns out to be a trigger for migraines. Avoiding second-hand smoke is not always possible if the one suffering from migraines is a child. This is where parental responsibility should kick in.

Understanding the Prodrome and Postdrome Phases of Migraines

Migraines are thought to have four phases. Although the lines between them are blurred, they do show some striking similarities. The initial and the final phases of migraines are known as the prodrome and postdrome phases respectively. Both phases are distinctly different from the actual mid migraine phases, yet they are sometimes hard to recognize to the patient who is suffering from them.

Prodrome Phase
The majority of migraine patients do report experiencing a prodrome phase. Those who are uncertain whether or not they have experienced this phase will sometimes contend that in retrospective it appears as though they might have gone through this phase, but because of the benign nature of the experience it was really rather impossible to tell at the time.

The prodrome phase is defined by an increase in fatigue and a markedly changing makeup of the patientís mood. In some cases there may be some hyperactivity, bursts of productivity, an increase in irritability, and a subsequent letdown into listlessness and even times of depression. The patient may have a sudden pain in the upper back, the neck, and the feeling of sore or pulled muscles. This is a distinct giveaway since this feeling does not logically follow on the heels of any exercise.

Postdrome Phase
The postdrome phase finishes the migraine suffererís cycle of symptoms. It inevitably distinguishes itself with feelings of extreme fatigue, residual pain, and also feelings of vertigo. The patient is urged to rest and get some sleep before taking up regular activities again. Follow up headaches are part of the experience, yet they are by far less painful than their precursors.

This phase only lasts about 10 to 12 hours, and in the aftermath of a full blown migraine attack, this phase is a breeze for the patient to weather. In general it is recommended that sufferers rest, take it easy, and expect to awake refreshed after a good nightís sleep.

Dealing with Prodrome and Postdrome Phases
Migraine patients can do little to ward off the prodrome phase or hasten the postdrome suffering. Instead, the best treatment suggestions come from osteopathic practitioners that urge the sufferer to focus on muscle relaxation, visualization techniques, and also bio feedback. The goal is to bring the patient through the experience with a minimum of discomfort while aiding her or him in the ability to overcome the migraine attack speedily and with only very few lasting problems.

Since so often there is a good chance that nervousness and tension will intensify migraine headaches, the admonition to work hard at relaxation may sound odd, but it might ease the overall experience of pain and discomfort, and it might actually shorten the attack. The latter, of course is what most sufferers are looking for and hope to achieve, especially when their migraines have multiple symptoms rather than just one or two. Especially headache sufferers are hoping to severely shorten the mid phases in favor of recognizing the onset of the prodrome and thus finding the ability to take preventive measures.

Why Tanacetum Parthenium is called the Migraine Herb

Tanacetum parthenium is a small plant that at first glance mimics the appearance of the chamomile. Its broad yellow center is surrounded by small white petals that give rise to this easy misconception. Colloquially known as Feverfew, the herb has been used for hundreds of years as a known fever reducer in folk medicine. As such it has earned a reputation for opening up the blood vessels of the body, allowing for an unfettered flow of oxygenated blood and thus a removal of sickness and infection causing substances, and therefore is a staple in fever treatments.

The blood vessel dilation functionality is now also put to good use by migraine sufferers. In the past, the substance of choice for this job was caffeine. This presupposed that the migraine sufferer had cut out caffeine out of the daily lifestyle and therefore was highly susceptible to the chemical effects caffeine would have on the brain and its constricting capillaries. Accompanying the use of caffeine were the usual side effects of an overdose, such as jitters, insomnia, trouble focusing, and also nausea. Feverfew accomplishes the very same reaction of the capillaries, yet it does not force the side effects onto the migraine sufferer.

The downside to using the herb sometimes known as the migraine herb rests in the failure to act as quickly as caffeine. While the latter substance with influence the body virtually immediately, Feverfew requires a daily use well ahead of the actual trigger event. This makes it a perfect preventive measure, but will fail to yield appreciable results during an actual migraine attack. On the flipside, since some migraine headaches in women are triggered during menstruation, the use of Feverfew is known to not only prevent the actual migraine but also reduce the pain associated with menstrual cramps.

There are some warnings associated with the use of Feverfew, and migraine sufferers who are taking blood thinners or are at risk for heart attacks may need to discuss this herbal use with their physicians prior to deciding on this course of treatment. As a matter of fact, doctors sometimes strongly caution those who take a daily aspirin table against the use of this substance since it may make for an unhealthy combination in the blood stream.

In addition to the foregoing, there are some studies that suggest that a sudden change in the dosage of Feverfew may actually become a trigger event and cause a migraine headache. As such, the naturally occurring chemical compounds in this migraine herb need to be lessened in the body on a gradual basis rather than a radical withdrawal. Some migraine patients have actually compared the withdrawal like that of caffeine on the body and the headaches associated with the removal of the chemicals in the body as just that severe. Confer with your doctor prior to supplementing your diet with Feverfew, and also discuss your use of such supplementation if you want to stop taking them. The gradual withdrawal may actually be assisted with the use of caffeine, if needed.