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| Some of my regular migraine meds.. Synflex & Caffox |
I have been diagnosed with acute migraine since i was a kid. Doctors are unsure what's the main cause of my migraine, but what they do know, for me, when my migraine hits, its earth shattering. The pain is just unbearable. It used to get to a point where i banged my head on the wall, puking, ultra sensitivity to lights and sounds, puking and at most severe cases, fainting.
The symptoms are always the same. The sharp pain on one side of the head. Usually it starts on one corner of my eye. How long it lasts is never the same.
Googled through migraine and found a long long list of definitions, causes and remedies. Yes, just remedies, coz there is no cure for migraines.
From
MedlinePlus:
A migraine is a very painful type of
headache. People who get migraines often describe the pain as pulsing or throbbing in one area of the head. During migraines, people are very sensitive to light and sound. They may also become nauseated and vomit.
Migraine is three times more common in women than in men. Some people can tell when they are about to have a migraine because they see flashing lights or zigzag lines or they temporarily lose their vision.
Many things can trigger a migraine. These include
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Lack of food or sleep
- Exposure to light
- Hormonal changes (in women)
Doctors used to believe migraines were linked to the opening and narrowing of blood vessels in the head. Now they believe the cause is related to genes that control the activity of some brain cells. Medicines can help prevent migraine attacks or help relieve symptoms of attacks when they happen. For many people, treatments to relieve stress can also help.
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
A migraine headache is a form of vascular headache. Migraine headache is caused by vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) that causes the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the large arteries of the brain. Enlargement of these blood vessels stretches the nerves that coil around them and causes the nerves to release chemicals. The chemicals cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery. The increasing enlargement of the arteries magnifies the pain.
Migraine attacks commonly activate the sympathetic nervous system in the body. The sympathetic nervous system is often thought of as the part of the nervous system that controls primitive responses to
stress and pain, the so-called "fight or flight" response, and this activation causes many of the symptoms associated with migraine attacks; for example, the increased sympathetic nervous activity in the intestine causes
nausea,
vomiting, and
diarrhea.
- Sympathetic activity also delays emptying of the stomach into the small intestine and thereby prevents oral medications from entering the intestine and being absorbed.
- The impaired absorption of oral medications is a common reason for the ineffectiveness of medications taken to treat migraine headaches.
- The increased sympathetic activity also decreases the circulation of blood, and this leads to pallor of the skin as well as cold hands and feet.
- The increased sympathetic activity also contributes to the sensitivity to light and sound sensitivity as well as blurred vision.
Migraine afflicts 28 million Americans, with females suffering more frequently (17%) than males (6%). Missed work and lost productivity from migraine create a significant public burden. Nevertheless, migraine still remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Less than half of individuals with migraine are diagnosed by their doctors.
okay.. i've gotta go rest for abit..
xoxo
sheena the lola
