Dealing With A Migraine Headache

Knowing what you are actually dealing with when dealing with a migraine headache can help minimize its effect on your wellness.

Do you have to deal with a migraine headache at times? If you do, you know that it can be very painful and debilitating.  What you may personally experience in a migraine headache episode, however, may be unique to you.  The reason is that causes and symptoms vary greatly between individuals.

I have been dealing with a migraine headache for the past three days. My personal symptoms began three mornings ago after getting up from sleep.  I felt something weird going on in my head.  By the time I was done brushing my teeth I was feeling very dizzy and nauseated.  Pain started to develop in my head, from the back of my head on the right side near the base of my skull.  The sharp pain seemed to go from there through my head to my forehead especially on the right side.  I could go nowhere but back to lie down on my bed.  Speak about debilitating!

The first day I could do nothing but lie down and make it as dark as I could in my bedroom.  My wife supplied me with a hot wet wash cloth to put over my eyes.  I could not drink anything during the day, let alone eat anything.  My nausea ended up in vomiting, really dry heaves, as it is called.  By the evening I felt a little better and I ate some crackers with a little tea.  However, soon after I vomited that too.

One of my daughters sent over some Excedrin Migraine capsules. It seemed to help a little and I was able to go to sleep, although still with a throbbing headache.

The second day I was able to get around a little better and began drinking tea. My youngest daughter, who is a massage therapist, came over and massaged the muscles and fascia at the base of my head.  I did feel a little better and was able to get up and around.  She also had me role up a hot wet towel and put it at the base of my head to relax the muscles and tendons at that point as I lay on my recliner.  My nausea and dizziness subsided and I was able to eat a little.  I was able to sleep better the second night.

The third day I awoke feeling better and was able to go through my morning routine of getting myself ready for the day.  But, I still had a pain at the base of my skull and felt a pressure at the back of my right eye as well as throughout my forehead.  I was still dealing with a migraine headache.  However, I was able to eat lightly, my dizziness and nausea were basically gone and I was able to leave the house to visit one of my nephews who came down from Michigan and was visiting one of my daughters.

From a number of conversations with my own family members, I found out that various ones of my own family have been dealing with migraine headaches.  A son-in-law gets them quite frequently but he does not get dizzy or nauseated.  My married son’s wife also gets migraine headaches quite often and has all those symptoms I just had but not as severe.  My nephew’s wife also gets frequent migraine headaches, but she told me she takes some sort of herbal remedy at the very outset and that seems to keep her migraine episode down to a few hours.  (She said that she would send me the name of the herbal remedy when she gets back home.)  Also, my son-in-law who gets migraine headaches said that he has a friend who gets severe episodes of migraine headaches and has to stay in bed for at least three days, especially because of the throbbing, dizziness and nausea.

WHY AM I SHARING ALL THESE DETAILS?

It was an eye awaking experience to not only have a migraine headache episode myself, but also to hear that so many in my family get these migraines.  Those of you who also are dealing with migraine headaches might appreciate that you are not alone.  And, for those that do not, perhaps you will have greater empathy and sympathy for those that do.

I have been able to do some research on dealing with migraine headaches as this third day is winding down and I hope to post it tomorrow.  Here is some information that may help you as I hope that it will help me—should I continue dealing with a migraine headache in the future.

HERE ARE SOME FACTS REGARDING MIGRAINE HEADACHES.

A migraine headache episode can last from four hours to 72 hours, with the average being 18 hours, according to reports from those actually dealing with a migraine headache.The swelling of the blood vessels in the head causes migraine headaches.  Recent tests show that certain foods contain chemicals that can cause these headaches.  Foods such as chocolate, bananas, nuts, wine, cheese, hot dogs, and the food seasoning monosodium glutamate are suspect.  Many other things can cause migraines, but if other causes have been eliminated, the migraine sufferer might consider eliminating these foods from their diet.The problem of migraines appears to be technically a chemical one and not an allergy.The word “migraine” is derived from a French word meaning “half a head” and is appropriate because, in most cases, the ache affects only one side of the head.In contrast to a tension headache, the pain from a migraine headache soon becomes throbbing or pulsating in kind due to its origin mainly in overdistended arteries outside the skull.  There is often a feeling of nausea or other digestive disturbance, and the pain may be so intense as to interfere with work and compels the individual to lie down.There may be more than one in the family who suffer from migraine headaches, because the tendency to develop migraine is inherited.In cases of “classical” migraine headaches as opposed to common migraines, an attack may be heralded by a preheadache warning or “aura,” such as spots or flashes of light before the eyes.

HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS IN DEALING WITH A MIGRAINE HEADACHE.

In the immediate treatment of your migraine headache, the simplest remedy that circumstances may permit is self-medication with an analgesic or pain-relieving drug.  However, preparations that contain amidopyrine or phenacetin may be harmful and are best avoided.  It is safer to use a simple drug, for example aspirin in its soluble form, or if aspirin gives you indigestion, then paracetamol is an effective alternative.However, a caution is necessary.  It has been found that the more such pain relievers are taken, the more often headaches of any type may occur.  This is known as medication misuse headache (MMH).  When the analgesic effect wears off, the medication can cause a headache that the patient mistakes for a normal headache or a migraine.  The patient takes more painkillers, thus repeating the cycle.When circumstances permit, alternative procedures may bring relief with or even without the use of analgesic drugs.  If you can interrupt your routine activities and can lie down for a half an hour or so in a quiet, semidarkened room you will feel the benefit.  Heat applied locally to the head and neck by means of hot towels or radiant heat, and even a warm bath can also be beneficial.  Also, if you can find someone to apply a gentle massage or traction to the muscles of the neck for just ten or fifteen minutes this will greatly assist in relaxing the muscles.  This is especially true of those tension headaches.These similar measures may be effective in the immediate treatment of your migraine headache attack.  However, instead of locally applied heat, you may find that you get much more relief from cold compresses or even ice packs applied to the head.  Such compresses help to reduce the overdistension of the arteries that give rise to this type of headache.Repeated cups of strong tea or coffee may also bring relief by a similar effect on the blood vessels due to the action of caffeine.Your migraine headache may be so severe as to compel you to lie down, and all you may want to do is “sleep it off.”  Under such circumstances it is wise to submit to the body’s demands.

AND A FINAL WORD ON THE AFFECT OF STRESS

IN DEALING WITH MIGRAINE HEADACHES.

Migraine headaches can also be induced by fatigue, stress, anxiety and overexcitement. In fact, excitement and emotions rank high on the list of predisposing factors.  Commenting on this, Dr. Oliver W. Sacks, in his book Migraine:  The Evolution of a Common Disorder (1970), writes this:

“Violent emotions exceed all other acute circumstances to provoke migraine reactions, and in many patients—especially sufferers from classical migraine—are responsible for the vast majority of attacks experienced…we find, in practice, that sudden rage is the commonest precipitant, although fright (panic) may be equally potent in younger patients.  Sudden elation (as at a moment of triumph or unexpected good fortune) may have the same effect.”

Is there a bottom line as far as dealing with a migraine headache? From what my own experience tells me and from what the above research reveals, there may be things that we each can personally do to prevent or minimize the effects of migraine episodes in our life.  For our own wellness sake we definitely should consider them.

Taking a good long hard look at our emotional reactions and attitude and being careful about our diet and the foods that may lead to a migraine are a must.  The more I read and research I find that it is evident that a “quiet and mild spirit,” learning to remain unruffled when people or circumstances tend to irritate should be a priority.  Also, if you can come to appreciate the value of contentment in contrast to the demanding and never-ending quest for material possessions and pleasures, you will come a long way.  And, if you can develop an unselfish concern over the welfare of others and not be overly concerned about yourself, you will indeed have gone a long way toward eliminating those emotional stresses and strains that so often result in tension or migraine headaches.

Tags: dealing with a migraine headache, headache, migraine, migraine headache, migraine headaches, tension headache, throbbing headache, wellness

This entry was posted on September 12, 2010 at 11:22 am and is filed under Wellness Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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