Here's my story....In two words IT'S AWFUL (My Experience of Migraines)

Member Name: veerauk

Product:	My Experience of Migraines
Date:	22/11/02 (371 review reads)
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Advantages: -, -

Disadvantages: IT'S LIKE THE END HAS COME

I didn?t really think that I could suffer from migraines. My Mum always had headaches and was diagnosed with migraines but thank-fully I didn?t ever get serious headaches or migraines. However, for the last couple of months I have been coming down with really bad headaches, first I thought nothing of it. However, once the thud, thud in my head didn?t go away as it normally would I did begin to wonder. It was awful. It was at the back of my head some days, others at the side. I felt awful nothing could help. I took so many paracetamol and all the other headache tablets. But this wasn?t a headache that I had experienced before. Normally, when I get a headache it goes away the next day usually after a good night sleep.

When I went to my doctors after a couple of days of continuing banging in my head he said that I probably was suffering from migraines. He said that the blurred vision, the feeling of sick but being unable to be sick and the sharp banging pains in my head were probably down to me suffering from a migraine. I was quite gob smacked and in a way it upset me. My Mum had suffered from migraines and now it was my turn. I had seen how bad it was with my Mum, for days sometimes she couldn?t get out of bed, it used to be so upsetting watching her feel so bad. She was so lively and energetic but once she would get her migraines however hard she tried she couldn?t do anything about her headaches and that normally meant a week or so in bed. So it did upset me that now I would suffer the same fate. To you who haven?t experienced severe migraines you are probably thinking you should be happy it?s not terminal, but for the few days or weeks you get migraine, nothing anybody says, does can help. It feels terminal and I lose count of the times I wish I was dead. Yes, at times it can be that bad.

Thank-fully, my family is supportive and my migraines are less often. I just dread the sharp pains and hope they do not come back but they do a
nd it?s random, no set date so it can happen anytime which I guess is the worse thing. I was on holiday in the summer and in the middle of the holiday I had a migraine. I felt so sad not for myself but for my family who?s holiday was spoilt because of me even if they cared not to admit it.

I got a really good leaflet from my GP and it?s got some excellent information and advice for anybody suffering from migraines.

Some facts about migraines???
Migraine is a complex condition with a wide variety of symptoms which show that various metabolic, neurophysiological and biochemical changes take place during an attack. For many, the main feature is the headache but for children the headache may be milder, and it is the gastrointestinal symptoms like stomach ache which tend to be predominant. It is also a disorder which comes and goes, with complete freedom between attacks.

Cause??
We know by the aura in migraine, flashing lights or pins and needles, that the brain and central nervous system are involved, from the pain in the head that the blood vessels are involved, and from symptoms like nausea and vomiting that the gastrointestinal tract is involved, with most experts in the field believing that the ultimate problem is in the brain. One of the rarer forms of migraine has been found to be caused by an altered gene. The fact that different drugs used in migraine work on different mechanisms in the body suggests there may even be more than one cause.

Who suffers??.
Any person of any age, class, sex, ethnicity, culture or intelligence level can have migraine. Migraine is probably the most common painful chronic (long-term) condition that exists.

Types of migraines??.
A classification system for migraine with seven different types has been developed by the International Headache Society and adopted by the World Health Organisation. It is used for research and covers a number of rare forms. The common two forms
which account for more than 95% of patients are:
1 Migraine without aura (previously called common migraine).
2 Migraine with aura (which includes basilar migraine where symptoms such as loss of balance, double vision or fainting can occur, and familial hemiplegic migraine which includes temporary partial paralysis come under this heading which was previously called classical migraine). For more

Spontaneous acts
Most attacks occur spontaneously, seemingly for no reason. However, migraine sufferers can be said to be hypersensitive to certain factors which can bring on attacks, which implies that by avoiding these, some attacks can be prevented.

PRECIPITATING FACTORS???..
Identifying triggers is not as easy as it may sound as anything can trigger an attack in a person who is prone to that trigger and the list of possible ones can be bewildering. Here are some of the major groups of triggers which have been identified through various research trials:

HORMONAL CHANGES IN WOMEN ???.
The fact that three times more women than men suffer implicates the menstrual cycle as a significant trigger for women. Also, migraine improves or ceases for many women during pregnancy , especially the last six months. If this is a trigger for you, the times you may be particularly prone are:
 during menstruation
 during ovulation (about the middle of the monthly cycle)
 while taking HRT
 during the menopause
Take particular care to avoid other triggers at your prone times of the month.

STRESS??
Stress can be a significant trigger and usually brings on attacks when you unwind after a stressful event, after extended periods of stress, or at times of crises
The frustration and feeling of depression of living with migraine can also significantly contribute to stress, and may have developed migraine-stress responses which feed on each other. However, this is an area wh
ere you can make a difference.

TREATMENTS??
The most important fact for the success of any treatment, either drug or non-drug, is your motivation to succeed, so make sure that any treatment you try is given a fair trial. If you approach treatment half-heartedly, it is unlikely to work, or not work as well as it might. Cost can be a consideration in the choice of treatments. Simplicity can also be a factor in which treatment is chosen - it is much easier to take a pill than to undertake biofeedback programmes for example. Milder drugs will be tried before the stronger one. All these will effect treatment choice.

EARLY ACTION??
Early action in migraine can make a substantial difference
 to help in preventing attacks
 to help in aborting attacks
 to maximise drug efficacy (it may also mean that a simpler drug will be effective)
This is where knowledge of your own premonitory or prodromal stage symptoms can help. Make sure you keep your medication with you. Many people also take their own small container of water, so they can take an analgesics in soluble form where they might not have access to water. Taking a snack bar can be helpful to boost blood sugar levels, if this is a problem for you. Taking a break or a change in activity can help.

SLEEP ??..
Still one of the best way of aborting attacks is sleep, or complete rest if sleep is not possible. The biggest problem with this is finding the opportunity to do so. If you get an attack at home looking after the children, if you are at work, if you are travelling, how can you arrange for the conditions which will allow you to sleep? It will take a good deal of organisation, but it is worth thinking about how you could make contingency arrangements to achieve this. If sleep is not possible, you can try doing the minimum amount possible in your particular situation.

DRUGS ??..
There is no standard drug treatment in migraine an
d so the choice of drugs should always be made on an individual basis. The following is a guide, but always follow your doctor's advice and directions.
There are two types of drugs for migraine; those given to deal with the acute attack as it is happening, and those taken daily to try and prevent attacks or reduce how often and how severe they are.

Having suffered from migraines and still suffering from migraines, I hope the information has helped. It?s something which affects many of us and if you haven?t got it just be grateful because it awful for me and for my family.

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