Archive for the ‘Migraine Headache Symptoms’ Category
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
In understanding why migraine headaches occur, it’s important to know the difference between a primary headache and a secondary headache. Where do migraine headaches fit into the equation?
Secondary headaches
Secondary headaches occur as a result of an underlying condition or injury. If you suffer a concussion, have severe allergies, or experience anxiety or stress, it’s not unusual to suffer from severe secondary headaches as one of several side effects.
Sometimes, secondary headaches are the earliest symptoms indicating a life-threatening condition, such as stroke or heart disease.
Causes of secondary headache include:
- Anxiety and depression
- Head injury
- Neck pain
- Sinusitis
- Food allergy
- Infection
- High blood pressure
- Tumor
- Stroke
Primary headaches
Chronic headaches fall into the category of primary headaches, head pain that is unrelated to any other health condition or possible injury. In order to diagnose chronic head pain as migraines or cluster headaches, your doctor will need to run some diagnostic tests to confirm the absence of a tumor, brain injury, or vascular disorder.
Indicators that point to primary headache, including migraine, are:
- Family history for migraine
- Frequent headaches that have occurred consistently for many years
- Chronic headaches, despite having a normal, healthy physical exam
- Headaches that follow a pattern
- The presence of “migraine triggers” in food, hormonal fluctuations, weather, and other environmental stimuli
Top 25 Natural Migraine Treatments: Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs
Migraine headaches
Migraines are primary headaches that result from a genetic, neurological disorder. In addition to severe, debilitating head pain, symptoms of migraines also include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Stomach cramps
- Eye pain
- Neck pain
- Dizziness
- Disorientation
- Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and scents
- Temporary visual disturbances- partial blindness, shifting, bright lights, tunnel vision
- Sudden stroke-like symptoms- partial paralysis, inability to articulate words, loss of spatial awareness, loss of consciousness
Your turn!
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Like this? Read more:
Is Migraine Disorder a Real Illness?
What Causes Migraines? The Long and Short Answers
Source:
Secondary Headaches- ACHE
Image(s) courtesy of ddpavumba/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Migraine Headache Causes, Primary migraine headaches, secondary headaches
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Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Feeling groggy, disoriented, and just plain slow? Brain fog is a common symptom of migraine disorder and many other forms of chronic pain. Or, you could be feeling the early symptoms of a common head cold, say researchers.
What is brain fog?
Brain fog is more than just simple tiredness; it’s normal to be tired if you haven’t slept enough, or if you’ve been running around all day nonstop. Chronic fatigue, however, makes you feel wiped out even when you’ve had a good eight hours of sleep.
Brain drain is one complaint that people with migraines and chronic fatigue have- that feeling of walking around in a daze, not being quick-on-the-uptake, thinking in slow motion.
For many, chronic pain and fatigue go hand-in-hand. One of the most common symptoms of illnesses such as migraine disorder, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, and pernicious anemia is- you guessed it- constant brain fog, or “fibro haze.”
Sometimes, brain fog occurs because of reduced oxygen resulting from low red blood cells. Such is the case when vitamin B12 deficiency occurs with migraine.
(Read How do Migraines Create Vitamin B12 Deficiency?)
Coming down with brain fog?
According to a scientific study on the common cold and mood, overpowering fatigue may be the earliest sign of a head cold.
Days before you start noticing cold symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, or headache, you may already start feeling lethargic, depressed, cranky, or disoriented.
Studies show that a common cold affects your memory, reasoning skills, lucidity, mental focus, mood, and alertness.
So, fatigue symptoms that you’ve come to expect as a side effect of migraine, may actually mean that you need to slow down, take some vitamin C, and drink a cup of tea.
Your turn!
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please leave your comments below.
Share with your friends!
If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.
Like this? Read more:
Natural Migraine Ingredients: 9 Must-Take Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs
Improve your Memory while taking Topamax for Migraines
Migraine Headaches and Dizziness- Stop the Ride, I want to get off!
Sources:
How a head cold will affect your brain
Effects of the common cold on mood, psychomotor performance, the encoding of new information, speed of working memory and semantic processing
Image(s) courtesy of Michal Marcol/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
Migraines cause many unusual physiological symptoms during a migraine attack; one valid concern migraine patients often have involves dilated pupils, mydriasis. Below are some common conditions that cause dilated pupils, many of which correlate strongly with or mimic symptoms of migraines.
To date, there are more than 70 health conditions, illnesses, and injuries that are associated with dilated pupils, many of which are directly related to chronic headaches, such as migraines.
Warning
If you suffer from constant migraine attacks that also cause your pupils to dilate, then it’s important to be able to cancel out any underlying health problems, such as brain tumor, or comorbid condition to migraine disorder that also cause your eye pupils to widen or dilate.
Please discuss any occurrence of dilated pupils with your doctor, especially if you have recently been in a car accident or suffered even a mild head injury.
Migraine headaches- Adults and children who experience frequent migraines may notice dilate pupils, in addition to visual distortions (migraine aura), double vision, and hypersensitivity to bright lights and stark white backgrounds. Other migraine symptoms include severe head pain, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, numbness, tingling, and confusion.
Ocular migraines- Also called “retinal migraines” or “ophthalmic migraines,” ocular (eye) migraines cause visual problems such as temporary partial blindness, blurry vision, and double vision, in addition to vertigo and fatigue.
(Related: Headaches can Cause Blindness- 4 Facts about Ocular Migraines)
Cluster headaches- Cluster headaches are a chronic headache condition separate from migraines. Cluster headaches cause eye dilation, eye pain, and sudden sharp head pain.
Tension headaches- Tension headaches caused by tight muscles are also not in the same category as migraines, but frequent tension headaches may sometimes trigger migraines.
Sinus headaches- Stuffy nose and sinus pressure from chronic sinusitis may cause your pupils to dilate, while also aggravating migraines.
(Related: Migraine Headaches Triggered by Coughing)
Stroke- One of the symptoms of stroke includes dilated pupils, in addition to headache, dizziness, confusion, paralysis, and temporary speech impediments. Chronic migraines are a high risk factor for stroke and heart disease, so it’s worth visiting your doctor if you experience sudden, unusual eye dilation.
(Related: Migraines and stroke: How to tell the Difference)
Botox side effects- Botox injections, commonly used to treat migraines, may cause side effects, including dilated pupils, headache, nausea, and pain at the injection site.
Visual disorders- Eye problems such as nearsightedness or double vision are also common causes of eye pupil dilation.
Medication side effects- It’s worth noting that dilated pupils may be a reaction to medications, including migraine drugs. Other side effects may include nausea, dizziness, vomiting, headache, and seizures.
Caffeine - If you’re currently trying to cut caffeine out of your diet as a means of controlling migraine triggers, then your eye pupils may be dilated as a result of caffeine withdrawal.
Arthritis- Cervical spondylosis (arthritis in the neck) is a degenerative condition that causes neck stiffness and pain, in addition to strong headaches.
Pernicious anemia- Vitamin B12 deficiency from pernicious anemia may result in visual problems, including eye dilation. Vitamin B12 deficiency often occurs with migraine disorder; other symptoms include fatigue, depression, memory loss, and painful numbness and tingling in the extremities from peripheral nerve damage.
Please tell us…
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Share with your friends!
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Like this? Read more:
Lights…Camera…Migraine! 10 Curious Facts about Light Sensitivity
Migraine Auras without Headache: Silent Migraines
Sources:
Enlarged (dilated) pupils and Headache: Common Related Medical Conditions
Image(s) courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Eyes, Migraine attack symptoms, migraine headaches, Pupils, Pupils dilated with migraines, Vision problems and migraine
Posted in Migraine Headache Symptoms | No Comments »
Friday, October 26th, 2012
Following recent outbreaks of viral meningitis, many migraine patients have questions about possible signs of meningitis and ways to distinguish them from migraines. If you experience frequent migraine attacks, then it’s important to be able to differentiate between an approaching migraine headache and signs of meningitis.
What is meningitis?
Meningitis is an infection that occurs in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that separates your brain fluids from your blood supply. When the membranes protecting your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) become infected, the result is painful inflammation that triggers severe headaches (similar to migraines), fever, and nausea.
Causes of meningitis range from viruses, bacteria, and fungal infections.
Meningitis requires emergency intervention, so if you suspect that your headaches are not typical of migraines, you must contact your physician or ER immediately.
What are the risk factors of meningitis?
If you have not received vaccinations against meningitis, then you may be at risk. Other risk factors for meningitis include:
- Age
- Poor immune system
- Living in a closed community
- Pregnancy
- Working around domestic animals or livestock
7 Headache Symptoms you definitely shouldn’t ignore
What are the symptoms of meningitis?
Symptoms of meningitis can occur in any order, and may increase slowly over several days. Sometimes, meningitis can be misinterpreted as flu, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or migraine headaches.
Meningitis symptoms include:
- Excruciating head pain
- Extreme sensitivity to light
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Fever
- Neck stiffness
- Intense fatigue, or sleepiness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Confusion, or “brain fog”
- Itchy skin rash
When a Migraine is Not a Migraine
How are migraine symptoms different from meningitis?
It’s important to be able to recognize the early signs of meningitis, especially if you suffer from chronic migraines. Unless treated, meningitis can lead to seizures, nerve damage, deafness, brain damage, paralysis, or death.
Here are some clues to help you tell the difference between migraine symptoms and meningitis:
- Migraine headaches characteristically occur on one side of the head only. With meningitis, unlike migraines, head pain in not restricted to one side.
- While meningitis causes hypersensitivity to bright lights, (a symptom also common with migraines), it does not affect your ability to tolerate loud noises, a mutual complaint among migraine sufferers.
- Migraines are often preceded by an aura, while there are no reports indicating visual distortions or blind spots occurring immediately before signs of meningitis.
Treatment
After diagnosing meningitis, your doctor may prescribe strong antibiotics and headaches pain relievers. Steroids are also sometimes offered to alleviate symptoms.
Please tell us…
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Share with your friends!
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Like this? Read more:
6 Tests for Migraines and other Chronic Headaches
Headaches Caused by Neck Pain? It Happens…
Sources:
Meningitis- MayoClinic.com
Migraine Headache vs Encephalitis and Meningitis Headaches
Image(s) courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Difference between migraines and meningitis, Meningitis headaches, migraine headaches, migraine symptoms, Migraines or meningitis
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Monday, October 22nd, 2012
Migraines correlate with many non-headache conditions, including susceptibility for vitamin B12 deficiency. Unfortunately, many of the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency mimic migraines, making it harder to identify and treat. In order to prevent severe vitamin B12 deficiency with migraines, it’s important to understand why it happens and what you can do to reduce your odds.
Migraines, +
As any sufferer of chronic migraines can tell you, there’s more to a migraine attack than the crushing, long-lasting debilitating headache. Other ailments that occur at the same time as the trademark excruciating head pain can be nearly as devastating. Many migraine patients experience sharp eye pain, shoulder stiffness, vertigo, and fatigue on a daily basis.
Other common symptom of migraine- intense, stomach-turning nausea and vomiting- make it difficult to work or manage household duties. When frequent vomiting and diarrhea from migraines occur over a long period, they can also cause damage to the linings of the stomach and esophagus, leading to severe gastrointestinal problems. Ulcers, thinning of the esophagus and acid reflux are often comorbid conditions of migraine disorder.
Migraine Symptoms- a Short List
Migraines and vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency is a risk factor whenever there is long-lasting damage to the stomach or small intestines. That’s because your body relies on certain digestive enzymes in order to absorb vitamin B12, and these essential proteins are manufactured in the stomach. Damage to the intestines or stomach caused by harsh stomach acids interferes with your ability to produce these essential digestive enzymes that are required to access vitamin B12.
If you migraine attacks occur weekly, and they also cause uncontrollable vomiting and chronic diarrhea, then your chances of developing an inability to absorb vitamin B12 naturally from foods increases, along with your chances of developing vitamin B12 deficiency with migraines.
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency
As mentioned earlier, some of the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency and migraines are alike. Migraines are a neurological disorder and likewise, side effects of low vitamin B12 levels result from peripheral nerve cell damage (peripheral neuropathy).
In order to catch an underlying vitamin B12 deficiency with migraines, it’s important to get your vitamin B12 levels checked by submitting to a blood screening.
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency that also occur with migraines include:
- Painful tingling and numbness in the extremities, including the hands, fingers, legs, feet, and tongue
- Chronic fatigue
- Brain fog
- Headaches
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Muscular pain
- Muscle spasms or twitches
- Vision impairments
Migraine Headaches and Dizziness- Stop the Ride, I want to get off!
Treatment and avoidance
When vitamin B12 deficiency results from migraine and gastrointestinal damage, then it’s pointless to try to increase your dietary intake of foods that are high in vitamin B12. The only way to treat and further prevent malnutrition is to supplement with non-edible forms of vitamin B12. These include vitamin B12 injections, sublingual B12 tablets, or other over-the-counter (OTC) forms of vitamin B12 that do not require digestion through the stomach.
Please tell us…
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please leave your comments below.
Share with your friends!
If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.
Like this? Read more:
Brain Drain from Migraines…What’s Causing it?
Migraines and Meniere’s disease: a Match made in Hades
Natural Migraine Ingredients: 9 Must-Take Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs
Source:
Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet:Vitamin B12
Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Do migraines cause vitamin B12 deficiency, migraine attacks, migraine headaches, Migraines and vitamin B12, Migraines and vitamin B12 deficiency, symptoms of migraines
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Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
Most people think that migraine symptoms only involve headaches- really strong headaches, but still- just that. Any chronic migraine sufferer can tell you that the constant throbbing headaches are just the tip of the iceberg. Migraine symptoms can vary according to each patient, depending on the type of migraine attack one usually sufferers, and the cause. Here are some of the most common symptoms of migraine disorder.
First, the headaches
Migraine headaches are the longest, most torturous phase of a migraine attack, which begins with a range of pre-migraine symptoms and end with a long period of recuperation.
Not all migraine attacks cause headaches, but when they do occur, they usually follow a specific behavior. Migraine symptoms that involve headaches are characterized by the following details:
- Migraine headaches always occur on one side of the head.
- Migraine headache symptoms are often described as a dull, painful throbbing.
- Sometimes, pain radiates from one point of the head, such as the temple area, and travels towards the middle of the face, or the eyes.
- Migraine headaches may also cause sharp, severe eye pain, sometimes described as the sensation of an ice pick stabbing into your eye socket.
- Unlike common headaches, migraine headache symptoms don’t usually respond well to over-the-counter headache medications such as ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen.
- Migraine headaches can last for hours or days.
- Chronic migraine headaches occur more than fourteen times each month.
Prodrome migraine symptoms
A few days before a migraine attack strikes, you may notice the following migraine symptoms:
- Unusual food cravings
- Mood swings- sudden exhilaration or sadness
- Fatigue
- Loss, or increase of appetite
- Sleep problems
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stomach cramps
Here Comes a Migraine Attack- 20 Telltale Signs
Migraine with aura
About 20% of migraine sufferers experience migraines with aura, a temporary pre-migraine phenomenon that occurs bare minutes before a migraine attack strikes. Migraine symptoms involving aura closely mimic signs of stroke or epilepsy, so similar are the warning signs to the outside observer.
Symptoms of migraines with aura include:
- Sudden fatigue
- Nausea
- Vertigo
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Loss of spatial awareness or sense of time
- Strange visual disturbances, such as flickering lights, bright oscillating shapes, zigzagging streams of light, dark voids, loss of peripheral vision, and double vision.
- Olfactory hallucinations
- Temporary partial paralysis on one side of the body
- Temporary facial paralysis
- Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
- Sudden inability to understand or manage speech clearly
- Loss of consciousness
Go Ask Alice: Migraine Auras in Wonderland
Other migraine symptoms
Even if you don’t experience migraines with aura, you may suffer the following ailments, in addition to migraine headaches:
- Neck stiffness and pain
- Strong stomach cramps
- Diarrhea
- Uncontrolled vomiting
- Severe fatigue
- Increased eye sensitivity to artificial light, strong sunlight, and harsh white backgrounds
- Increased sensitivity to strong scents
- Tinnitus (ear ringing)
Please tell us…
Can you add to our list of migraine symptoms?
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please leave your comments below.
Share with your friends!
If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.
Like this? Read more:
Migraine Aura and Prodrome- What’s the Difference?
Migraine Headaches and Dizziness- Stop the Ride, I want to get off!
Migraine Aura Video Simulations: You Tube’s Top 10
Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: migraine headaches, migraine symptoms, migraines with aura, symptoms of migraine headaches
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Thursday, September 13th, 2012
If you get chronic migraines with aura, then your chances of suffering symptoms of both migraines and stroke are greater than average- many studies correlate migraine symptoms such as disorientation, muscular feebleness, and visual disturbances with increased risk for stroke. Here are some tips for distinguishing symptoms of migraines and stroke.
Understanding migraines and stroke
We all dread any mention of the word, but many don’t understand what occurs during a stroke, and what risk factors increase your odds for having one. Similarly, many myths and misconceptions abound regarding symptoms of migraines.
First of all, not all stroke victims are senior citizens- a recent study revealed that approximately half of the people who suffer stroke are under the age of 65, and that roughly a quarter weren’t even 55 years of age. For migraines, most sufferers are middle-aged, although many children also experience pediatric migraines.
Ischemic stroke occurs because of a blocked artery in the brain that causes depletion of vital nutrients and oxygen, resulting in brain malfunction. With hemorrhagic stroke, impaired ability to see, walk, or talk clearly is caused by a burst blood vessel in the brain.
Doctors aren’t sure exactly what causes migraines, but they attribute them to a neurological disorder in the brain that causes excruciating headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
Risk factors for migraines and stroke
Risk factors for suffering from stroke include:
- Experiencing auras, which are stroke-like symptoms with migraines that occur in a significant number of migraine sufferers.
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
Risk factors for migraines are not as clear. Most migraine sufferers are women- three to one, females are a higher risk category than males for migraine headaches.
What are the symptoms of stroke?
Symptoms of migraines and stroke are very similar- to an onlooker, somebody having a severe migraine attack with aura may seem to be suffering from stroke. If you regularly get migraines with aura, then it’s important to be able to recognize some telltale signs of stroke, and tell the difference in time to get help.
Stroke symptoms include:
- Sudden numbness or feebleness on one side of the body, occurring in the face, arms, torso, or legs.
- Intense disorientation
- Difficulty speaking clearly, slurring words
- Sudden vision loss
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
- Trouble walking
- Sudden strong headache
How to tell the difference
If you suspect you are having a stroke, don’t hesitate to call 911 emergency services.
Here are some helpful clues to help you understand some key differences between symptoms of migraines and stroke.
- Stoke occurs suddenly- one second you’re fine, and the next, you experience a rush of debilitating symptoms. With migraine aura, symptoms occur more gradually. Also, you often have a warning, during the prodrome phase, where you may experience feelings of unusual exhilaration, food cravings, or hallucinatory scents.
- With stroke, vision problems include temporary loss of vision in one or both eyes, but no other types of visual impairments. With migraines, you may suffer double-vision, blurry vision, empty voids, peripheral blind spots, or bright, shifting light patterns.
Please tell us…
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Like this? Read more:
Sources:
Stroke: 5 Warning Signs You Must Know
Stroke and migraine
Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Difference between migraines and stroke, Migraine headaces, Migraines and stroke, migraines with aura, symptoms of migraines
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Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
Migraine headaches got you spinning in circles? There are several causes for dizziness with migraine disorder. Whether you’re experiencing vertigo, lightheadedness, or fatigue, here are some clues that will help you put an end to that dizzy feeling.
Is it dizziness or vertigo?
Dizziness and vertigo are not identical. Sometimes, people complain of vertigo when they are really feeling dizzy, or light-headed. It’s important to know the difference, as true vertigo may necessitate an MRI brain scan.
Dizziness makes you feel confused, tired, weak, and wobbly. If you are a migraine sufferer who experiences dizziness day in, day out, then you should consult your doctor.
Vertigo, on the other hand, is more than just dizziness- you feel intoxicated, as if the room were spinning around, and you have difficulty walking steady. Vertigo from migraines is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. With true vertigo, lying down brings some relief, while sitting up suddenly makes the dizziness worse.
Migraines with aura (MA)
Migraines are often classified by the presence of an aura- a premonitory phenomenon that occurs minutes before a migraine attack strikes.
Migraines with aura begin with a number of disturbing symptoms, including:
- Vertigo
- Fatigue
- Speech slurring
- Visual disturbances, like seeing bright lights, zigzagging colors, dark voids in your field of vision, or eclipsing images
- Temporary partial paralysis
- Painful tingling sensations
Some migraine patients experience vertigo and other symptoms of migraine aura separately from migraine headaches. Migraine vertigo can last for hours or days.
Migraine Headaches and Dizziness- Stop the Ride, I want to get off!
Vestibular migraine
Vestibular migraines are a type of migraine with aura that produces intense vertigo instead of throbbing headaches. Sudden rocking sensations make you feel dizzy and nauseous, and may last for hours.
Triggers of vestibular migraines include:
- Sudden movements
- Turning the head abruptly
- Driving or being a passenger
- Large crowds
Scientists are certain what causes vestibular migraines, but they believe it is an inherited disorder.
Hemiplegic Migraine Headaches
Hemiplegic migraines are MA-type migraines that may occur as early as childhood. Unlike vestibular migraines, hemiplegic migraines cause severe head pain, in addition to dizziness, paralysis on one side of the body, and other MA symptoms. Hemiplegic migraines are typically longer-lasting than other types of migraines, and sometimes (but rarely) result in pervasive balance disorders.
Scientists believe that genetic mutations may be the cause of hemiplegic migraines and dizziness.
Medications
Topamax, an anticonvulsant prescribed for epilepsy, is a popular treatment endorsed for migraine headaches. For some, Topamax provides dramatic relief from migraine attacks.
However, a significant number of migraine patients using Topamax complain of side effects such as dizziness, brain fog, fatigue, and memory loss.
Are Migraines linked with Epileptic Seizures? It’s Genetics
Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
ME/CFS shares several links with migraine disorder, including symptoms like vertigo, chronic pain, and sluggishness. Like migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome occurs in the brain, as a result of the nervous system’s hypersensitivity to various stimuli.
Meniere’s disease
Meniere’s disease is a balance disorder that occurs in the inner ear and the brain. Symptoms include vertigo, ear fullness, partial hearing loss, and tinnitus (ear ringing). A significant number of Meniere’s disease patients also suffer from migraines.
Migraines and Meniere’s disease: a Match made in Hades
Please tell us…
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please leave your comments below.
Share with your friends!
If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.
You might also like:
Migraine Comorbidity is not a Death Sentence
When Migraine Aura with Aphasia leaves you Lost for Words
Sources:
What are vestibular migraines?
Balance Problems- Mayo Clinic
Migraines & Central Sensitization in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Images:
MontyPython, APM Alex, Mykl Roventine
Tags: Causes of dizziness with migraine, Migraine headaches symptoms, migraine symptoms, Vertigo and migraines
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Monday, June 4th, 2012
How does one tell the difference between ordinary headaches and migraine headaches? In diagnosing migraines, your doctor may run a variety of tests and use specific diagnostic criteria. Here are some basic facts that help your healthcare provider distinguish between tension headaches and the worst migraines of your life…
Migraine symptoms
Any migraine sufferer can attest to the fact that migraines are about more than just a headache; a migraine attack may include a variety of debilitating ailments, in addition to excruciating head pain.
Typical symptoms of a migraine attack may include:
- Pounding, long-lasting head pain
- Sharp pain behind the eyes
- Neck stiffness
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Hypersensitivity to bright lights, scents, or loud noises
- Fatigue
Here Comes a Migraine Attack- 20 Telltale Signs
“Migraines with aura” also cause:
- Visual disturbances, such as bright flickering lights or blind spots
- Vertigo
- Olfactory hallucinations
- Partial, temporary paralysis
- Temporary speech slurring
- Loss of spatial awareness
- Loss of consciousness
The measure of a migraine
In diagnosing migraines, specialists look for a set of specific symptoms occurring in at least five separate migraine attacks.
- Headaches that last between 4-72 hours
- Headaches that cause nausea, vomiting, or extreme sensitivity to bright lights (photophobia) and loud noises (phonophobia)
- Headaches that inhibit normal, day-to-day activities
- Headaches that include two of the following criteria: head pain that is on one side of the head, headaches with pulsating (throbbing) qualities, pain described as moderate to excruciating, or head pain that intensifies with mild physical activity
- Absence of any head injuries or other disorder that can cause severe headaches.
Please tell us…
What tests did your doctor use to diagnose migraines?
Do you suffer from chronic headaches, but aren’t sure if they classify as migraines?
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please leave your comments below.
Share with your friends!
If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.
Read more about migraine headaches
Migraine Headaches- Top 7 FAQ’s
Migraines are Excruciating, Trigeminal Neuralgia is Suicide
References:
Migraine Diagnosis: Migraine Health Information – NY Times Health
International Headache Society diagnostic criteria
Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Diagnosing migraines, head pain, migraine attacks, migraine headaches, migraine symptoms, migraines with aura
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Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Whether you suffer from migraines with aura or chronic migraine headaches, there’s nothing more dreadful than being caught in a migraine attack unawares. By recognizing the migraine headache symptoms early on, you give yourself a chance to take your migraine medication and hopefully nip this one in the bud, or at least tone the headache down a notch.
Here are 20 symptoms associated with migraine attacks, beginning with the most obvious:
1. Pounding headache- Many non-migraineurs mistakenly think that migraines are just really strong headaches that happen more often than standard everyday headaches. Nothing could be further from the truth! While tense muscles cause stress headaches, migraine headaches are neurologically-based, and much more difficult to treat.
A common headache may last for hours, but a migraine attack can last for days, with little time to recover between episodes.
When a migraine attack strikes, it is usually accompanied by a host of other debilitating symptoms like nausea, feebleness, dizziness, vomiting, and sometimes paralysis.
2. Sharp pain in the eyes, in addition to neck and shoulder pain
3. Tinnitus (ear ringing)
4. Painful tingling and numbness (pins and needles)
5. Aura- bright, colorful lights, sometimes in a crescent shape, sometimes flickering or oscillating
6. Impaired vision, including double vision, blurriness, voids, or blind spots
7 . Sensory overload- hypersensitivity to bright lights, strong scents, and loud noises
8. Olfactory hallucination, the sensation of smelling unusual scents which aren’t present, like burnt paper, smoke, or rot
9. Alice in Wonderland syndrome- distorted sense of spatial awareness and passage of time, in addition to vertigo
10. Runny nose and watery eyes
11. Immense fatigue, constant yawning, and exhaustion that is not relieved with sleep
12. Hot flashes
13. Sudden speech slurring, similar to stroke symptoms
14. Temporary partial paralysis, also similar to stroke
15. Exertion headache resulting from light exercise , coughing, or sneezing
16. Moodiness, similar to bipolar disorder- shifting between elation and deep depression
17. Strong food cravings
18. Increased need to urinate
19. Severe stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting
20. Prolonged hangover following migraine, often requiring several days of recuperation
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Read more about migraine symptoms
When Migraine Aura with Aphasia leaves you Lost for Words
Migraine Headaches- Top 7 FAQ’s
Migraine Aura and Hot Flashes- Treat that Hot Head ASAP
What’s that Smell? Migraine Sensitivity and Olfactory Auras
Sources:
Imagined smells can precede migraines
Olfactory aura symptoms- Migraine Aura Foundation
Migraine Research Foundation- FAQ
Migraine fact sheet: womenshealth.gov
Images:
stockarch, KOZZI STOCK
Tags: migraine attack, migraine headache symptoms, migraines with aura
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