Migraine awareness week - Migraine: what's it like? What can I do about them?

Migraines to me were mini-tornadoes, whipping sharply through my head and leaving a wake of destruction. Sometimes lingering like an unwelcome visitor. Unfortunately I suffered with migraines quite regularly in my teens, twenties and thirties. Thankfully since reaching my forties, I've had very infrequent migraines.

As far as we know, there was no one else in my family that had suffered with migraine before I had my first migraine as a teenager. I was terrified, thinking I was losing my vision or having a stroke. It's nothing like a normal headache. Feeling disoriented, I was not able to string a sentence together whilst a rather beautiful but awfully sickening ‘aura’ of twirling light started the onset of migraine. This was followed by quite a long period of gaps/disturbance in my vision. Then a fierce compression of my eyes/ temples/ pounding in my head followed by feelings of nausea.  Unpleasant and debilitating symptoms.

I think that hormones were definitely part of the problem, though after that first experience I had many more migraines brought on by bright or flickering lights and other triggers too (certain foods, tiredness and stress). I am better at managing my stress levels now and for choosing to eat regularly and get enough sleep.

A strategy for my particular ‘light sensitivity’ was for me to get into the darkest place possible and stay there till I stopped seeing the ‘aura’ and for my vision to slowly return to normal. Then I’d sip water, or if the migraine was not budging, have a coffee. This was because I’d been told coffee is supposed to open up constricted blood vessels and reduce the migraine severity. It’s not really clear if this is true, though I would have done anything to get through that ‘migraine hell!’

Migraine headaches are typically divided into two categories: migraine with aura and migraine without aura. An “aura” refers to sensations people get before a migraine. The sensations typically occur anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes before attack. These can include:

• feeling less mentally alert or having trouble thinking
• seeing flashing lights or unusual patterns
• numbness or tingling of the face or hands
•  senses heightened, including unusual sense of smell, taste, or touch 

Some migraine sufferers can experience symptoms a day or two before a migraine occurs. Known as the “prodrome” phase, these may include:

• constipation
• depression/ severe irritability
• frequent yawning
• neck stiffness
• unusual food cravings

See this great site for comprehensive description of migraine and the different types of headache.  https://www.migrainetrust.org/about-migraine/types-of-migraine/other-headache-disorders/tension-type-headache/

If you are experiencing symptoms, you should consult with your GP. There are many reasons why people get headaches and visual disturbances, some of which may appear to be migraine but are not, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you have been diagnosed with suffering migraines, there are various ‘over the counter’ drugs that can help minimise the impact.

It is worth investigating any other options, like complementary therapies (eg, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, osteopathy, herbal), alongside traditional medicine See also: Norfolk Clinic Facebook - migraine info

If you are going through your own version of ‘migraine hell’, come and find out more about the services I offer (and that of other relevant therapies at the Norfolk Clinic too)

Angie

See:

http://www.angiegiles.co.uk/
Twitter: angie_therapist
Facebook: Angie Giles Hypnotherapy

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About the Author: Angie works as a hypnotherapist, counsellor and coach at the Norfolk Clinic Complementary Healthcare Clinic, 38-40 Magdalen Road, Norwich, NR3 4AG. 

Call Angie directly on 07773 610816 or email info@angiegiles.co.uk 
Angie offers a free initial consultation to find out more.