It’s Not a Headache - it’s Something Much More Complex
If a headache has ever made you throw up, it’s not a headache.
The average person can handle a headache. Drinking water, eating nutrient-rich foods and popping an NSAID usually do the trick for a headache.
But what happens when the trick doesn’t work?
If head pain is debilitating and won’t respond to remedies, you most likely have a migraine attack. Migraine and headache are often used interchangeably but should not be. A migraine is a neurological disease with no known cure. The head pain associated with the disease is called a migraine attack. “I live with migraine and must navigate multiple attacks per month” is a proper way for a patient to communicate their disease.
One billion people globally live with migraine, with women being primarily affected. They also interrupt everyday life, with the disease ranking third as the most burdensome out of 37 neurological disorders.
Even though the disease is common, there is still a big misconception that “migraine” is synonymous with “headache.” A migraine’s lifespan is longer and much more complicated than a headache’s.
The four stages
Every person who lives with migraine goes through multiple stages. In total, there are four stages: prodome, aura, headache and postdrome. The stages have unique symptoms and each person experiences those symptoms differently.
Prodrome
Around 60% of people living with migraine can sense when one is on the way, thanks to the prodrome stage. The first stage in a migraine attack cycle, prodrome typically emerges a day or two before the head pain arrives.
These symptoms are a little more challenging to recognize, as some indicators are aligned with the adage ‘waking up on the wrong side of the bed.’ Irritability, mood changes, fatigue, trouble concentrating, yawning and light/sound sensitivity are examples of both prodrome symptoms and the consequences of a late night. For individuals with packed schedules and social lives, this stage may slip by unexpectedly.
Aura
The second migraine attack phase is called aura and lasts a few minutes to an hour. Compared to the prodrome stage, aura is where migraine symptoms start to intensify. In the migraine cycle, aura is the less common phase, with 20% of migraine sufferers experiencing these symptoms.
Sensory disturbances, including visual, motor and verbal, are most prominent during the aura stage. Visual auras are hallucinations triggered by electrical or chemical waves that travel across the brain’s visual cortex. People report seeing colors, bright spots and flashes with a visual aura.
Verbally, aura can hinder speech and language processing, triggering transient aphasia in patients. This symptom impairs a person’s ability to process language, regularly giving them a ‘word on the tip of my tongue’ feeling.
With migraine being a neurological disease, many brain areas are affected during an attack, and motor skills are included in this group. Numbness and tingling are sensory symptoms of aura and can last up to 20 minutes during this phase.
With migraine appearing differently for everyone, aura is sometimes a person’s most intense phase. Often referred to as a “silent migraine,” migraine aura without headache may not have the intense head pain, but it is equally debilitating.
Headache
As mentioned above, “migraine” is the disease’s name and “migraine attack” represents the four stages within an attack’s cycle. However, the headache phase is what most people associate with migraine. That’s because for many, the headache brings the most violent symptoms.
A headache’s length can be as little as four hours and as much as three days. During this time, sufferers experience a host of symptoms, including:
Nausea
Vomiting
Anxiety
Insomnia
Depression
Muscle stiffness
Light, smell and/or sound sensitivity
Throbbing and/or burning head
Pain can be localized to one side of the head or encompass the entire head. For people with the most intense symptoms, all they can do is sit in a dark room and wait for the pain to pass. Some migraine sufferers even claim their attacks are worse than childbirth.
Postdrome
Migraine’s last phase is the brain coming out of battle. Postdrome is often called a “migraine hangover” because of the disoriented post-headache feeling sufferers experience.
During postdrome, a person often experiences brain fog, which can cause trouble with comprehension and concentration. The final phase also brings fatigue, dizziness and sometimes body aches.
Dopamine is also affected, as levels fall during a migraine attack. The neurotransmitter helps regulate emotion, motivation and sensory perception, with low levels triggering depressed and irritable moods.
With its four stages, migraine is a complex neurological disorder that shows up differently for everyone.
By Lindsay Patton - Guest Writer
[Lindsay Patton knows how to tell a story. A journalist at heart, she spent nearly a decade as an entertainment reporter and currently leads an after-school youth workshop that helps teens become published writers. A creative thinker in both her professional and personal lives, Lindsay loves the always-evolving nature of digital communications and the excitement when content is a hit with its audience. In her free time, Lindsay continues that creative spirit through painting and writing.]
