How To Manage A Migraine

Migraine headaches are the third most prevalent illness in the world, and ranked as the sixth most disabling illness. Statistics show that only about fifty percent of people who suffer from chronic headaches know that they’re suffering from a migraine. 76% of people who suffer from migraines worry that they will suffer for the rest of their lives, and 37% of sufferers worried about their migraines between attacks. Studies found that approximately 12% of Americans suffer from migraines, and 40% of Americans could benefit from preventative therapies. Even though studies show that at least 40% of sufferers could benefit from preventative therapies, only one in five sufferers are currently using preventative therapies. Studies also show that over 25% of people who suffer from migraine attacks miss at least one working day over the past three months, and nine out of ten sufferers say that they cannot “function normally” during those days. At least 98 percent of migraine attack sufferers take medications for temporary headache relief, whether it be over the counter or prescription. Only 12% of sufferers take preventative medications as opposed to the 98% of sufferers taking medications for relief. Severe migraines are ranked in the highest of seven disability classes, along with psychosis, dementia, and quadriplegia, published by the World Health Organization. People who participated in a survey who admitted to a

Migraines contrary to old beliefs are not just bad headaches! Migraines are actually a neurological disease that affects 38 million people worldwide, according to the Migraine Research Foundation, 1 in 4 U.S households have at least one person who suffers from debilitating migraines living there. Although there is no cure for migraines, the vast majority of these victims use Excedrin Migraine or Advil Migraine to try to dull the sharp, throbbing pains they experience. These over the counter pain relievers may be very similar but they also have many differences.

Most migraines come in 4 stages, although not every migraine will follow those steps. The steps are prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome. The prodrome stage can start one to two days before the actual headache and can include symptoms such as food cravings, irritability, uncontrollable yawning, hyperactivity, neck stiffness, constipation, and depression.

In summary, Miss A came to seek medical attention with the onset of a scale of 8/10 Migraine headache of 2 days. After careful examining her and taking a complete history, Miss A is diagnosed with Migraine headache without aura. The NP is able to establish a treatment plan with Miss A’s involvement. The treatment plan includes: acute Migraine management and prophylaxis management. The acute Migraine management is proven to be effective for her as the evidence of pain relief: her headache was a scale of 2/10 after taking Sumatriptan combined with Naproxen. She also reports the nausea was improved after taking Metochlopromide and was able to consume normal oral intake. The prophylaxis intervention includes therapeutic teaching on healthy diet, effective scheduling on school and work, ensure plenty rest period, and relaxation

Migraines affect nearly 28 million people or 12% of the population in the United States. Migraines are typified by moderate to severe head pain. The head pain is often accompanied by one or more of the following; nausea, photophobia, phonophobia or vomiting. Migraines are considered a chronic neurological disorder. The incidence of migraine related nausea (MRN) is very high among migraneurs. Roughly 90% of patients experience MRN at one time or another. Roughly 50% of patients report experiencing MRN with high frequency (greater than half the time). MRN can hinder the efficacy of currently available migraine drugs in a number of ways. Many patients who experience MRN will delay or avoid taking oral or nasal migraine medication as it can further irritate their stomach. The GI upset associated with migraines can also affect absorption and thus limit systemic exposure to the drug. Researchers have been working diligently to find a solution to this problem.

Other nonpharmacological options that may be beneficial in the prevention of migraine headaches include: biofeedback, other forms of relaxation training, cognitive-behavioral therapies, acupuncture, and transcutaneous electrical

Migraine headaches are often experienced on one side of the head (Tepper, 2004). The pain is associated with the pulsatile sensation that differs from one person to another. Migraine is also characterized by throbbing and pounding headache that can lead to nausea, vomiting, and in some instances photophobia. Presently, about 12 % of Americans experience migraine headaches every day. Research shows that migraine mostly affect people aged 15 to 55 years (Tepper, 2004). Migraine has been said to occur as a result of impaired nervous and circulatory system. In migraine, blood vessels undergo vasodilation. The enlargement of the vessels interferes with the nerve cells that normally surround the vessels making them secrete various chemical mediators. These chemicals include prostaglandins, substance P, interleukins, and cytokines (Schulman, 2010). The chemicals are responsible for inflammation and transmission of pain impulses. The associated feelings of nausea and vomiting are attributed to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic response also leads to slowed motility and gastric emptying that in turn reduces absorptions of gastric contents such as nutrients and drugs. Additionally, the sympathetic system also leads to excessive sound and light sensitivity. Statistics reveals that migraines affect more women than men. The severity of migraine headaches ranges from mild, moderate to severe depending on the individuals affected. In some instances, migraine headache can be a major cause of morbidity due to its debilitating

They are both paroxysmal disorders of the brain and patients are typically symptom free between the attacks (Bigal et al.,2003). Furthermore a loss of consciousness, the presence of auras, postictal drowsiness, aphasia and the possibility that attacks might be triggered by either visual or hormonal stimulus are all characteristics shared by both migraine and epilepsy as well as symptoms associated with gastrointestinal, psychological and autonomic nervous system conditions. Migraine attacks rarely trigger epileptic seizures, a phenomenon called migralepsy. Migraine-like headache can be associated with epileptic seizures, especially postictally. Several antiepileptic treatments have been proven to work in migraine

A migraine is a common, chronic, and debilitating neurovascular disorder. It is characterized by attacks of serve headache along with autonomic nervous system dysfunction and some patients an aura neurological symptom (Goadsby, Lipton, & Ferrari, 2002). There are two types of migraines classical migraine and common migraine. Classical migraine is one that either preceded or accompanied by focal neurological symptoms which are generally visual, this occurs in 15% of patients and is referred to migraine with aura (Goadsby, Lipton, & Ferrari, 2002). Common Migraine is one that has episodes of head pain that are severe and throbbing and can last 4 to 72 hours. These are migraines without aura and are usually associated with nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light, sound or movement (Sorge et al., 1988). When diagnosed with frequent migraine attacks, doctors try to understand what the cause of a subject’s migraines are which can be due to many variables such as stress, sleep deprivation or menstruation.

Each year over twenty-six million people nation wide are affected by migraines. Once thought to be a concentration of evil spirits in the brain, common cures consisted of everything from drilling holes in the skull, to inserting garlic cloves into the temples. Today however, scientists realize that this all too common occurrence is actually a neurological disorder, which can result in the disability of its victim for hours or even days. I myself have been a constant sufferer of migraines since the age of twelve. The following is the life of a migraine sufferer: myself.

Did you know that migraines and headaches are different? Once in a lifetime most of people have experienced a headache, but migraine headaches are different. Migraine studies shows that 13 percent of adults in the U.S. population have migraines. Most people think migraines and headaches are the same, but they are very different. Many people think migraines are headaches, and take the Advil. However, Migraine headaches cannot cure with the headache pills. There is medicine for migraine and need to take in very short time. Migraine headaches can be more painful than headaches and sometimes people get migraine up until or more than 24 hours. Migraine headaches give a lot of trouble and inconvenience to countless

Migraine headaches are very different from typical headaches. They tend to be a lifelong battle with severe, repeated attacks (Headache Disorders, 2016). There is a process involved in the development of every migraine. Usually, one of many possible triggers causes the brain to signal inflammation in and around the head, and that inflammation causes the pain for which migraines are well known (Davis). One of the challenges of living with migraine headaches is identifying triggers. Triggers are unique to each migraine sufferer and can include foods, odors, lighting, and chemicals, among many others (Davis). People living with migraines must be prepared at all times, because it is usually impossible to know in advance when they will encounter a migraine trigger, whether known or unknown.

Acute treatment aims to reverse, or at least stop, the progression of a headache that has started. Preventive treatment, which is given even in the absence of a headache, aims to reduce the frequency and severity of the migraine attack, make acute attacks more responsive to abortive therapy, and perhaps also improve the patient's quality of life. An overview of migraine treatment is shown in the image

Clinical Scenario: Your patient is a 40 year-old Caucasian female visiting the clinic for migraine headache. She doesn’t want to take medication whenever migraine happens and asks if there anything else she can do to prevent or reduce the occurrence of headache.

Additionally, there is no specific cure for migraine headaches. In addition, the goal in treating migraines is to treat migraines symptoms. Also, migraines can be treated with amitriptyline or venlafaxine. Furthermore, a migraine can be treated with blood pressure medicines such as propanolol. Researchers have also proven that migraines can be treated with seizure medicines such as valproic acid. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/news). In addition, when I read that you can treat a migraine with seizure medications, I thought that research finding was interesting to be aware of. Also, researchers stated that you could treat a