Why Migraine Headaches Are Different?

It’s 5a.m and I can barely move; everything is blurry, my right hand is numb, and the right side of my head is pounding. A couple hours later everything transferred from my right side of my body to the left side of my body. It is a migraine that I am having, and this has been my life since 6th grade.

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.

Migraines are headaches that cause intense pain with a throbbing or pulsating sensation, usually on one side of the head. Typically sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and vomiting comes with a migraine attack. An attack can cause severe pain that lasts for hours, or even days.

The article begins by explaining the importance of migraines and how often they occur. The article says that there are more than 300 million people who suffer from their migraines, and they deal with all the symptoms of migraines like excruciating and pulsating pain in the head. Interestingly migraines have been around for around 7000 years, but it is only been in recent history that they have been recognized as a legit illness. However, even though it is now recognized as a serious ailment not much is known of what cause them.

The 32 year old patient is presenting with chronic headaches. Subjective data indicates over the eye throbbing or pressure that spreads to the ipsilateral temple which typically occurs on the left side. This headaches occur with extremely light and sounds which become aggravated with movement. Given this information, it is necessary to explore additional questions. According to Guilbea and Lenahan (2015) the health history questions are key to making a diagnosis as it will help to rule out another diagnoses. They questioned presented to the patient are listed below. Question one will identify whether the headache is primary or secondary. Using the well-established PQRST pain method, the questions are designed based on this method. For question two the P aspects of pain which stands for provocating and precipitating factors. In question three, the Q stands for quality of pain. Question four addresses the R which stands for radiation. The patient did report it moves which is an area that requires further

The claimant testified she tried to work at a nursing home after June 30, 2016 but had a seizure on the job while lifting a patient and dropped him. She stated the job lasted two weeks. It was noted that the filing date of June 30, 2016 is the requested alleged onset and the ALJ notes that the consultative examiner, Dr. Bunting, said the effort on testing was poor. The claimant further testified that she had seven seizures last night. The seizures occurred between 8:00pm and 10pm according to witnesses. Dr. Applegate says the seizures are associated with her migraines. She cannot remember what medications she takes for migraines but has taken them for about eight months. It was noted the form says Depakote, Lexapro, Effexor, Amitriptyline

If you have ever experienced a migraine headache, you know they are far worse than normal headaches. Migraines often make it hard for you to function and you'll do almost anything to get relief. They hinder your ability to go about your daily life and get the things done that you need to. People that suffer from migraines know how truly terrible and debilitating they can be so it's important to know what your options are for treatment and relief. Medical Cannabis can be a great option to relieve your symptoms.

Epidemiological research has determined that headache disorders are the most prevalent of all neurological conditions; and have demonstrated that the psychosocial impact of headaches is significant (Shapiro & Goadsby, 2007; Smitherman, McDermott, & Buchanan, 2011). Additionally, migraine is the most prevalent disabling neurological condition which disproportionately affects approximately 17-18% of women (nearly three times more common than in men) during their prime productivity years (Graves, 2006; Shapiro & Goadsby, 2007). Chronic headaches, especially those severe in intensity, result in loss of productivity (i.e. missed days of school or work and/or related activities) and account for an estimated 10 million primary care provider office visits per year (Curry & Green, 2007).

A migraine is the most common, recurrent, severe primary headache that affects at least 12% of the adult population in the United States or more than 28 million people. Migraine is now recognized as a neurologic process. It is characterized by an intense, throbbing, unilateral headache associated with anorexia, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia, and/or diarrhea and may last 4-72 hours. There are three types of migraines: common migraine, classic migraine, and basilar migraine. A common migraine is a benign headache lasting several hours and is the most frequent type of migraine. It has no focal symptoms that precede the headache. The classic migraine denotes the syndrome of headache associated with characteristic premonitory sensory,

These migraines last as long 4-72 hours. They are characterized by one-sided location, moderate to severe pain strength, pulsating or provoked by routine physical activity. They are associated with at least 2 of the following: nausea, vomiting, photophobia (sensitivity to light), phonophobia(fear of loud sounds) or osmophobia(fear of odors) (Headache Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society, 2004)

This weeks discussion was so enlightening because I learned that there is more than one headache type. I always thought there was either a migraine or a headache, but I learned that a headache can be a tension, or a cluster headache. Discussing with classmates I learned that I never want to get a migraine. One of my classmates can have a migraine up to two days; the medicine they are prescribe doesn’t help and all you can do is ride it out. I also learned that a classmate takes a certain medication and it causes her to have migraines. I can't even imagine having a migraine after learning the affects of them. I also learned from discussion with classmates is that I am not the only one that gets tension headaches. Stress is a big factor

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

Based on “Measuring the Impact of Migraine for Evaluating Outcomes of Preventative Treatments for Migraine Headaches.” Authors: Sally Mannix, Anne Skalicky, Dawn Buse, Pooja Desai, Sandhya Sapra, Brain Ortmeier, Katherine Widnell and Asha Hareendran. Publication Date: 2016, Bio Med Central. Pages 1-11.