The Hangover

I've been away with a bad migraine attack. Yesterday, as I was all medicated up with migraine meds, I watched the movie, The Hangover. Today, I'm living the migraine attack hangover. The headache pain has come and gone all day. I'm irritable, unbalanced, indecisive, and feel like I'm living in a fog. I'm hoping that this is just the postdrome, rather than the start of yet another migraine attack.

Treatment Options

A friend of mine, who I haven't spoken to in years, emailed me about my migraines today. Her husband had chronic migraines for years, and his pain was dramatically improved by getting a spinal cord stimulator (http://www.poweroveryourpain.com/sb/learn_about).

Another friend of mine, another whom I haven't spoken to in years, asked me if I had heard about neurostimulators (http://nomigrainepain.com/).

So, of course, I started looking into all sorts of different things online. There's so much information about spinal cord stimulation, occipital nerve stimulation, neurostimulators, etc...

There are sooo many different options. Does anyone have any insight into any of these (or other) treatment options for chronic migraines???

Rant and Rave

Better understanding of the phases typically involved in a migraine attack seem pretty useless to me, at this point... Prodrome... Aura... Headache... Postdrome... I have symptoms of all of these phases all of the time. I don't know where one migraine ends and another begins!

© 2009 David Madden Photography.

This is (and has been) taking a huge toll on me, as well as my husband. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful husband. He doesn't understand any of what I'm experiencing (he doesn't even get headaches, much less migraines); and, yet, he's there by my side to take care of me. It breaks my heart that this disease affects my moods (we're talking big-time irritability) and weight (a lot of weight loss, which I can't afford to lose), and causes him to worry about me. But I'm so grateful that he loves me, and that he tries to help me in any way that he can. I thank God every day for my husband.

Phases of a Migraine

There are 4 distinct phases in classic migraine:

1)  Prodrome
The symptoms of the prodrome phase typically occurs hours or days prior to the actual onset of headache pain. Prodrome symptoms can include:

• Fatigue or excessive sleepiness
• Frequent yawning
• Altered mood
• Irritability
• Depression or euphoria
• Muscle stiffness (especially in the neck, back and face)
• Food cravings
• Difficulty concentrating

2)  Aura
Not all migraineurs experience an aura preceding or accompanying the actual headache pain. The aura phase typically begins minutes or hours prior to the onset of headache pain. Aura can be visual, sensory, or motor in nature. Visual symptoms include:

• Blurred vision
• Appearance of floaters (tiny specks that float before the eyes)
• Flashes of light or color
• A blind spot or even complete blindness in one eye
• Double vision

Sensory and motor symptoms include:

• Numbness or tingling of the hands, feet, and/or face
• Stiff neck
• Weakness
• Vertigo or Dizziness
• Loss of balance
• Ringing in the ears
• Difficulty talking
• Slow thinking or confusion
• Problems with concentration
• Changes in mood and activity level
• Hypersensitivity to touch

3)  Headache
This phase is the experience of the headache pain. For some, the pain is a one-sided,  throbbing or pounding pain. For others, the pain is all over the head. The migraine pain typically lasts between 4 to 72 hours. "Status migrainosus" are headaches that last longer than 72 hours, and require immediate medical attention. This is the most disruptive of the phases, and migraineurs often stop all activity and remove themselves from certain triggers (light, sound, odors). The headache phase often includes the pulsing / throbbing head pain, as well as some other symptoms, including:

• Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and smell (photophobia, phonophobia, osmosphobia)
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Increased pain with physical activity (such as walking or going up or down stairs)
• Blurred vision
• Scalp tenderness
• Stiffness and tenderness of the neck
• Problems with concentration
• Mood changes
• Vertigo, hotheadedness, and/or faintness
• Extremities feel cold and moist

4)  Postdrome
Some migraineurs experience symptoms after the headache pain has subsided. The postdrome symptoms may continue for several hours or even days. Symptoms of this phase can include:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Scalp tenderness
• Cognitive difficulties (difficulty concentrating)
• Mood changes
• Feeling "hungover"
• Head pain

Headache Care Center

This video is very informative about migraine and its treatment. I believe that a interdisciplinary approach to treating chronic pain is the best possible option. Migraine is a very complex disease that is very misunderstood and under-treated.

Premonitory Symptoms (continued)

I continue to think about the premonitory symptoms that many migraineurs experience. These symptoms preclude a migraine attack and include fatigue; muscle stiffness (especially in the neck, back, face); change in appetite / food cravings; changes in mood (including depression, irritability); difficulty concentrating; feeling cold; and sensitivity to light or sound.

What's going on in our heads that causes these changes? And, what causes these changes to take place up to several days before a migraine attack? It should come to no surprise to me that there is no answer to my question, since there is still no clear answer as to the cause of migraines. But, it still makes me wonder...