“Why Migraines Are More Than Just a Headache”

- by Wendy Brungardt

Although the cause of migraine headaches is often undetermined, we do know that they present in different ways, and may involve different areas of the head and/or neck area.

Many people experience migraines with an aura. This is a neurological phenomenon that produces a variety of symptoms, both visual and physical. The aura may occur shortly before onset of the headache, or at the same time.

Most aura are visual in nature, and often described as blurriness or outlines around objects, and sparks, waves, or bright lights at the outer edge of the person’s field of vision. Physical auras can include dizziness, nausea, numbness and vision problems.

The most common type of migraine headache occurs without an aura. These may or may not be preceded by sensations or moods that “telegraph” a headache is coming. Keeping a headache diary may help you determine whether your migraines do foretell their own arrival.

Symptoms may include tiredness or moodiness as early as 12-18 hours before onset of the headache. A migraine may remain at a “static” level that is tolerable, as long as the patient is not physically active, such as sitting at the office, or reading at home.

Standing up, or engaging in a physical stress increases heart rate, blood pressure, and aggravates the one-sided or bilateral pounding in your head. Extreme sensitivity to light and/or sound, as well as nausea and vomiting are typical of a non-aura migraine.

Other people suffer what is known as a “lower facial migraine”, or carotidynia. There is usually tenderness and possibly swelling over the carotid artery, and pain that radiates into the jaw and lower face. These headaches can last a few minutes, or a few hours, and are more common in older patients.

Another type of migraine headache that is found predominantly in young people, is the basil artery migraine. These occur when the basilar artery in the brainstem experiences some type of pressure or disturbance. This kind of migraine causes vertigo, dizziness, nausea, slurred vision, and loss of coordination.
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