Nope, A Migraine Is Not Just A Headache!

by Stephen A. Proctor, SProctor.com

That really bad "headache" you just experienced was probably not a headache at all but a migraine. Migraines affect over 32 million people. They are one of the most under-treated and under-diagnosed ailments known to medical science. It is estimated that migraine and related conditions cost the U.S. economy in the neighborhood of 50 billion dollars per year in both lost time & productivity.

If you suffer from reoccurring debilitating head pain, the odds are that you probably are experiencing migraines of one type or another. A person that has this experience should seek medical attention to ensure that the pain isn't due to meningitis, stroke or brain tumor, or even something else. Once those have been ruled out by a qualified clinician, an otherwise healthy person that has fairly severe headaches that come and go so that they interfere with one's regular activities, more than likely is dealing with some sort of migraine disease, not just a regular headache.

There are several types and subtypes of headaches and/or migraines one can be afflicted with. According to doctors, if we look at headaches generally, there are migraines, tension-type, clusters, then there is a fourth group which is a catch-all for just about anything that is left over and somewhat uncommon. The fundamental problem with the above is that there is much more to a migraine, than just the headache or head pain part. In fact, though it is not very prevalent, some folks can actually experience a migraine without any head pain at all.

Of migraines, there are several specific subtypes. The two most common are: "with aura" (where it can directly affect vision, smell and other senses) and "migraine without aura", Some of the less common subtypes are hemiplegic migraine, which involves muscle weakness or partial paralysis usually lasting less than an hour; ophthalmoplegic migraine, which involves temporary eye related symptoms, such as droopy eyelid and pupillary changes, lasting from several days to sometimes weeks; basilar artery migraine, which involves a type of neurological spasm lasting for several hours; and status migrainus or status migraine; which involves a severe migraine attack, usually lasting more than 24 but sometimes lasting as long as 72 hours or more.

Though just about all of us at one time or another experience some sort of headache, unlike the regular headaches, migraine sufferers usually have a direct family history that involves at least one parent and/or grandparent that has or had migraines themselves. Another difference is that the more predominant types of migraines usually present themselves in four separate, though distinct stages (often referred to as phases, parts or components). These stages can sometimes be abbreviated, non-existent or even exaggerated.

They are prodrome (sometimes called preheadache or the warning stage), aura, the head pain stage itself and postdrome (or post-headache). During the prodrome stage, the person may feel tired, irritable, experience decreased concentration or become depressed. This stage will develop sometimes hours or even days prior to the aura. The next or aura stage can sometimes be a slowly expanding area of blindness (similar to "tunnel vision") surrounded by a sparkling edge that may gradually increase to involve maybe ½ of the field of vision in one or both eyes. In addition to the aura, the migraine sufferer may see flashing lights, fuzziness, colors or zigzags of light, feel a prickly or burning sensation and/or muscle weakness on one side of the body and/or experience an odd smell or smells that make no sense. The third stage is the head pain component itself, which can be a severe throbbing, pulsing or pounding pain, usually on one side of the head. The pain is often intensified by bright light, exertion and/or noise and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The fourth stage is postdrome, which is characterized by a worn-out feeling, fatigue or total exhaustion.

With the differences characterized above and several others I haven't even taken the time to mention, one has a hard time rationalizing why migraines are sometimes lumped into the same "pile" as a headache, except of course, that both do involve to some degree, head pain. I submit to equate migraines with headaches does the sufferer of migraines a great disservice since many times a migraine can cause temporary disability at least until the pain stage becomes history. Based upon my own experience, when the term "headache" is used, I often think of something that a couple of Tylenol or aspirin will take care of, not something that requires a powerful pain killer or a prescription medicine to rid myself of while trying to lay quietly in the confines of a cool dark room, vomiting into a bucket while holding an ice-pack on my head.

Nope, a Migraine is absolutely, positively NOT just a headache!