Understanding Migraine: Symptoms, Triggers, and Effective Management Strategies

About 36 million Americans are affected by migraine. Migraine is more than head pain – it’s a complex neurological condition that can significantly impact one’s life. If you’ve ever found yourself sidelined by severe head pain, nausea, or sensitivity to light, you might be experiencing migraine. This post will help you differentiate between migraine and other headaches, identify potential triggers, and explore effective strategies for migraine management and prevention.

Migraine vs. Headache: Which Is It?

Headaches come in various forms. Primary headaches are those that aren’t caused by an underlying medical condition, whereas secondary headaches are due to another health issue. Knowing what’s behind your headache is the first step to getting rid of it.

Types of primary headaches include:

Migraine

Migraine is characterized by intense, throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head, and can last several days. It often comes with other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and heightened sensitivity to light, sound, or smells.

Tension Headaches

These are the most common type of headache. They feel like a constant, dull ache on both sides of the head. Stress is a frequent culprit of tension headaches. You can tell the difference between these and migraine attacks because tension headaches don’t worsen with physical activity. Nor do they cause sensitivity to light or sound.

Cluster Headaches

Known for severe, piercing pain around one eye, these headaches can cause redness, tearing, and nasal congestion. The pain is so intense that people often feel restless and may pace during an attack. Cluster headaches typically occur in cycles, lasting weeks or even months.

Sexual Activity Headaches

These start as a dull ache during arousal and become more intense at orgasm. If you experience this type of headache, it’s important to seek medical advice.

Not sure if your headaches are actually migraine attacks? You can take the quiz in the Rosy App to find out.

What Happens During A Migraine?

There are four phases to a migraine, although not everyone will experience all of them.

Migraine Stage 1: Prodome

This phase can start hours or even days before the pain begins. You might notice mood swings, cravings, yawning, needing to pee more often, and fatigue.

Migraine Stage 2: Aura

Some people experience aura during a migraine. This can cause vision disturbances (like seeing spots, flashing lights, or zigzag lines), tingling or numbness in the face or limbs, or trouble speaking. It can last between 5 and 60 minutes. Note that others never experience aura.

Migraine Stage 3: Headache

This is when the migraine’s characteristic throbbing or pulsating pain sets in, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. The pain can last anywhere from four to 72 hours and typically stays on one side of the head.

Migraine Stage 4: Postdrome

After the headache is gone, you may feel drained, fatigued, or mentally foggy for up to two days.

What Triggers A Migraine?

Various things can set off a migraine. Common triggers include:

• Stress: Stress changes your brain chemistry and increases sensitivity to pain. Because of this, stress is the number 1 cause of migraine.

• Weather Changes: Ever gotten a headache just before a storm hits? Here’s why this happens: shifts in barometric pressure can disrupt the equilibrium in your sinuses and inner ear, which can cause pain.

• Lifestyle Factors: Poor sleep, dehydration, missed meals, excessive screen time, and even certain foods can also lead to migraine.

If you’re affected by migraine, it can be helpful to keep a journal to note down when they occur. Were you feeling particularly stressed out? Was it stormy out? Did you eat a new kind of food?

Pinpointing what’s setting off your migraine can be instrumental in effectively managing the condition.

How Do Migraine Attacks Impact Women?

Research shows that fluctuations in reproductive hormones are linked to migraine attacks in women.

Estrogen influences serotonin levels – a neurotransmitter that affects mood, sleep, and pain regulation. When estrogen drops, serotonin levels may decrease as well, which can lead to a migraine.

Here’s how various life stages and changing hormone levels can affect migraine:

• Puberty: The onset of menstruation often brings the first migraine attacks due to significant changes in estrogen and progesterone levels.

• Menstrual Cycle: Migraine commonly occurs around the period, often a few days before or after it starts.

• Contraceptives: Hormonal contraceptives can help some women avoid the estrogen fluctuations that trigger migraine. But for others, contraceptives might worsen the condition.

• Pregnancy: Around 3-6% of women have their first migraine attack during pregnancy. But the second and third trimester can bring relief thanks to high, stable estrogen levels.

• Postpartum: After childbirth, the rapid drop in hormone levels can trigger a resurgence of migraine.

• Perimenopause and Menopause: Fluctuating estrogen levels during perimenopause can increase the frequency and intensity of migraine. During menopause, migraine frequency may go down due to stable hormone levels, though some women may still be affected.

Expert Tips for Migraine Management

Migraine can be debilitating, but help is out there. Here’s a collection of lifestyle strategies that have proven effective in managing migraine:

1. Keep a regular sleep schedule. Have a set bedtime and wake-up time. This can help regulate your body’s internal clock and reduce the frequency of headaches.

2. Track your menstrual cycle: Since migraine can happen just before the period, it’s helpful to know where you are in your cycle so you can take extra care to avoid migraine triggers during this time of the month. This is also important information to share with your healthcare team as it may change the type of treatment you need.

3. Eat balanced meals: Changing blood sugar levels can set off headaches. Eating fewer processed foods, more whole foods, and more protein can help.

4. Get enough exercise: Getting regular movement does more than keep you in shape. Walking, cycling, or swimming can boost heart health and resilience to stress, which can lower headache frequency and intensity.

5. Drink water: Dehydration is a major headache trigger. So make sure you’re drinking a minimum of 64 oz water each day.

6. Keep your stress in check: Easier said than done, but we have some strategies to help you relax. Try yoga, meditation, and biofeedback when you feel stress kicking in to bring you down a notch.

Medications And Supplements That Can Help With Migraine

• Pain relievers: Over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen can offer quick relief. Caffeine can increase their effectiveness.

• Magnesium supplements: Taking 400-600mg of magnesium daily is proven to reduce migraine frequency and severity. It takes around 3 months of daily supplementation to notice the difference.

• Prescription medications: Triptans, gepants, ditans, ergots, and prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) can be effective migraine management medications.

• Drugs that change pain processing: For people who get headaches 6 or more days each month or the pain is debilitating, other medications are available that change how the brain processes pain. Beta-blockers, antiepileptics, and tricyclic antidepressants are all available options that you can speak to your doctor about. Injectable CGRP monoclonal antibodies (Erenumab, Fremanezumab, Galcanezumab) and oral gepants (rimegepant and atogepant) are newer treatments that you can explore as well.

Takeaway

Migraine is a challenging condition, but understanding (and avoiding) potential triggers and finding the right combination of lifestyle changes and medical treatments can significantly improve your quality of life.

In the Rosy App, we regularly publish expert content on the topic of migraine in Quickies. These are 1-3 minute videos made by healthcare professionals, completely free to anyone – just download the app to get started.

With a paid membership, you’ll also get a comprehensive Wellness Plan created specifically for you by our team of health experts. Plus, access to expert-led events about the top strategies for whole-person health and well-being.