#migrainewarrior

It’s 2020, almost 2021.

Can we please

please

Stop using migraine as a symptom for “bad headache”?

You do not have a “sinus migraine”. You do not have a “tension migraine”. You have a sinus headache or a tension headache, and those can absolutely be absolutely agonizing, 10/10 on the pain scale -

But you don’t have a specific set of neurological and physiological symptoms associated with migraine disorder.

Phases of migraine, via the Mayo Clinic website:

Prodrome Phase - 24-48 hours prior

constipation

mood changes including depression or euphoria

food cravings

neck stiffness

food cravings

increased thirst/urination

frequent yawning

Everyone who suffers from migraine disorder is different, so you may not have all of these. I usually don’t notice anything until the aura starts. I get euphoria approximately 30 minutes prior in conjunction with aura.

Aura - not everyone who has migraine disorder will experience aura, but if you do, these are some things you may experience:

Visual phenomena, such as seeing various shapes, bright spots or flashes of light   

Vision loss   

Pins and needles sensations in an arm or leg   

Weakness or numbness in the face or one side of the body   

Difficulty speaking   

Hearing noises or music   

Uncontrollable jerking or other movements

I get visual flashes as well as vision loss. A small spot of light forms, like when you accidentally glance at a bright light. It spreads, and turns into zigzag electric rainbows. Inside this sphere is a blind spot. It can take up to 1/4 of my vision before fading. I often feel nausea during this phase. Sometimes I can stop the migraine at this point by going into a dark quiet place and waiting for 30 minutes, but usually not. I also experience weakness. I’ve had to hold myself up against a shelf to keep standing during this phase.

Attack - the actual pain. This can last for hours and even days.

Pain usually on one side of your head, but often on both sides

Pain that throbs or pulses

Sensitivity to light, sound, and sometimes smell and touch

Nausea and vomiting

I get pain on one side, usually the right side. For me the throbbing is slow and comes and goes in waves; always intense, but sometimes slightly bearable. Light is unbearable. I prefer to be in a hot bath alone in a dark bathroom. Sound is okay if it’s very quiet. I get nauseous of the lights come on or smells get to be too much. My pain is like clockwork, much like my aura/prodrome, and lasts about 7 hours.

Postdrome - after the attack. You though it was over because the pain is gone? You rube. I’m usually exhausted, even if I just spent 7 hours trying to sleep through the pain. I’m usually starving because again, I didn’t eat for 7 hours and I’m a grazer. I try to eat a big meal during the aura phase to prevent the hunger afterwards. I often feel elated again, but also completely out of it and weird.

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but lately I've also been keeping an extra close eye on what's a trigger for me now I've realised that my migraines present differently (as phantom smells, usually smoke, and extreme exhaustion). and I've linked it to just before my period. I know it's pretty common for migraine sufferers to be triggered by the change in hormones but as I didnt realise the phantom smells were migraine related until recently I didn't realise that I get them pretty regularly for a reason. they're linked to periods.

so I'm due on fairly soon, I'm on the sofa in a state with no energy and all I can smell is cigarette smoke. I can't really do anything about any of it, but being able to recognise "oh yeah this is probably because ____" and not just "why can I smell smoke again?" is really comforting.