Finding the right method to treat or prevent migraines can save you from spending days in a dark, quiet room.
People who get migraines know they can be debilitating.
The pain, nausea, light and sound sensitivity and other symptoms keep you away from normal activities and curled up in bed for a few hours up to a few days, said Julie Smith, a child neurology registered nurse at Marshfield Clinic Health System.
Some people get migraines a few times a year. Others experience them more than once a week. Learning to manage migraines takes time but you’ll be more productive if you can reduce their frequency.
Migraines may have warning signs
Your body may give you neurological signs a migraine is coming before a headache starts. These symptoms are called an aura and may include:
- Double vision
- Loss of peripheral vision
- Spots in your visual field
- Flashes of light
- Ringing ears
- Numb or tingling extremities
“Migraines can be easier to treat for people who have these symptoms because they can take medication right away and possibly prevent a headache,” Smith said.
Not everyone gets an aura along with a migraine. Some people have symptoms like irritability and fatigue that are harder to connect to the onset of a migraine.
The range of treatment options
“Headaches can be very complex, and due to their effect on quality of life, choosing the right treatment plan is crucial,” said Dr. Mayur Chalia, Marshfield Clinic Health System headache provider. “Consulting a headache specialist will help you solidify what option is best for you.”
- Conservative treatments – These include lifestyle changes, including smoking cessation, limiting alcohol/caffeine, regular exercise and maintaining good sleep. These might work solely at times for people with mild headaches, but are combined with other measures for more moderate to severe headaches.
- Abortive treatments – These include medicines you take when you have a headache for immediate effect. They can be over-the-counter drugs, like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, or complex prescription medications including sumatriptan (Imitrex) and rizatriptan (Maxalt). Abortive treatments should be taken as needed with recommended limit not to exceed more than 2-3 days a week to prevent medication overuse headache.
- Preventive treatments – These are medicines used on a daily basis to prevent headaches in the future. You use them as scheduled, regardless of whether you have a headache at the time. Some examples include propranolol (beta blocker), amitriptyline (antidepressant) and topiramate (antiseizure) which have headache preventive properties as well. Treatment plans are made with many factors in mind, including side effects, costs, patient preferences and pre-existing health conditions.
If you are struggling to manage migraine headaches, please talk with your doctor.
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Hi. What about other preventative options such as posture ( many people with headaches have forward head, rounded shoulder posture which places additional stress on the muscles at the base of the skull which can trigger headaches ), yoga, trigger point treatment or stretching?
Hi Yolanta, Yes, those are some conservative treatment options individuals with migraines can try. Thanks, Jordan
Kirsten, thank you for encouraging email sharing, and welcoming questions. I avoid subjecting friends to unrequested email (beyond personally recommending promising info). Does a friend's email address submitted to receive a Shine365 article like today's "evaporate" afterward? Or would my well meaning sharing risk their "headache" of being added to endless email?
Hi, James. If you forward your Shine365 email to a friend, we do not gather that information and will not keep your friend's email in our list. The same goes for when you use the email share icon on a story.
However, if you were to submit your friend's email to our email signup in the popup at the end of an article, that submission would go to our email list and they would receive our weekly emails.
I hope that answers your question, and thank you for reading Shine365. -Kirstie
What about complex migraines, such as blurred vision or stroke symptoms. I was once diagnosed with cluster headaches and now I no longer need suma septran to control these headaches, and the blurred vision lasts for about 20 minutes.. How do I address this if I am driving.
Hi, Robert. I spoke with Julie, RN, about your questions regarding cluster headaches and vision. Her recommendation is to pull over and stop driving until your vision returns to normal for your safety and safety of others. When you're having stroke-like symptoms from headaches, you really should be in a safe environment.
She also suggested revisiting the section in the story "Treatment and prevention is possible." If you are already practicing these tips and headaches are affecting your daily activities, like driving, you should see your provider for re-evaluation.
I hope that helps. -Kirstie
Thanks
You should make mention of cluster headaches as some people may have clusters instead of migraines. I keep oxygen on hand that if I should get a cluster I can stop it by breathing oxygen. Then I take medication for a couple months & sometimes the clusters don't come back for more than a year. One time I went 5 years without a headache. Talking to people with migraines the oxygen does not help.
Thank you for the feedback, Arnold. I'll share your comment with the writing team. -Kirstie
How do I send (email) thisInfo to my daughter??
Hi, Karen. At the top of each post, we have some social share buttons you can use. On the far right, there is a button for Email. If you click on this button, it should open up a new email window and prompt you to enter your daughter's email address.
Please let me know if you have any questions with this. I'm happy to help.
Thanks for reading -Kirstie