Relieve Headaches

This is a series of articles that deals with Migraines and the challenges a family faces to find a cure. Migraines can have a hugely negative impact not only on the person suffering but also everyone involved. Hopefully other migraine victims will find helpful relief … if not within these articles from the resources available to date.

Part 4

Patience, sacrifice and diligence: these three distinguishing qualities are helpful in any endeavor in life. When trying to unravel the enigma surrounding migraines … patience, sacrifice and diligence are indispensable. Don’t rule out anything as a possible trigger. There are some excellent articles on triggers on this website.

The only thing I would add in regards to triggers is that sometimes there is a synergistic pattern of not just one, but multiple triggers that exacerbates the onset and duration of a migraine. For example maybe chemical changes could sometimes trigger a mild migraine or no migraine at all – while the addition physical stress or emotional triggers in conjunction with certain foods would guarantee the onset of a migraine.

This is where the daily use of a journal to identify possible triggers is invaluable. Not only do you want to include your diet and medications but anything that is going on and how you feel about the events occurring in your life – especially when you start your doctor’s prescribed medication to treat your migraines. As a woman you might discover that while on a certain type of birth control medication attributes to the onset of your migraine. However, when you add in the stress of children (yours or others’), divorce, family problems, work, etc. to birth control pills you have a “whopper-doozie” migraine cocktail.

This is a series of articles that deals with Migraines and the challenges a family faces to find a cure. Migraines can have a hugely negative impact not only on the person suffering but also everyone involved. Hopefully other migraine victims will find helpful relief … if not within these articles from the resources available to date.

Part 3

The first doctor’s visit was to our family doctor. I was surprised to learn that migraines can come for a variety of reasons: Current medications, Stress, Different foods to name a few. The list went on and on. When we left we not only had a referral visit to a neurologist but more questions than answers.

When we met the neurologist he confirmed the advice that we got from our family doctor. There are many triggers associated with migraines. The neurologist wanted to do some blood work and suggested that my wife keep a journal to help identify any triggers specific to her migraine attacks. My wife was told that is equally important to write in the journal diet, sleeping patterns and everyday events as well as writing daily and not just when she felt a migraine coming on. The daily entries were vital as they could show triggers or combination of triggers that led up to the migraine. Also, when a migraine starts you probably don’t care to do anything much less write in a journal.

So we left the neurologist’s office with an appointment for a follow up visit and headed to the store to buy a journal. I was a little skeptical and was confused how in this day and age of technological advancement there was not another way. How could we cook food in 30 seconds, put a man on the moon and internet on computers and not have a cure for migraines?

This is a series of articles that deals with Migraines and the challenges a family faces to find a cure. Migraines can have a hugely negative impact not only on the person suffering but also everyone involved. Hopefully other migraine victims will find helpful relief … if not within these articles from the resources available to date.

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Part 2

While my wife was recuperating from her migraine I searched the internet. Upon further investigation I discovered that the onset or cause of migraines is idiopathic, meaning that triggers can be spontaneous and unknown or obscure at best.

In addition to triggers there are four phases of a migraine: the prodrome phase; the aura phase; the pain phase and the postdrome phone. Even though there are four phases not every person that suffers from a migraine experiences each one.

In my wife’s case we later discovered she does not typically experience the prodrome phase, but during the aura phase she feels a dull pain behind her left eye. Also, migraines can last from a few hours to as long as 3 days during the pain phase and be accompanied with a migraine hangover also know as the postdrome phase.

My wife gingerly emerged from the bedroom around dinnertime, which was eight hours later. We discussed her migraine and I found out that she has a history of migraines since she was very little. We agreed to schedule a doctor’s visit to see if help was available.