Having suffered from migraines for a number of years, I have recently started to become really interested in symptoms, causes etc. Even now the scientists don’t all agree on the causes, but think they are probably due to the sudden expansion of a blood vessel(s) in the brain.
I find it facinating how varied people’s experience of migraine can be, so I have put together a series of questions which cover a number of aspects of migraines (which I have populated with my own answers for starters ). If there are any migraine sufferers out there, I would be grateful for to see your answers/opinions
Are you male or female?
Female
Approximately how old were you when you had your first migraine attack?
13
How frequently do you get migraines?
Approx. every 2 months
Do you have any pre-migraine warning symptoms e.g. mood changes, altered sense of smell, food cravings etc.
I become oversensitive to smells and feel extremely tired for the few hours leading to an attack
Where do you experience the pain?
95% of the time it affects the right side of my head, just above my ear. The rest of the time it may be above my right eye, or above my left ear.
How long does a typical attack last?
It depends on how quickly I can get medication/sleep. The pain attack is generally 6-8 hours if I take a standard painkillers. I feel tired for at least a day afterwards.
Do you have visual disturbances/cognitive problems?
If yes, briefly describe what you see/don’t see:
I always find it hard to read and understand writing immediately before or at the start of an attack. I have had visual disturbances three times. The last two have been flashing ziz-zags spreading out from a point, followed by a blind spot on the right side of my field of vision.
Is there a family history of a)migraine or b)epilepsy?
My dad has epilepsy. My mum possibly suffered from migraines when she was younger.
Which senses are primarily affected e.g. oversensitive to lights, sounds, smell etc.
I become oversensitive to smells - a strong smell can make me physically sick. Bright lights also.
Do you know what triggers your attack?
There doesn’t seem to be one specific cause, but I know that vigorous exercise when I haven’t eaten properly can trigger an attack. Sometimes I just wake up with one in the middle of the night with no explanation.
What medication do you take and how effective is it?
Standard painkillers e.g. Ibruprofen or Paracetomol have little to no effect, other than to take the edge off the pain. Migraleve is effective if I can catch the migraine early enough. Imigran is my latest discovery. It was prescribed by my doctor and has so far been 100% effective at getting rid of the pain within 2-3 hours.
The most important thing I do to get rid of a migraine is to lie down in a darkened room and sleep!
Do you experience digestive problems e.g. vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea?
Most of the time I have nausea and mild diarrhoea. I do get vomiting if the pain is particularly bad.
and finally have do you think there is any connection between your migraines and lucid dreams?
This is what I am interested in finding out. Doctors think that the blood vessel’s sudden expansion + digestive upsets could be caused by seretonin imbalances in the brain which definitely can also affect sleep (and therefore dreams). One or two of my migraines a year have closely followed lucid dreams. It may well be a coincidence, but this is why I want to find out more.