Life with Migraine
Signs It’s Time for Prevention
As someone who lives with migraine, do YOU realize how IMPORTANT it is to be aware of your silent disease?? I’m not speaking of just your attacks but also your overall migraine days. Do you know the difference? Is there a difference? Do your days blur into one long week or month? And, did you know that there are signs to be aware of that show you need to consider preventive treatment, or reconsider the preventive treatment you are on. Yes, that can be scary, but the consequence of not being proactive with this disease can have a disabling and long-term impact on your life.
Read MoreMigraine Chronification, Are You at Risk?
Migraine is a debilitating disorder that can be subdivided into several categories. Two of those categories, chronic migraine and episodic migraine, are both part of a tapestry of migraine disorders. One of the things many people are not aware of when first diagnosed with migraine is that this is a complex neurological disease that can chronify. This means that it is possible to go from low frequency episodic to high frequency episodic and then to chronic migraine.
Read MoreMigraine Symptoms: Closing Thoughts
When people think about migraine, often what comes to mind is head pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. These are also the hallmark symptoms commonly used to identify and diagnose migraine. But those with migraine know these are often just the tip of the iceberg.
Read MoreLesser-Known Migraine Symptoms: Yawning, Thirst, Tinnitus
By now this Migraine Symptoms blog series has proven that migraine goes far beyond head pain. However, in addition to some of the more common symptoms, many people with migraine also experience a set of symptoms that is lesser known—yawning, thirst/dry mouth and tinnitus to name just a few. These symptoms can vary from being mildly annoying to having an intensely negative impact on quality of life.
Read MoreMedical Gaslighting and Migraine: It’s Not All in Your Head
Medical gaslighting happens when healthcare providers dismiss, explain away, or don’t believe a patient’s symptoms. While this can happen to anyone, it’s especially common for women, and those struggling with invisible illnesses like migraine. It’s a dangerous practice that often results in misdiagnosis and/or the inability to receive appropriate and timely treatment and care.
Read MoreNavigating Insurance With Migraine
With more migraine treatments available than ever before, people with migraine can feel hopeful that they may find an option that brings them relief. Unfortunately, this process is not always as simple as it may sound. Insurance companies frequently construct barriers to treatment.
Read MoreThe Squeaky Wheel Gets the Oil
One of the most challenging things many of us with chronic illnesses have to face is trying to advocate for ourselves in the healthcare system. Somehow, it just seems wrong that when we are the sickest, we often have to push the hardest. Timely and appropriate medical care should not be such a challenge, yet… sadly, it…
Read MoreMigraine Symptoms: Brain Fog
Brain fog is another common and often debilitating migraine symptom. Like fatigue, brain fog can occur at any phase of a migraine attack. In the prodrome and aura phases, brain fog can be an early warning sign that an attack is beginning. It can last through the attack stage and continue on through the postdrome phase, lasting for hours or even days. In fact, some people experience varying levels of brain fog all the time. Brain fog is a challenging and invisible migraine symptom.
Read MoreAttack-based Care: Responsibilities
Throughout our Attack-Based Care series we have looked at several different approaches to treating different migraine attacks. We started off by looking at what the “Stoplight Theory” is (how to rate our pain) and the Migraine Toolbox we need to build to better manage this disease. Then we looked at different aspects that might guide us in deciding how to treat each migraine attack focusing on timing, pain level, symptoms and triggers. Today we are going to wrap up the series by looking at the tough topic of responsibility. This asks the difficult question about what treatments are actually FEASIBLE to take based on our responsibilities during any given attack.
Read MoreThe Four Phases of Migraine Attacks
Did you know there are four phases to migraine attacks? Did you know that each “phase” comes with its own sweet set of symptoms? It’s not just nausea, vomiting and head pain—as if that isn’t enough by itself! We’re going to look at vision distortion, cravings, emotional changes, energy levels, and much more! And, we’re going to look at when each of these MIGHT occur during a migraine attack. Then of course, there’s the sweet “interictal period.” That time in between attacks when theoretically you are symptom-free, but in reality… that is often far from the truth! That’s a topic for another blog, but in short —migraine attacks are complex, unpredictable and debilitating, but being armed with information can help!
Read MoreAttack-Based Care: Triggers
Migraine triggers are that all elusive aspect of life with migraine. They’re something we have all heard of, and something we tend to talk a lot about. However, did you know that some triggers can result in more treatment resistant, faster escalating, or more debilitating attacks, while others seem to result in less severe attacks? So, how can we approach treating a migraine attack based on what triggered it? Knowing this can help you come up with an attack-based plan where you can quickly decide how to treat. For example, you will have a better idea of whether to start with an FDA-cleared medical device, rest and OTC medication, or jump straight into your full-strength rescue medication, a dark room, and the need to cancel all appointments or work.
Read MoreAttack-Based Care: Symptoms
Nausea? Head pain ? Vision distortion? What are your SYMPTOMS when a migraine attack hits? We know that no two people have the same migraine experience but did you know that even with the same person, attacks can have different symptoms. It’s really important to know what your symptoms are and how they affect you, because that will help you figure out what options you will use to treat different attacks!
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