Nothing bothers a migraine sufferer more than ignorance towards the difference between a headache and a migraine. I get it. We all get headaches and some are far worse than others. I am in no way insinuating that people who suffer from horrible, chronic headaches are in any less amount of pain as migraine sufferers. I am just here to distinguish a distinct difference between the two and bring awareness to both.
Let's begin with the offical definitions of a headache and migraine.
A headache, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is classified as a "pain in any region of the head. Headaches may occur on one or both sides of the head, be isolated to a certain location, radiate across the head from one point, or have a viselike quality."
Whereas a migraine (defined by Merriam-Webster) is, "a condition marked by recurring moderate to severe headache with throbbing pain that usually lasts from four hours to three days, typically begins on one side of the head but may spread to both sides, is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound, and is sometimes preceded by an aura and is often followed by fatigue."
While a migraine is technically a type of headache, a headache is not classified as a migraine. I guarentee every person living in America has suffered from a bad headache at some point in their life. Whether it be from sinuses, stress, or a nasty hangover- we all have been there. However, only about 13 percent of adults in the U.S. population (or 37 million people) have to manage migraines as well.
Being one of those 37 million people, and going on 11 years of being diagnosed, I know how badly migraines can disrupt one's life. But before I get into that, let me explain migraines in more depth.
A migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and can be so severe that the pain is disabling. Warning symptoms known as aura may occur before or with the headache. These can include flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling on one side of the face or in your arm or leg.
Migraines often appear in childhood, adolesence, or early adulthood. Migraines may progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, headache and post-drome, though you may not experience all stages.
Prodrome
One or two days before a migraine, your body fires off a few warning signs. These can include: constipation, mood changes, food cravings, neck stiffness, increased thirst and urination, and even frequent yawning.
Aura
Aura may occur right before a migraine or even during one (most often 30 minutes before). Only approximately 1/3 of migraine sufferers experience aura, so most people skip this stage. Auras are symptoms of the nervous system. They are usually visual; such as flashes of light or "zig-zag" vision. However, they can also be touching sensations, motor, or speech disturbances (aphasia). "It is estimated that there are about a million patients in the U.S. who suffer from transient aphasia, but not all of them suffer from migraines. Transient aphasia is not a progressive speech impediment; it is only temporary, although the frequency of episodes may increase during certain periods.Patients who suffer from transient aphasia are essentially affected by an electrical impulse that spreads throughout their cerebral cortex. This impulse affects neurons, which are responsible for transmitting vital brain functions such as the perception of space and time, sight, scent, and speech.Transient aphasia is one of the symptoms felt by migraine patients who experience auras. During one of these transient attacks, patients may also experience visual and auditory disturbances, but speech impediments are usually manifested on their own. Garbled and mumbled speech is the main symptom, followed by confusion and resignation in those patients who know that a painful headache may be on its way," (Migraine Relief Center). Each of these symptoms usually begin gradually and build within minutes.
Attack
A migraine will typically last four to 72 hours if left untreated. Migraines may be rare or strike several times a month, differing from person to person. During the attack is when you likely experience nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sound, and sometimes smell, throbbing pain, etc.
Post-drome
This stage occurs after a migraine attack. Most people feel drained and some feel elated. For up to 24 hours after an attack a person may experience: confusion, moodiness, dizziness, weakness, and continuous sensitivity.
I remember my first migraine vividly. It was a normal day in third grade, I was only 8 years old. I woke up with a slight headache but it didn't worry me too much. I told my mom but she sent me off to school anyway. I didn't mind since it was very mild. However, the headache only seemed to worsen. By the time we reached the school, I was holding my head to my knees crying in pain. When I got to my classroom, I was a mess. My head hurt so bad- I thought I was dying. My teacher rolled a mat out for me to lie on and I tried to close my eyes. It felt like a mallet was whacking the hell out of my brain. I had never felt this before, I didn't know what in the world was going on. After about an hour of agonoizing pain, my mother finally arrived to pick me up. My stomach felt weird at this point and I began walking towards the office. I walked a few mere steps down the hallway before throwing up three times (in front of my biggest crush at the time, I might add). This experience was traumatizing, to say the least. I didn't know it at the time, but this experience foreshadowed a lifetime of dehibilating neurological pain.
Now, almost 11 years later, I still struggle to manage my migraines. During childhood, my migraines were very rare- only occuring about once a year. Unfortunately, as I aged, the frequency of my migraines increased. At around 13-15 (I can't remember the exact age) they began to visit me monthly. They also became more severe. I began experiencing auras (I couldn't read properly, my hands would tingle, I would see flashes of light), aphasia, and the headache itself worsened. Instead of just sleeping it off as I had in the past, I now had to go to urgent care for a shot to be relieved from the pain. Luckily, I found a medicine that works well for me, so I no longer have to do this. I pop it in as early as possible and I typically throw up for a couple of hours, sleep the rest of the day, and I'm good to go!
While finding a medication that works for you is a great help, it doesn't change the fact that migraines are unpredictable and can show up at the absolutely worst times. The amount of school and work I have missed due to migraines is unbelievable. You would think once you medicate yourself you should be fine, right? Wrong. The medicine helps the migraine to go away faster, but it still takes a good couple of hours to completely take away the migraine. And, again, during this I am usually trying to sleep it off and am getting sick frequently. I have also had to manage migraines during many big events. To list a few... I have had migraines during multiple family vacations- leaving me alone in a dark room while everyone else makes sandcastles on the beach. I spent the night before I left for (Disney World) Orlando, Florida with my cheer squad for nationals in urgent care bawling my eyes out due to a severe migraine. (I still had to wake up at 4am to make the flight :) And the next year we went to Nationals, I got a migraine while in the Animal Kingdom and spent the next few hours lying in a hotel room while my teammates practiced for our competition and rode rides at the parks. I missed my first and last cheerleading team bonding due to a random migraine. I also missed a youth camp my parents spent a lot of money and I was very excited to go to. Lastly, during a romantic anniversary dinner at Brio with my boyfriend (our 3 years), I couldn't read the menu very well. I knew I was having a migraine. Before it began, we ran all over town to find my medicine and for the rest of the night, I was in pain.
This doesn't even cover half of the damage migraines have caused me in my life so far. As you can see, migraines are really no joke. Headaches can be awful as well, but they are clearly far different from migraines. Hopefully, this post can educate those confused by the two and can help them understand the difficulties migraine sufferes edure in their daily life.
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