A migraine can be disabling, with symptoms so severe all you can think about is finding a dark, quiet place to lie down. Up to 17 percent of women and 6 percent of men have experienced a migraine. In some cases, these painful headaches are preceded or accompanied by a sensory warning sign (aura), such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in your arm or leg. A migraine is also often accompanied by other signs and symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine pain can be excruciating and may incapacitate you for hours or even days. Fortunately, management of migraine pain has improved dramatically in the last decade. If you've seen a doctor in the past and had no success, it's time to make another appointment. Although there's still no cure, medications can help reduce the frequency of migraine and stop the pain once it has started. The right medicines combined with self-help remedies and changes in lifestyle may make a tremendous difference for you.

Migraine Signs and symptoms
A typical migraine attack produces some or all of these signs and symptoms:

• Moderate to severe pain, which may be confined to one side of the head or may affect both sides
• Head pain with a pulsating or throbbing quality
• Pain that worsens with physical activity
• Pain that interferes with your regular activities
• Nausea with or without vomiting
• Sensitivity to light and sound

When left untreated, a migraine typically lasts from four to 72 hours, but the frequency with which headaches occur varies from person to person. You may have migraines several times a month or just once or twice a year.
Not all migraines are the same. Most people experience migraines without auras, which were previously called common migraines. Some, however, have migraines with auras, which were previously called classic migraines. If you're in the second group, you'll likely have an aura about 15 to 30 minutes before your headache begins. Auras may continue after your headache starts or even occur after your headache begins. When you're experiencing an aura, you may:

• See sparkling flashes of light
• Perceive dazzling zigzag lines in your field of vision
• Experience slowly spreading blind spots in your vision
• Feel tingling, pins and needles sensations in one arm or leg
• Rarely, experience weakness or language and speech problems

Whether or not you have auras, you may have one or more sensations of premonition (prodrome) several hours or a day or so before your headache actually strikes, including feelings of elation or intense energy, cravings for sweets, thirst, drowsiness, irritability or depression.

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Treatment
A variety of drugs have been specifically designed to treat migraines. In addition, some drugs commonly used to treat other conditions also may help relieve or prevent migraines. Medications used to combat migraines fall into two broad categories:
Pain-relieving medications. Also known as acute or abortive treatment, these types of drugs are taken during migraine attacks and are designed to stop symptoms that have already begun.
Preventive medications. These types of drugs are taken regularly, often on a daily basis, to reduce the severity or frequency of migraines.
Choosing a strategy to manage your migraines depends on the frequency and severity of your headaches, the degree of disability your headaches cause, and your other medical conditions. You may be a candidate for preventive therapy if you have two or more debilitating attacks a month, if you use pain-relieving medications more than twice a week, if pain-relieving medications aren't helping, or if your migraine signs and symptoms include a prolonged aura or numbness and impaired movement on one side of your body.
Some medications aren't recommended if you're pregnant or breast-feeding. Some aren't used for children. Your doctor can help find the right medication for you.

 

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