Migraines are usually more severe than other headaches. They can cause throbbing pain in the head or neck and other symptoms like vomiting, nausea and light sensitivity.
Symptoms can last for hours or days. It isn’t known what causes migraines, but they seem to be linked to changes in the levels of a body chemical called serotonin that affects blood vessels.
Medications
Medications can significantly reduce migraine intensity and control symptoms, so you can return to work or your normal activities. There are preventive drugs that stop headaches from forming and abortive drugs that treat migraines once they start.
The best-known medications for treating a migraine are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Examples of these include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). These pain relievers help by inhibiting prostaglandin production and lowering inflammation. They have also been shown to decrease the frequency of migraine attacks.
These medicines are most effective if taken at the first sign of a migraine attack. They are called triptans and they work by blocking the receptors in the brain that release serotonin, causing vasoconstriction and reducing neurogenic inflammation. These are taken orally and may also be available in nasal (spray or powder you inhale) or subcutaneous injection forms.
There are also medications that help prevent or reduce the severity of migraines, such as calcium channel blockers and antidepressants. They can make you sleepy or cause dry mouth or upset stomach.
Some alternative treatments might also help with your migraines, such as biofeedback, wearing migraine caps, and acupuncture. These are used to reduce stress, which is known to be a trigger of the headaches. Another treatment that has been found helpful is cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people change their thinking and behaviors that might be triggering their migraines. In acupuncture, the practitioner inserts thin needles into specific points on the body. Research has shown that acupuncture can reduce the frequency of migraine headaches and the severity of the symptoms. This technique is available at some acupuncture clinics and some doctors’ offices. It can be expensive, however, so it is important to talk with your doctor before trying this treatment.
Lifestyle Changes
Behavioral modifications, like getting adequate sleep and following the right diet and exercise plan can also help to reduce the number of migraine attacks as well as the severity of each one. These are factors that are within a person’s control, and they can be used in conjunction with medications or as a non-pharmacological treatment option.
For example, some people find that caffeine is a trigger for them, so it’s important to watch how much they consume. It may also be helpful to keep a food journal so that they can see which foods are helping and which ones might be contributing to their headaches.
Stress is another common trigger, and it’s important to try to manage that by finding a way to relax. That could be through meditation, deep breathing or yoga. Some people even find that they can reduce their stress levels by volunteering to do something for others.
Many people suffer from migraines because they are dehydrated, so it’s important to drink water regularly. This is especially true if they are on any medications that can cause dehydration.
Diet is an important aspect of managing migraines, and it can be tricky to figure out which foods are helpful or hurtful. Some people find that they have migraines more often when they are eating a lot of processed foods, so it’s important to stick to a healthy diet that is free of additives.
It’s also important to get regular exercise, especially because it can help with sleep and reduce stress levels. It doesn’t have to be intense workouts, but some research has shown that getting 20 minutes of activity a day is better than sitting around and being sedentary.
The mnemonic SEEDS is an acronym that stands for sleep, exercise, diet, diary and stress. By making simple changes to their daily routine, migraine sufferers can significantly improve the quality of their lives and possibly avoid or reduce the number of headaches they experience each month. Changing lifestyle habits can be challenging, but it’s worth it if you want to live without the burden of chronic migraines.
Acupuncture
Migraines can be very debilitating and affect a person’s quality of life. Many people who experience migraines have found that certain foods, cyclical hormone changes, and/or life stressors trigger their attacks. While there are many medications that can be used to manage the symptoms, many of these come with severe unwanted side effects. Acupuncture is a natural, alternative treatment that can be very effective for those suffering from migraines.
Acupuncture involves inserting needles into specific acupuncture points on the body. These points are located on fourteen meridians that run throughout the body. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine believe that illness and disease are caused by a disturbance or blockage in the flow of energy, called Qi, through these meridians. Acupuncture can help to restore the proper balance of Qi and may eliminate or reduce the severity and frequency of migraines in some patients.
Some studies have found that acupuncture is more effective than either no treatment or sham acupuncture in reducing the number of days with migraine headaches. One such study also found that patients who received acupuncture experienced a significantly greater improvement in their migraine-specific quality of life than those who were treated with no acupuncture.
One of the reasons that acupuncture can be effective in treating migraines is that it changes how the brain responds to pain. Research has shown that acupuncture can increase the levels of a neurotransmitter in the thalamus called N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and creatine (Cr). The increase in NAA and Cr can help to suppress pain signals in the brain.
Another way that acupuncture can help to treat migraines is that it decreases the production of stress hormones that can cause headaches. When a patient is under stress, the body produces more serotonin which can cause blood vessels to constrict and lead to a headache. Acupuncture can help to regulate the levels of serotonin in the body to prevent and alleviate migraines. Acupuncture can also help with the nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity that can often accompany migraines. It can also reduce the need for medication, which can be dangerous if taken in excess.
Surgery
If prescription medication and lifestyle changes aren’t working to reduce your migraines, some doctors may recommend surgery as a last resort. But, as a neurologist and headache specialist who specializes in this painful condition, I would caution against it. There isn’t enough evidence to support the use of surgery to treat migraines.
In fact, there are some procedures that have been reported to relieve migraines, but they’re experimental and not yet proven in large studies. The American Headache Society has warned that patients should not pursue these surgeries without the benefit of clinical trials. And many insurance companies won’t pay for them.
Migraine surgery involves releasing compressed nerves underneath the skin that contribute to the pain of migraines. It’s a minimally invasive surgery, so it doesn’t involve cutting skull bones. To access the nerves, surgeons make small incisions in the scalp or neck. They’re careful to decompress each nerve that contributes to migraines. Then, they add padding made of fat to the nerves to prevent future attacks.
The surgical treatment of migraines works differently than other headache treatments, such as Botox or nerve blocks. Other headache treatments cause damage to the nerves, but this only works in the short term and can actually lead to a different type of pain. Migraine surgery is designed to re-establish the nerves in an un-irritated state, so they don’t send distress signals that can trigger migraines.
A common procedure that’s also a migraine surgery is called septoplasty, which fixes a deviated septum (an irregularity in the bone and cartilage that divides your nose). This can improve breathing and also alleviate migraines in some people. The other common surgery for migraines is turbinectomy, which removes nasal structures that warm and moisturize the air you breathe in, which can also relieve migraines.
