Causes of Migraines
Migraine headaches are thought to be a physiological response to triggers including: positive family history, hormonal changes (as a result of menstruation, ovulation oral contraceptive use), head trauma, medications, increased alcohol or caffeine consumption, sleep deprivation, and stress.
Methods of Controlling Migraines
Pharmacological treatment of migraines can be broken down into preventative (prophylactic) and acute (abortive) therapy. Preventative therapy is provided to a patient prior to the onset of a migraine with hopes of reducing frequency, duration and severity of future migraine headaches, as well as improving patient response to acute treatment. (6) The three most common types of medications used in preventative therapy are: antiepileptic (ie. Valproic acid), antidepressants (ie. SNRIs) and antihypertensive (ie. beta-blockers). (1, 6) If the patient sees no benefit after two months of prophylactic therapy, treatment should be stopped and if possible the patient should be reevaluated to see if another type of medication would be more beneficial. (1) After starting the medication, the patient should be seen for follow up every few months, allowing the physician to determine the benefit of the preventative medication. In order to determine the efficacy of any medication, those suffering from headaches should keep a headache diary, which describes characteristics of each headache. (1)
Acute (abortive) therapy is provided at the onset of migraine in hopes of slowing or stopping its progression. (6) This type of medication is most effective when provided within 15 minutes of onset (1) and should not be used more then 2-3 times per week, in order to prevent medication overuse headaches (6). The choice...
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Psychguide (2016). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Symptoms, Causes and Effects. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from http://psychguides.com
Whenever pain or a headache is felt people will immediately reach for the bottle of Aspirin they have in their medicine cabinet. For many years this has been the solution to any pain a person feels. As much as Aspirin will help to cure symptoms of pain it may also being doing the body harm. More and more studies have brought many harmful side effects to the surface. The question now comes into play of if Aspirin is actually doing more harm than good.
Heart Failure Symptoms WebMD Reviewed by Thomas M. Maddox, MD on May 28, 2012 http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/heart-failure-symptoms
Jane did explain that since the history of migraine headache had been going on for years it was going to take a while prior to seen any results but it was going to take some lifestyle changes other than the acupuncture to achieve the goal. The author left the office in a great note. Unable to gauge the results of the treatment yet but with a hopeful outlook for the future.
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Keep in mind that the migraine sufferer does not have to have any of these conditions to take them to prevent their migraines.
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Each of these steps taken are to achieve a balance between analgesia and side effects in the management of pain. It is a continuous process and if a patient’s pain level falls out of the set range scale then intervention is necessary to bring the patient’s pain level back under control.
Migraines have had an effect on how I perform my duties at my job each day. Painful migraines cause many issues for me while I am at work not allowing me to perform at 100% of my ability. Most of the time, I have an annoying sort of background headache that sits behind my eye. This unpleasantness requires constant strain to concentrate on my work and not on the irritating throbbing behind my eye. However, this irritation is not the problem. It is the migraine that visits me at least once a week and its events foreshadowing the attack. My neck becomes stiff, giving me my first clue of what is soon to come. The neck ache triggers some anxiety because I know an explosive pain is just ahead. The pain and anxiety take away my focus from my job. My brain
Figure 8. Signs and Symptoms of gingivitis. Webmaster. April 9, 2014. “Gingivitis.” Retrieved from http://www.drslootsky.com/dental-blog/gingivitis.php
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Migraine cannot be cure, but with proper treatment it can be manage. To manage your migraine it is very imperative that you keep a headache log, know the triggers for migraine, understands your medications and know the signs that needs to be reported to the doctor.
Cox, Lauren. (2011, Nov. 02) 5 Experts Answer: Does Caffeine Cause or Cure Headaches? Live Science.