Understanding Migraine Treatments and Prevention
What is this illness called a migraine?
It is a neurological dysfunction which is characterized by episodic or regular intense and strong and painful attacks of a headache in one (rarely in both) hemispheres of the head. The condition is diagnosed when other serious conditions of the brain are excluded such as severe head trauma, stroke, and brain tumors. The severity and the pulsating nature of pain are considered to be related to a vascular headache. A headache in the condition is not related to the elevation or sharp drop of arterial pressure, glaucoma or rise of the intracranial pressure.
This is a chronic condition that is diagnosed in 10% of the world population and is believed to be present in 5% more percents in people who were not diagnosed. It is mostly spread among women as it’s oftentimes inherited in a female line but can also develop in men. The severity of the condition also varies. It can be from a couple of times a year of mild attacks to daily attacks. The most usual documented frequency of migraine attacks is two to eight times a month. The treatment is usually quite expensive and the periodical and unforeseen loss of performance during the attacks of the condition and soon afterward may lead to the need to apply for disability benefits for the patient due to the patient's inability to work a sufficient number of hours per week or even work at all.
The sings that you are developing a migraine attack
The signs can develop during a couple of days prior the onset of an attack. It is called a stage of prodrome. The signs may include elevated appetite, depression, fatigue or low energy, frequent yawning, hyperactivity, irritability, tension in the neck.
A migraine-like headache with aura develops after the stage of prodrome. Aura onset includes the vision, motion, and speech impairment.
The next phase is actual migraine. It is acute and hardest to handle phase in which the pain can be unbearable. This phase can be up to a few days. The manifestations and severity can vary and can include increased photosensitivity, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, pain in one part of the head, pulsating headache, vomiting, and others.
Afterward, a person often encounters a postdrome phase. At this stage, fluctuations of mood and emotions can be observed. They can range from a sense of euphoria and extreme happiness to a feeling of extreme fatigue and apathy. A slight headache can still remain.
Methods of the condition diagnosis
The condition is diagnosed contingent on the history of patient’s complains, diseases running in the family, physical examination, and such tests as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to exclude other serious conditions that may cause intense headaches.
What provokes attacks of a migraine?
Before you buy migraine drugs, you can try avoiding so-called triggers, i.e. the factors that contribute to an acute attack onset.
To date, the scientists hadn’t identified the main cause of migraines yet they outlined certain factors that can provoke this condition. They include the imbalance in the chemicals in the brain such as the lowered level of serotonin. Other triggers that can provoke an attack are: bright lights, heat, dehydration, changes in the atmospheric pressure (e.g. before rain), hormonal changes in women during menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause, excessive stress, loud noises, intensive physical load, malnutrition, insufficient night sleep, strong smells, smoking, intake of certain medications, for instance, oral contraceptives, certain foods, alcoholic beverages, traveling, and others.
If you developed a migraine, you can keep a journal documenting all that you did or eaten before the attack started to identify your triggers.
Foodstuffs that can cause a migraine
Some meals and foodstuffs with a greater probability can be triggers of a migraine. They include alcoholic beverages, coffee or any caffeine-containing drinks, nutritional supplements, preservatives for meat, aspartame or sodium glutamate, tyramine, which is naturally found in some foodstuffs.
Tyramine content also increases in fermented or long aging products such as cheese, pickles and soy sauce. However, some studies disapprove tyramine as a trigger and believe that it, on the contrary, prevent the headache development in some patients.
How to avoid an acute attack onset?
Here are some tips that you can follow to prevent migraines and using migraine drugs:
- Figure out what contributes to migraines in your case, i.e. triggers, and avoid these products or activities. To make it simple, keep a journal of what you do or eat before a migraine starts.
- Make sure you drink enough water a day.
- Eat regularly avoid developing the feeling of starvation.
- Make sure you sleep at least eight hours a night qualitatively.
- If you smoke, quit this habit as it is one of the main triggers.
- Make an effort to reduce stress in your life or at least introduce relaxing practices such as meditation, yoga, or start to dedicate time to hobbies.
- Regularly do physical exercises which can help not only to forget about migraines but also lose extra kilos which are one of the elements that can contribute to migraines. Start with easy exercises without overstressing your body or you can get the contrary results.
When should you seek urgent medical assistance?
In some cases, the manifestations of migraines can imitate those of a stroke. It is crucial to seek urgent medical assistance if you or somebody of your family members has one of the following symptoms that accompany a headache:
- Impaired speech or paresis of one side of the face;
- Weakness in a leg or arm;
- Headache that occurs very suddenly without previous symptoms;
- Raised body temperature, neck tension, confusion, cramps, impaired vision, and numbness of muscles;
- Headache with aura (nausea, vomiting), when symptoms last more than an hour;
- Fainting.
Drug therapy for a migraine
There are medications that can be used for the prevention of a migraine or to cope with an already developed attack. You can sometimes get a relief with the over-the-counter drugs but if they are ineffective, make sure to consult a doctor and get a prescription for more potent medicines for the prevention of the onset of an attack and accompanying symptoms relief.
Operative treatment of migraines
There are a few types of surgeries aimed to eliminate a migraine but they are not approved in many countries yet. There are two main types of operations: neurostimulation and the decompression of the place of the migraine trigger.
Neurostimulation operations are made with electrodes inserted under the skin. They transfer the electrical impulses to specific nerves. Currently, several types of stimulants are used. These include:
- Stimulants of the occipital nerve
- Deep brain stimulants
- Stimulants of the vagus nerve
- Stimulants of the pterygopalon-ganglion
The decompression of the place of the migraine triggers operation includes the release of nerves around the head and face, which can play the role of triggers for chronic migraines. These surgeries are commonly performed by plastic surgeons and are made with the use of Botox injections.
These treatment methods are still considered experimental and only further studies can determine whether they are efficient and safe.
What migraine medications can you buy at RXShop?
Currently, we offer you two medications for migraines treatment:
- Generic Depakote or Divalproex based on valproic acid. The active ingredient of the medication is used to avoid the onset of seizures of various severity and migraines. It prevents the spasms occurrence and should be used before the migraine attacks. The medication we sell is made by Aventis.
- Generic Imitrex or Sumatriptan is a medication used solely for migraines prevention. The pills can be taken to avoid a migraine development once the signs start to manifest and repeatedly if it occurs in weaves. The effect of the preparation is due to the narrowing of the blood vessels located in the brain which are widened during an attack. The pills available at our online pharmacy are made by Sun Pharma.