What Causes Migraine Headaches:
The American Migraine Foundation estimates that at least 39 million Americans live with migraine, but because many people do not get a diagnosis or the treatment they need the actual number is probably higher. The headaches may begin at the start of the first menstrual cycle or during pregnancy. Most women see improvement after menopause, although surgical removal of the ovaries usually worsens migraines.
Lifestyle changes may focus on addressing sleep habits, improving nutrition, exercising, using stress reduction with biofeedback or doing cognitive behavioral therapy. Research has shown that behavioral treatment, such as stress management and biofeedback, can help reduce attack frequency and severity. Behavioral treatment is an important tool for managing the disease and can even work alongside other treatments to help patients achieve their treatment goals.
Similarly, a person with no apparent risk factors may develop migraine. When you’re stressed, your brain releases chemicals that set off your ‘fight or flight’ response. Anxiety, worry, and fear can create even more tension and make a migraine worse. Biofeedback and relaxation techniques are available his response to complement our standard medical treatments. There are extremely rare families that have migraines as a result of a single genetic mutation in one of four known genes that can lead to the condition called familial hemiplegic migraine. There are no genetic tests for the vast majority of patients.
A migraine can affect anyone at any age, from children to adults. Women and people assigned female at birth are more likely than men and people assigned male at birth to experience a migraine. Your body may have a sensitivity to specific chemicals and preservatives in foods. This sensitivity makes a migraine more likely to happen, especially if combined with other triggers. Every migraine is different, and you won’t necessarily experience symptoms during all four stages of every migraine. Changes in the brainstem and its interactions with the trigeminal nerve, a major pain pathway, might be involved.
Aged, fermented, and stored foods have higher levels of tyramine, a substance created from the breakdown of the amino acid tyrosine. Tyramine may cause blood vessels to constrict then expand, and it may be a trigger for some migraine headaches. Some headache experts advise limiting fermented or aged foods, such as cheese, soy sauce, pickles, and pepperoni. Emotional stress is a common trigger of migraine headaches. While it’s impossible to completely avoid stress, relaxation exercises can help you cope. Inhale and exhale slowly, letting the air fill you and then deflate like a balloon.
Migraines do not typically cause complications, though they can. The most common complications are related to see post medication use. These could indicate another condition that may need urgent attention, such as a stroke.
The cluster periods, or cycles where your headaches happen more frequently, can last from 15 days to several months. Read on to learn the seven main types of chronic headaches and get a few tips to ease your pain and help prevent future headaches. These are all FDA approved for the as-needed treatment of migraine, and some are also approved for preventive treatment. This led to a paradigm shift in the treatment of migraine that started in 2018, when the first CGRP monoclonal antibody for the prevention of migraine was FDA approved. It was the advent of targeted treatment options that are specifically designed for migraine. The aura stage is often marked by confusion, hallucinations (both auditory and olfactory), tingling or numbness, or vertigo.
Many experts do not recommend brain imaging at all, even in severe cases, as long as the patient’s symptoms are typical for migraines and a thorough neurological examination is normal. By far the most common type of headache we see in our practice, migraines are the most frequent cause of disabling, click here for info recurring headache pain. For many pregnant people, their migraine attacks improve during pregnancy. But they may become worse following delivery due to sudden hormonal shifts. Attacks during pregnancy need special attention to make sure that the cause of the attack is understood.
Migraine can affect people in different ways, and the triggers, severity, symptoms, and frequency can vary. Some people have more than one episode each week, while others have them only occasionally. After a physical examination and evaluation of your symptoms, your primary care doctor may refer you to a headache specialist. Start your search with these complementary and integrative therapies. Then, consider exploring more treatment options with our other free resources. You might have tried some alternative therapies, but did you know about these complementary and integrative treatments?
Your provider can recommend alternative treatment options like an acetaminophen pain reliever for migraines. If triptans don’t give you relief, your doctor may prescribe dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal) or ergotamines (Cafergot or Migergot) as tablets, nasal sprays, or injections. An inpatient infusion of dihydroergotamine is a common choice and is more effective than triptans.
Although hemicrania continua typically doesn’t respond to most painkillers, it can be treated with indomethacin, a medication that fights inflammation. Your doctor can prescribe this medication if they diagnose this type of headache. Hemicrania continua is a rare type of headache with no known cause.
Hormonal changes, specifically fluctuations and estrogen that can occur during menstrual periods, pregnancy and perimenopause can trigger a migraine attack. Other known triggers include certain medications, drinking alcohol, especially red wine, drinking too much caffeine, stress. Sensory stimulation such as bright lights or strong smells. Sleep changes, weather changes, skipping meals or even certain foods like aged cheeses and processed foods.
You might get a pill to swallow, tablets you dissolve on your tongue, a nasal spray, or a shot. Examples include almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex), and zolmitriptan (Zomig). Researchers aren’t sure of the exact cause of migraines, but studies show genetics play a role. Though migraine causes aren’t fully understood, genetics and environmental factors appear to play a role.
The content on this website is provided for educational purposes only. While it is doctor-verified, it is not intended to serve as medical advice, and users are advised to seek the advice of their doctors before making any decisions based on the information in this article. Reviewed for accuracy by the American Migraine Foundation’s subject matter experts, headache specialists and medical advisers with deep knowledge and training in headache medicine.