Having an occasional headache is normal and is unlikely to be a sign that anything is wrong. However, recurrent headaches are not normal and are most commonly caused by migraine. Migraine may not be life-threatening, but it is a chronic (long-term) illness that causes significant suffering and disability for millions of people.
Migraine is a medical condition that causes intermittent attacks of headache and is associated with nausea and/or vomiting and sensitivity to light, sound, or smells. Like asthma and epilepsy, migraine is considered a chronic medical disorder. Migraine does not always receive as much attention and respect as other medical conditions, because headaches are such a common symptom. But it is important to understand that migraine is a real illness because this will help you accept that your condition deserves the same aggressive treatment as any other chronic disorder.
Migraine is a real, and very treatable, condition that seriously affects millions of individuals worldwide. For years migraine was considered by many to be simply areaction to stress. Now we have a better understanding of what migraine is, who suffers from migraine, and how to prevent and treat migraine attacks.
I have bad headaches, but I can live with them. Why should I get treatment?
If your headaches are caused by migraine they are very treatable, and you are missing out on life by putting up with unnecessary pain. Yes, you can often try to ignore the headache or take medications to dull the pain, but what you may not realize is how much your quality of life is affected. More importantly, as you push through the pain, and simply go on living with the headaches, the condition may be getting worse. Eventually, the headaches can affect your whole life, including your job, your social activities, and your relationships.
Myth “Migraine is simply a bad headache”
Truth No, there is more to migraine than just a “bad” headache. Migraine is a disorder of the brain, triggered by certain factors, such as stress, and a severe headache is only a symptom of this. Migraine is a progressive condition that is described aptly by the phrase, “a headache begets a headache.” The more frequent the migraine attacks become, the more attacks you are likely to have.
Why do I have to change my life if the migraine happens only once in a while?
In many ways migraine is similar to asthma and epilepsy. In between attacks of migraine, individuals feel fine. Everyone with a chronic condition must make lifestyle changes treatment to be successful.
Chronic disorders like asthma, epilepsy, and migraine are among the most difficult for people to accept in their lives because the symptoms are so intermittent.
There is a natural tendency to want to deal with the problem when you experience the attack and ignore the condition when you are symptom-free. The major difficulty with this approach is that you are simply treating the symptoms and not the disease.
Myth “Migraine goes away during pregnancy”
Truth Migraine, especially menstrual migraine, can improve dramatically during pregnancy. It is important to understand, however, that migraine does not just go away. Migraine attacks may become less frequent, but the underlying disorder is always present. Some women actually experience more frequent attacks during pregnancy because they must stop taking medication for the pain.
It is very important that your migraine is well controlled before you become pregnant.
