Image: Detroit Free Press/MCT/Landov
In Brief
- Migraine is more than a headache: it is intensely painful and has distinct phases.
- The disorder used to be considered a vascular one, but recent research reveals it to be neurological, related to a wave of nerve cell activity that sweeps across the brain.
- The root of migraine may reside in brain stem malfunctioning.
- Although debate swirls about the precise cause of migraine, discoveries are already permitting the development of new treatments
More In This Article
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Sidebar
Four Phases of Migraines
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Infographic
What Causes Auras: Brainstorms
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Infographic
The Root of Migraine Pain -- Hypothesis
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Infographic
Treatment--Insights Refine Therapies
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Sidebar
Clues from Genetic Studies
For the more than 300 million people who suffer migraines, the excruciating, pulsating pain that characterizes these debilitating headaches needs no description. For those who do not, the closest analogous experience might be severe altitude sickness: nausea, acute sensitivity to light, and searing, bed-confining headache. “That no one dies of migraine seems, to someone deep into an attack, an ambiguous blessing,” wrote Joan Didion in the 1979 essay “In Bed” from her collection The White Album.
Historical records suggest the condition has been with us for at least 7,000 years, yet it continues to be one of the most misunderstood, poorly recognized and inadequately treated medical disorders. Indeed, many people seek no medical care for their agonies, most likely believing that doctors can do little to help or will be downright skeptical and hostile toward them. Didion wrote “In Bed” almost three decades ago, but some physicians remain as dismissive today as they were then: “For I had no brain tumor, no eyestrain, no high blood pressure, nothing wrong with me at all: I simply had migraine headaches, and migraine headaches were, as everyone who did not have them knew, imaginary.”
This article was originally published with the title Why Migraines Strike.
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102 Comments
Add CommentBased on personal experience, I would have to posit that migraine sufferers are still being treated unfairly. Instead of being told we are just imagining our pain, we are now accused of faking it in order to get narcotics. I use triptans to treat my migraines, but every so often, they just don't work. The pain gets so bad that I have no choice but to go to the emergency room, where I am inevitably accused of being a drug seeker. It's amazing to me that medicine has come so far, and yet doctors still remain incredulous of any condition they can't see on an xray or blood test.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe logical way to determine the cause of migraine is to identify the most likely culprits and rule each out as the cause. The most likely culprit is caffeine. Caffeine is a demonstrated cause of headache used by nearly everybody. The scandalous truth is migraine has never been demonstrated absent caffeine use; researchers have consistently neglected to control for caffeine withdrawal headache during studies of migraine and migraine treatments. As a result of this ongoing and collective scientific blunder, migraine remains confounded with caffeine withdrawal headache.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHeadache researchers scoff at the idea that caffeine could cause all migraine, citing the testimony of their migraine patients who report using absolutely no caffeine. Yet they cannot produce one verified example of migraine occurring in a person verified to be caffeine abstinent. Caffeine abstinence cannot be verified by merely interviewing the patient, as the patient could be mistaken.
What's needed is a trial study in which subjects with neurologist-diagnosed migraine -- ideally, all subjects would have migraine with visual aura, so there's no doubt they have genuine migraine -- are instructed to wean themselves from caffeine, their caffeine abstinence verified by objective testing. Such a trial study would, for the first time, separate migraine from caffeine withdrawal.
I hope Drs. Dodick and Gargus are interested in helping me do this trial study. I've got some money to fund it.
The authors address auras preceding migraines, and migraines without auras, but not auras without migraines. More often than not, my aura episodes are not followed by migraine pain, leaving me unsure (relieved, but unsure) whether a migraine episode has passed. If cortical spreading depression leads to activation of the trigeminal pain fibers, there must be a process that interrupts the activation sequence. Has this interruption process been studied or identified, and could it be a way to prevent the progression from aura to pain for those who experience migraines?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI also experience the aura with little or no pain. The blindness in the vicinity of the scintillating arc is usually more significant to me than any pain. Mike Eilson raises interesting questions. I wonder if our set of symptoms are so rare that they are not being studied, or that they are considered too mild to be included in the research.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo Barry, I wish to make the observation that in my wife's case (a sufferer of 19 years) we have been diligent in excluding caffeine from our lives yet the migraines persist. I applaud your willingness to assist study but please don't exclude a path before testing it. To Mike and John, you both bring forward interesting questions. I suffered migraines for 24 years, then had two years of what my GP called "painless migraines". These were the scary episodes of scintillating stars, making vision unreliable, a certain feeling of weakness, but no pain. After two years....no symptoms. My GP said this is quite common in men around 40-45 years old. Is it? If it is common enough for my GP to be aware of the possibility, then unfortunately John, the symptoms are not so rare, so perhaps because they are not so debilitating as pain, and do not cost so much in work-related down-time, the funding is less likely. Perhaps someone in the industry might respond to Mike's idea of interrupting the activation of the pain receptors? and why John S's auras without pain do not seem to be studied.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBeing a migrain suffer for the past 30 years they have progressed to being weekly episodes without aura...I've tried each and every type of medicine known to doctors including Botox injections yet the migraines fail to respond to medicine. My only relief for the very severe, I simply cannot function migraines, is narcotic drugs, a dark, quiet room and sleep...I continue to hope they find a way to stop the migraines for every type and every person that suffers them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI appreciate the caffeine-withdrawal angle discussed above. Another factor might also be sugar-withdrawal. Certainly since ancient times people are warned to keep their intake of substances consistent and live within the confines of moderation. In my experience several factors might play together to develop a migraine. Eye strain is certainly a culprit. For example, if you work all day hammering or driving screws, your forearms will ache when you try to use them. Too much lifting items and holding them over your head will have your muscles crying out in agony. Our eyes muscles work the same, and when they get strained they tend to want to keep still. This lets in light that burns-in images (halo-effects). However, our eyes need to keep seeing. Certainly evolution selected for this trait. Our eye muscles will not scream at us in the same way our shoulders will, and we may be neglecting that angle as well. I suggest if you are going to control caffeine, possibly sugar, you should as well develop a method of measuring eye-strain, eye-movement, eye-moisture, etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI know of a remedy for migraine that can stop an attack: 3 Advil Liqui-gels and a can of caffeinated cola such as Pepsi or Coke. The ibuprofen, caffeine, sugar, cola, and carbonation all contribute.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis treatment was recommended by a headache specialist for my wife, who suffers terrible migraines, . She now uses it every time and says it's very effective. My sister mentioned to me that she has migraines and I told her about this, and she later told me that it really works.
I suffered from migraines, I found out that mine were caused by irregular sleep. Also eating turkey, which messes with my sleep or circadian rhythms because of what is in turkey. Sometimes after drinking coke I would get a migraine, but rarely. Sometimes coke would make me feel better. (caffeine also affects sleep.) I've also noted that staring into bright (solid) lights such as a clear blue sky or a white piece of paper in daylight can cause a migraine. Not sure why but I think it causes the brain to overcompensate adjusting of colors. Now that I know these things, I never get any migraines because I get enough sleep (not too much either), don't eat turkey, stay away from soda, and don't stare at bright, solid colors.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI subscribe to the print version of SciAm and came here looking for a credit to the photo on page 59 in reference to this article. It has an image showing an artists rendition of an aura - I'd really like to know the artist and get a better copy of this image. It is the first time I've seen a rendition of something I've been experiencing my whole life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks to these great researchers for such an outstanding article. I've been a migraine sufferer since the age of 13, now almost 62. The aura depiction was the closest artwork I've ever seen to my starting symptoms, which occurs 20-30 minutes prior to the start of the severe headache. Also suspected caffeine triggers in my earlier working years, but never drank coffee, coke, or any significant amount of soft drinks until my late 30's. I'm an engineer involved in equipment development and troubleshooting so bouts of stress are normal. After many years of trying to identify precursors I've concluded that a stress situation involving running out of time in a critical situation can be a source. A consistent precursor is a physical condition of being so tired for several days I cannot sit down in a chair in the evening without falling asleep and when awaking am so grougy it takes 30 seconds to orient in my surrondings. Within two days of these I'll come down with a migraine - many times immediately upon awaking in the morning. In my younger years I would get them from a bad dream in the middle of the night.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLike some of the earlier threads the severity has diminished greatly after turning 50, no more sweating/chilling cycles which result in hugging the stool and dry heaving for 10 minutes. The severity of the headache, which always seemed to be immediately under my temples has diminished as well. The only prescription that has been any help is Maxalt-MLT (trizatriptan benzoate) with two Excedrin Migraines in a very dark, quiet room. A bag of frozen corn wrapped in a towel drapped over my forehead and eyes is used for 1-2 hours until the headache slightly subsides or I get so cold I can't stand it, then several hours of sleep. Usually feel weak for another day.
My mother has suffered all her life (she is now 87) and 4 of 5 my five children get them. Some with the same symptom patterns as mine, others just severe headaches. There has to be a heredity thread here somewhere.
I have an occasional aura, but have never had migraines. I sketched my aura, very similar to the one in the article, during a visit to an ophthalmologist in the early 1990s. No reaction. The picture on page 59 was quite a revelation, since I thought I was the only one who had ever reported that kind of hallucination. The auras began a year or two following surgery for a tumor that was pressing on my brainstem.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have an occasional aura, but have never had migraines. I sketched my aura, very similar to the one in the article, during a visit to an ophthalmologist in the early 1990s. No reaction. The picture on page 59 was quite a revelation, since I thought I was the only one who had ever reported that kind of hallucination. The auras began a year or two following surgery for a tumor that was pressing on my brain stem.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood article, but where are you getting your statistics? According the WHO, the prevalence of Migraine is 12% of the population. With 6.7 billion people in the world, your figure of 300 million should be closer to 800 million.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood article, but where did you get your statistics? According to the WHO, the prevalence of Migraine is 12%. With a world population of 6.7 billion, that would mean 804 million Migraineurs in the world, not 300 million.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnother path worth pursuing, is a correlation between migraines and Patent Foramen Ovale, (PFO, a hole between the upper chambers of the heart that is supposed to seal closed after birth, but remains open in about 20-25% of the population). Over the last several years PFO closure has begun to be performed for other reasons (e.g. stroke prevention in patients genetically prone to clotting), but an unanticipated result is a high incidence of PFO patients having migraines, and some reporting an elimination of migraines after PFO closure.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat news to hear about all the advances in understanding of this disease and I agree with the authors' conclusion that this information should help against the dismissive treatment so many migraineurs receive from lay people and some doctors alike. I am particularly fascinated by the complexity of this disease, the fact that there are many factors involved and even the genetic component is very complex. Is it any wonder that symptoms vary so widely and so does the effectiveness of remedies and treatments? Those among the commenters who suggest that they have "the" remedy should read the article more carefully! I will be linking this article on my blog at http://meganoltmanfreemybrain.typepad.com.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou have mistaken "cause" for trigger. Caffeine is a TRIGGER, not a cause of Migraine. Did you even read this article? Apparently not. Once again, years of research is just casually tossed away by someone who thinks he knows how to cure everyone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBarry, you have confused a trigger with cause. Caffeine is a TRIGGER, not a cause of Migraine. The CAUSE of Migraine is a nervous system disorder, activated by the overstimulation of a trigger event. Allergies and asthma are also bodily responses to overstimulation and sensitivity to the environment, which is why many Migraineurs have these conditions co-morbidly. Did you even read the article? Apparently not. You're just somebody else trying to tout a cure and dismiss years of research. You get all the glory when all of a sudden CAFFEINE ends up being the sole culprit! Please get some common sense. You're the same as everyone else promoting the MIRACLE CURE for migraine without taking into account how the disease affects everyone individually. And if you're basing your opinions off of that one caffeine cure for migraines website, or the proprietor, there are plenty of so-called "facts" on that site that can be readily debunked by anyone who suffer from this disease or does a little bit of research. Education goes a long way to empowerment and better treatment for everyone who suffers any disease process - blindly proclaiming that you know the cure only proves that there really IS a sucker born every moment because most of us with chronic pain are desperately seeking anything that works, and unfortunately, they'll pay for it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat gets me is that everyone thinks that what works for them will work for everyone else. In Migraine, that's simply not true because the disease presents itself in so many different ways across a population; we're all different. Not to mention, many Migraine specialists DO support the use of alternative therapies in conjunction with regular visits and other medications. Why wouldn't they? Because they are out to take
Do those of you who have a "cure" think that all of us who suffer WANT to be this way? That we're not working towards a common goal; recognition of this malady as an invisible disease that puts a lot of people down for the count multiple days out of the year, where we miss family, friends, outside activities and spend our time alone, being misunderstood and in bed most of the time? Yeah, my life is certainly passing me by, and I hate it. I am angry. But I am also actively working to help myself and to help others discover that they can take care of themselves even though the means may not be the same as mine.
Educate yourselves on Migraine, don't just flount your "cures." And that goes for everyone. There is information out there, and a lot of support in the meantime
It is good to see focus and attention on migraine disease. Only those who have experienced this condition understand the pain. However, I believe that the real breakthrough in migraine elimination requires changing basic parameters.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor twenty-two years I had frequent migraines and cluster headaches. Now they are gone. I do not take medications or require special treatment. It is possible to learn how to not have headaches.
The key parameter presented in the scientific community is that migraines are an incurable, genetic neurological disease. I believe that migraines are involuntary subconscious habitual pain responses that can be eliminated through focused effort. Instead of swallowing a pill, my cure involved reconditioning the responses that lead to pain buildup. We are not slaves to our neurological patterns.
In the article ‘Why Migraines Strike’, in reference to the three clusters of brain stem cells that influence migraines, ‘the activity of these cells is modulated by the behavioral and emotional state of the individual’. Because I learned how to modulate my own behavioral and emotional state, I directly influence the activity of these cells and have eliminated migraines completely.
The key skill required in reducing and eliminating migraines is thought management. Though scientists measure the effect of neurological waves, there is more than physicality involved in migraines. We are not disconnected from our brain waves. What we think about directly affects our health.
As I learned how to eliminate headaches, I discovered that psychological, emotional, intellectual and behavioral elements all contribute to the buildup of migraines. Though the pain was real and the response involuntary, by altering these elements the headaches went away. It did take effort, but my migraines have been gone over four years.
My free weekly blog ‘No More Headaches – How to Eliminate Migraines without Medication’ can be read at www.headache-mgmt.com
Glenn Stewart Coles
Eureka!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have been getting these "auras" since 1995 and never knew why. The drawing on page 59 is almost exactly how they often appear - although with the black and white parts strobing (black-white-black-white).
Never once have I had a headache with them though - thank goodness.
I have been getting these "auras" several times a year since 1995 - but never with a headache.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey start out as a small patch in the center of my field of view and slowly expand into the irregular ring almost exactly like the drawing on page 59 but with the black and white areas strobing, white-black-white...
Anybody else?
Leeloominai: How would you distinguish between a migraine caused by caffeine, a migraine triggered by caffeine, and a caffeine withdrawal headache that fulfills the ICHD-ll diagnostic criteria for migraine? Answer: There is no known way to distinguish between them. They are, for all practical purposes, the same.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this[continuing my reply to Leeloominai] Therefore it makes no practical sense to say a particular headache was triggered but not caused by caffeine. There is no known way to rule out caffeine as the cause of primary headache in a person who uses caffeine; if a primary headache patient uses caffeine, then caffeine could be the cause of that patient's primary headaches. The prevailing view is that caffeine causes caffeine withdrawal headache by the mechanism of addiction and withdrawal, but triggers migraine headache by some different, unknown mechanism. Yet caffeine has only one known mechanism of action at likely doses: occupation and blockade of adenosine receptors. Also: two causal mechanisms aren't strictly necessary; one headache-causing mechanism is logically sufficient.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBarry, Leeloominai's comments to you are ridiculous. Picture a jester with a funny hat typing his message...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am a long-time sufferer of migraines, and a long-time lover of caffeine. It is true, that for many people, caffeine is a trigger. That being said, I can tell you with 100% certainty that a caffeine withdrawal headache is not a migraine. Not even close. Aura or no, a migraine sufferer instantly recognizes an approaching migraine. It feels like no other headache, and no other pain. Caffeine withdrawal is painful and unpleasant. Migraine is as bad as childbirth, only it often lasts longer. Caffeine withdrawal doesn't go on for two full weeks. Migraine can. For some people, coffee does sometimes provides a little relief during a migraine, but it's just as likely, perhaps even more so, that coffee will aggravate the situation, making the headache more severe, or increasing nausea. While each sufferer has their own individual triggers, there are many that we share. I would suggest that perhaps it would be better to investigate all triggers to see what common effect they produce. As for myself, I have many triggers, some of which also depend on quantity. For example, two or three yogurts in a week and I'll usually be fine. Five or six, or include some red wine, and I probably will not. A pot of coffee a day does nothing. When I'm ill, and go without coffee, I normally do not have a migraine. Triggers are a clue, but not the be-all end-all. For many years, my migraines were clearly hormonal, as I had them during the same week every month. Same caffeine intake as usual. I applaud your desire to do more research, but to limit it to caffeine, in my opinion, would be a shame.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo some degree I agree with "bio-feedback" as a good treatment mechanism. I paid a psychologist good money 20 years ago to teach me some of these techniques and they do help in some occasions. However, given my over 40 years of dealing with these conditions I'm strongly of the opinion that temperament is only one; of many, variables. There is definitely something neurological or chemical going on as well. Many times I get a migraine when I'm relaxed on a weekend and have also gotten them on vacations while photographing, fishing, hunting, etc. As this article suggest I'm of the opinion that there are multiple triggers, for example my three daughters all get them during a certain point in their menstrual cycle. Bright sunlight for too many hours can be a trigger for me as a second example.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was also wondering why the authors did not mention auras without headache. I think it is far more common that they think. I started getting these auras in my 50s, but never had a headache. Now I get them every few months or so. They last no more than 10 or 15 minutes and the only side effect is a slight feeling of fatigue and disorientation but nothing substantial. I do find it difficult to drive when the center of my vision disappears so I usually pull over when that happens? What do the authors have to say about this?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was a migraine sufferer for 2 years. I could not figure out why I had the migraines. Was it diet, stress, age, hereditary? Some migraines were preceded with auras some not. Sometimes I had the auras (jagged lines) without the migraine. It was a mystery. Then I had a bleed in my brain that prompted immediate medical attention. I found out that I had something called a dural A/V fistula in the area of my brain stem. It's basically an AVM (arterial venous malformation) in the space between the dura and brain. I had surgery to remove the DAVF and now I have no migraines at all! The vascular malformation in my brain was causing the migraines. After reading this interesting article, I now have a better understanding of migraines...at least how they related to my own medical issues.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisbsmitty, my entire point is that because you use caffeine you cannot rule out caffeine as the cause of your migraines. In a caffeine user there is no known way to objectively separate caffeine-caused headache from migraine. The only known way to rule out caffeine as a possible cause of any given case or episode of migraine is to objectively verify the patient uses no caffeine by testing a body fluid, such as saliva, for caffeine and caffeine metabolites. And again: it makes no practical sense to say caffeine triggered but did not cause a particular headache, as there's no known way to distinguish between caffeine-caused headache and caffeine-triggered headache. The distinction is meaningless. The trigger theory generates more smoke than light. There's a mechanism that readily explains migraine correlated with the menstrual cycle: estrogen slows caffeine metabolism. When body concentration of estrogen decreases in the days prior to menses, the rate of caffeine catabolism (destructive metabolism) increases, and with it the chance of caffeine withdrawal. I'm not saying migraine research should be limited to caffeine. Rather, I'm saying caffeine is, for many reasons, the most likely culprit behind migraine. Yet Drs. Dodick and Gargus don't mention caffeine in their article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBarry, Barry, Barry,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere you go again. Blah, blah, blah. Every time you start typing your blather, you show that you don't know the difference between cause and trigger.
You want everyone to respect your intelligence and ideas, yet you give no migraineur enough respect to believe them when they say they've eliminated all caffeine.
You've become so, yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn, boring.
AbiA, the cause versus trigger dichotomy has problems. We know caffeine causes caffeine withdrawal headache. Dr. Lipton believes caffeine can trigger but not cause migraine headache. And the prevailing view is that caffeine relieves caffeine withdrawal headache by reversing caffeine withdrawal but relieves migraine by some unknown mechanism. One problem with Dr. Lipton's view is that there is no known way to determine a given headache is caffeine-triggered rather than caffeine-caused. Another problem is that caffeine has only one known mechanism of action at likely doses: occupation and blockade of adenosine receptors. Addiction and withdrawal readily explain why caffeine both causes and relieves caffeine withdrawal headache. But why does caffeine both trigger and relieve migraine? We can't invoke addiction and withdrawal again without admitting migraine has the same causal mechanism as caffeine withdrawal headache. So what is this mysterious mechanism that enables caffeine to paradoxically both trigger and relieve migraine?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAbiA, out of every 100 migraine patients who report caffeine abstinence, how many are mistaken?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn reading the article 'Why Migraines Strike', I noticed that in the section regarding the four phases of a migraine, it lists that all migraine afflicted people experience the 3rd phase (headache). In my case, this is untrue. I only experience the 2nd phase, (aura). Is this an error in the article/data, or am I unique in this respect?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow that I read through the comments I see that others also experience Aura without pain. The guys who run this site might want to enhance it a bit to allow those of us who post to edit or delete our posts thereby saving other people the trouble of having to put up with people like me who jump the gun or people who are spelling and grammar challenged :)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is simply untrue. I've been suffering from migraines with all the classic symptoms since long before I started drinking coffee.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAgreeing with LeelooMai -- the term "trigger" is more accurate than "cause". I don't think the "Causes" are known yet - but many "triggers" are - bright light, flickering light, alcohol, stress, and many others.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is to confirm the comment by LeelooMinai. The term "trigger" does not mean the same as "cause". "Causes" of migraine are still being studied (at last). "Triggers" have been known for a long time. Triggers may be diffrent for different people. Two of my "triggers" are glare (from very bright light down to a reflecton on a book-page, even in low light) and alcohol.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReplying to LLuebbert on 7/24/08 ;"Many times I get a migraine when I'm relaxed on a weekend and have also gotten them on vacations while photographing, fishing, hunting, etc" I've heard these called "weekend headaches", implying that a headache has its onset at the END of a stressful period. I used to to get "post-finals-headaches" following my final exams, and would have to go to bed for several days.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRachaelMM, there are many other sources of caffeine besides coffee.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear Barry Spencer,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy are you so focused on caffeine? Be a bit more open minded.
Food intolerance means that sometimes a specific food can trigger a migraine and sometimes not. I like tea (with caffeine, but it has never given me a migraine.) Cherries, chocolate and oranges have but I could eat my SchwartzWalder cake for my b-day without a problem (that day).
So, relax, let it go and except that not all migraines are triggered by caffeine. And please, understand the difference between trigger and cause:
A candy bar with orange juice can trigger a headache but my family (genes) caused me to be able to get them. Thank god my family does not trigger my migraines ;-)
What a ridiculous, and undocumented statement! I have suffered with migraines as well as cluster headaches since age 5....I ingested NO caffeine for years and years. I am a "natural food" fanatic and read labels scrupulously. I cook ONLY from scratch so there are no "hidden" ingredients such as caffeine lurking in my food. Yet I continue to suffer from frequent, severe migraines, as do two of my 3 adult children. I am a registered nurse with extensive medical background. People like you are the ones spreading unsubstantiated rumors and proliferating the fallacies so prevalent surrounding migraine sufferers. Please check your facts!!!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is true that caffeine intake can cause "rebound" migraine headaches, but to suggest that caffeine intake is the CAUSE of migraines is ludicrous.
Hello Fellow Suffer.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have experienced the same sort of treatment. They will even avoid giving you what you really need, which is a shot of Gravol with Demoral and substitute it for drugs that give some relief but cause 2-3 days of side effects....this is their way of saving you from yourself....quite ridiculous
There are plenty of couner-examples to the association between caffeine and migraine. Migraine not uncommonly begins during childhood, before the sufferer has been exposed to caffeine at all. For example, I can vividly recall intense migraines as early as ten years old, yet I did not start to use coffee until my late teens. Caffeine withdrawal may well play a role in migjt well play a role in some migraines, but it is certainly not involved in most of them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have to say that the description of aura... and some of the comments here... come as quite a relief. I knew what I was having were migraines but I'd never seen such an accurate description of what I experience. I am very fortunate in that... if I catch the aura early enough... I can treat the headache with OTC medication. Of course, when the headache comes without aura, or I act too late, the pain is indescribable.
To Barry -- I definitely have a link to caffeine: missing the timing on my single daily cup of coffee is a high risk move for me. But I would never generalize. Fair avenue to test though and I appreciate your asking the medical community to do good science on this.
I am forwarding this article to an ion channel researcher I know. I am hoping he'll add to the discussion.
Yes, I DO wear a jester hat, in a way. But since you must resort to childish comments and name-calling (plus assumations about my gender), I'm going to pull that hat off for a second and ask you people why you refuse to listen to sufferers of a disease who actively meet their doctors and work with them, instead of against them, in order to better their lives? What's wrong with people like Barry is that they claim to know what's wrong with everyone instead of getting off their rears to do something about it, while everyone else does the hard work and then lo! Someone like Barry comes along and claims to know the answers. I'm not arguing that caffeine ISN'T a culprit, I'm arguing that it's not the end-all be-all answer to Migraine. Barry has to sit around and offer $$$ to doctors to do his research for him, but guess what? They WON'T because the self-respecting Migraine specialists in this country and around the world know that Migraine is more than problems with caffeine.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnother thought too...When and if a certain person in the population (say, post-menopausal women for instance), cease to have Migraines, yet still ingest caffeine laden products (or trace amounts), how do you explain the cessation of their Migraines, Barry? Certainly it's not due to the elimination of caffeine because many women drink coffe, decaf or otherwise, all through their lives, or eat chocolate, etc. Hormonally-triggered Migraines are some of the nastiest of them all.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot to mention that Migraines can cease in an individual at any time due to the fluidity of the disease, just as they can get worse.
I got my first migraine on my 13th birthday and I am now 40. Between the ages of 0 and 32, I did not consume caffeine in any form (including chocolate) and I still suffered terribly from migraines. Now I drink coffee and eat chocolate and my migraines are much less frequent.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe hypothesis of barryspencer regarding caffeine and migraines is ridiculous. We all may get migraines for different reasons and that's why migraines manifest themselves in very different ways and all have very different solutions.
Is there any correlation between people who have migraine and those who later get Alzheimer's disease?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs there any correlation between people who suffer for migraine and those who later develop Alzheimer's disease?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBarry Spencer--cite the sources for your assertions, please.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI promise to put on my jester's hat and argue intelligently with you if I cannot defeat your sources.
Logic and "Age of Reasoning" thinking to back up your assertions will not be allowed.
I am interested in the flourescent light effects. My wife as been a sufferer for most of our married life of 37 years. She constantly has a headache but for the last two years with the treatment of nerve blocks they have not been the dibilating in bed lost of work type.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have slowly been replacing some of the incandescent bulbs with the new flourescent high efficency bulbs. These bulbs will eventually be everywhere. She doesn't seem to be effected by them, except if they are too bright, but she is afraid of the flickering, or strobe effect. Strobing is definately a trigger for her.
Just two days ago I had replaced the bathroom lights that were on dimmers. Then I had to replace the dimmers because they do cause the lights to flicker.
I am going to reduce the wattage to reduce the brightness, and take them all off dimmers, but I am afraid her mind set will still be opposed to them because of her fear of flourescents.
Like Mike Eilson, I experience auras but not the migraine. I would not know what an aura was without the image on the bottom right of page 59 of the article. The image is unmistakable however. I find it very interesting that different people would see exactly the same visual simulation. The neurological "storm" must create a remarkably similar pattern in different brains.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am one example of a person whose migraines, with aura, began in adolescence, no caffeine consumption, no soda pop allowed in the home, hated coffee, not a tea drinker, and I had such frequent migraines, during one period of over a year averaging several weekly, that there was no possibility caffeine was a factor. The only possible caffeine source was occasional chocolate consumption but since I'd heard chocolate could be a trigger I quit chocolate during that time. Anything...to be rid of the pain. I've experienced caffeine withdrawal headaches...not migraines, as an adult...and while those could be alleviated by caffeine intake, clearly migraines could not. I almost never get migraines now. One of my daughters does...also not linked to caffeine in any way. Re: John Spraggs, John Pugh...I had auras without pain for several years before full-blown migraines. This was in the sixties and my doc then told me they were "incomplete migraines". I later developed the full migraines...not all of my painful migraines over the years were preceded by an aura, though most were. A neurologist recently told me I "couldn't" have had auras with no pain. If he'd never heard of it, it didn't happen. He was a good doctor, and I respected him and he helped me with other health issues...but it seems a lot of docs just can't conceive that something they haven't read about or heard of before a patient in their office tells them, could be a valid and accurate report.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am glad you seem to have found a "cure" for your headaches. There are, however, those of us that have tried medications from a broad spectrum, narcotics, (which do NOT work for my migraines, and which, I am unfortunately allergic to most of them), diet modification, (no caffeine, liquor, cured cheeses, etc), and so many, many other "cures". I am helped somewhat by a triptan, and a specific medication only, and these, as with other people's comments here, don't always work. I too have had to go to the E.R. occasionally to be treated. Only a few times have I had a Dr. believe I am not drug seeking and treat me with respect. These Drs have personal experience with migraine. I have found one that has given me a treatment that helps - not narcotics, but it puts me to sleep, which a lot of times is the only thing that helps. I too have auras without headache, headache with auras, and sometimes wake with pain so severe I throw up. No rhyme, reason, or pattern. It is so frustrating. No two are alike, and the symptoms vary as well. If this new study helps mine stop, they can use me as a guinea pig. It would certainly improve my life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFirst off, and most important, MIGRAINES ARE DEADLY.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.migraines.org/
http://www.migraines.org/myth/mythreal.htm
" Migraine can induce a host of serious physical conditions: strokes, aneurysms, permanent visual loss, severe dental problems, coma and even death. "
There is no pain worse than Migraine. I was in labor with my son for 72 hours and it was a cakewalk ... compared to the pain of Migraine. I get them so badly that I have projectile vomiting so violent that the force of my stomach contents hitting the roof of my mouth, breaks blood vessels in my EYES. I get diarrhea at the same time--I apologize for the visual ... but this is serious disease--I have to decide ahead of time which end will produce the chunkiest output and that end goes over the loo; the other end goes over the tub. I suppose my 'aura' experience is slurred speech and loss of cognitive abilities. I've been accused of being a 'dope addict' at times! My major trigger is heat ... I live in Mesa, Az. so the weather 'changes' for me EVERY TIME I step outside in the summertime. My perfect temp is 65 degrees. I will be able to move soon, but this illness has completely ruined every aspect of my life.
I have more to say on this, but not now.
I used to have aura with pain, but can confirm that aura without pain is common as this is what I normally get these days. I have explained this to myself in two ways: either I have learned to control the pain myself because the aura told me it was coming and I did something internally to reduce the effect of the pain (so it wasn't actually less but I could dismiss it or discount it and so it was less severe subjectively), or hormonal changes as I have aged have resulted in less pain (I am male).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was also comforted to learn from the article about macropsia, which I never associated with migraine: it gave me terrifying nightmares as a child, scared my parents and led to me having psychotherapy at one point.
In answer to some of the other postings, please remember that there is no one *cause* for migraine (except apparently CSD); lots of different things can trigger the symptoms, and not all of us get all the symptoms, but the CSD hypothesis does explain *all* the symptoms fairly convincingly.
Finally, I'm disappointed that the biographies of the authors don't tell us if they are sufferers themselves. If not, hats off for taking us 'migrainies' seriously.
Bill Fraser, Brussels, Belgium
How do you explaine migraine in children? Or in people like me who don't use caffeine at all? Your logic is nonexistent, but I'm sure you'll get funding anyway.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI also get the aura without the subsequent symptoms. In my case the aura is an annoying distraction. The picture that accompanied the article seems to imply something more intense (as do some of the discriptions in this thread). I am wondering how others would rate their auras verus other symptoms.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI sympathize with those who suffer migraines but the treating physician is bound by legal obligations. There is no means to separate the legitimate suffers from fakers looking to score high. The problem here is with our countries attitude toward drugs. We have recently seen several MDs in my state sentenced to prison for over prescribing. An intern in the emergancy ward is unlikely to wish to risk their career in such an environment.
The picture of the the 'auras' took my breathe away. I was experiencing this (without pain) for a number of years and literally going blind for up to 30 minutes afterwards without knowing why. I thought the worse (ie. going crazy, brain tumor, etc.) and this picture shows exactly what I was seeing. Now at least I know it IS the brain going crazy but not in a permanent way. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words in this case.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy migraines begin with the aura almost always. This is very blinding and harder than pain in some ways. My migraines began in 1968 or there abouts - interestingly enough they started at about the same time as did my tinnitus which I also still have. The aura is usually quickly curbed if I take a Fiorinal C 1/4 right at the first hint of it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find it interesting also in this article that the researchers are looking at the brain stem, and I believe researchers also looking at the brain stem for tinnitus. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they found a connection?
My migraines begin with the aura almost always. This is very blinding and harder than pain in some ways. My migraines began in 1968 or there abouts - interestingly enough they started at about the same time as did my tinnitus which I also still have. The aura is usually quickly curbed if I take a Fiorinal C 1/4 right at the first hint of it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find it interesting also in this article that the researchers are looking at the brain stem, and I believe researchers also looking at the brain stem for tinnitus. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they found a connection?
My migraines begin with the aura almost always. This is very blinding and harder than pain in some ways. My migraines began in 1968 or there abouts - interestingly enough they started at about the same time as did my tinnitus which I also still have. The aura is usually quickly curbed if I take a Fiorinal C 1/4 right at the first hint of it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find it interesting also in this article that the researchers are looking at the brain stem, and I believe researchers also looking at the brain stem for tinnitus. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they found a connection?
M, you might want to check out www.migraine-aura.org
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthere you will find lots of images and even animations
of the aura.
I have suffered from migraines since I was 14yrs and I am now 35yrs and it aggravates me to no end that every time you think that you have the source of the problem under control it spikes. Tension rises and frustration returns.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAll that I have wanted is to feel like I did when I was 13 before I have this awful problem...... The pain is outrageous that nausea is no better. I just wish for relief. I have a doctor that is helping me to get it under control but before that I was wrongly labeled as a drug seeker and that label is a struggle to over come all on it's own.
It also would be nice to have a Dr and \or person who suffers from this disease to write and treat patients to be able to help people like me to be able to understand the lemans terms would be great..... thanks now I do not feel alone
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWord Metro Press has published Migraine Expressions: A Creative Journey through Life with Migraine a collection of migraine art and literature from migraineurs worldwide.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe believe this book is a valuable resource to the millions of migraineurs, their friends and loved ones, and health care professionals as an insightful tool for awareness and understanding.
A breathtaking collection of migraine art and literature from 125 migraineurs and allies, Migraine Expressions is the only book of its kind. (Hardcover, 8.5 by 11, 192 pages, Foreword by Teri Robert, Ph.D., Introduction by Editor, Index of Contributing writers and artists, and Resource list of migraine organizations and Web sites included) Press release here: http://www.wordmetropress.com/pressrelease.html
The book can be seen and ordered via www.wordmetropress.com .
Some comments by leading migraine experts...
"Migraine Expressions reveals a neurobiological disease from many highly personal perspectives as contributors transform their experiences into stunning verbal and visual art."
-- Richard B. Lipton, MD, Professor of Neurology and Director, Montefiore Headache Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
"Congratulations! The images and the words are compelling. Migraineurs will relate to the visual images and poems. Those who don't suffer may be better able to empathize after reading the book."
Suzanne E. Simons, Executive Director of the National Headache Foundation
Thank you for the insite that my husband might understand.... I really hope that this book helps!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHello sirs,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI read this article with great interest, and the subsequent email in the next issue. I thought about writing in, but I don't know whether my thoughts will be of use to you.
I've suffered reasonably pain free aura since about 2002. I might go a couple months without an incident, or might have one that recurs every 4 days or so for a couple weeks. I'm 44, male, and a high level tennis player, so I'm quite fit. I drink nothing but water and milk. I take no drugs. I eat a high quality omnivorous diet, and supplement heavily with high quality, food-based vitamins. I work in the computer profession and have had only one job since 2000 with various degrees of stress.
As a tennis player, partial blindness is a rather serious handicap, so I've taken this problem very seriously.
I'm a troubleshooter by profession, and I've approached my problem with a troubleshooter's tools. I've learned what works for me, and it actually works. I can largely control my symptoms when time allows, and so far every instance of their return is explainable by the things I've found.
Causes:
Just one. Stress. But stress comes in many flavors, and it's not the build up of stress that brings on the symptoms, but the relaxation after stress. Build-ups that will lead to an incident include:
+ A very tough, hard fought tennis match, or other type of anaerobic, bursty exercise.
+ Emotional desparation, the kind that leads to helpless tears.
+ Several days of cumulative crises at work.
Biggest false lead:
+ Diet. It does not matter what I eat.
I might constrain my diet per advice (many times I have) and experience no symptoms for a couple weeks or even months, and think I've finally eliminated the right vice. Then bang. It comes back.
The clue:
One day I needed to train for a match and felt the symptoms coming on and got pissed. They'd been coming with more frequency, and frankly had more or less quit going away. For about three months it had be more like remission and flareup than an actually break. I hopped on my exercise bike and ran my heart rate up beyond recommended max. The pain was phenomenal. My head went nuts, and it almost drove me to tears.
That was troubleshooter's paradise.
I'd learned how to replicate the problem intentionally.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(Continued from previous comment)
The Hypothesis:
Hypothesized problem:
I'd been training for tennis - anaerobic, sprinty, precise - for so long that I'd let my aerobic strength atrophy. This made me susceptible to general stress. If the stress of a high heart rate could bring on the pain, then maybe emotional, physical, relational stress could bring on the aura.
Hypothesized solution:
Increase my tolerance for stress through aerobic exercise and see whether things got better.
Progress:
For the first week, I created my headache daily with 20 minutes on the bike and a heart rate as low as 120. In the second week my heart rate made it up to 130 and there was no headache. Within a month I was hitting 140-150, and there was no headache.
I've since learned that when I sense a brain fog settling in, I can get on the bike and pedal until I feel a rush sensation in my head. I stay on for a little while after that, and I'm sure not to experience symptoms for 1 - 3 days. It doesn't cure the onset, but it pushes it back. If I stay after it for a few days or more, then the problem is cured for a while.
As a single man with a lot on my plate, I don't do enough to keep things at bay, and when I get lax, I experience a return of symptoms. When I am disciplined, I experience relief like clockwork.
You guys know the science. I don't know why this happens, but I know it happens. Just thought I'd put it out there for you.
FYI: I have consistent auras, and quit caffeine in all forms in 1983.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonal experience: Sugar withdrawal had no effect on my migraines. Eyestrain certainly can exaggerate the migraine when it happens, but does not directly cause them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've suffered just 2 pain + aura migraines in my life - a few hours apart on the same day about 10 years ago. Since then, I've had many aura-only attacks, all of which included black spots where my vision was significantly impaired, but with the auras and black spots lasting a few minutes at most.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat may be of interest to readers and possibly to researchers is that I now know that bad spinal posture is the trigger which induces my migraines. Because I get a minor aura at the very beginning of a migraine, if I'm alert to this warning sign, then arching my lower spine into a convex-forward position normally causes the warning aura to disappear and for the full-blown migraine not to occur.
I, too, experience auras without the ensuing migraines. The first time I had an aura, I recognized it from my mother's description; she had them, too. Not knowing what was causing the flashing zig-zags of colored lights (and disorientation), she sought medical treatment. She was told that she was experiencing 'aborted migraine,' a.k.a. 'optic-nerve syndrome'.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShe never had a migraine (she passed away in 1999, at age 80). I am now 54 years old, and had my first 'optic nerve attack' a few years before Mom died; maybe 14 or 15 years ago.
I wonder how prevalent my condition is (aura without migraine); whether there is a genetic component; and whether studies of people like me might help unravel the mysteries of migraine. I would be interested to participate in such a study!!
ToM@: My mother suffered (as I do) from aura without the subsequent migraine. She took an art class during her 70's... and she painted a picture of what the aura looked like to her. It is hanging in my bedroom.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShe was somewhat of a 'primitive' artistically, but her painting looks very much like what I experience when I have an aura. I, too, find this fascinating and am eager to see more images.
ToM@: My mother suffered (as I do) from aura without the subsequent migraine. She took an art class during her 70's... and she painted a picture of what the aura looked like to her. It is hanging in my bedroom.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShe was somewhat of a 'primitive' artistically, but her painting looks very much like what I experience when I have an aura. I, too, find this fascinating and am eager to see more images.
To Linda B: I began to experience aura without migraine during my 40's. I knew what it was because my mother had the same thing, probably starting in her 50's or 60's. I am very interested in this phenomenon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo laserjoc: My auras are also much like the artist's rendering shown in the article, but include colors of red, yellow and blue; and appear as an unwinding garland of flashing lights. Fortunately for me, i do not get the headaches.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAura without migraine--- See Wikipedia under "aura" or "scintillating scotoma." Like others I have had this a few times a year since age 22, which was 43 years ago. The crescent shaped kaleidoscopic blind spot is just like the drawing in SciAm. Is there a source of additional information, e.g. danger of symptoms getting worse?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSir
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is a plant that can take the migraine and practically any kind of headache in 20 minutes, also restore the alzheimer people back to normal,
Let me explain better, the plant ascanelina , the bark is grind it and the powder is taking in small quantity before or after the migraine start and in 20 minutes pain disappear, amazing plant, same with Alzheimer but that take longer a couple or three times a day will do it to a person to restore his physical ability to memorize and think.
No side effects whatsoever on the contrary it keep you in good shape
I am not try to sale anything, simple enough I just find out a way to help
Angel castro "rodangel03@yahoo.com"
I appreciate your opinion
I am located in Santa Marta, Colombia S.A
For some reason I missed out on the discussion of aura in the August 08 issue, but when i saw the artist's rendition in the letters section of the Dec 08 issue i was intrigued. I too have experienced the aura periodically throughout my whole life, with the image shown in the artists renditon bearing striking resemblance to my own experience.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would like to thank Dr. Dodick and Dr. Gargus for their research. I have suffered from migraines since I was 23 years old. This article is a very important piece of information. Dr. Gordon Robinson from Vancouver (VGH Hospital) has been my neurologist and has for a long time been a advocate for migraine sufferers. Again, I thank you for your work and your continuing research. There were many dark moments in my life when I felt I could no longer live with such a condition. I am thankful that they are renaming the condition.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was involved in a head and neck injury in August of 2008. I now suffer from migraines with aura and trouble moving on one side of my body. I am curious, can a person get migraines from something like this and why? I never suffered from any types of migraines before this neither due any family members and now I get them 2 to 3 times a week. Send me an email at iamgreat@sbcglobal.net if you can give me any answers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn 1999 I had a stroke that was caused, according to the neurologists, by a "migraine gone awry". I was left with permanent brain damage, including a visual field cut, short term memory problems and disorientatin problems.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy migraind incidents, over about 25 years, have ALWAYS been AURA migraines only, NEVER any pain, except for the incident that preceded the stroke, when I suffered a low grade headache. It later became evident, in various tests, that I had had prior TIAs, that I was totally unaware of at the time, but which, in retrospect, I can pretty well pinpoint as to the time of the event.
I was told by one source that the aura is caused by cortical spreading depression. Another source says that condition is caused by apoxia.
In 20087, for the first time since 1999, I had another aura episode, which was VERY atypical.
At that time I had a lot of tests, including a basic metabolic panel. One finding on that test was a reading of 20 (out of range/low) carbon dioxide.
Now, I am trying to learn if there is a correlation between a low level of carbon dioxide and apoxia.
I would also like to hear from ANYONE who has aura episodes, especially if such an episode led to a stroke or TIA.
I know that my having a major stroke totally changed my life, and I am very interested in learning all I can about the condition, and if there is anything I can doo to prevent further episodes.
I completely agree with Glenn Stewart Coles response to this article. I too, without taking medications, have managed to be migraine free for quite some time now. I, like Glenn, worked towards learning how to modulate my own behavioral and emotional state. One of the most powerful keys to eliminating my migraines really was "thought managment."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've always believed that my thoughts and emotions directly affect the physical health of my body. I only wish more emphasis was put on learning to manage our thoughts and emotions as is put on finding the magic pill to cure migraine.
Diana Bertoldo
http://www.naturalmigrainereliefforlife.com
I suffer from occasional migraines with aura (triggered by bright lights), all of them (except one) with a headache. I married five years ago and my wife has told me that sometimes I suffer from seizures while asleep. This got me concerned and I consulted a neurologis which told me there was nothing wrong with my MRI results.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI haven't consulted another doctor since but have done some research on the internet and I have found that some seizures that occur only at night are caused by mutations in ion channels, which is also mentioned as a probable cause for migraines in this article. The condition that causes the seizures is named ADNFLE (Autosomal Dominant Nocturnal Frontal Lobe Epilepsy). Of course I haven't been diagnosed with it and the link between both conditions is probably not more than a conjecture.
Does anyone also suffer from this night time seizures?
Best regards,
Bernardo
Where exactly is the pain sensation perceived during migraines given that the brain itself does not posses pain receptors?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDelite21: I had the same thing happen to me. Like you, I was told my stroke was migraine induced. In addition to focus issues, I lost the sight in my right eye. I would be happy to talk with you via email. Please contact me at dianedares@gmail.com.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have experience migraine with aura since I was 16 years old. It has varied in frequency and as I aged, I am now 61, the pain associated with it is minimal but the optic aura upsets me no end. It is absolutely frightening to me. It lasts almost exactly the same time 20 minutes and after ward the progression varies. I can have anything from numbness in a finger to loss of memory of names that are totally familiar to me. When I went through menopause the began again after a long hiatus so I was getting the aura much more frequently. There are triggers ....STRESS is a huge trigger I mean the kind of stress that goes deeply about certain issues OR it can be hormonal, or even hunger or bright lights but I would say stress is the overwhelming issue. I have been diagnosed with anxiety/panic disorder and PTSD as well.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBeta blockers seem to have not much effect BUT after many years of suffering recently Amyiltriptile may I say MAY be doing the trick. I take a very small dose 1/2 pill three times per day spread out and I would like to increase it slowly as the psychotropic drugs are simply awful for me to take. So for the first time I am somewhat hopeful.
I get too what I think is called scomata which is not disabeling like the full aura but intermittent flashes which do not make me ill BUT are annoying and make me wonder.
I have had two CT scans in my life one 10 years or more ago and one recently after a nasty fall. I had polio at 5 years of age. Sometime I wonder if there was any brain stem involvement in that although the paralysis was in one leg only.
My mother had them, my grandmother had them and numbers of cousins have them as well with aura. Not deadly but surely frightening. I am waiting for a stroke to occur. Not happy about them at all.
One thing that should be taken into consideration with any scientific study on migraines is the multifarious nature of the disorder. As you can see in the above comments, migraines manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Indeed, even the overarching term, such as 'migraine', almost becomes meaningless.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSpeaking as a migraine sufferer for 20 years, I do agree with Barry that caffeine can be a contributing factor to a migraine, but John and Mike are correct in pointing out that it is not always the root cause of the problem. My doctors are still at a loss, but trigeminal pain fibers, that Mike mentions, seem to play an active role in the excruciating pain I experience. I should note that while I have visual disturbances of the willow-the-wisp sort, I do not experience the aura that other migraine sufferers have.
The most frustrating facet of this problem, aside from the pain itself, is cognitive impairment during an episode. I am curious if others in this dialogue have experienced this as well.
Migraines have ruled my life for over 50 years. I've removed every possible trigger from my life that I have control over: caffeine, drugs, lights, sleep deprivation, chocolate, meat, dairy, soda, vitamin supplements, you name it. No smoking, no drinking, no swearing, no sex (yes you can get a "sex headache"). I quit my job and got rid of that stress. I got rid of my home and car, and live in a $2000 trailer in an el cheapo trailer park. I have isolated myself to the point where I only have one friend left and very few aquaintances. I keep a very regular sleep schedule, take a few power naps, walk a lot, and grow an indoor garden. I have had retinal detachments and get migraines, migraines with auras, auras without migraines, ophthalmic migraines (blindness), and I still get a migraine when I least expect it. I know that the triggers will definitely cause a migraine. If I eat chocolate in the morning, I will be sickly the next morning, but will not have a painful migraine. If I eat chocolate in the evening, I'll be incapacitated for days after waking up with a horrible migraine. I find that if I eat several small vegetarian meals throughout the day and refrain from eating after 5 pm, then I feel better the next day, regardless of whether I have a migraine or not. So the lifestyle changes and choices don't get rid of my migraines, but do help me feel better. But I'm sick of being isolated and limited to this extent. Like a few others here I learned early not to complain about my pain for fear of being labelled 'drug seeking'. Truthfully, demerol will take the edge off, but nothing really takes away the pain or the nausea or the visual disturbances.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust sharing and seeking information on the experiences of others in the same boat.
My daughter has suffered from migraines since a very young age. Being her father, I suffered grand mal seizures from age 8 to age 21. The "aura" described here soundw exactly what happened immediately prior to the seizure. Also, my daughter (above) had a baby boy with the very rare condition of being born with only a brain stem, fluid filling the cavity where the brain would be. This all sound related genetically...?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYour situation sounds very similar to my daughters. I and every one of my children have symptoms, I believe, I believe, after many years of frustration, are related to the improper digestion of wheat gluten. The undigested gluten leaks thru tiny pits in the abdomen, get into the bloodstream and apparently cross the blood-brain barrier. My symptoms, as well as those of 2 of my children, are neurological. My symptoms have greatly improved since eliminating gluten. Still working with my children...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile searching for information on migraines for my course thesis found this site. I am a migraine sufferer for 10 years, so just a baby in comparison to some. As with most sufferers I have tried many treatments, however recently I have found 2 very interesting ones which may not help everyone, but nothing to lose if you haven't already tried... The first is The Magnesium Solution for Migraine Headaches by Jay S Cohen.. I have been taking this supplement (RDA) for nearly 3 months and I have experienced 3-4 attacks instead of the normal 12. The other is work by Dr Roy Higson one the study and treatment of the dental occlusion - I am sure you will have an american equivalent. Good luck from Bonnie Scotland
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLooking at the comments, it seems that several middle-aged men experience aura without headache. I'd be curious to know if that was always how they experienced migraine, or whether the lack of pain came with hormonal changes in middle age, such as lower levels of male sex hormones such as testosterone. If so, lowering levels of male hormones shold be studied as a therapy for younger men with frequent severe painful migraines. I wonder if this has ever been studied....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear Barryspencer,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI see you are searching for a person with migraine with a visual aura, who was completely abstinent from coffee.
Well that's me I had the worst of the attacks, when I was about 14 years old till I was about 16-17 years old.
I was 'straight edge' at the time. I had an attack about once a week. I havent had really bad migraine attacks since I was about seventeen. I actually think it has allot to do with hormones. My girlfriend used to have allot of migraines, on that time she was on 'the pill' and that as you know has allot of hormones in it. When she stopped using the pill, the migraines went right away with it.
I am not saying coffee doesn't have anything thing to do with migraines, just saying it didn't in my case.
Though, I did drink tea on a daily base.
To: barryspencer: Sir, You are so Badly Informed that it is Laughable. Caffiene has NEVER been a Cause of Migraines. I have Had Severe, Debilitating Migraines since I was 6 years old... 50 Years Ago. Exactly how much Coffee do You think I was Drinking at age 6.??? Seriously. I only began drinking Coffee when I was 14 and discovered that it made my Migraines GO AWAY... Shocking, Huh? I was sneaking My Mom's Coffee 'cuz I figured if She liked it, I would. Not Only did I like it but, it helped my Pain, even though at 14 I did not plan or think of that. Every Primary Medication for Migraine Today has Caffeine in it. The FDA allowed Excedrin to call itself Excedrin Migraine because it helped Migraine Pain... The Reason??? 65 mg. of Caffeine in every Excedrin Tablet. Cafergot... Caffeine, Fioricet... Caffiene. The Triptan Medications DO NOT contain Caffeine but having been on Imitrex (a triptan med), I know from experience that they have serious side effects. I developed High Blood Pressure after being on Imitrex for 4 1/2 years. One Day it just shot up to 194/94. Such a nice surprise. BTW: Once You have HBP, You must get OFF of your Triptan Meds because then they can cause Stroke or Heart Attack.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are a Fool to think that Caffeine is the CAUSE of Migraines. It is the Opposite. They say a Fool and His Money are soon Parted and You will be that Fool if You invest in Research based on the Concept that Caffeine Causes Migraines.
Dear dudell: Sugar withdrawal is also non-realistic. I became a Diabetic in July of 2000 and I suffered no change in the Frequency or Severity of My Migraines. I have been "Off Sugar" for 15 years and 5 months now. So much for that Sugar Theory. As a matter of Fact... I sometimes Cheat and have a Candy Bar when the Migraines get too severe and it helps. Trust Me... after this many years it ain't withdrawal.
I get a type of Migraine that ONLY Men get. They are More Severe than any other Type of Migraine. I get NO Auras, See NO Stars or Twinkling, Have NO Warnings of any kind. I can be walking along the street and They Hit Me Like Someone Has Just Driven a RailRoad Spike thru My Head. Being awake too long makes them worse. Sleeping too long or sometimes at all, makes them worse. I am in one now that is in Day 12... Constant and unending. I had one in 1988 that lasted 3 Solid Months. I was in the Neuro Dept. of SDSU Hospital on M., W. & F. of every week with standing appointments. Then the Imitrex began to work but, only the Shots, not the Pills.
To: rosiey4: That is Sad but, True. Many Migraine Sufferers are Treated Like Junkies looking for a Fix. I found a solution to that and here it is: I got a MEDIC_ALERT Account and I give them My Medic-Alert Dog Tag every time I go in and they ask for Medical History of Rxs. I say contact them for Verification. They cannot deny the Truth of MEDIC-ALERT. I also keep a List of My Meds in My Computer and I always have a Print Out with Me when I go to any New Dr. or E. R. It also saves on writing down every Med you take. If they won't accept the List and want you to write it down... Tell them You have your Lawyer on Speed dial. Works every time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTO: barryspencer: Once again, I HATE that You say "Caffeine is a demonstrated cause of headache used by nearly everybody." because it is the MOST Outrageous LIE ever to Cross anyone's Lips since saying Migraines were "Imaginary.". The Fact that I have Suffered from Severe, Debilitating Migraines since Age 6, Disproves Your theory in FACT. I know of Many, Many Children who have suffered from Migraines since their Youth and None were Drinking Coffee in 1st grade. When I was a Kid there were very few Sodas with Caffeine either. Just Coke, actually. We used to get Soda Pop at the Pharmacy Counter or the Woolworth Counter and most were not even carbonated. I am 55 and I have had these Migraines for close to 50 years. Come back and Post when YOU have suffered this Long because for those of Us who have, Your Claims are Ludicrous. You are like a Sports Fan posting on a Game You have never Played or even Watched... Please, suffer with Us, then Post.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisbarryspencer, you obviously have never suffered from a migraine! Or you wouldn,t make such a bloody ridiculous statement as the one you did in post 2. I have suffered migraine since I was seven years old, and I can assure I never drank coffee or any caffeine based drinks as a child, in fact the very smell of coffee is enough to give me an instant migraine, with aura and to such a point that coffee is banned from my household, the very opening of a jar is enough to set off a migraine even if I am in another room, I am that sensitive to it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am allergic to numerous foods, certain spices and herbs can set off migraines, the old favourite the orange, even opening the curtain first thing of a morning to a bright sunlit day is enough at times to put me in bed for up to three days. I wake up every morning and go to bed every night with a migraine the only difference is severity.
I have put up with the crap mentioned in the article over the years, but I have also been fortunate to have found doctors sympathetic to my problem, and been willing to treat it. They have also been willing to search for any cause that may have been underlying and have undergone numerous MRI,s and CT,s searching for anything that just might be there.
But there is one thing that really gets my back up, and that is jerks like you who think they know every thing when you have absolutely no idea what so ever, if you really have the money for research then I suggest you donate it to what ever research institute you have in America that deals with migraine so that the professionals that KNOW what they are talking about can put it to some REAL research into the causes of migraine. And if you don,t have one there I can suggest a very good one here in Australia that would put it to very good use, including a good friend of mine Prof. Lynn Griffiths of Griffith Uni. here in Qld..
For the record I am now 54 and was placed on an invalid pension 20 years ago due to my migraines, which over this period have increased in severity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe aura's have intensified and due to migraine I am losing sight out of my left eye, which is the predominant side for my migraines. Although the worst pain is reserved for the right side.