How to beat misery of a migraine
RECENTLY I noticed I was buying more than my fair share of ibuprofen. It was probably adding up to three packs of 12 over a matter of days. I seemed to have one of those never-ending headaches, and although I managed to work and also run the house, I was pretty exhausted.
Ultimately I realised that things were pretty hectic, what with working full-time and trying to cope with the kids all being ill at the same time – a typical single-mum scenario. Then it dawned on me – it wasn’t pills I needed, but a change of lifestyle.
Just like everyone else, I was getting caught up in a cycle of migraine, which was, for me, really avoidable. By working out a better daily routine, the headaches have now gone.
But migraines are no laughing matter, as anyone who has suffered one will tell you.
Migraine can affect all aspects of a sufferer’s life. It has been reported that there are 3.5 million migraine sufferers in the UK. It affects around 15% of women and 6% of men.
Most sufferers are about aged between 25 and 55. Consequently this condition affects people at the peak of their working lives and has a substantial impact on employers and the economy. It costs the country about (pounds) 1billion per annum.
The International Headache Society (IHS) classifies migraine as a recurrent headache disorder, with attacks lasting between four and 72 hours, with total freedom from symptoms between attacks. In real life, however, not all migraine attacks necessarily meet this classification.
The IHS distinguishes between migraine without aura – previously known as common migraine – and migraine with aura, which was previously known as classical migraine, in which the patient suffers visual disturbances or notices a strange taste and/or smell just before the headache starts.
We know by the aura – flashing lights or pins and needles – that the brain and central nervous system are involved; from the pain in the head that the blood vessels are involved, and from symptoms such as nausea and vomiting that the gastrointestinal tract is involved, with most experts believing that the ultimate problem lies in the brain.
