What is the difference between a regular and migraine headache

[Lavender Brown]

and how can you tell when you're prone to migraines? :shrug:

[BigMcLargehuge]

1. the difference I notice is that

with a regular headache I can take a couple of Excedrin with a glass of water and a little while later it goes away. With a migraine I want to take a handful of Excedrine administered with a shotgun.

[Lavender Brown]

6. Me too

From what the websites I'm reading it sounds like what I've been getting are migraines. headache + nausea and sensitivity to light. x(

[On the Road]

15. There's a Range of Symptoms

Sensitivity to light and nausea are common symptoms of a migraine. But not all migraines are typical.
I get headaches, typically during the night, which are accompanied by localized chills, sweating, nausea, and a horrible whole-body sensation in which it feels like I'm going to explode. Usually lasts about three hours and knocks me out for the next day.

It's not the usual set of symptoms, but a neurologist said it was definitely a migraine, although an atypical type.

He prescribed a daily preventative medication (Naxaprone?) which made me drowsy and which I stopped. I use Maxalt when the symptoms start to occur, although the effect on the blood vessels is like a body blow.

There are certain things I can do to minimize the possibility of getting one, such as a long-term lowering of caffeine, keeping my neck warm while sleeping, and taking an Iboprofen and half a chlortrimatron if some of the warning signs start. It's worth keeping an eye on how your body reacts and what the triggers are.

I don't know if this is useful, but the experience of a migraine is so bad I thought I'd pass it along. Good luck and make sure to get a medical opinion.

[Az]

2. If you have to ask you have never had a migraine

I just got done suffering from a 3 day migraine. There is nothing pleasant about a migraine. It is quite intense and often makes you sick to your stomach. It is also often accompanied by sensitivity to sound or light (light for me).

A headache by comparison is a sore muscle. A migraine is a spike through your skull for days on end.

[Lavender Brown]

10. I think it's something new for me

This is definitely different than the headaches I've known, I feel like I'm suffering from motion sickness in addition to having a raging headache. Ugh.

[Az]

11. It may be climate related

Migraines are causes by the blood vessles in your brain expanding then contracting again. If the weather shifts suddenly it can cause barometric changes which the brain reacts to.

[AllegroRondo]

21. Sounds like a sinus problem

[yardwork]

3. When I get migraines I feel sick to my stomach

and I often have visual disturbances - seeing flashes of light, etc. The headache is the least of the problems. I've felt so sick that I was literally crawling on the floor. When I realized that they were migraines, I learned to take an Advil the minute I start to feel one coming down, and lie down in a quiet place. If it isn't possible to get to a quiet lie-down place, sitting quietly with my eyes closed works. The Advil is the key for me.

The migraine headache pain is usually located over one eye, and the pain involves the eyes.

I hope this helps!

[Occulus]

20. replied to the wrong one

deleted

[Quakerfriend]

4. Migraines

are typically characterized by the following symptoms, among others:
nausea, seeing spots or stars, inability to tolerate light and/or any noise.

[mopinko]

5. migraines have specific symptoms

the classic migraine- affects one side of the head, although they can affect the whole head. cause nausea. are triggered by, and/or aggravated by light or noise. are sometimes preceded by visual distortions and auras.
if you are getting a lot of headaches, you should see a neurologist.

edited to add- my daughter get migraines that almost entirely affect her stomach. her head rarely hurts at all. called abdominal migraianes. took a long time to figure that one out.

[Mizmoon]

7. One makes you feel like you're dying

the other makes you want to die.

[SmokingJacket]

8. Migraines make you want to throw up

in my experience. Everyone's are a bit different.

Mine used to start on one side, grow, take over my head, make me moan in agony and lie down in the dark hoping someone will cut off my head. Aspirin made it worse -- or just made me more nauseous.

Hours later I'd throw up or sleep it off and begin to feel better.

Also, many migraines begin with an aura -- a funny disturbance to your vision. I still get that, though I haven't had a full blown migraine in ten years.

[slackmaster]

9. Define "regular" headache

Headaches have many different underlying causes. Migraine is just one type.

I've had three of them in my life. For me what differentiated the migraine events from other bad headaches was the visuals. A photoma, or apparent bright area, began in the center of my field of vision and spread out. It was at times so bad I couldn't see well enough to do simple tasks like dialing the phone.

I have a friend who is a chronic migraine sufferer. She has been addicted to narcotics as a result, and tried many other medications. Right now it seems that botox treatments have them under control.

[tridim]

17. My friend would smoke pot to help with his migraines

His were bad enough that he had to go to the ER a few times a year to get IV morphine. He told the doc that pot was the only thing that helped and the doc basically told him to quit smoking and put him on Oxycontin-like narcotics instead. Of course now my Friend is a borderline opiate addict, instead of a peaceful pot smoker. I consider that doctor nothing more than a corporate drug dealer.

[cags]

12. Chronic Migraine sufferer here.

Migraines make you sick to your stomach, or even vomit.

The only way I know how to explain it, is you can actually feel the light and sound.

Nothing over the counter will work it will only give you more migraines, great lesson to learn.

You need to go the doctor for a prescription. I take Imitrex, it is a miracle medication for me, as my migraines can last for over a week and get more than one in a month.

If your lucky enough to know what causes your migraines (its different for everyone) you can reduce them. I have a lot of different triggers, one for me is hormonal so I'm on a certain type of BC pill that helps with the migraines.I also have some food triggers which I've figured out some of them, but not all. I can't have artificial sweetener or alchohol.

But definitely go to the doctor.:hurts:

[Bunny]

13. Not to be too alarmist, but if you've never had a headache this bad

before, you may want to call a doctor. Sometimes it could be a sign of a more serious problem.

[Lavender Brown]

16. I am making an appt.

[Bunny]

19. Good. I've heard that if you're suffering the worst headache you've ever

had, you should call your doc. I'm glad you're going, hope you get better! :hug:

[LoZoccolo]

27. Good.

Also, they can kind-of tell from a blood test if you're having a migraine.

[burythehatchet]

14. after suffering from migrane for 30 years a simple

blood pressure medicine, a beta-blocker, reduced the incidence by 90%

[Midlodemocrat]

18. Same here.

I suffered for a long time before the medication, taken daily, which has reduced the frequency to about 2-3 per month. I always had the aura, couldn't tolerate light or sound and vomiting. It was horrific. Always seemed to come when I was home alone with the kids.

[burythehatchet]

22. the down side is that now I can drink all the wine and beer

I want without paying for four days.

[Occulus]

23. I've been getting sinus headaches

Got myself a sinus infection, and a rather nasty one at that. The doc took a single glance at my throat and prescribed Bactrim (Bactrum?) for it. From the list of possible "but unlikely" side effects, it's some powerful stuff.

My headaches started with a single twinge of pain in the right side of my face near the bridge of my hose, followed by unbelieveably fast swelling of the sinus region on that side. This caused a lot of pressure to build up (causing a swelling on the roof of my mouth, even) and a severe headache that lasts anywhere from twenty minutes to half an hour, with pain meds like ibuprofin or several aspirin. Tylenol sinus knocks out the pain, but I still had to stay hom from work yeaterday to give my body time to react to the meds.

I feel ok now, but still stuffed up and generally iffy.

[SW FL Dem]

24. My migraines tend to centered at one temple

I am very sensitive to lights and noise and am often nauseated. I don't get them often, but when I do, I don't get out of bed until they are over.
Tension headaches feel like a tight band around your head above your eyes and your neck or shoulders are usually tight. Sinus headaches make your face ache, at your cheekbones, above your eyes or both.

[aden_nak]

25. Here's a really simple test:

A regular headache is like being punched in the head.
A migrane headache is like being punched in the head by God.

The only over-the-counter that helps my migranes at all is Advil, and even that is not very useful, despite taking three times the dosage. Imitrex, a prescription migrane pill, is relatively good. Also, for some people, ingesting caffeine helps quite a bit (it certainly does for me) as does eating something with protien in it. For others, it makes things worse.

In addition, I would like to mention one other symptom. Many people get migranes in the exact same spot, and they feel the exact same way. However, if you notice that the pain is along your shoulder/neck, and especially in one eye more than the other, you may actually have a pinched nerve in your shoulder. Thus, what you are having could be a Cervical Tension Headache, which is often mis-diagnosed as a migrane. If one side of your neck/shoulder is extremely tense, put a heating pad on it to reduce the intensity of the pain.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. For me, they come on during the early hours of the morning, with

severe pain in the head and growing nausea. They last until I throw up or until I can stand to get out of bed and take a small amount of food and some medication, whichever happens first.

Imagine a hangover on steroids.

[AlCzervik]

28. I get migraines now and then and for me there is a huge difference

between a regular headache and a migraine.

when I'm getting one it starts out behind my left eye and grows more intense by the hour and then nausea sets in and i can't stand any light.