Migraine relief?

Migraines, not just your average headache! I've been a sufferer for the past ten years, they are only just becoming manageable with diet, exercise, no drinking, no alcohol, 8-hr a night sleep sessions and plenty of water. I'd say my life is boring; except the exercise regime I keep involves rock climbing, training for charity runs (hopefully soon a half marathon), hiking, etc. I'm planning on taking up snowboarding at some point!

Anyways, migraines is a neurological condition that affects approximately one in four women and one in twelve men in the UK. The attacks alter your bodily perceptions (i.e. produce auras which can be olfactory or visual), alongside the headache pain (which is predominantly unilateral), and produces nausea.

According to "The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition" (ICHD-2) there are seven subclassifications of migraine;

1. Migraine without aura, or common migraine, involves migraine headaches that are not accompanied by an aura.

2 & 3. Migraine with aura usually involves migraine headaches accompanied by an aura. Less commonly, an aura can occur without a headache, or with a non-migraine headache. Two other varieties are Familial hemiplegic migraine and Sporadic hemiplegic migraine, in which a patient has migraines with aura and with accompanying motor weakness. If a close relative has had the same condition, it is called "familial", otherwise it is called "sporadic". Another variety is Basilar-type migraine, where a headache and aura are accompanied by difficulty speaking, vertigo, ringing in the ears, or a number of other brainstem-related symptoms, but not motor weakness. (This is my migraine diagnosis)

4. Childhood periodic syndromes that are commonly precursors of migraine include cyclical vomiting (occasional intense periods of vomiting), abdominal migraine (abdominal pain, usually accompanied by nausea), and benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood (occasional attacks of vertigo).

5. Retinal migraine involves migraine headaches accompanied by visual disturbances or even blindness in one eye.

6. Complications of migraine describe migraine headaches and/or auras that are unusually long or unusually frequent, or associated with a seizure or brain lesion.

7. Probable migraine describes conditions that have some characteristics of migraines but where there is not enough evidence to diagnose it as a migraine with certainty.

According to the NHS there are five stages to an attack (though these are not experienced by all sufferers), these are;

1. 'Prodromal' (pre-headache) stage. Some people experience changes in mood, energy levels, behaviour and appetite, and sometimes aches and pains, several hours or even days before an attack.

2. Aura. In about one in six cases, a migraine is preceded by an aura. Symptoms include flashes of light or blind spots, difficulty focusing and seeing things as though through a broken mirror. This stage normally lasts around 15 minutes to an hour.

3. Headache stage. This is usually a pulsating or throbbing pain on one side of the head. There is often nausea or vomiting, extreme sensitivity to bright light and loud sounds, and a strong desire to lie down in a darkened room. This stage lasts for four to 72 hours.

4. Resolution stage. Most attacks gradually fade away. Some people find the headache stops suddenly after they have been sick. Sleep often relieves the symptoms.

5. 'Postdromal' or recovery phase. There may be a stage of exhaustion and weakness afterwards.

I have to admit the aura phase isn't as scary as the photophobia or heightened sensitivity to smells or phonophobia/Hyperacusis that I get pre-headache stage......especially when travelling on public transport. I was tested for anaemia when I was younger as along with these symptoms I also used to go completely pale and near faint, luckily I lost those symptoms as I got older.

The International Headache Society has created a criteria by which Migraines with aura, and those without aura, can be diagnosed as more often than not migraines are misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. The criteria for Migraines without aura (the 5,4,3,2,1, criteria) are as follows;

5 or more attacks
4 hours to 3 days in duration
2 or more of - unilateral location, pulsating quality, moderate to severe pain, aggravation by or avoidance of routine physical activity
1 or more accompanying symptoms - nausea and/or vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia
To determine if aura only two attacks are needed, and it follows the POUNDing criteria;Pulsating, duration of 4–72 hOurs, Unilateral, Nausea, Disabling.

Migraines have no definitive cause, doctors assume it can be caused by allergic reactions, physical or emotional stress, changes in sleeping patterns, menstrual cycle and certain foods. I spent the past six years convincing my GP that my migraines were not menstrual cycle caused, if you get the same amount and intensity of migraine attacks when your are not on your period as you do on it then surely it is not hormonally related.

The reason this post is migraine related is because of this news report;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8547042.stm

A new hand-held device that is applied to the back of the head which in turn emits a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) which is thought to disrupt the brain's electrical "aura causing" events. The initial trail has shown that 40% of patient's were pain free two hours after administering the device, with no serious side effects!

This device could give relief from migraine with aura, without the use of drugs!