Almost 1 in 4 American households have someone with a migraine. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, 6% of American men and 18% of women have this neurological condition, 10% of which are children. That’s 39 million women, men, and children.
Known as the condition with the most debilitating headaches, migraine can cause numbness, vomiting, nausea, trouble speaking, sensitivity to sound and light. For someone to be diagnosed with the condition, the doctor will rule out other causes.
If you want to learn the ins and outs of this condition, you’ve come to the right place. Here we will take a quick look at what a migraine does to the body and the best treatment options that can manage the illness. So, let’s get right to it!
Who Can Get Migraine?
Migraine can start in childhood or might not appear until early adulthood. It often runs in the family, since 90% of those affected have someone with a history of this condition. Based on studies, more than 20% of women and 10% of men have these recurrent, severe headaches. This neurological disease predominantly affects the female population.
How Does a Migraine Attack Feel Like?
Migraine causes extremely incapacitating neurological symptoms, commonly referred to as attacks. Around 25% of those affected experience a visual disturbance for less than an hour. The disturbance is accompanied by extreme, recurring, and throbbing pain on one side of the head.
People can also have nausea, dizziness, vomiting, increased sensitivity, and numbness in their face or extremities. These attacks can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. When the estrogen levels tend to fluctuate, the frequency and severity of the attacks increases. For many, this condition decreases their quality of life, causing sleep problems, anxiety, and depression.
Treatment
Many of those affected use over-the-counter painkillers, like paracetamol, ibuprofen, and aspirin. They can ease the symptoms, but can’t cure the illness. The problem is, there is no cure for this neurologic disease.
To find a more reliable form of treatment, scientists studied migraine preventive drug therapy of acute medication. One of the most effective preventive migraine drugs are certain:
- beta-blockers (propranolol and timolol are FDA approved preventive medicine)
- topiramate (Topamax is an FDA approved antiepileptic drug also used for migraine prevention)
- divalproex sodium (Depakote is another FDA approved medicine used as a migraine prophylactic agent)
Beta-blockers are the go-to choice in prophylactic migraine treatment. They are around 50% effective in creating over a 50% reduction in migraine attack frequency. But, only a doctor or pain specialist can determine the best course of action.
Based on the results of their study, after the preventive therapy, researchers recorded a decrease in outpatient visits for migraines by 51.1%, emergency department visits by 81.8%, the need for MRIs by 88.2%, and CT scans by 75%.
Even though 25% of sufferers could benefit from preventive treatment, just 12% of them use it. In fact, only 4% seek medical treatment, while the rest prefer not to consult with pain and headache specialists. Preventive treatment can be a short-term strategy.
It is used when a person knows their triggers, such as sexual activity or exercise. For instance, one dose of indomethacin can prevent exercise-caused migraine. This strategy is used to limit the exposure to the provoking factors and avoid an attack.
When to Stop Preventive Therapy?
Preventive migraine treatment typically lasts for 6 to 9 months. But, more research is necessary to understand its full impact. It’s important to stop the therapy if:
- You develop a severe drug reaction or adverse effects from taking the medication.
- The drug you take doesn’t create sufficient results or even a partial efficacy 2 months after starting the therapy.
- You experience a significant benefit and the headaches are well-controlled for a minimum of 6 months. In this case, you may be advised to slowly reduce or discontinue the drug.
This is something that can be done with the help of a healthcare professional. People shouldn’t discontinue their medicine on their own. Instead, it is crucial to consult with an expert to keep their health on the right track.
Final Thoughts
Migraines are a very common problem. Although there is no cure for the disease, preventive therapy plays a key role in managing headaches. When people add preventive medication, they can lessen the attack frequency, and improve their quality of life. Despite experts suggesting that patients can benefit from preventive treatment, only a fraction get it. So, it is important to use the treatment options at your disposal and get the condition in check. Contact a healthcare expert to find the medications you are looking for.
References
https://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4416971/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4640499/
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/1015/p1563.html
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11866398/