I recently borrowed a book from the library called “Migraines” by Mary E. Williams (2011). It started with a spot-on quote from Andrew Levy’s migraine-memoir, ‘A Brain Wider than the Sky’ (2009):
“There is no line between migraine and worrying about migraine…”
In the opening section of the book I borrowed, the author tried to explain what’s happening when a migraine occurs. She stated it was a problem with stimuli (light, noises, odor, stress, fatigue) which trigger the release of peptides [small chains of amino acids], which in turn cause blood vessels to dilate, which in turn causes an inflammatory response, which in turn over-excites the trigeminal nerve, which in turn floods the brain with pain signals. She wrote it better than that, (obviously), but I wanted to exaggerate the notion that migraine is caused by a complicated chain-reaction.
She goes on to conclude that “no single model completely explains the migraine process, however” (page 12).
Hmph.
To confuse you further (and explain why it can be so hard to treat migraine), within what I’m going to call the pain-chain-reaction, she explains that each individual brings another layer of personal complexity to what’s happening within the body based on a number of other factors. These might include any or all of; hormonal fluctuations, magnesium deficiency, altered neurotransmitters in the brain, abnormal intercellular calcium channels… and so on.
The book suggested that women are more prone to migraines than men and implied that might be part of the stigma attached to the disease, noting, “female migraine sufferers have been stereotyped as high-strung and neurotic” (page 39).
[Don’t believe her? Check out some of the headache medication advertisements I tracked down in a previous post – spoiler alert: they’re not nice to women.]
Interestingly, a survey of 500 migraine patients apparently revealed 51% of them were dissatisfied with their medication options [presumably the lack of], and 75% said their medications were too slow in relieving the pain or didn’t relieve it enough.
The book ran through a list of mediations, which I’ll leave to doctors to explain, but also added that a healthy lifestyle always helps, and suggested some less ‘traditional’ approaches were worth trying, including acupuncture and Tai Chi and Qigong.
Overall, the book was pretty basic, but a great place to start if you’ve only recently been diagnosed with migraine. There were also some interesting diagrams which I’ve included below:
Keep learning people; knowledge is power. The more you know about your diagnosis, treatment options and the healthcare / insurance practices in your country, the more empowered you become!
As always, take care, from your “high-strung” friend, Linda x
[PS: Disclaimer – please remember that I’m not a medical professional, only a person with lived experience in migraines. Please seek advice from your health care team before making any treatment decisions.]
The Mindful Migraine 
Leave a reply to Serena Williams and her migraine meds – The Mindful Migraine Cancel reply