A migraine headache is characterized by sharp, throbbing pain or a pulsating sensation in the brain. It is frequently accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and excessive light and sound sensitivity.
Migraine attacks can persist for hours or days, and the ache can be severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.
Migraines come in a variety of forms. Migraine with aura and without aura are the two most prevalent forms. Some people have chronic migraines that are severe headaches.
Chronic migraine treatment focuses on reducing future migraine attacks by addressing lifestyle choices, headache causes, and migraine attacks.
What Is Chronic Migraine?
A migraine attack is a neurological disorder. Severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and other visual and bodily complaints characterize it. seek the Best Neurology Hospital in Hyderabad for treatment.
Chronic migraine is described as experiencing at least 15 days (about 2 weeks) per month, with at least 8 days of migraine-like headaches, for over three months.
Chronic headache starts with less frequent headache and progresses into a more frequent headache pattern.
Symptoms
Chronic migraine was once referred to as a “combination” or “mixed” headache since it exhibited symptoms of both migraine and tension headache. Here are few Chronic migraine symptoms:
• Moderate to severe headache
• Pounding, throbbing, or pulsating
• Throbbing pain or pressure-like pain
• Headache on one side of the brain (unilateral)
• Headache on both sides of the brain (bilateral)
• Ache focused on the front or back of the head or both
• Ache around the eyes or behind the cheeks
• Head pain aggravated by physical activity
• Sensitivity to light, sound, and odors
Other chronic migraine symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and sensory problems such as muscle weakness and vision impairment. These sensory problems are like migraines with aura.
The symptoms of chronic migraine are like those of Episodic migraine. However, the most significant distinction is in their frequency and length.
Causes
Chronic migraines occur over time, and here are the chronic migraine reasons.
- The frequency of episodic headaches rises over time.
- Medications once utilized to treat headache episodes are now overused to keep the growing number of headaches under control.
Barbiturate-containing pharmaceuticals (amobarbital [Amytal®], butobarbital [Buti sol®]) and narcotics (opioids) have been linked to the development of chronic headaches.
Over-the-counter pharmaceuticals such as Excedrin® and generic equivalents, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and acetaminophen (Tylenol®) are the most common causes of medication overuse headaches.
Overuse is characterized by the number of times an acute medication is taken each month, which varies depending on the drug. However, 10 to 15 days (about 2 weeks) of use per month is thought to be sufficient to produce chronic migraines.
Other risk factors for chronic migraine causes include:
• Obesity
• Snoring
• Anxiety and depression
• Continuous sleep disruption
• Excessive caffeine consumption
• Severe emotional (stressful life experiences) or bodily trauma history
Is Chronic Migraine Dangerous?
Migraines can be debilitating, but auras with their headaches may be a warning sign of more dangerous for some people. They can lead to the risk of stroke.
How Are Chronic Migraines Diagnosed?
Your doctor will make a comprehensive medical history. The doctor will inquire about the following:
• Your migraine pain pattern, including when and how migraines start, whether they are episodic or continuous, how long the migraine lasts, and whether there are any triggers or things that worsen it.
• Your pain description, including its location, sensation, and severity.
• Other symptoms of discomfort include auras, a lack of energy, a stiff neck, dizziness, changes in vision or senses, and nausea/vomiting.
• Your present and previous treatments, including when the medications are taken, the dosages, the outcome and side effects, and the use of alternative or complementary therapies.
• Your medical history, including any other health issues (particularly sleep issues, depression, anxiety, or fibromyalgia), a family history of headaches, current non-headache drugs, and lifestyle choices (smoker, alcohol consumption, caffeine intake).
Complications And Risks
Chronic migraine sufferers are more susceptible than the general population to complications such as:
• Anxiety and depression
• Insomnia or other types of sleep disorders
• Migraine headache
• Seizures caused by migraine
• Headaches caused by medication usage
Treatment
Chronic migraine treatment guidelines focus on managing lifestyle choices and headache triggers, managing migraine attacks, and delivering migraine prevention medications.
- How to treat chronic migraine with lifestyle modifications:
• If you are overweight, you must work on losing weight.
• Start a fitness program that your doctor has approved.
• Stress management. Learn stress-reduction strategies such as meditation, yoga, relaxation training, or mindful breathing.
• Establish a system for meal and snack times; do not skip meals.
• Staying hydrated is essential.
• Begin treatment for any existing mood or sleep problems (including sadness and anxiety).
Acupuncture, cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, and yoga are some non-drug treatments for persistent migraine.
- The following are typical migraine therapy options:
Chronic migraines are commonly treated with the same medications used to treat episodic migraines.
These drugs, designed to treat migraine symptoms as soon as they appear, should be given as quickly as you see a migraine, as they are most helpful at this point.
Acute migraine medicines include:
• Over-the-counter pain relievers: Acetaminophen, naproxen, and ibuprofen are common first-line treatments. Some drugs, such as Excedrin, combine a pain reliever and caffeine.
• Triptans are a class of prescription medications that work by blocking pain receptors in the brain. Sumatriptan and rizatriptan are two of the most effective migraine medications.
• Anti-nausea drugs, such as chlorpromazine and metoclopramide, are highly effective when coupled with a pain reliever.
• Opioid medicines: These highly addictive medications are often used only as a last option and are frequently ineffective at treating migraines.
Prevention
There are a variety of drugs available to help prevent migraines from occurring.
These migraine-preventative drugs can help lessen the frequency, severity, and duration of your migraines when they do occur.
Among the preventative drugs are, but are not limited to:
• Some blood pressure drugs, such as beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers
• Some anti-seizure drugs (such as valproate and topiramate)
• Antidepressants tricyclic
• Gene-related peptide for calcitonin (CGRP) antibodies that are monoclonal (example: galcanezumab and fremanezumab)
• Few Botox injections are administered every 10-12 weeks.
It is also crucial to keep a record of your headaches.
If you address the problem early on, it is simpler to stop or reverse chronic migraines.
Final Words
Controlling headaches is essential for people suffering from severe chronic migraine. It is reasonable to suppose that with a competent treatment strategy, the quantity and severity of migraine headaches can be minimized. Unfortunately, many chronic migraine patients may experience migraine attacks again in the future.
Chronic migraine headache is a complex illness. Therefore, it is critical to be cautious about identifying and avoiding triggers of chronic migraine. Seek a doctor if you have any chronic migraine symptoms.
