Understanding the Migraine Syndrome

You would have heard about migraine headaches and even know quite a bit about the subject. However, have you heard of the migraine syndrome? Migraine is normally triggered by a number of internal and external factors such as anxiety, anger, depression, stress and the like. Though migraine is generally connected with headaches, in realty it could be associated with a number of other types aches and pains, such as stomach ache, pain in the neck and back, sinus, and so on.

What Is The Migraine Syndrome?

When any such pains (neck, stomach, bowels, feeling of vertigo, joint pains, fibromyalgia, etc.) are aggravated by light, smell, stress or other migraine triggers, you are suffering from the migraine syndrome. In other words if any your present aches react to external stimuli increasing your discomfort and pain, you are a victim of the migraine syndrome.

If you are diagnosed with this problem, do not worry since correct diagnosis would in fact put you on the way to recovery. The treatment for the migraine syndrome would be as prescribed by the doctor as no two cases are alike and each person suffers from this affliction in a different manner. You would need to undergo a battery of tests to identify what the problem really is behind the aches that plague you.

It would be helpful to start documenting what you think aggravates your pain. It could the smell of something, the taste of a food, a certain type of sound, sleepless nights, stress at your workplace, menopause, andropause and many such factors. Make a list of all those factors that you find aggravate your migraine and present this to the doctor who would be able to understand your problem better and reach to the correct diagnosis faster.

What You Should Not Do When You Suffer From Migraine Syndrome?

Most people reach out for an OTC (over the counter) medication whenever confronted with any type of pain. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. When it does not you would be tempted to increase the dosage or change to another more powerful painkiller. What you are doing in such cases is building resistance towards those particular drugs you are abusing without getting any real relief. The migraine syndrome would very rarely respond to a common painkiller alone.

Do not self-medicate yourself. If you observe that you are getting chronic pain often, consult a doctor and use only the medication prescribed. Painkillers not only build the resistance power of the disorder, but also give some terrible side effects.