Migraine: a walk through four stages

Prevention

Yang style tai chi is an ideal therapy for migraine sufferers. It calms the nervous system, improves emotional balance, exercises the body without strain and encourages a more harmonious relationship with the world around you.

Genetic disease

Whilst not as serious as epilepsy, migraine is a problem for millions of people worldwide. Migraine is not a headache, it is a genetic neurological disease. People who experience migraine have 'attacks' or 'episodes' where a variety of symptoms become manifest. A migraine attack typically has four stages:

1. Warning signs
2. Aura
3. Headache
4. After effects

Warning signs

When an attack commences, there are usually warning signs that you can act upon. Warning signs can include: a sense of foreboding, food cravings, depression, excitability, hyperactivity, irritability, tiredness and yawning. If you can stay relaxed when the warning signs occur, it is possible to reduce the effect of the episode. Anxiety is natural, but it is essential to stay calm.
Go home immediately, close all of the curtains, switch off electrical devices that hum and take medication at once. Avoid moving if possible.

Aura

The aura is a severe visual disturbance also known as 'scintillating scotoma'. It is a blind spot. A variety of symptoms usually accompany the aura: partial paralysis, confusion, vertigo, 'pins & needles' or tingling in the hands and face, speech problems, hypersensitivity to light, sound and touch. If you experience these symptoms, you may be suffering from a 'classical migraine'.

Headache

After about an hour of preceding symptoms, the pain arrives. The pain is so intense that any form of physical movement worsens the effect. It pulses in rhythm with your heartbeat. The preceding symptoms usually continue along with the actual headache, and are now accompanied by vomiting, severe anxiety, and emotional imbalance. This phase of the attack can last up to three days and differs according to the individual.

After effects

People often experience after effects that last for days after a migraine attack. Lethargy, mood swings (euphoria or depression) are common, in addition to poor concentration and comprehension.