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How to determine if it's a migraine

Posted on Mar 26th 2008 10:25AM by Chris Sparling

Filed Under: Womens Health, HealthWatch, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

You're head is pounding. Every little sound you hear seems to bounce around the inside of your skull like a duckpin bowling ball. You feel cranky, irritable, and a general malaise. You know why; it's a headache. But is it just a regular, run of the mill headache, or could it possibly be something more serious, like a migraine?

If you experience any of the following symptoms, according to WebMD, it may be the latter:

1. The pain in your head is moderate to severe

2. The headache is throbbing or pulsating on one side of your head

3. You feel nauseous and/or are vomiting

4. Your headache worsens during a workout

5. Light, noise, and sometimes smells bother you

Migraines, especially those with aura, are no joke. Apart from the incredible amount of discomfort they create, they can also be a sign of a more serious health issue, such as stroke risk. If you determine that the pain in your head isn't a passing and relatively benign headache, but is instead a migraine, a visit to the doctor is a must.

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Tags: Chris Sparling, ChrisSparling, headache, malaise, migraine, stroke, workout

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Judy 3-26-2008 @ 11:27AM

When I first experienced a migraine (I think I was about 13) I explained all the symptoms to my doctor, and he put me on an anti-depressant! Seriously. I think he thought it was all in my head, and he really didn't recogize the symptoms (I don't get them often, but I get the full aura) as being migraines. I had to self-diagnose - I looked through a medical book, found the description of migraine, and showed it to my parents.

I hadn't had a migraine for about 7-8 years, and then I had one last fall. I had symptoms I'd never had before, and the "aura" can be very similar to a stroke - blurred vision, disorientation, and then I started experiencing the tingling and numbness in my left arm and hand. We were in the ER parking lot when it started to ease up and I realized it was probably "just" a migraine.

It can be very scary, though, and I'm always a little worried about how to know if you are experiencing an aura or a stroke.

Vishaal 3-26-2008 @ 11:28AM

I used to get migrains as a child like every week. I took note of all the situations that gave me them and tried to control it everyday. The weird thing was that taste would actually give me mirgrains. Whenever I ate things with cheesey flavors like chips, nachos, or itallian foods, I would get a migrain from the after taste. I started to brush my teeth and use mouth wash after those types of foods or eat gum when I was out and I stopped getting the taste migrains. Also, smells where a big culprit as well. Also, the sun. I MUST wear sunglasses in the sun. They have to be huge and very dark sunglasses. As long as I have a minty mouth, I'm fine.