Before I experienced migraines myself, I used to think that headaches and migraines were the same things. I was WRONG! In this post I’ll give you some key-points to help you know if you too have migraines, but hopefully you don’t. Of course, I am not a doctor and only a doctor can tell you for sure if you have headaches or migraines.
The main specificity of migraines is the regularity of it. It usually occurs the same day of the week (for me it was always on a Friday the first months) or the same period of the month around the same time (for me the headache always lasts from 4/5 PM to 5 AM, still now after 8 years).
According to the American Migraine Foundation, if you’re experiencing two or more of the symptoms below, you may have a migraine and should think about reaching out to your doctor:
- Severe head pain that’s hard to endure or even unbearable (or “makes you feel like you wanna die” to be more accurate)
- Throbbing sensations, often on one side of your head
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sensitivity to light, noise, and smells
- Head pain that gets worse with movement
- Head pain that makes you miss work or other activities
- Head pain that last from 4 hours to several days
Source : https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a27583752/migraine-vs-headache/
I would add other symptoms such as tongue paralysis, partial body paralysis, hungover symptoms the next day…
All of the above can be experience during a migraine crisis or none of all, sometimes only one of them, sometimes most of them, it is really different for everyone.
I hope this short article will be helpful for some of you to determine whether or not you have migraines. If you do, well, good luck. You should do whatever you can to know what is the reason of your migraines as this is the only way you will be able to get rid of them. It might take a long time and many medical exams and maybe even weird ways but knowing the origin of your migraines is a non-skippable step!
If you don’t, lucky you! Hopefully you won’t ever experience this…
And most importantly, for everyone,
Stay strong & take care, xx
Léa Devanlay 