I am prompted to write this as yet another person has walked around the store where I worked pouting and complaining about their migraine, all the while sniffing scented candles and buying piles of stuff. This scene is particularly troubling to me as a migraine sufferer. My father and brother also suffer from debilitating migraines. Therefore I know all too well that a person cannot walk around, and certainly wont feel like talking, or shopping, if they were truly suffering from a migraine.
At one time I had a work experience job, in a Travel Agency, where no less than two of the other women working there regularly complained about their "Migraines". These women were walking, talking, using the computer, drinking coffee.... and complaining. I was sick of it. What an insult to those of us who actually do get Migraines, a pain so bad, most sufferers shut themselves it a quiet, dark room, until it goes away.
For the record migraines are horrible things, far worse than a regular headache. Many migraine sufferers, often experience early warning signs that a migraine is on its' way. The most common sign is mood changes as early as a day ahead of the migraine. This may even be accompanied by a craving for a certain kind of food. Also you may experience the feeling of exhaustion.
For myself a sure fire indicator that a migraine is about to hit, is vision impairment about an hour prior to the migraine. It is probably different in everyone, but what happens to me is that my peripheral vision closes in on me until I am almost blinded. The first time this happened to me was during my pregnancy, and as you can imagine it was scary. Apparently though, pregnancy is a trigger factor for some women, while causes others to experience fewer migraines. Other people see spots or lights. Some people also get a warning in the way of believing they can smell something which is not there, such as toast or bacon.
The migraine itself is different for everyone. The one common factor is that without medication it is crippling pain, which prevents all activity. A simple aspirin will not stop a migraine. Most often people have dizziness or nausea in addition to a severe headache, it is often pulsating. Typically there is a heightened sensitivity to light. The migraine itself may last for 4 to 72 hours. Another fact is that more woman than men get migraines, and that even children can experience them.
What bothers me is when people who are experiencing headaches, even bad ones, refer to them as "Migraines". This belittles those people who genuinely do suffer from disabling migraines. It is a slap in the face to the women who has shut herself in a room with a towel over her eyes to keep out the light, and asks for total silence. It is an insult to the man who was unable to go to work that day because he was curled up in a fetal position while waiting for the pain to pass.
