I was also a SCUBA diver for over ten years. That entailed lots of vigorous exercise, hauling my heavy gear around, being tossed on the waves in dive boats and battling strong currents. I never had a migraine while diving or within a short period afterwards.

In contrast, as a young boy, swimming often produced the familiar symptoms that told me that a migraine could be on the way. I never liked swimming, wasn’t good at it and so, for me, it was a much less energetic activity. So what was happening then?

My belief is that it was down to stress. My early experience of swimming was on school trips to run down swimming pools smelling of chlorine, that were too hot and noisy. I never enjoyed these trips and they were anything but relaxing.

on the other hand, I loved the other activities. When running, I constantly challenged myself and never found it boring. And diving was the opposite. On a dive, my objective was to take it as easy as possible and enjoy the moment. Either way, I was totally absorbed. It was sometimes a Zen like state. And I believe that is the answer.

The activity is not the problem but the way you feel about it. And there has been some research that seems to agree that exercise itself is not a trigger for migraine. It was a small, inconclusive study, but it does offer some evidence that belief in exercise induced migraines may not hold water.

Many of these people are turning to the internet for migraine headache cures. This may be due to the fact that various treatment options exist, and it doesn’t hurt consult a medical professional armed with some prior knowledge. You need to be able to assess the various options. For instance, drug treatments can be expensive and there are possible side effects.

You may have your own ideas about whether this is an appropriate course of action. There are other, more natural approaches that can be tried and you want to be sure that your doctor is aware of all of the alternatives and not biased towards any particular method. In fact, using the internet can be one way of finding a suitable person to consult.

The problem is, who do you trust? You need to use due diligence when looking for advice on the internet. If sites claim to offer medical advice, can they provide credentials? What information is given about the owner of the site and how easy is it to contact them? You can always stick to well known and reputable organisations. For instance, the Mayo Clinic has some good information on migraine.

A migraine headache is a throbbing or pulsating headache that is often one sided (unilateral) and associated with nausea; vomiting; sensitivity to light, sound, and smells; sleep disruption; and depression. Attacks are often recurrent and tend to become less severe as the migraine sufferer ages. Migraine headaches seem to be caused in part by changes in the level of a body chemical called serotonin. Serotonin plays many roles in the body, and it can have an effect on the blood vessels. When serotonin levels are high, blood vessels constrict (shrink). When serotonin levels fall, the blood vessels dilate (swell). This swelling can cause pain or other problems. Many things can affect the level of serotonin in your body, including your level of blood sugar, certain foods and changes in your estrogen level if you’re a woman.

Causes of Migraine

The cause of migraine is unknown. The condition may result from a series of reactions in the central nervous system caused by changes in the body or in the environment. There is often a family history of the disorder, suggesting that migraine sufferers may inherit sensitivity to triggers that produce inflammation in the blood vessels and nerves around the brain, causing pain. Many factors can trigger migraines, including tiredness, stress, dehydration, missed or delayed meals, and certain food and drinks, such as cheese, chocolate, coffee, tea and alcohol.

Symptoms of Migraine

1. anxiety

2. Exposure to light

3. Sensitivity to light and sound

4. Lack of food or sleep

5. Nausea with or without vomiting

6. Stress

Treatment of Migraine

1. Try avoiding any food which seems implicated and at a later stage take a small trial dose of the food again to see whether it genuinely is involved.

2. Sometimes bathing your head in cold water or using a cold compress on the forehead is helpful.

3. At the first symptom of an attack take a pain killer eg aspirin or paracetamol, even if this means waking yourself up when you notice symptoms while half asleep in the early hours of the morning. (Often by getting up time it is too late to abort the attack.)

4. Sometimes relaxation and meditation techniques may be helpful as may some of the complementary therapies.

5. There are some over the counter preparations which contain a pain killer and a medication which stops nausea and vomiting (antiemetic). These are often even more effective than the pain killer alone, as migraine is associated with poor absorption from the stomach and a tendency for food and drink to stay in the stomach much longer than usual (prior to being sick).

By: Juliet Cohen

Juliet Cohen writes articles for headache doctor. She also writes articles for migraine treatment and anxiety disorders.

Migraine headaches are more often than not one-sided, meaning the pain is felt on only one side of the head. Most of the time the pain of a migraine headache can be felt in the temple area or behind one of the eyes or ears. Migraine headaches can become severe and disabling. Nausea is a common symptom of this type of headache as is vomiting or sensitivity to light or sound. About 20% of patients with migraine headaches experience an aura. An aura is a disturbance in vision that can consist of bright blinking colored lights that move across the field of vision.

Migraine headaches can become chronic in nature. When they are chronic the patient most commonly experiences them once or twice a month. However, in some instances migraine headaches can occur as often as once or twice a week. Migraine headaches affect people between the ages of 15 and 55 and are more common in women than in men. Migraines affect women about 3 times as often as men.

Migraines affect about 30 or 40 million Americans, but they are less common than tension headaches. It is estimated that about 75% of all headaches are tension headaches. Tension headaches are typically characterized by a dull pain over the entire head while migraines are usually throbbing in nature and located in one particular spot. In other words, tension-type headaches are a constant dull pain while migraines throb like the beating of the heart.

Chronic tension headaches can occur every day while chronic migraine headaches occur less often, usually once a week to once a month. Fatigue and stress can cause both types of headaches, but migraine headaches can be triggered by other factors such as different types of food. Migraine headaches can sometimes be helped by eliminating these triggers. Foods that may lead to migraines include cheese, alcohol, MSG (monosodium glutamate),
nuts, beans, caffeine, chocolate, onions and others. Eliminating the trigger may eliminate the migraines.

Cluster headaches are far less common than either migraine headaches or tension-type-headaches. Men are about six times more likely than women to experience cluster headaches. The pain of a cluster headache starts quickly, without any warning, and typically reaches its peak between two and fifteen minutes.

The pain of a cluster headache can be extremely intense, deep and explosive. Migraines are usually "pulsing" while clusters are not. Between 10 and 20 percent of cluster patients have "ice-pick" or "stabbing" pain around the eyes. This stabbing pain typically lasts for a few seconds, but can occur several times in succession. When this sudden attack of intense pain occurs it usually means that the headache is near its end.

For natural migraine headache relief it is often beneficial to relax and rest. Sometimes lying in a dark room with an ice pack on the base of the skull can reduce the pressure that is felt in the head. The same treatment can also help tension or stress headaches. Reducing stress can go a long way to relieving many headache symptoms.

If you experience chronic headaches and over-the-counter medication or natural remedies do not help it may be wise to consult a physician.

Dr. Larry A. Johnson, D.C. has patented a popular chiropractor-recommended headache cushion for the home treatment and relief of tension and migraine headaches. Visit www.soothe-a-ciser.com/tension-headaches.html for more information.

More often than not, one side of the head experience miserable pain that last from four to 72 hours if not treated. An attack requires the sufferer to have a bed rest. The frequency of its occurrence varies; one can suffer from it once or several times in a month or in a year.

A migraine typically starts in a certain area on one side of the head, then extend and builds in severity over 1 to 2 hours and then the throbbing pain slowly diminish. Migraine headache go together with lightheadedness, sensitivity to brightness, and chills.

Migraines may occur between the ages of 10 to 40 years old. In a number of instances, the migraine attacks usually diminishes or ends in later adult life, or when one is over 50 years old.

Hereditary links is often associated with migraine. Occurrence of the illness may happen among members of the family. Probably generic factors can be involved why a person is prone to being afflicted with it. Sufferers may acquire the sensitivity to cause what brings about inflammation in the blood vessels and nerves near the brain, resulting to pain. Nonetheless, migraine is not considered as a hereditary condition.

Aretaeus of Cappodocia (2nd century AD) is known as the "discoverer" of migraine because of his definitive descriptions of the illness. It was during this era that a number of causes of migraine were noted. Celsus
(215-300 AD) accurately picture what is now acknowledged as among the common migraine triggers: wine in take, acid indigestion, cold, or glaring brightness from fire or sun.

In the ancient times, most migraine sufferers are male as medical
documentations disclosed. Only a few narratives of the disorder in women can be established. Findings of an accepted study done just throughout the last century illustrated the dominance of the disease in women.

More women suffer from migraine. They comprise 75% of the migraine cases. In every 4 women 1 is suffering from it, while 1 of 12 men can go through it at some times in their life.

There are two classifications of migraines as to the symptoms they
produce these are:

Migraine with aura/Classic Migraine (with warning signs), and

Migraine without aura Common Migraine (no warning signs).

Migraine with aura is characterized by an unusual sensation (aura) that is in occurrence 10 to 30 minutes prior to the head pain. The warning sign may include: queasiness, nausea, enlarge blind spots, blinking or zigzagging light, strange sounds or smell and parasthesia (lack of sensation) in victim’s face, tongue and extremities, verbal communication defects. The symptoms are the same as that of the common migraine except that the onset of throbbing is more abrupt.

Migraine without aura is the most prevalent type and may take place only in one area of the head. It progressively builds up to full excruciating intensity and is aggravated by continuous motion, light or noise. Nausea and vomiting are among the indication of the attack.

Migraine attacks have two phases: Preheadache phase and Actual headache phase. During the preheadache stage, the limitation of the arteries to supply blood to the brain leads to neurological disorder, while the actual headache phase, the arteries that transport the blood to the scalp are widened and the swollen blood vessels inflamed excruciatingly by the released of a number of body chemicals.

The exact reason for having migraine is not clear and yet to be discovered. One presumption is that blood vessels in areas of the brain go into become narrower which may be the explanation for the aura. The blood vessels may then expand afterwards, which may account for the headache. The blood vessels then little by little become normal again. It is now considered that several chemicals in the brain increase its activity to add up to any blood vessel action. There are apparent reasons why those who are afflicted with migraine undergo such changes.

The headache is oftentimes so intense that it impedes with regular routinely daily activity and may keep the person awake. The attack is weakening and migraine sufferers are usually left feeling crippled and exhausted after the head pain has passed.

Factors that triggers the condition are as follows:

Some type of beverages, foodstuff, and food additives (e.g., red wine, alcohol, citrus fruits, chicken liver, nitrates, monosodium glutamate)

Environment (e.g., weather, altitude, time zone changes)

Sensory stilulation (e.g., bright light, hearing sounds, fragrances)

Female hormonal

Hunger

Not enough hours of sleep

Medical prescriptions

Stress (e.g., anger, distress, overexertion, shock)

For more information go to: www.byebyemigraine.com www.a-1hypnosis.com or www.myalpha-power.com

Weakness causing you to stop from daily activities.

Blurred visions

Dizziness

Sensitivity to odors, light or noise

Abdominal pains: an upset stomach followed by vomiting or nausea

Appetite loss

Fever, although rare

Aura characterized by flashing lights or dots, jagged or wavy lines and blind spots

A feeling of being very cold or warm

Paleness

Throbbing or pounding pains which can be moderate to severe. The pain can affect the entire head or pains can shift from one head part to another.

Fatigue

According to statistics, in Canada alone, approximately 200,000 children and 3,000,000 adults are suffering from migraines. The intensity, symptoms and frequency differ from a person to another. 28 million Americans are diagnosed of having migraines every year. Women comprise the 70% of migraine sufferers; they are two to three times more probable to develop migraines.

Migraine should be taken seriously because the reoccurrence of pains can paralyze a victim.

The attack usually lasts for a few hours or days but the afflictions typically hits unexpectedly. To have a better understanding of migraines, you have to know its different types.

Two of the most familiar types of migraine are classic and common. The standard symptom for both types is sensitivity to light; both can have equal intensity of attack. What then are the differences between the two?

Classic migraine has an aura or visual symptoms which arise 10 to 30 minutes prior to an attack. The symptoms can include sights of zigzag lines or flashing lights. Aura can be characterized by hearing and seeing strange things. It can affect the senses of touch, taste or smell.

A person suffering from classic migraine can lose vision temporarily. There is weakness of leg or arm, confusion, speech difficulty or tingling of hands or face. Classic migraine is more common among women than men.

On the other hand, common migraine occurs without an aura; but the person suffers from the symptoms vomiting and nausea.

In addition to the common and classic types of migraine, other forms of migraine are:

Hemiplegic migraine which can cause temporary one sided paralysis and sometimes loss of balance and dizziness (vertigo). The symptoms occur 10 to 90 minutes before the actual attack.

Ophthalmoplegic migraine which can be felt around the eyes. This can involve disturbances in the vision; an example is having double vision and tired eyes.

Benign exertional headache is characterized by a brief headache which is caused by bending, running, coughing or lifting. The headache rarely lasts for a long time but usually begins prior to the start of any activities.

Menstrual migraine is more predictable and usually occurs during menstrual periods.

Basilar Artery migraine is a pain connected to the main artery of the brain. The pre migraine symptoms can include double vision, poor muscle coordination or dizziness. This kind of migraine is common among young adult women and adolescents and is usually associated with menstrual cycle.

Status migrainosus is exemplified by long lasting and intense headaches and nausea. The attack can last for 72 hours or longer. Behavioral symptoms such as depression and anxiety often follow the distress. It is very rare and extreme and usually requires hospitalization; some drugs can also trigger this kind of migraine.

Headache free migraine is characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and other visual problems. Patients suffer from all the said symptoms except headaches.

Another form of migraine is the abdominal migraine which is typical among children. The pain is severe in the midline abdomen and can last from 1 to 72 hours.

There are different migraines brought about by certain activities or tensions in life. While the differences are not that extremes, certain medications should properly be given to avoid further illnesses. Consulting a physician is always a good move to know the health problem and to acquire the necessary treatments for you.

By: nathfiset

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

A migraine is classified as a serve headache that can often impair one’s judgment. When a migraine occurs, suffers regularly experience the following symptoms:

Headache
Dizziness
Nausea
difficulty seeing

It is not uncommon for migrane suffers to be unable to look at lights or the sun without suffering intense pain. Migrane headache may be brought on by a variety of things. Children and adults are susceptible to migraines, and they often happen unexpectedly. Migraines can be brought on by stress, certain foods, a poor eating habits, or hormones. Migraine headaches are also hereditary, therefore, there are many families may experience migraine headaches at the same time.

The best way to get relief from migraine headaches is by speaking to your physician. If you suspect that you are suffering from migraines, you most likely are, however, many treatment options must first be prescribed by a healthcare professional. There are physicians who specialize in migraines and other head related pains, however, your family physician can often diagnose and offer treatment options for receiving relief from migraine headaches.

Over the counter pain killers are the best available option for getting quick relief from migraine headaches without visiting a physician. Aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen are common over-the-counter drug medications that are available at most drug or department stores,and they can normally be purchased at a fairly low price. If you regularly suffer from migraine headaches, it may be a good idea to have some of this medication on hand. There are even over the counter medications designed specifically for relief from migraine headaches. It is important to remember that an excessive dosage of these over-the-counter drugs can cause liver or stomach damage. They relieve, but do not cure, your migraine headaches, nor do they preven them from returning. Over-the-counter medications offer temporary relief for your migraine headaches, often until you have been properly examined and treated by a physician.

One of the easiest ways to receive relief from migraine headaches is by sleeping. Although it will not eliminate your pain, rest and relaxation is an effective way to help minimize or reduce the excruciating pain of migraine headaches. If you are able to take a break, laying down or just resting inside a dark, quiet room may allow you to order your thoughts and to reduce your stress levels. Sleeping or resting may offer much needed pain relief from migraine headaches.

If you are unable to control the pain associated with your migraine headaches, it is extremely important that you contact your physician. Beta blockers, along with other medications, offer quick relief from migraine headaches, however, they are only available with a prescription. If you experience migraines, do not suffer any longer than you need to. Contact your physician or healthcare professional for effective ways to receive relief from your migraine headaches.

A recent study of 171 migraine sufferers, published in the journal Headache, suggests that over-the-counter Excedrin Migraine works better the prescription Imitrex (sumatriptan) for treating migraines. The patients who took the Excedrin Migraine at the onset of a headache experienced less pain after four hours than those who took Imitrex.

This result is probably true for some patients but not all. Excedrin Migraine contains acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine. The problem with continual use of this combination is that it often leads to rebound headaches. You should also not take more than two tablets per day and no more than twice per week. This greatly reduces your chances of rebound headaches. If you are experiencing more than two migraines a week, you will need a prescription medication.

Another study found that taking an NSAID, like naproxen, with Imitrex (sumatriptan) works much better than taking either medication alone for migraine headaches. The researchers concluded that the best combination is 50mg of Imitrex (sumatriptan) combined with 500mg of naproxen.

Imitrex (sumatriptan) is in a class of medications called triptans. There are seven triptans currently available in the United States. They are Imitrex (sumatriptan), Maxalt (rizatriptan), Zomig (zolmitriptan), Amerge (naratriptan), Frova (frovatriptan), Relpax (eletriptan), and Axert (almotriptan). Triptans are used only for migraine treatment because they are effective only at relieving the pain caused by migraines. They are slightly useful for some other headache types but not for all headache pain or for any other type of pain.

The current guidelines for migraine headaches state that NSAIDS are first line therapy. That means they should be used first. If someone is allergic, or the NSAIDS do not work, then the triptans are the drugs of choice.
Patients who suffer from migraine headaches should have a treatment plan in the event they get a migraine. This plan should include both preventive medication and medications to stop the migraine. The first line medications, NSAIDs and triptans, are the primary choices.

This study suggests that the NSAID combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine is more effective than oral sumatriptan at relieving migraine headache pain, when taken at the onset. More studies should be conducted to confirm these results since patients with headaches that cause vomiting or require the patient to lie down were not studied. This study did confirm that both the combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine and triptans appear to be effective first-line therapies for patients with migraine headaches.

I would recommend using a store or generic brand headache medication containing 250mg of acetaminophen, 250mg of aspirin, and 65mg caffeine first, for mild migraines. This combination costs about 4 per pill. If this is ineffective, or the migraine is severe, move up to the triptans. They are expensive at about $17.00 per pill. Anyone with a migraine will tell you that cost is not a consideration when it comes to migraine relief.

The primary category headaches include migraine headaches and tension headaches. These two headache types are the most common of all headaches with tension-type headaches being the most common. Tension headaches constitute about 75% of all headaches while migraine headaches affect as many as 30 or 40 million Americans, or approximately 10% or more of the American population.

Migraine headaches can become chronic in nature, but are typically experienced at most once or twice a week, not daily. Females experience the pain of migraines about 3 times as often as males, or about 75% of the time. Migraine headaches can be severe and disabling. They can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and a sensitivity to light. About 20% of migraine patients will experience an aura. An aura is a disturbance in vision that consists of brightly colored blinking lights that move across a person’s field of vision.

There are many types of treatment methods that are available to migraine sufferers, both natural and unnatural. The most common method of treatment are pain relievers that are bought without a prescription, or over-the-counter. Non-prescription drugs can include aspirin, Tylenol (acetaminophen), Motrin (ibuprofen), or a combination of acetaminophen and aspirin. These are the most commonly purchased types of non-prescription pain relievers. Migraine headache patients experiencing more severe pain may need prescription medicine.

There are also many types of natural treatment methods that don’t involve the use of non-prescription or prescription medications. These methods of treatment can often relieve migraine headache symptoms and are increasingly gaining popularity in today’s society as people are becoming more educated on the potentially dangerous side effects of drugs. One of these natural treatment methods is putting an ice pack on the back of the neck at the base of the skull. When using an ice pack there should be a barrier between the ice pack and the skin such as a wetted cloth or t-shirt that has had the water squeezed out of it. Ice therapy can lessen the flow of blood to the head resulting in less pressure in the head. It can often help relieve the throbbing pain of a migraine headache by decreasing the flow of blood to the head. It is often beneficial for a person to put their feet in a container of warm water at the same time. This can have the effect of attracting the blood to the feet instead of to the head.

Migraine headaches can sometimes be caused by foods and can be prevented by eliminating these food triggers. Foods that can trigger migraine headaches include, but are not limited to, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, MSG (monosodium glutamate), nuts, cheese, beans, onions and others. Eliminating the trigger may eliminate the migraines.

Another natural treatment method for migraine headaches is simply to reduce stress by relaxing. Many migraines are caused by stress, so eliminating the stress can relieve the pain. Relieving stress can sometimes be achieved by getting plenty of sleep, lying down in a dark quiet room, or a combination of lying down in a dark quiet room with a small ice pack positioned on the neck at the base of the skull as explained above.

This article is a general overview with regard to natural migraine headache treatment methods and may not apply to everyone. As always it is a good idea to seek the help of a professional before treating yourself for a potentially serious health condition.

As a chiropractor Dr. Larry A. Johnson, D.C. has treated migraine headache patients for 25 years. If you would like more information about migraine headaches visit his site about migraines.

Tryptophan depletion seems to worsen the symptoms that are found in the majority of both migraine sufferers and non-migraine sufferers. The effects of tryptophan depletion on both migraine and non-migraine sufferers were examined by measuring sensitivity to light, headache, and nausea five and eight hours after depletion or not. Those patients who were tryptophan-depleted experienced more glare and light-induced pain. After eight hours of tryptophan depletion, not only did migraine sufferers have increased headaches, but all participants experienced aggravated nausea. Another study compared motion sickness in thirty-nine migraine sufferers and thirty-seven non-migraine sufferers. The results concluded that tryptophan depletion increased dizziness, nausea, and the illusion of movement in non-sufferers to levels approaching those of migraine sufferers.

One treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the manipulation of serotonergic activity by the application of serotonin modulators. Patients with depleted levels of tryptophan have significantly higher levels of urge and pain ‘visceral perception’ has been seen than those control patients.

Some people who are attempting to lose weight struggle with craving both sweets and starchy foods including breads, cakes, and candy, especially if they are stressed. For example, those people who have seasonal affective disorder or premenstrual syndrome, or even those who are trying to quit smoking have elevated levels of stress and crave these types of food. This is understandable because eating carbohydrates increases the synthesis of brain serotonin, which, in turn, calms the person.

Additionally, serotonin plays a critical role in regulating energy balance and controlling appetite. These facts suggest that tryptophan treatment could help people lose weight. In several studies participants were place on a weight-loss diet for three weeks, results showed a decrease in blood tryptophan. However, people given 5-HTP not only lost weight but also have eaten less than those individuals who were untreated in the same studies.

Before beginning to take l-tryptophan , be sure to tell your doctor or other health care practitioner if you have liver disease, kidney disease, eosinophillia, or a muscle disorder such as fibromyalgia. Any of these conditions may prevent you from using L-tryptophan, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special tests during treatment. Do not use L-tryptophan without telling your doctor or health care practitioner if you are pregnant, as it is unknown whether l-tryptophan would be harmful to an unborn baby.

Also, do not use L-tryptophan without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. L-tryptophan may interact with other medicines, so before using it, make sure to tell your doctor or health care practitioner if you are using medicine for depression, a MAOI, a sedative or tranquilizer, a phenothizine drug, or any drugs that make you sleepy such as alcohol, cold medicine, pain mediation, muscle relaxants, and medicine for depression and anxiety.

By: Darrell Miller-1603

More information on tryptophan is available at VitaNet ®, LLC Health Food Store. vitanetonline.com/