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Cluster headaches are one of the most debilitating conditions you can experience, particularly if you get them often. They’re also one of the most frustrating to identify and diagnose, and medical science is unclear as to the real cause. It’s believed that overstimulation of the hypothalamus is the primary cause, however. This is the section of the brain that regulates our sleep patterns, and its disturbance results in the development of headaches.
It’s almost summer, and while the hazy, lazy, sunny days bring a sense of well-being and enjoyment to so many people, for migraine sufferers it can be quite the opposite. If you’re one of the 14 million Americans who regularly contend with chronic headaches, you might be a little less happy about the arrival of the heat.
The allergy season is in full swing, and your daily sinus headache is ruining your spring. Is it really a sinus headache, however, or could you possibly be suffering from a migraine headache instead? It’s not unusual to confuse the two, according to Mark A. Zacharek, MD, residency program director for the department of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Here’s how to tell the difference between a migraine and a sinus headache:
Spring is allergy season, and it’s here! While the new season brings warmer weather, spring rains and the peeking out of fresh flowers, it also affects our bodies in a number of different ways. If you experience seasonal allergies such as rhinitis as well as migraines, you could find the beauty of spring marred by an increase in headaches. Although the International Headache Society doesn’t officially recognize the term “seasonal migraine,” many sufferers use this to describe migraines that...
A 2014 Gallup poll shows that up to 33% of Americans have put off getting medical treatment because of the cost, and that’s not only for non-serious conditions. Whether you believe migraine headaches fall into the serious or non-serious category, it’s frightening to think that one in three sufferers could be going without help
Getting diagnosed with migraine can mean different things to different people. If you’re one of those patients who have spent years trying to get a conclusive answer from a range of doctors, a visit to a migraine specialist could be a defining moment in your life. On the other hand, if you’ve recently begun experiencing blinding headaches and had a quick diagnosis, you might be dismayed and alarmed to hear that you now have to deal with this medical condition.
Migraines have become so well known that many people simply categorize any severe headache as a “migraine.” This isn’t accurate, however, and there are a number of differences between migraines and other types of debilitating headaches. Cluster headaches, in particular, are very painful and have actually caused patients to commit suicide on occasion. How do you know whether that blinding pain in your head is a migraine or cluster headache? These comparisons will help you to determine what...
Finding a neurologist who is right for you can be more of a process than you might think. Doctors are humans first, and nobody is perfect. But when you’re suffering from chronic pain and you’re referred to a specialist, it isn’t always easy to walk away and look for another one.
Here are some of the reasons why you might want to switch neurologists:
Doctors and patients can come from worlds apart. When your migraine specialist says you don’t have anything life-threatening, it doesn’t mean he (or she) doesn’t believe in your headaches. Rather, it likely means they are trying to reassure you so you don’t stress and make the headaches worse in the process.
In case you’re thinking this is a post about drinking, it’s not. It is, however, about hangovers—those brought on by migraines are just as draining and challenging, without having had the benefit of a party. And they require the same level of careful nursing to come out safely on the other side, too.
