When I was a kid, my first migraine experience was when I pressed a flannel on my mother's head. Then, as a teenager, I brought a bucket for her to vomit in and began to stroke her head while she lay still on her darkened bed in pain. Because they were so rare, these memories remain vivid in my mind decades later. It was terrifying to see my mum so exhausted from migraine. She is a person who never sleeps and doesn't stop.My first impression was that mine were very similar to hers. I experienced a sudden, sharp, blinding pain on one side of the head. Later, it became overwhelming nausea and eventually forceful vomiting. While Mum's migraines are less frequent over time, her symptoms have not changed. My symptoms, while still debilitating and sometimes severe, have become more severe.Women are at greater risk for migraine than men, with a 3.25-fold increase in the chance of getting it. Photograph by Carolina Conte/Getty Images/EyeEmThey make me weep. They can start on one side of your head, but they can also end on the other. They can last for longer. It is more severe. The vomiting can be more severe.Although I have never been able identify a single cause, dehydration and stress, wine (even one) and exhaustion all play a part at times.If my migraine doesn't subside in 24 hours, I will call an ambulance or take an Uber to the emergency department. Because I keep trying to convince myself that I will feel better in the next few hours, I end up calling an ambulance or driving an Uber to the emergency room.I've been vomiting for hours by the time I get to the hospital. I am dehydrated and have tried to control my body to ease the pain. I have also poked and prodded my head to release tension that I don't understand.After a migraine passes, I feel exhausted for days, can't speak clearly, feel nauseated, and emotional Melissa DaveyIt is difficult for me to describe migraine pain. Medical professionals have told me that I have a high threshold for pain. Paramedics told me that my elbow and leg were broken when I broke them. Multiple fractures eventually required surgery. I was able to manage my surgery for multiple fractures on my own after an adult tonsillectomy.This is not to be difficult, but it does show that migraines are not a severe condition. If they were a headache that can be easily slept off, fought with, or relied upon with Panadol, the economic costs associated with them each year would be less than US$19.3bn, A$35.7bn, Australia, and 8.8bn respectively in the UK.Triptans are a class that doesn't cure or prevent migraines, but can help to manage them if they occur. Triptans have not always worked for me. This has caused my life to be difficult and led to me being admitted to hospital.Topiramate, a traditional epilepsy medication, was a migraine-preventive drug I tried. It was difficult to wean off. When it didn't prevent migraines, I had to stop using it. I have had imaging scans of the head. I don't know the cause.After a migraine passes, I feel exhausted for days, can't speak clearly, have trouble understanding words, feel dizzy, nauseated but not vomiting, and get emotional. These symptoms are really debilitating and I'm relieved that the migraine pain is gone.The Global Burden of Disease study found that migraine was the sixth most common cause of disability-related years lost. However, it is a condition that is not well-recognized and is often treated with the wrong medications. A GP recommended that I try triptans, and he put me on a migraine treatment program 15 years ago.Professor Anne MacGregor, from the Centre for Neuroscience, Surgery and Trauma, at the Barts and London School of Medicine and Dentistry, states that migraine is not life-threatening but is a quality-of-life problem.Research and funding are therefore extremely limited.MacGregor had originally intended to be a surgeon, but she was unable to complete her training in 1988. She took up a position at the City of London Migraine clinic during this gap. Because she felt that more work was needed in this area, MacGregor stayed at the clinic for over two decades.She says that I became passionate about migraine research, especially in women's health, because there was a lack of knowledge and an unmet need. Research on migraine has been inadequately funded. The latest data also suggests that the risk of getting migraines is 3.25 times greater for women than it is for men. However, funding for women's health is generally inadequate.This is despite the World Health Organization's 2011 global survey on neurological disorders finding that migraine has been neglected worldwide. The frequency of attacks varies from one person to another, but they can happen anywhere from once per year to once per week.MacGregor was part of research that resulted in one of the most important breakthroughs in migraine treatment, in the 1980s. Triptans were the first drugs specifically designed to treat migraine symptoms.She has been researching drugs that target a pain chemical that is known to be elevated during migraines. She says that there are many drugs available for treatment and prevention, but they can be very costly.Treatments for migraines are usually very costly. Photograph by Alamy Stock PhotographyThere are many types of migraines, and the triggers that can cause them. This makes it difficult to find treatments. There are many types of migraines, including the classic migraine with aura (sensory disorders), the migraine without aura, the menstrual migraine, and the hemiplegic type (a type that causes weakness one side the body). All of them can be debilitating.Lyn Griffiths is the executive director of Institute of Health Biomed Innovation at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. She leads research into the genetic causes of migraines and offers new treatments to migraine sufferers. She was a migraine sufferer and became interested in research after her son, aged five, experienced his first migraine.Many people believe that migraine is a headache. Maybe you went on a Friday night out with your friends or did something Professor Lyn Griffiths suggested.She says that I also experience the nausea and pain, along with the neurological symptoms, such as visual disturbances, flashing lights and waving lines. I can also lose my vision for up 20 minutes.My five-year-old son had migraines. He was complaining of headaches and throwing up.It was obvious that this is genetic.Griffiths was frustrated by the lack of information available for her son and herself, so she decided to conduct her own research.You may not realize how severe migraine can be and how it can impact your daily life unless you have it. Many people think it's just a headache. Maybe you went out on a Friday night or something.Around 90% of migraine sufferers have a close relative who is also suffering from the condition. Photograph by Pedro Alberto Perez/Getty Images/EyeEmIt's not like that. It can happen at any time, even during your most productive years. And because it is episodic, many people will experience it again and again. It can last for days. It is just horrible. It is impossible to function.According to her, migraines affect at least 12% of the country's population and as high as 20%. It doesn't affect mortality like other cancers so it doesn't have the right profile for research.Around 90% of migraine sufferers have a close relative with migraine. At least half of those who have migraine are their first-degree relatives. Griffiths helped identify three genes that can cause severe inherited migraine familial-hemiplegic headaches, which can lead to paralysis and coma.Many women assume that the severe headaches associated with menstruation are normal and something they have to deal with.Griffiths states that if you have one of these three genes mutations, you may have migraine. This type of migraine is common in families. It is also known to be prevalent in children.Griffiths states that while there are good diagnostic tests and treatments for rarer and more severe migraines, it is not clear if the role of the inheritance pattern or the genes involved in the most common migraines. She hopes that in the future, it will be easier to identify the role of other genes in migraines, which will lead to personalized treatment and more diagnostic tests.A significant barrier to treatment is the fact that many people suffering from migraine are not correctly diagnosed or misdiagnosed. MacGregor states that sinusitis is the most common misdiagnosis.MacGregor states that women often believe that severe headaches that come with hormonal changes or menstruation are normal and something they can live with. However, they don't ever receive a diagnosis for migraine. Many workers don't tell their employers they have headaches out of fear of being unreliable. This perpetuates the stigma around headaches.Griffiths claims that in Australia, GPs are not trained to recognize and treat migraine. She says that funding is a problem around the globe. This has resulted in close collaboration between international migraine researchers. The World Health Organization found that only half of people with migraine in the United States and United Kingdom had visited a doctor in the past 12 months for headache-related reasons. Only two-thirds were correctly diagnosed.It is the most prevalent neurological disorder and most severe in terms of its pain and impact on your daily life. Griffith said that although Griffith doesn't think many people realize this, it is something Griffith believes.This must change because those who are suffering deserve a better quality life.Chronic pain sufferers have been told for years that it is all in their heads. It is now clear that this is false. The pain that cannot be seen explains why doctors are still playing catch-up with chronic pain conditions such as endometriosis, migraine, and other pain conditions. It also explains what they need to do about long Covid.
