How to Live a Normal Life With Chronic Migraines

For the estimated 39 million people in the United States who suffer from chronic migraines, the condition can be excruciating. Migraine is a complicated neurological disease with a wide range of symptoms that can affect the entire body. While pounding or throbbing head pain that can shift from one side of your head to the other is the most noticeable symptom, some people may experience pain around their eyes, temples, sinuses, jaws, or neck. Other symptoms include light and noise sensitivity, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, tiredness, dizziness, and blurred vision.

It is not easy to suffer from chronic migraine attacks. In fact, the World Health Organization ranks a severe migraine attack as one of the top ten most incapacitating conditions for people worldwide. While there is no cure for migraine (yet), there are simple, everyday strategies (along with medication) that can help you manage chronic headaches and symptoms. Remember that everyone with migraine disease is unique, so what works for you might not work for your best friend or sister.

Live life on the regular 

A migraine brain craves consistency, such as eating and sleeping at the same times each day. If you can stick to a routine, you may find that you are less vulnerable to attacks. A good night's sleep, a regular exercise schedule, and complementary measures such as yoga and mindfulness can help keep the nervous system in balance, which may help you manage migraine attacks.

Manage your stress levels 

One of the most common migraine triggers is stress. Working actively to reduce stress can be very beneficial in reducing the severity and frequency of migraine attacks. Yoga, exercise, and mindfulness may be beneficial. Guided meditations that you can listen to or watch online can also be beneficial.

Some people prefer progressive muscle relaxation exercises, which involve tensing and relaxing muscles in a pattern up and down the body. Additionally, rhythmic breathing exercises may aid in the elicitation of a relaxation response.

Turn off the lights 

Because light sensitivity is a common symptom of migraine attacks, many people seek refuge in darker environments. Flickering lights, such as strobe lights, fluorescent lights in older buildings, or light fixtures in need of maintenance, are frequently attack triggers. You can also adjust the brightness of computer and smartphone screens. It's worth noting, however, that while dimming lights during an attack can help, doing so frequently may cause your threshold for light stimulation to decrease.

Consider green light therapy

According to new research, exposing migraine sufferers to a narrow band of green light significantly reduces light sensitivity (more than 80% of migraine attacks are associated with and exacerbated by light sensitivity, which can be incapacitating for those who suffer from them) as well as migraine severity. As research into the potential benefits of green light therapy advances, we may have more tools to help migraine patients reduce their light sensitivity as well as their overall migraine burden.

Get plenty of sleep 

Sleep is very important in migraine management. Patients who do not get enough rest may require additional treatment to regulate their sleep patterns. There is some clinical evidence that the over-the-counter supplement melatonin is not only effective for sleep but may also help with chronic migraine attacks.

Be physically active

Exercise is one of those perplexing things that, for different people, can both trigger and treat chronic migraines. Some people believe that regular low-to-moderate physical activity can help prevent or mitigate attacks. Others, however, say they can't imagine even going to the mailbox during an attack.

Consider botox

This is not about removing creases from your brow. Botox is, it turns out, FDA-approved for chronic migraines, which are defined as headaches that occur for more than 15 days per month. This is how it works: Botox is injected around pain fibers in the forehead, numbing and preventing pain networks in the brain from activating. Treatment usually lasts 10 to 12 weeks, and patients report that two Botox treatments reduced the number of headache days by about half.