Am I having migraines?

I’m interested in hearing the opinions of people who have dealt with migraines in some form in the past.

Here’s the deal. Last week, for a few days, I had this TERRIBLE throbbing, awful, headache from hell. The first day was the worst. I had trouble walking, but I suspect that was mainly because it just hurt so dang much to do so, rather than bits of my brain shutting themselves off… but my memory is a little hazy about the whole thing, and it’s hard to make a detailed analysis under such conditions. I tried a few extra strength excederin once or twice each day. They dulled the pain, but not considerably.

Now, everything I’ve heard about migraines indicates that if I was having a migraine, I’d know I was having a migraine. So at the moment, I’m personally thinking I just had two days battling with the headache from hell.

But, I am a little suspicious, and this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.

I’ll probably go see the doctor anyway, but I wanted to see if anybody else out there has had a similar experience. Or if somebody who does have to deal with migraines (be they severe or comparitively mild) can come along and tell me to quit my bitchin’, that would be appreciated too.

By definition, a migrane affects only one side of the head.

IANAD, but it doesn’t sound like a migraine. “Migraine” does not mean “really bad headache,” it’s a specific KIND of headache - at the risk of oversimplifying, it usually means a headache with a vascular cause.

I’ve suffered from migraines for more than 20 years and although they tend to start on one side of the brain they definitely can spread to the other.

See your doctor and in the mean time, keep a headache diary.

Lifelong migraine sufferer checking in.

Generally migraines are on one side, but not always. Mine often move from one side to the other. They often have an aura (visual disturbance), but not always. I never get an aura (I have “common migraine” not “classic migraine.”) They usually are accompanied by sensitivity to light and/or sound and/or smell and/or nausea and, if you’re really lucky, vomiting. It’s a neurological episode, not just being in pain. Migraines are typically aggravated by moving. For me, when it’s a bad one, it’s like my entire nervous system is on overload.

You should see a doctor, regardless.

Thanks for the input. Sounds like my initial suspicion that it was not a migraine is probably correct given what I’ve heard so far.

Does “one side of the head” mean “slightly off center” or “the far right side of your face feels like somebody’s driving a nail through it”?

I’d have to say that I think my headaches tend to be either localized around the right or left temple, or what feels like dead center. I think that memory may be suspect though, as I’ve never really made note of it before somebody mentioned the “one side of the head” phenomenon. If it happens again I’ll be sure to take note of that, however.

Are migraines always accompanied by other symptoms, or is it possible to have a migraine with the only symptom being a terrible headache?

TeleTronOne, if it’s throbbing in one temple, it sounds like a migraine to me, particularly if it’s aggravated by moving. You don’t always get all the other symptoms, or you might only get them sometimes. Sometimes I get the other symptoms without the pain (sensitivity to light/sound/smells without the actual headache part).

Hmmm… now I’m starting to get suspicious. I read up a little (very little) on migraine symptoms today, and my reaction to most of them was “well, lots of this sounds sort of familiar, but I’ve never had all of this happen at once”. The light/sound thing has happened to me in one form or the other before (seeing vague patterns made up of dark/light blotches), or being extremely sensitive to noise, or hearing things sound… off. I don’t know how to describe it accurately. But I don’t recall any occurences where any two or more of these symptoms have been present at one time. Then again, if they were, I might have just written it off, since it wouldn’t be anything particularly new to me.

As I write this, there has been a dull throbbing alternating between my left and right temples for an hour or two, but I haven’t really thought much about it (not to the point of being extremely painful yet). But I’m hoping it’s just a case of psychosomatic symptoms.

sigh
picks up phone to call doctor

Also, Here’s a link to a migraine support site I like. Also, there have been a number of threads on migraines, so you may want to do a search.

Good Luck. Get a referral to a neurologist if you can, rather than a GP. There have been a lot of advances in the last 10 years with treating migraines. If you do get diagnoses with migraines, the triptan class of drugs are effective in aborting migraines for a lot of people, and are generally safe unless you are at risk for heart problems.

That definitely sounds like a migraine to me. I’ve had one - once. And the pain was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Here’s link to the World Headache Alliance’s web site: WHA The site has information on different types of headaches - migraine, cluster, tension, etc.

I’ve had the classic migraine, which is why I thought the Headache From Hell for two weeks. Nothing would touch it. Since it wasn’t as bad as that, livable although not pleasant, I figured it was just a headache. I finally went to the doctor. She gave me a shot of imitrex and within an hour it was gone. Apparently that’s sort of an acid test if it’s a migraine. After tracking them for a while, it seems these may be hormone related, as a lovely part of PMS. I keep the imitrex handy and they take care of them.

StG

If I were you, I would hightail it to the doctor to get this checked out. I suffer from migraines, but yours probably won’t be like mine. Once you have been given the official word from the doc, you will know your own symptoms and you will gleefully recognize the onset of hours (or in your case days :eek: ) of agony.

I think it’s important to have a doctor verify that your headache is a migraine so that you can at least not be worried about tumors and the like when you get one.

On top of that, if you happen to get an unusual new symptom, you can call your doc and ease your mind. I recall one fine day in 1993, one day prior to a long trip in South America, while trying to pack and so forth, I got an ordinary migrane… suddenly, my entire right side went numb. I freaked. I called my neurologist’s emergency number, and he asked me a few pointed questions and said that all was Ok. Four hours later it really was Ok and I didn’t pay any more mind to it.

[Slight hijack] I’ve heard that too StG, but I know many migraineurs who do not respond to Imitex. I was misdiagnosed with cluster headaches for a couple of years only because the lowest dose of Imitrex didn’t work for me. Later I discovered that other triptan drugs (Zomig, Maxalt and Frova) are all very effective. Imitrex at the highest dose works for me too, but not as reliably. It’s often a matter of trial and error finding the right med. [/Slight hijack]

FWIW TeleTronOne, your Headache from Hell sounds an awful lot like my migraines and I agree with Porcupine that if you can see a neurologist rather than a G.P., you are probably better off. Good Luck!