Extreme pulsating head pain that intensifies with physical activity describes a common neurological disorder called migraines. Sufferers often experience extreme sensitivity to sound and light. Migraines interfere with normal life functions, including work and social relationships. According to the website HeadacheTest.com, when your physician understands exactly how migraines affect your life, a successful treatment program is more likely to be implemented.
Significance
Migraines incur annual costs of $13 billion to $17 billion in the U.S. Most of the direct costs include medications, both preventive and abortive, emergency visits and diagnostics. Indirect costs due to loss of work productivity also add significantly to the cost estimates. Migraines affect over 30 million people in the United States, according to the National Headache Foundation, and there has been a 60 percent increase from 1998 to 2008, according to the National Migraine Association.
Home Remedies
Retreat to a quiet, dark room. At the beginning of symptoms, you should quickly isolate yourself in a dark, quiet room. Stopping continual visual and auditory stimuli will decrease the severity of the migraine. Soaking your extremities in warm water will help draw the blood away from your throbbing headache and toward your hands and feet. This will decrease the pressure and subsequently the pain in your head. Placing a cool cloth over your eyes and under your neck should lower the stress and anxiety associated with migraines.
Antidepressant Medications
There is preliminary evidence that some classes of antidepressants can prevent migraines from occurring. For instance, amitriptyline, a common tricyclic antidepressant, is able to regulate several brain chemicals, including serotonin levels to prevent the brain's pain receptors from responding so drastically to pressure stimuli. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and nonepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or SNRIs, have shown little to no effect in preventing migraines. One SNRI medication, Effexor, has shown some limited effectiveness in preventing migraines. Side effects and effectiveness vary from medication to medication and from person to person.
Beta-blockers
Some beta-blockers, like propranolol, are approved for the treatment of migraines. Since beta-blockers reduce the heart’s need for blood and oxygen, they can subsequently reduce the vessel swelling and pressure on arteries in the entire body. Beta-blockers are often prescribed for high blood pressure but can affect the body's ability to respond to nerve impulses. Any heart or lung problems are incompatible with this type of medication.
Anti-Epileptic Medications
Several anti-seizure medications have been shown to effectively prevent migraines. Topomax, Depakote and Depakene, for instance, have shown to be approximately 50 percent effective at preventing migraines from occurring and have the added benefit of weight loss. These medications, however, are costly and may cause a sense of fatigue, prickling feelings, and loss of coordination and concentration.
References
- The American Journal of Managed Care; The Cost of Migraine and Its Treatment; Dr. Lawrence D. Goldberg; 2005
- National Headache Foundation: Migraine Prevention
- The National Migraine Association: Treatment & Management
- The Mayo Clinic: Migraine Treatment
- Bellaire Neurology: Epilepsy Treatment and Migraine Prevention
