Migraines, Chronic Headaches, and Relationships – How To Stay Strong

Migraines and Relationships
You can feel migraines and chronic headaches coming on at the most inopportune times. Maybe you’re scheduled to hang out with friends or take your kids to a birthday party. Going to bed is exactly what you need to do for migraine relief, but you hate to disappoint your friends or family. Before you crawl under the covers and avoid any relationships, discover ways to handle your migraine and headache symptoms and keep your relationships intact.

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Hypnic Headaches – The Sleep Disruptor

Hypnic Headache
If you have been struggling with severe, debilitating headaches at night and have no accompanying symptoms, it might be due to a hypnic headache. It isn’t surprising if you haven’t heard of this type of headache before, since they are extremely rare. As was for the case of a 68-year old woman in a study conducted by the National Headache Foundation, it takes a series of tests to rule out other causes of the headaches while sleeping, until the official hypnic diagnosis is found.

What is a Hypnic Headache?

Also known as an “alarm clock headache” or “hypnic headache syndrome”, these types of headaches only start during sleep, either from a daytime nap or nightly sleep. Headaches experienced while sleeping don’t typically wake you up, but these types of headaches cause an immediate, jolting awakening, similar to an alarm clock, and often at the same time.

Most individuals suffering from headaches during sleep due to hypnic headaches, go to sleep pain-free, but wake up in debilitating pain. Hypnic-based headaches, which are in the group of idiopathic headache syndromes, are more common in adults over 50, though they also occur at age 40 or older.

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Migraine Questions: What is Synesthesia?

Migraine Synesthesia
Synesthesia
is a seemingly harmless condition that is described as the unusual mixing or blending of the senses. Or in other words, the stimulation to one sensory that causes an involuntary response or hallucination from a different sensory. Very little is known about its association with migraines, but some individuals have reported synesthesia replacing symptoms that normally occur during the aura phase of a migraine episode. 

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The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome and Migraines

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Those who suffer from chronic migraine episodes are all too familiar with the symptoms and side effects. But physicians are hearing more and more about a particular side effect that patients may not be talking about as much as they should. Known as The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS), this condition is a neurological phenomenon that is characterized by distorted perceptions, disorientation and warped senses. It seems to be more common in children, but also present in adults with frequent migraines. 

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5 Tips To Reduce Migraine Pain During Pregnancy

migraine pregnancyPersistent migraines during pregnancy can be more painful for a mommy-to-be. Enduring throbbing migraine attacks during pregnancy often puts women and her unborn child in a precarious situation. Therefore, it becomes imperative for women with history of migraines to become aware of certain facts regarding this health condition. If you are pregnant then possessing good knowledge about causes of migraines during pregnancy, its symptoms and ways of alleviating the pain can help you mitigate higher health risks.

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Sex and the CM: 6 Things Chronic Migraine Sufferers Should Know

Sex and Migraines
If you suffer from chronic migraines, then you know that the experience of chronic migraine pain can keep you from participating in many of the activities you love most, intimate relationship experiences included. Chronic migraine occurrences as well as the fear of triggering migraines can weigh down a couple’s physical intimacy and put a damper on their romantic relationships.  

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The Hormone Effect: Menopause, Perimenopause and Women With Migraines

Menopause and migrainesWomen who suffer from chronic migraines are often told their pain will improve after menopause. The strong link between migraines and fluctuations in estrogen levels seem to have some effect on migraine occurence after menopause. While some women reported lesser instances and severity of migraine attacks during menopause, it has not been the case for others.

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The Traveling Migraine Sufferer: Tips for Relief During Travel

migraine tips traveling chronic migraineIf you’re a chronic migraine sufferer, the prospect of traveling is probably difficult for you. Travel can be difficult for anyone and chronic migraine pain only makes travel more daunting. Travel can bring many triggers that can cause or aggravate migraines, such as stress, erratic sleep, poor eating habits, bright lights and more. Luckily, some methods exist to minimize migraines during your travels. 

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