Bad headache does not = migraine

[Snowfall]

Why do so many people call every bad headache they get a migraine? As someone who actually suffers from migraine headaches (although rarely, thank goodness!!!) this really, really gets on my nerves! It's like comparing an ingrown toenail to gangrene of the foot.

 

My sister and one of my husband's sisters both do it...constantly. They get on facebook and say stupid stuff about how even though they "have the worst migraine right now" they're still going to play with the kids and do the dishes, then they want everyone to give them a big pat on the back and tell them they're supermoms. Ummm, no. If you had the "worst migraine" right now, your kids would be eating whatever you were able to find in the refrigerator after stumbling down the hall, possibly stopping to vomit on the way. Entertaining kids? Yes, if turning on a movie counts. And doing dishes or laundry? Seriously?

 

I'm sorry, but that stuff is not possible when you have an actual migraine headache. Maybe when you feel a migraine coming in the next little while or maybe if you have a really bad headache that's not a migraine or maybe if you have a "silent" migraine (migraine without headache) but definitely not while you're literally having an actual, real life, migraine headache.

 

Sorry, they both said it this week, and they both had all their friends tell them how they were supermoms and how awesome they were for not letting a migraine get them down. It just makes me so mad, because in reality they're just being big whiners who want kudos for taking care of their kids when they don't feel 100%. When someone actually has the worst sort of migraine, those things aren't optional. It isn't about being tough or being strong. It's about whether or not you're literally capable of getting out of bed and down the hall without throwing up everywhere. It's about whether you have the ability to not vomit every time you see a light or nearly scream in pain when the sheets rub each other and make a noise. I guess it's just so dismissive of people who actually suffer from real migraines to call your bad headache a migraine. :glare:

[cathmom]

:grouphug:

 

My dh gets migraines, and I experienced something similar when pregnant with my twins. Yes, when you have a real migraine, any light at all is like it's stabbing you in the head!

[Scarlett]

Why do so many people call every bad headache they get a migraine? As someone who actually suffers from migraine headaches (although rarely, thank goodness!!!) this really, really gets on my nerves! It's like comparing an ingrown toenail to gangrene of the foot.

 

My sister and one of my husband's sisters both do it...constantly. They get on facebook and say stupid stuff about how even though they "have the worst migraine right now" they're still going to play with the kids and do the dishes, then they want everyone to give them a big pat on the back and tell them they're supermoms. Ummm, no. If you had the "worst migraine" right now, your kids would be eating whatever you were able to find in the refrigerator after stumbling down the hall, possibly stopping to vomit on the way. Entertaining kids? Yes, if turning on a movie counts. And doing dishes or laundry? Seriously?

 

I'm sorry, but that stuff is not possible when you have an actual migraine headache. Maybe when you feel a migraine coming in the next little while or maybe if you have a really bad headache that's not a migraine or maybe if you have a "silent" migraine (migraine without headache) but definitely not while you're literally having an actual, real life, migraine headache.

 

Sorry, they both said it this week, and they both had all their friends tell them how they were supermoms and how awesome they were for not letting a migraine get them down. It just makes me so mad, because in reality they're just being big whiners who want kudos for taking care of their kids when they don't feel 100%. When someone actually has the worst sort of migraine, those things aren't optional. It isn't about being tough or being strong. It's about whether or not you're literally capable of getting out of bed and down the hall without throwing up everywhere. It's about whether you have the ability to not vomit every time you see a light or nearly scream in pain when the sheets rub each other and make a noise. I guess it's just so dismissive of people who actually suffer from real migraines to call your bad headache a migraine. :glare:

 

My ds10 has been complaining of headaches for close to a year now. I ask him to rate them 1-10 on the pain scale....and sometimes he says a 7....then I see him rough housing with the dog. :glare: I've explained to him that a REAL headache does not allow for that kind of playing....I've had horrible headaches many times during my life and I still don't normally refer to them as migraines. I have been nauseated and blinded by the pain many times...not sure if that qualifies as migraine or not...but anyway, I do get your point.

[Caitilin]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

So, in all non-snarky seriousness, how does one know when it's a migraine and not an awful headache? I don't think I have ever had a migraine, but I don't know how I would be able to tell. Differences? Symptoms?

[Snowfall]

I'm sorry I sounded SO ugly about them. That was immature. It's just so frustrating that I get these headaches for which I have in the past had to ask my husband to stay home from work, because I literally could not take care of my toddler (at the time), and they act like their little headache is the same thing and people with real migraines need to toughen up or something. It just feels so WRONG, you know?

[hsbaby]

This has always annoyed me!!!! Especially when you are out in public and someone is going on and on about their migraine! Or, like you said, complaining about it on the computer! Really?!?! I only get one or two a year now, but had them frequently as a child. They have always incapacitated me. I still cry.....in between throwing up and lying in a dark room. I can hardly bring myself to talk....much less type away on the computer.

 

So, yeah, bugs me too!!!

[Snowfall]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

So, in all non-snarky seriousness, how does one know when it's a migraine and not an awful headache? I don't think I have ever had a migraine, but I don't know how I would be able to tell. Differences? Symptoms?

 

The first time someone has one it's often pretty terrifying. I almost called 911 the first time. I thought I was having an aneurysm or something. The pain really is like nothing else. When my brother first had one, he had his wife call me to ask if she should take him to the E.R. He thought he was dying. My sister and brother both have visual disturbances (migraine aura) before they start. I am unusual in that I actually get an auditory hallucination before one starts - it sounds like I can hear a siren in the distance in my right ear. Extreme nausea is common, as are vomiting and diarrhea. Light and sound sensitivity are common, as is being very, very exhausted. It's just not your normal headache. It's so, so, so awful.

[Caitilin]

The first time someone has one it's often pretty terrifying. I almost called 911 the first time. I thought I was having an aneurysm or something. The pain really is like nothing else. When my brother first had one, he had his wife call me to ask if she should take him to the E.R. He thought he was dying. My sister and brother both have visual disturbances (migraine aura) before they start. I am unusual in that I actually get an auditory hallucination before one starts - it sounds like I can hear a siren in the distance in my right ear. Extreme nausea is common, as are vomiting and diarrhea. Light and sound sensitivity are common, as is being very, very exhausted. It's just not your normal headache. It's so, so, so awful.

 

Thank-you for explaining. That does sound horrendous, and I am certain that I have never had one~~knock wood~~. :grouphug::grouphug: Your SIL sounds pretty insensitive...:grouphug:

[kalanamak]

Why do so many people call every bad headache they get a migraine? As someone who actually suffers from migraine headaches (although rarely, thank goodness!!!) this really, really gets on my nerves!

 

Indeed, many terrible headaches are not migraines, however, not all migraines are "terrible". I got classic migraines about every other period. The flashing lights, the expanding circle of them, little stabbing triangles. About once a year, I'd get the whole aura, with nausea, and right when I expected the pain to clap on, it all stopped, and all I had was a sore scalp. Most were controlled with an aspirin and a 30 minute nap, not stopped, but controlled.

 

I found that what I was doing dictated my migraine. If I had a day off, I had a bad one. If I was unit chief for the night, clucking over 5 people on a ventilator, I tended to get the aborted lights kind. The mind is a powerful thing.

 

The worst headache I ever witnessed was not a migraine, per the neurologist, not a stroke or a bleed or meningitis or anything else. The poor man was writhing so badly with pain, we had to give him about 4 classes of medications, including thorazine, and support him with a CPAP, he was so doped he was breathing so shallowly. He was still moaning. After 3 days of this, when he was functional (but still couldn't sit up) he whispered that he used to poo-poo people who stayed home from work because of a headache, but that he'd never, ever poo-poo anyone again.

 

I'm sorry you get terrible headaches. I hope yours cease as you progress into menopause, at least. :grouphug:

[ShutterBug]

I've never had one, so I really can't say anything....BUT....my fil is a doctor and this has always bothered him too.

 

He's treated patients who have caused serious injury to themselves (put their heads on a hot stove, attempted to drill into their skulls) because of the intense pain caused by a true migraine.

 

If you're posting on your FB page about your "migraine" then I'd have to guess that you don't actually have one ;) .

[LaissezFaire]

I get a chuckle out of this. I want to tell them, "If you can say you have a migraine, you don't have one. If you can stand up, you don't have one."

[Mimm]

I clench my jaw at night and sometimes wake up with these killer headaches like someone has taken a baseball bat to my head while I slept. The pain slowly fades through the morning and by lunch it's usually gone. Even though the pain is bad, sometimes causing me to be dizzy when I first get out of bed, I've never mistaken this for a migraine. I'm not sure how someone would, after reading a description of what a true migraine is like. It's not really provable, whether a person is just having a nasty headache or a migraine, but I would agree that anyone who is up to cooking and entertaining the kids isn't dealing with anything too terribly intense.

[Joanne]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

So, in all non-snarky seriousness, how does one know when it's a migraine and not an awful headache? I don't think I have ever had a migraine, but I don't know how I would be able to tell. Differences? Symptoms?

 

I had never had one until the past 2 years. With my first one, impending PAIN, not a "head ache" grew quickly and progressively worse to where I had to go lay down and tell the older kids/students to handle things. Fortuntely, my client families (private students) both knew about migraines!

 

I went into my room. By that time, even the THOUGHT of movement made my entire body hurt and stomach lurch with wanting to spew. Light was excruciating. Breathing hurt because it meant movemment. I felt like my head was going to explode out of my skull. Eventually, I wanted to die rather than deal with another moment of the pain.

 

Let me put this in perspective; I birthed a 9+ pound baby boy at home, unmedicated, with a NSEW tear. He crowned for 45 minutes. That pain was about a 7 to me.

 

The migraine was off the scale.

 

I thought about calling 911 when I had it because no person should have that much pain without something deadly going on in their body. But the thought of moving, having people in my bubble, of being interacted with made me vomit. Yes, just the thought of it.

 

The next couple were less intense in part because I felt them coming and was able to stay ahead of the pain with some sinus/allergy meds.

[Mimm]

Let me put this in perspective; I birthed a 9+ pound baby boy at home, unmedicated, with a NSEW tear. He crowned for 45 minutes. That pain was about a 7 to me.

 

 

Holy OUCH! :eek:

[joannqn]

Indeed, many terrible headaches are not migraines, however, not all migraines are "terrible".

 

:iagree:

 

I'm sorry your migraines are so bad, but I'm one of those who has gotten true migraines and continued going about my day anyway. I've been diagnosed and have taken Midrin, maximum doses of Ibuprofen (2400mg/day), Imitrex, tylinol, and nothing for them.

[Tap]

Indeed, many terrible headaches are not migraines, however, not all migraines are "terrible".

 

:iagree:

 

 

 

I get migraines too. I have some that I can push through for a while (especially if I medicate early) and some so bad that I can't stand to hear my own heart in my head. They are both migraines, diagnosed by my Neurologist and many medical tests.

 

Be careful not to judge others, when you may not know all the details. Not all migraines may present the same as yours.

[Snowfall]

Indeed, many terrible headaches are not migraines, however, not all migraines are "terrible".

 

I realize that. :) I have an aunt who has silent migraines, during which she gets the aura and extreme fatigue, but no bad headache. It's just that no one I know who has ever experienced a true migraine headache would ever say they were having one as they typed away on facebook discussing their evening plans of cooking and cleaning. Anyone who would claim they were having "the worst" migraine while doing those things hasn't ever actually had one.

 

Editing for clarity. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sorry, they both said it this week, and they both had all their friends tell them how they were supermoms and how awesome they were for not letting a migraine get them down. It just makes me so mad, because in reality they're just being big whiners who want kudos for taking care of their kids when they don't feel 100%. When someone actually has the worst sort of migraine, those things aren't optional. It isn't about being tough or being strong. It's about whether or not you're literally capable of getting out of bed and down the hall without throwing up everywhere. It's about whether you have the ability to not vomit every time you see a light or nearly scream in pain when the sheets rub each other and make a noise. I guess it's just so dismissive of people who actually suffer from real migraines to call your bad headache a migraine. :glare:

 

I think perhaps it is time to "hide them" or whatever you do to people on facebook that you need to avoid for awhile. (I don't have facebook so I don't know all the terms).

[sbgrace]

I have migraines relatively frequently (hormonal for me) and for me there are degrees. I know a migraine from a headache. I have those migraines that you'd do anything to escape, incapacitating, light sensitive, vommitting type. I've also had migraines that were that same stabbing through the eye migraine pain and yet I wasn't terribly nauseous and I could manage to some degree at least. I don't know why they vary but for me they do.

[Tress]

Fellow sufferer here- my favorite headache book (Heal Your Headaches) written by a neurologist says that all headaches are migraines but there are different degrees of pain and symptoms.

 

To the OP, I totally get what you are saying. If you can still walk, talk, take care of your kids.....you are not having a migraine, just a (bad) headache. I have frequent headaches and the occasional migraine.

 

But imagine my surprise when I mentioned my 'headaches' to a neurologist, while talking about an unrelated problem, and he treated me like I was an idiot for not knowing that those headaches were migraines. Apparently he used some checklist and with a headache at only one side of your head, with nausea and light sensitivity, and some other things I have forgotten...it is a migraine :001_huh:. Never knew that. So maybe there is something to calling a strong headache a migraine. Still I differentiate between the two, because I feel it blurs the line too much and prevents the people who really suffer from getting support.

[orangearrow]

I thought about calling 911 when I had it because no person should have that much pain without something deadly going on in their body. But the thought of moving, having people in my bubble, of being interacted with made me vomit. Yes, just the thought of it.

 

 

 

uggggggg... I have totally been in those shoes. Quite sure that I was very possibly dying... but the mere thought of getting the phone, or talking/listening on the phone made me just decide to lay there and wait for the Grim Reaper rather than call someone for help.

 

Sometimes my own thoughts rattling around inside my head made too much noise. I would take medicines that made me sleepy (rather than migraine meds) - and sleep it off as much as possible. That was the only way for things to be Quiet enough.

 

Migraines themselves are truly horrendous - migraines with young children/babies in the house.... oh my gosh. :bored: Words fail me on what a nightmare those days were.

 

I thank God every single day for the recent lifting of those migraines. I haven't had one (knock wood) in close to a year and I sometimes can't believe that they're gone. I hope they never come back, and I pray that my children never deal with them. Ever.

 

I did have differing degrees of migraines. Some days, after a few hours, I was able to "function." It didn't feel good, but I could manage to slob around the house to do this-or-that. Answering email was a last resort (only if there was some correspondence that I REALLY needed to get to that day) - but I could do it. I could drive if we HAD to go somewhere.

 

But, other days.... :ack2:

[Snowfall]

:iagree:

 

 

 

I get migraines too. I have some that I can push through for a while (especially if I medicate early) and some so bad that I can't stand to hear my own heart in my head. They are both migraines, diagnosed by my Neurologist and many medical tests.

 

Be careful not to judge others, when you may not know all the details. Not all migraines may present the same as yours.

 

Again, I'm aware of that. I know these women very well. They aren't having migraines. Their idea of a migraine is a headache that doesn't go away when they take Tylenol. You would never call the migraines that you could push through "the worst migraine", I assume. That's what we're talking about here, and it's very common. A migraine isn't just a headache, whether you can push through it or not.

 

While there are people who are able to continue with life to some degree or another, I don't know anyone who experiences migraine headaches and yet knows so little about them that they would claim their ability to push through it comes from some inner resolve that other migraine sufferers apparently just don't have.

[Mercy_Me]

I have never had migranes, but I do get your point. I have OCD. Diagnosed and am being treated. People around me are CONSTANTLY saying things like.."Oh, I'm so OCD today, everything needs to be just so.....or, "I'm totally OCD over my towels"...or, or, or......I just want to stand up and SCREAM, you are NOT OCD, and be THANKFUL you are not! It isn't cute, quirky or endearing like all of those **** movies make it seem. It is debilitating, destructive, depressing and MANY MANY other things. I WISH all I cared about were clean straight towels. :lol:

[Elizabeth in WA]

So, in all non-snarky seriousness, how does one know when it's a migraine and not an awful headache? I don't think I have ever had a migraine, but I don't know how I would be able to tell. Differences? Symptoms?

 

Well, I was officially diagnosed as having migraines after I had spent 3 days in bed unable to keep food down and in serious danger of dehydration. Light and sound are unbearable and although with more mild migraines I have driven my kids places, I wouldn't call driving while dry-heaving in a towel the safest occupation, just at the time something that seemed better than keeping kids home essentially uncared for. Migraines are debilitating, and over the counter medicines, assuming they can be kept down at all, are unhelpful... and that pretty much seemed to be my doctor's diagnostic criteria as well. The medication I was given dissolves under the tongue and absorbs rapidly, and my mother, who had come out to take care of me when I was finally diagnosed, was told to take me to the ER for IV re-hydration if I couldn't keep liquids down within an hour of taking it that first time. On the downside, I am still not supposed to drive on my migraine meds and my kids miss their activities when I have to take them, sometimes for several days in a row when taking meds early does not entirely avert the migraine.

[LG Gone Wild]

Again, I'm aware of that. I know these women very well. They aren't having migraines. Their idea of a migraine is a headache that doesn't go away when they take Tylenol. You would never call the migraines that you could push through "the worst migraine", I assume. That's what we're talking about here, and it's very common. A migraine isn't just a headache, whether you can push through it or not.

 

While there are people who are able to continue with life to some degree or another, I don't know anyone who experiences migraine headaches and yet knows so little about them that they would claim their ability to push through it comes from some inner resolve that other migraine sufferers apparently just don't have.

 

I got what you meant and didn't think you were going off about people you hardly knew. What you posted made sense and you were just blowing off steam.

 

Don't know if I have ever had a migraine but I have some whopper headaches that made me cry and curl up in a ball. (shudder)

[Tap]

Again, I'm aware of that. I know these women very well. They aren't having migraines. Their idea of a migraine is a headache that doesn't go away when they take Tylenol. You would never call the migraines that you could push through "the worst migraine", I assume. That's what we're talking about here, and it's very common. A migraine isn't just a headache, whether you can push through it or not.

 

While there are people who are able to continue with life to some degree or another, I don't know anyone who experiences migraine headaches and yet knows so little about them that they would claim their ability to push through it comes from some inner resolve that other migraine sufferers apparently just don't have.

 

Do you know for certain that their doctors haven't diagnosed them? The worst headache/migraine someone has ever had....is well the 'worst migraine' they have ever had.

 

If it was a random comment on Facebook, I wouldn't put too much credence to it anyways. It was just some one's rambling thought and honestly, I doubt that they meant for anyone to take it as a clinical definition of their exact pain level.

 

Maybe they aren't migraines....maybe they are, but unless you have definitive proof that they don't have migraines....be careful discounting someone else's level of pain or threshold for pain.

[Corraleno]

DH gets terrible migraines about twice/month. He's found that taking maximum doses of both Advil & Tylenol together at the first sign of migraine will often control it to the point that it stays at the ice-pick-through-the-eye stage rather than progressing to the lie-in-bed-vomiting stage. Neither of those medications works for him at. all. taken singly, but taken together at the first sign of migraine they've been surprisingly effective. He thinks it's the anti-inflammatory effects more than the pain-killing effects, but whatever the actual mechanism is, the two people he's suggested this to have had similar results, so I thought I'd throw that out there in case it might help anyone.

 

Jackie

[Corraleno]

Eventually, I wanted to die rather than deal with another moment of the pain.

I knew a policeman who had severe (although thankfully infrequent) migraines, and his family would hide all the guns when he had one because he'd gone looking for his service revolver one time to "stop the pain." :(

 

Jackie

[Melissa in Australia]

I get , have had migraines. I get two different types, the one where you are flat on your back with the curtains drawn etc, even the beating of my heart is to loud . And another that I call a dull migraine, where you can still stumble around the house, and go through the motions , they usually last for 3 days for me. I find there are actually more dangerous they are not a s painful but it is like you are in an immense fog. I have done stupid things like try to reverse the car and end up on the nature strip , running over shrubs, completely destroy dinner because I put coca into the gravy instead of gravy mix, things like that.

 

I have found that eating some salt right at the beginning helps me.

[keptwoman]

I get migraines and actually I'm quite thankful they are the type that are not completely debilitating. I have a good friend who gets the bad ones, but they last 5 hours and then she is able to function again, albiet in a fog. My migraines routinely last 3 days, with at least one foggy day after, and I get them about every second week. I do carry on with life, I do cover them up with painkillers and push through because I can't be out of action that often. But it's kind of depressing when it's minimised by others who suffer worse migraines than me. I've had these headaches regularly all my life, and for many years I did think they were just headaches, now I know better.

 

I also get silent migraines, i.e just the aura then the fog. That freaked me out totally the first time, but now I know what they are.

 

I've also recently discovered that red wine is a major trigger for me, it goes red wine=migraine. The quantity of wine is directly related to the length and strength of the migraine. I've always wondered why my winters were filled with headaches as I drink white wine in summer.

 

Anyway, I know you were just venting, but it kinda hurt.

[WishboneDawn]

I'm another person who gets migraines where the pain ranges from non-existant to moderate. Ill get the auras and fatigue, sometimes followed by the headache. There are times I need to curl up in bed for a bit but some sleep and Naproxen Sodium generally do the trick.

 

The idea that migraines have to be debilitating was what made me think my episodes weren't migraines. That got in the way of really dealing with them when they came on.

 

I think the worst culprit is not the idea that migraines are bad headaches but that they are only headaches. People don't understand all the other symptoms that can go with them.

 

I'm very thankful my migraines are not severe but they are migraines.

 

ETA: I had the auras for years. They were absolutely classic auras and I knew about migraine auras but since I often had them without pain I never connected the two symptoms. Took my eye doctor all of 1 minutes to diagnose me when I finally mentioned it last year. Funny how you can have something, have it be blindingly obvious what it is and yet never put two and two together.

Edited October 8, 2010 by WishboneDawn

[JudoMom]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

So, in all non-snarky seriousness, how does one know when it's a migraine and not an awful headache? I don't think I have ever had a migraine, but I don't know how I would be able to tell. Differences? Symptoms?

 

My middle ds has chronic headaches and migraines. When his chronic headaches are bothering him, he can ask me for meds, drink water, and often play and move (though sometimes he has to lie down with a wet washcloth and nap). When he has a migraine, all he can do is grab his head and cry and scream with pain and terror, and get to the bathroom if he's going to vomit. This is my boy with arthritis, so he's used to pain, but migraines hurt so bad they terrify him. It's one of the most heartbreaking and scary things to watch.

[Tress]

I've also recently discovered that red wine is a major trigger for me, it goes red wine=migraine. The quantity of wine is directly related to the length and strength of the migraine. I've always wondered why my winters were filled with headaches.

 

Keptwoman, if red whine is a trigger for you, you might want to find out if cheese is too. From what I've heard they contain something similar that can be a trigger. I never drink red whine, but cheese (and chocolate) are major triggers for me. BTW, I'm trying to be helpful, but if cheese is your favorite food and you can't live without it, feel free to ignore me ;).

[BikeBookBread]

Count me in as another migraine sufferer with headaches that aren't the main problem, but contributing migraine symptoms which coupled with the headaches make them miserable. The nausea, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, etc... are what throw me down. It's not to say that the headache isn't bad, but coupled with the other symptoms, I'm down... And yes, I've been physician diagnosed.

 

Mine are hormonal -- my doctor suggested that a day before my period starts I should just take my migraine medicine as a prevention. This seems to help. I'm not on Rx for them (I've taken Imitrex before, but it made me feel so yucky afterwards) currently and Excedrin Migraine coupled with a sugar Pepsi or Coke seems to work just as well as the Imitrex did (along with cold compress and dark, chilly room).

Edited October 8, 2010 by BikeBookBread

[JFSinIL]

My one son, now a freshman at college, grew up with real migraines - he even had a prescription for Zomig, and was on Depakote as a preventative. While he has grown out of them, pretty much, so does not need the Depakote... he never wants to have another migraine again!

 

I told him if he drank, that a hangover was like a migraine. (well, to me they are similar...although a migraine is worse!). I don't think he wants to find out for himself! ;)

[Pamela H in Texas]

I haven't read the rest of the thread; but really, people do this about EVERYTHING.

 

Their headaches are migraines or maybe a tumor.

Their advanced or bright kids are gifted children.

Their all boy boys are difficult, bipolar, etc.

Their sadness is depression.

Their concern is anxiety.

 

The list goes on.

 

Of course, some people have migraines. Some have challenging kiddos. Some really do have a rare disease. SOME have all of the above! Some have all of the above and a billion other things going on.

 

But it really is odd, imo, how everything is always to an extreme. No one even wants to be normal anymore, I guess.

 

Personally, I'm sick of the drama of health issues and certain other things. I usually try to downplay issues and pretend to be normal. I am dreaming of downright boring!

[EKS]

 

I'm sorry, but that stuff is not possible when you have an actual migraine headache. Maybe when you feel a migraine coming in the next little while or maybe if you have a really bad headache that's not a migraine or maybe if you have a "silent" migraine (migraine without headache) but definitely not while you're literally having an actual, real life, migraine headache.

 

 

 

Actually, just last week, I had a real migraine headache, complete with aura, throbbing pain, nausea, the whole works, and I was able to go about my day normally, schooling the kids and so forth.

 

It obviously wasn't a bad one (for which I was grateful), but it was very real.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I knew a policeman who had severe (although thankfully infrequent) migraines, and his family would hide all the guns when he had one because he'd gone looking for his service revolver one time to "stop the pain." :(

 

Jackie

:(

 

That is terrible.

[fairfarmhand]

 

Their headaches are migraines or maybe a tumor.

Their advanced or bright kids are gifted children.

Their all boy boys are difficult, bipolar, etc.

Their sadness is depression.

Their concern is anxiety.

 

 

 

 

For someone (like me) who has family members who struggle with all these issues, boring/normal seems like such a blessing.

[jplain]

I had atypical migraines when I was in my 20's. They weren't debilitating, but according to my neurologist, who seemed pretty darn competent, they were definitely migraines.

 

My point is that not all migraines are created equal. That doesn't mean whiny acquaintances actually have migraines. But it does mean one probably shouldn't assume others are lying if their migraines don't seem to be as bad as one's own.

[MariannNOVA]

[quote name=ShutterBug;2089955.my fil is a doctor and this has always bothered him too.

 

He's treated patients who have caused serious injury to themselves (put their heads on a hot stove' date=' attempted to drill into their skulls) because of the intense pain caused by a true migraine.[/color]

Years ago (like 25 years ago) there was a spot on CNN where art work depicting the pain folks experience during a migraine was shown -- the art work showed scenes similar to what you wrote above. An attorney with whom I worked happened to see the CNN spot - he apologized to me for berating me when I (infrequently) was home with a migraine.

 

If you're posting on your FB page about your "migraine" then I'd have to guess that you don't actually have one ;) .

 

For sure!:iagree:

[unsinkable]

I have never had migranes, but I do get your point. I have OCD. Diagnosed and am being treated. People around me are CONSTANTLY saying things like.."Oh, I'm so OCD today, everything needs to be just so.....or, "I'm totally OCD over my towels"...or, or, or......I just want to stand up and SCREAM, you are NOT OCD, and be THANKFUL you are not! It isn't cute, quirky or endearing like all of those **** movies make it seem. It is debilitating, destructive, depressing and MANY MANY other things. I WISH all I cared about were clean straight towels. :lol:

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I am so sorry!

 

It must be painful to hear things like that when you are suffering.

[radiobrain]

I get migraines.

 

Thankfully, I do NOT get the kind that my mother, grandmother and brother get.

 

Mine are always mild, but they are migraines. I get a blind spot, that travels from one eye to the other, my eyes feel numb, I get tingly all over, my brain feels like it is being squeezed, a bit nauseous and if I can lie down... it will subside. If I don't, it will be whacking me all day... but I can still function through it.

 

My family gets the kind that last 3 days where they are puking and need to stay in a dark room.

 

I consider myself lucky. Someday, however, they might develop into the "family headaches". For now, I am happy to have an occasional flare up. ;) I know how bad it can be.

 

However, they are real migraines. Many people have migraines that are not debilitating. Many people have headaches that they call migraines.

[The Girls' Mom]

I sympathize greatly with fellow migraine sufferers. However, only about a third of mine are incapacitating. The other two thirds I am able to go about my day, although not comfortably or happily. It's a state of nausea (but not so bad as to vomit), extreme pressure in my head, eye pain, and some fogginess. I'm not functioning very WELL, but I can function.

 

Then, unfortunately there are the ones that make me want to curl up into a ball in a dark room and put my head under 10 ton rock. With those, all life gets put on hold.

[Laurie4b]

I had a friend who developed chronic migraines around perimenopause. The diagnosis of migraine was per the doctor. She kept functioning because the alternative was to stop life altogether. She even taught Sunday school. She is my hero. It took months before they were able to give her any relief.

 

That is not to say that you don't have horrible migraines or that you lack willpower or whatever. There may be degrees of migraines. It is to say that someone can have true migraines and function.

[lionfamily1999]

I'm sorry I sounded SO ugly about them. That was immature. It's just so frustrating that I get these headaches for which I have in the past had to ask my husband to stay home from work, because I literally could not take care of my toddler (at the time), and they act like their little headache is the same thing and people with real migraines need to toughen up or something. It just feels so WRONG, you know?

No need to apologize! I feel the same way when people say they've thrown their back out :glare: Having had to drag myself by my finger tips to reach the general area of the bathroom and been unable to stand, the muscle booboos that make people walk funny are not thrown out backs.

 

BUT, I also remember that for these people, this is the worst pain ever. It's like a child weeping copiously over the death of a fly. You sort of want to say, "Grief? That is not grief," but for them, it is.

Thank-you for explaining. That does sound horrendous, and I am certain that I have never had one~~knock wood~~. :grouphug::grouphug: Your SIL sounds pretty insensitive...:grouphug:

Eh, she's coming from her own pov. If she ever has a real migraine then she'll see the error of her ways pretty quick.

[Snowfall]

...But it's kind of depressing when it's minimised by others who suffer worse migraines than me.

 

...

 

Anyway, I know you were just venting, but it kinda hurt.

 

 

I'm sorry to have seemed to minimize your experience. But what you are describing is not the same as a bad headache. That's what I mean when I say migraine headaches are not just headaches. Who has a migraine and gets on facebook mobile while driving home from work with the kid in the backseat (the most recent scenario)? It's hard to even focus with an actual migraine, precisely because of the whole myriad of symptoms, whatever they are for each individual. I guess I should have chosen my words more carefully. I was just venting.

 

FTR, I actually do know that neither of these girls have been diagnosed as having migraines.

 

But it does mean one probably shouldn't assume others are lying if their migraines don't seem to be as bad as one's own.

 

Lying, no. Not understanding that there is a difference between a headache and a migraine, yes. If you have migraines you don't get to choose whether or not this particular migraine will be debilitating. It's not a matter of getting things done because you have to. It's a matter of whether or not it will literally be possible today.

Edited October 8, 2010 by Snowfall

[laurad1125]

Why do so many people call every bad headache they get a migraine? As someone who actually suffers from migraine headaches (although rarely, thank goodness!!!) this really, really gets on my nerves! It's like comparing an ingrown toenail to gangrene of the foot.

:iagree:

 

My husband did it - once. I set him straight and he never did it again. :lol:

 

My (least) favorite response is, "Take a pill and suck it up. That's what I do."

 

Ummm, yeah. That works so well for me. Thanks. Thanks for caring, @*&@^#(!.

[mcconnellboys]

I've always known people who do this. I'm not sure why.

 

I occasionally get really bad headaches due to the problems I have with my tendons when my neck/shoulders get stressed in some way. They can last for days and they do make me want to rip my head off at times. But I've learned to manage them and I'm fully aware that they in no shape,form or fashion are "migraines". I've known folks who truly have migraines and their world shuts down completely when they're undergoing this. I have no idea why people don't understand that....

[lisabelle]

As someone who has both the occasional migraine and the occasional bad headache, I can tell you a bad headache can be pretty bad. It can still mean lying in a dark room with a cool washcloth over your head and a bucket next to you, whimpering. People *get* that about migraines. They don't necessarily get that about headaches.