1% Thursday: Warning Signs

Make it a habit to watch for warning signs.

Even for those of us that try to keep track of migraine, cluster headache or whatever-kind-of-headache symptoms from day to day still miss these.  It’s usually not hard to miss the main symptoms – headache, dizziness, nausea – whatever it is for you.  And quite often we can point to one or two possible triggers in each attack (oh, it was that glass of wine – or I skipped breakfast).

Learning to recognize the warning signs are a little trickier, especially when they’re quickly overshadowed by a wave of incredible pain.  But it’s worth paying attention.

In migraine, we call these premonitory symptoms (formerly prodrome).  They can arrive right before the major part of the attack, or even a day or more earlier.  Some common symptoms?  You feel unusually tired.  Your neck feels stiff.  You have trouble focusing, even trouble speaking.  You look pale.  Or you start yawning a lot.

What’s the use of noticing these symptoms?  First, it may help you correctly recognize your triggers, if you know when the migraine chain-of-events started.  Second, it often helps to take medication earlier in the attack.  The premonitory phase may be too early, but it will put you on the alert.  Talk to your doctor about when to take your medication.

And we’re not just talking about medication – avoiding further triggers, perhaps getting hydrated, or going for a walk, or getting some rest – there may be things you can do to minimize your coming attack.

If you don’t have a migraine or headache diary, print one out and start watching for those early symptoms.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better.  Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge.  Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!