Betty W Pierce
Last Updated on June 13, 2020
Even though migraines can often be confused for a simple headache, the truth is that they are different problems. The difference between a headache and a migraine has is in the level and length of the pain. While headaches are pretty common and happen to everyone from time to time, migraine headaches are chronic and can be quite devastating to the people who suffer from them.
Other migraine symptoms include sensitivity to sound and light and an utter feeling of sickness, and some people claim to experience extreme waves of heat and cold, trouble staying focused, and even diarrhea. But the truth is that this condition can affect other parts of your life, and that’s the side of migraines we are about to explore.
1. It can impact your social life
Chronic migraines can negatively impact your social life, and even though there are migraine medications that may help ease the discomfort, the truth is that this issue can last for many days.
How long migraines last will depend on the person, but if you are in excruciating pain for a few days in a row, you won’t be in the mood for plans with friends, social gatherings, or simply going out. And because some people are afraid to admit that they suffer from this condition, this ends up affecting their personal lives.
2. You may experience restless leg syndrome
A survey has come to prove that one in every six migraine patients suffer from restless leg syndrome during a migraine attack. This is something that will often occur during night time, when you are trying to fall asleep, which can cause you insomnia.
Finding out what your migraine triggers are can help you prevent migraine-related sleep issues.
3. It can affect your romantic love
Migraine relief can be achieved through skinship, but how are migraine patients supposed to be intimate with someone when they are experiencing so much pain and discomfort to begin with?
As a result, it is hard to maintain a loving relationship, as people with migraines tend to withdraw from any emotional or physical contact.
4. Your mental health
Chronic pain and depression can start a vicious circle that will quickly worsen your mental health. As a result of physical pain, patients may start feeling depressed, and the depression, on the other hand, will only highlight the feeling of pain.
Another mental health issue that affects and is affected by migraines is anxiety, as patients explain that they constantly feel anxious as to when another migraine might occur. This anxiety alone is enough to trigger a migraine.
5. It may cause you heart problems
BMJ has published a major study that states that people who suffer from migraines are 50% more likely to suffer or die from a stroke, heart attack, or heart disease.
While researchers are yet to find out why migraines cause heart-related problems, they have been able to observe that the odds are higher for women and patients who suffer from migraines with aura.
6. You may have trouble sleeping
If you ever wondered how to get rid of migraine naturally, sleep is your best answer, but here is the tricky part: sleeping while experiencing a migraine is not easy at all.
The pain can be so harsh that falling asleep might feel impossible at times. Insomnia and migraines are indubitably related, which is why treating one of these issues can improve the other.
7. The way you feel about yourself
About 70% of the people who suffer from this chronic condition have stated that it can affect their self-esteem. Even though it is a serious problem that is super hard to live with, people tend not to believe how severe the symptoms can be, and will often wave it off as a headache.
As a result, people who have never experienced this level of pain will not be able to understand why it can be so incapacitating, and this can cause the person who suffers from it to internalize other’s people’s doubts about their condition.
8. Your favorite season
While people who love the winter get excited about the first rain, and people who love the summer can’t wait for the sun to start shining, people with migraines can’t enjoy the weather changes. A percentage as significant as 81% of the sufferers claims that a tiny shift in barometric pressure can be enough to trigger a severe headache.
9. Your muscles
If your migraine doesn’t allow you to get physical exercise, you can experience muscle weakness due to this chronic condition. However, many patients claim to feel a pain that runs over their whole bodies, as their body aches and their muscles tighten.
10. Your routine
91% of the people who responded to a survey claimed that this disease has changed their daily lives and routines, preventing them from trying new things or enjoying hobbies and activities. This can be anything, from riding a bike or drinking wine to wearing perfume with a strong smell, for example.
11. Your work life
The Migraine Action Association has concluded that migraines are the primary reason people are calling in sick to work, which results in huge economic losses every year, not to mention the way it affects the patient’s career. This chronic type of headache can cause people to reduce their work schedules or to take a medical leave, keeping them from developing a consistent and successful career path.
12. Your economic life
Migraine treatments are available and often consist of a combination of lifestyle changes and a lot of medication, but they are not cheap at all. Going to the doctor is already expensive, but the vast majority of the patients have stated that they pay at least one visit to the ER every year, which adds to their medical bill.
And let’s not forget about over-the-counter medications, as well as the prescribed drugs that you needed to treat this issue.
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