Migraines

Migraines tend to start and are at their utmost intensity during Puberty. Why is this? They disguise themselves as many different illnesses which makes them difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. Teens experience migraines, because of the hormone changes, stress, loud sounds, and lack of sleep they encounter. Many people suffer from migraines, without headaches. Some of the symptoms are parallel to the stereotype of teenagers today, such as, irritability, depressed mood, the desire to hang out in a quiet bedroom and just be left alone, being scatterbrained and having a difficult time getting homework done, and just wanting to sleep. Now, the classic migraine is an intense, throbbing, pulsing headache that is localized on one part of the head, most often the temple; migraines tend to be much broader than that. 10% of people worldwide have migraines; women are three times more likely to suffer from them than males. Migraines tend to strike at times of hormonal changes- puberty for both men and women and menopause in women. Migraines last anywhere from 3 hours to weeks; migraines tend to be hereditary, sufferers usually get them if they have a relative who suffers from migraines or other related disorders. Most migraine sufferers can tell a migraine is coming on a few days ahead of time. Causes of migraines are poorly understood, but they have been known to associate with serotonin imbalances (too high or too low). Migraines can be triggered by growth sprurts, stress, lack of sleep, loud sounds and bright lights, physical activity, and changes in weather, by foods, including nitrates found in hot dogs and pepperoni, food additives common in snack foods and cheese. 

Symptoms: 

Headaches

Nausea and vomiting 

Auras: floating spots of dots of lights or glowing auras around bright lights. Some lose all or part of their vision.

Painful sensitivity to sound, light and touch that makes being around people unbearable

A feeling if disorientation, lack of concentration, and "spaciness"

Some people tend to exercise particularly poor judgement just before or after a migraine

Severe migraines can be associated with hallucinations

The Four Phases of Migraines:

Prodrome, Aura, Attack, and Postdrome

Prodrome. This is the easiest phase to stop a migraine from happening. Most critical is quiet, low light, and sleep.

They experience:

Uncontrolled yawning

Depression

Food cravings

Hyperactivity

Itritability

Stuff neck

Constipation

Aura. Just before a migraine sets in, approximately one in three people experience auras. Also in addition to visual auras, these can also include feeling pins and needles, vision loss (often blotting of the center of vision) or aphasia (difficulty with speech). Withdrawing from triggers at this phase can still help in avoiding a full on attack.

Attack:

Migraine onset is often marked by nausea, loss of balance, extreme sensitivity to light or sound, along with a sharp throbbing headache. Dizziness and blurred vision are often experienced. Being in a quiet, dark room help the sufferer cope. If a doctor has prescribed medication, take it within the first 20 minutes because they are the most critical. 

Postdrome:

After an attack, most people feel wipe out and spacey. Some also suffer from poor judgement during this period, while others experience mild euphoria. 

Migraines at Puberty:

Changes in hormones, stress, and lack of sleep are common characteristics of adolescence. Migraines often begin with feeling spacey, absentminded and dissassociated. Due to the fact that migraine sufferers tend to be sensitive to stimuli, they become irritable. Isolation from bright lights and loud sounds is not an unusual action to take; this can prevent a full on migraine from happening. This can also mask the fact that it is a physical problem (migraine) and not just a steroetypical teenage "funk". Nausea, lack of energy, and the inability to concentrate are often misunderstood symptoms of migraines in teens. Younger adolescents experience nausea without ever getting a headache. Nausea can be fairly regular and migraines tend to begin in September (Start of School) and March (Spring Fever), it seems to the adults that the adolescents are playing "hookey". For females, migraines tend to come and go with their menstrual cycle and then are dismissed. Seeing a doctor as early as possible is most helpful, but adolescents should also:

Keeps migraine diary -this can help find thing that trigger attacks and help avoid attacks in the future.

Maintain a regular sleep schedule.

Recognize the signs of an oncoming attack.

Learn relaxation techniques -relaxing jaws and shoulders can help relieve some  of the stress that feeds into the nerves that trigger pain. Massaging temples and the joint joining jaw to skull also triggers pain relief in many migraine sufferers.

While migraines come along with puberty, they also tend to recede later in adolescence.

While, I don't have migraines normally and if I do have one it is unsual, I have a friend who has headaches/migraines all the time and my step dad is always having to take pain medication to help ease his migraines. When they are suffering from a migraine, they get irritable and don't want anything to go with the world. The next time my friend wants to stay home and be alone, I won't take offense as if she didn't want to hang out with me, because I'll know that she is suffering from a massive headache.