Health and Lifestyle

The risk of stroke is about twice as likely for migraine sufferers than it is for people who do not get migraines, but those with headaches should remember that the overall risk of stroke remains low. Not all people who experience migraines have a stroke.  The link between migraine and stroke risk is unknown. Although one explanation could relate to a decrease blood flow to the brain seen with migraines, which is also a factor when artery blockages cut off blood to the brain resulting in a stroke. What is a migraine? A migraine is a type of headache, caused by spasms of the arteries leading into the head.  An intense throbbing pain often on one side of the head typically characterizes it. Some migraine sufferers also experience auras, which can include one of more of haloes, flashing or floating lights, lightning bolts, photophobia, scotomas, blurred vision or eye pain.   Sometimes the sufferer also experiences weakness, language problems or other neurologica...

What is Abdominal Migraine - Anyone who has ever had a migraine will say they do not just happen in the head. The headache is usually the worst and most painful part of a migraine, but there is more.  Most migraineurs (people who suffer from migraines) will talk about photosensitivity (sensitivity to light), phonosensitivity (sensitivity to sound), scent sensitivity, gastric pain, cramping, and vomiting. Sometimes the abdominal symptoms show up without the other typical migraine symptoms.  When they do, a patient is said to be experiencing an abdominal migraine.  An abdominal migraine is pain, usually varying from mild to medium, in the abdomen.  The pain is either along the midline or unspecified and is frequently accompanied by abdominal tenderness, cramp-like spasms, bloating, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Since abdomen pain can be caused by a wide variety of conditions other causes need to be ruled out before a diagnosis can be made.  In a classi...