Headaches

Ok, I've the ridiculuous headache for 2 days now and have been having a difficult time focusing on anything else, so lets just discuss headaches today. I'm currently on Excedrin Migraine, and Dr. Mom came over today and filled me with feverfew, ginger, acai berry and other natural remedies, so lets see how that helps. I also went to the chriopractor and she thinks it's a tension headache and re-aligned my whole backside. First reactions, feeling somewhat better, just still pretty sore.

Most of my medical knowledge comes from WebMD. I often find it interesting how little most of us know about our own bodies. WebMD.com is full of articles about almost everything you could ever think of. A lot of todays blog will be cut and paste from their website.

Headache pain results from signals interacting between the brain, blood vessels, and surrounding nerves. During a headache, specific nerves of the blood vessels and head muscles are activated and send pain signals to the brain. It's not clear, however, why these signals are activated in the first place.

There are several types of headaches - 150 diagnostic headache categories have been established! The exact cause of most of these headaches are unknown.

Tension headaches are most common in adults, more common in females. There is no single cause for tension headaches. This type of headache is not an inherited trait that runs in families. In some people, tension headaches are caused by tightened muscles in the back of the neck and scalp. They say it could be from stress. I don't think I've been stressed. I can only think I was stressed last week dealing with all the crazy CA drivers, but I don't think I let that get to me.

Unlike migraine headaches, there are no associated neurological symptoms (such as muscle weakness, or blurred vision) in people with tension headaches. In addition, severe sensitivity to light or noise, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting are not symptoms usually associated with tension headaches. That would be a yes, yes, yes, no for me.

People with tension headaches commonly report these symptoms (I've got all of these):
Mild to moderate pain or pressure affecting the front, top or sides of the head
Headache occurring later in the day
Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
Chronic fatigue
Irritability
Disturbed concentration
Mild sensitivity to light or noise
General muscle aching

Now on to Migraines
Again, exact cause unknown, but they are related to blood vessel contractions and other changes in the brain as well as inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain. Migraine pain is moderate to severe, often described as pounding, throbbing pain. They can last from 4 hours to 3 days and usually occur 1 to 4 times per month. Migraines are associated with symptoms such as light sensitivity; noise or odors; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and stomach upset or abdominal pain.

For many years, scientists believed that migraines were linked to expanding and constricting blood vessels on the brain's surface. However, it is now believed that migraines are caused by inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain.
There is a migraine "pain center" or generator in the brain. A migraine begins when hyperactive nerve cells send out impulses to the blood vessels, causing them to clamp down or constrict, followed by dilation (expanding) and the release of prostaglandins, serotonin, and other inflammatory substances that cause the pulsation to be painful.

Other common types of headaches,
Mixed (Also called transformed migraines) - a combination of migraine and tension headaches.
Cluster - the pain of a cluster headache is intense and may be described as having a burning or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant.
Sinus headaches - deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or bridge of the nose.
Hormone - Often associated with changing hormone levels that occur during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.