Medically Reviewed

Migraine: Everything You Need to Know

We’ve got the doctor-approved scoop on causes, symptoms, treatments, and many other tips that make life with migraine attacks easier.

Marius Birlea, M.D.
Joel R. Saper, M.D.
Stewart J. Tepper, M.D.
Our Experts: Marius Birlea, M.D.; Joel R. Saper, M.D.; Stewart J. Tepper, M.D.
Marius Birlea, M.D.
Marius Birlea, M.D.Assistant Professor of Neurology; Director, Headache Fellowship University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Denver
Joel R. Saper, M.D.
Joel R. Saper, M.D.Director Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute Ann Arbor, MI
Stewart J. Tepper, M.D.
Stewart J. Tepper, M.D.Professor of Neurology Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Lebanon, NH

If you’re reading this, we guess you’re on a first-name basis with the mega-headache known as migraine. Perhaps you’ve just been introduced and need to confirm some information. Or maybe your concentration issues are caused by this monster’s sneaky cousin: silent migraine. (Yes, it really does exist.) Whatever migraine questions you may have, we have the answers. Here, top neurologists give you the lowdown on migraine causes, symptoms, and the best headache-zapping treatments and lifestyle changes available so you can get your life back with a lot less pain.

Basics

What Is Migraine?

You’d be forgiven for thinking migraine attacks are just really horrible headaches. They can be, but you can have a migraine without much pain at all.

Instead, you might have troubling focusing at work, feel queasy, or even vomit. You might be super sensitive to light or find that you’re seeing zigzags.

And that’s because migraine is an inherited neurological disorder, and head pain is just one of its symptoms. So-called regular headaches can cause a lot of discomfort, but they’re usually caused by a variety of external factors, from tension and hunger to blocked sinuses, neck pain, or (worst-case scenario) tumors.

Migraines can also sometimes be triggered by external stimuli, especially when such stimuli accumulate. (First, you sleep badly, and then you have a stressful day and skip lunch, for instance). Still, people with migraines have a sensitive brain that reacts to these triggers in a particular way that’s still not entirely understood.

There are three regions in the brain that seem to play an important role in migraine headaches—the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that regulates body temperature, sleep, and hormones, among other things—and the upper and lower brain stems.

Leading up to the migraine, these three areas of the brain start to change in the way they relate to one another:

  1. First, the neural cells in these areas begin sending out messages via neurotransmitters, including serotonin and glutamate. These signals activate some areas of the brain, like the parts that control sensory information (such as light and pain), and suppress others (such as the areas that control concentration and attention).

  2. In many people, this flood of serotonin and other neurotransmitters causes the release of a small protein-like molecule called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). When CGRP gets released, it leads to inflammation in the covering of the brain (called the meninges) as well as in the blood vessels, causing them to dilate. It’s that combination of inflammation and dilation that produces throbbing pain.

  3. The whole process can last anywhere from four to 72 hours.

This experience is not uncommon—migraine headaches plague 39 million Americans, or one in four American households, according to the American Migraine Foundation. Women are three times more likely to experience migraine than men (18% versus 6%), but the 10% of school-age kids who suffer from them are evenly split between boys and girls. Most people who have them are between 18 and 44, and half had their first attack before they turned 12.

These brain attacks can derail your day—and for some people, their lives. In fact, migraine is the sixth-most debilitating condition in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The American Journal of Managed Care estimates that lost productivity and health care costs tally to $78 billion a year in the U.S. alone.

Causes

Migraine Causes

So, what causes migraine? No one knows for sure. But there are some risk factors that make you more susceptible to experiencing this condition.

Genetics

About 60% of people who experience migraine attacks typically have (or had) a parent (usually a mother) who had them, too. Doctors think you inherit the sensitivity in the brain that sets the stage for an attack when your specific triggers line up. For example, if you’re predisposed to migraines and you aren’t getting enough sleep, then that lack of sleep along with, say, flickering lights can bring on a migraine.

That genetic link is strong. If your mom or dad has (or had) migraines, you have a 50% chance of having them, too. Both parents? That risk factor jumps up to 75%. Kids can suffer from migraine, as well, with symptoms ranging from dizziness to stomachaches. And there is even a theory that colicky babies cry because they have migraine, not gas. In a study of 1,400 new parents, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, discovered that moms who had a history of migraine headaches were 2.5 times more likely to have infants with colic.

Gender

More women have migraine than men, and that may have something to do with the relationship between estrogen and serotonin, concludes one systematic review published in 2021. When estrogen levels plummet—as they do quickly, right before the menstrual cycle—this drop affects serotonin and possibly other brain chemicals responsible for triggering migraine. Going through perimenopause is another high-risk time, because estrogen is fluctuating so wildly. Interestingly, at least half of pregnant women report that migraine symptoms improve during pregnancy (especially after the first trimester) in some research, likely because of the relatively high and stable levels of estrogen. The same is true for breastfeeding, which also keeps your estrogen levels from falling too fast. Yet only about a third of women don’t experience migraine during pregnancy, per the American Migraine Foundation.

So while a drop in estrogen is a trigger, not a cause of migraine, it can play an important role in this condition for many women.

Serotonin Levels

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical molecule that carries messages from one brain cell to another. People with migraine tend to have abnormal levels, per the American Academy of Neurology, during an attack, but what role serotonin plays in this condition isn’t clear. It could be that serotonin activates the pain pathways in the brain, causing the release of CGRP, or it could simply help activate the parts of the brain most susceptible to an attack.

Head or Brain Injury

A concussion or whiplash can cause migraine, and so can stroke, lesions from multiple sclerosis (MS), and infections. All of these can damage the brain so that neurons are firing sporadically or continuously in a pathological manner, generating the symptoms of a migraine.

Types of Migraine Triggers

All sorts of things can set off a migraine attack in people who are prone to them, but everyone’s triggers are different. To make things even more complicated, the very things that set you up for a migraine one day may not set it off the following week. That is because it could be the accumulation of triggers that push you over your personal threshold for migraine, not just any one thing.

Common triggers include:

  • Bright lights

  • Certain foods, especially ones that have their own chemicals that can affect your nervous system or mimic brain chemicals, like red wine or caffeine

  • Dehydration

  • Fatigue

  • Going too long between meals

  • Motion sickness

  • Poor sleep (or too much sleep)

  • Stress

  • Weather changes (like high humidity or changes in barometric pressure)

Types of Migraine

Migraine attacks are classified into three different types.

Episodic Migraine

People who experience no more than 15 attacks per month, each one lasting between four and 72 hours, have episodic migraine. This the most common type of migraine, and more women get these “infrequent” attacks than men. (There’s than 18% versus 6% stat again, though if you’re edging into every-other-day-of-the-month territory, they hardly feel infrequent, do they?) Research shows that each year about 2.5% of people with episodic migraine will progress to chronic attacks within the first year.

Chronic Migraine

If you have 15 or more attacks per month, then you have chronic migraine (CM). Only about 1.3% of women and 0.5% of men have CM, and they tend to have co-existing illnesses as well, such as depression and anxiety, well as heart disease, including high blood pressure.

Migraine With Aura

About 29.4% of those with migraine headache also experience migraine with aura, or neurological disturbance. These auras last anywhere from five to 60 minutes (though typically they last longer than five minutes) and occur before the headache strikes. They include:

  • Flashing lights or colors

  • Numbness or tingling

  • Seeing zigzags

  • Trouble getting words out

  • Tunnel vision

Not everyone experiences aura in the same way—you might get tunnel vision while your dad sees flashing lights. And the type of aura you get may change over time, too.

One other thing: People who experience migraine with aura have an increased risk of stroke—2.4 times higher than those who have migraine without aura—particularly if you’re younger than 40. (After 40, other factors, like smoking and high blood pressure, increase your risk more.) While this sounds scary, your doctor will work with you to make sure your risk stays as low as possible.

Silent Migraine

This is a subtype of migraine with aura, but without head pain. In other words, you have speech difficulties and see flashing lights, zigzags in your visual field, or other visual disturbances, but without the throbbing pain that typically follows aura. The likelihood of these attacks depends mostly on if you already experience migraine with aura or not. Research shows that only about 4% of people with migraine without aura experience them, while 38% of people who have migraine with aura sometimes also experience silent migraine.

Symptoms

Migraine Symptoms

Migraine attacks are no joke—90% of migraine patients can’t go about their normal routine, more than 25% miss at least one day of work a month, and one in three need to lie down until the attack ends, per the National Headache Foundation.

Symptoms typically happen in four major stages, following this order:

Prodrome Symptoms

Prodrome symptoms typically happen during the days and hours leading up to a migraine headache. About 60% of people experience symptoms like those listed below before an attack:

  • Bloating

  • Constipation or diarrhea

  • Fatigue

  • Lack of appetite

  • Mood swings

  • Sensitivity to light or sound

Aura Symptoms

Symptoms of aura with migraine may not happen for everyone, as it is possible to have migraine without aura. Aura typically affects your vision more than anything else.

Aura symptoms may include:

If you experience aura, the warning signs that a migraine may be on the way can be strikingly similar to the type of stroke known as transient ischemic attack (TIA). But there is a difference: A TIA is over quickly, while aura can last longer (usually from 20 to 60 minutes). However, if you’ve just had an aura for the first time that was either very short or longer than an hour and your vision was obscured, call your provider or go to an urgent care clinic to get it checked out sooner rather than later.

Attack Symptoms

The attack phase is likely what you most fear about getting a migraine. This is when your head throbs with acute pain, lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few days in severe cases, per the American Migraine Foundation.

Symptoms can include:

Postdrome Symptoms

Known as the “hangover” part of the migraine, postdrome symptoms may occur after the main, most painful part of the headache has subsided, according to the American Migraine Foundation. Symptoms after an attack can include:

  • Depressed mood

  • Euphoric mood

  • Fatigue

  • Inability to concentrate

  • Lack of comprehension

Migraine Symptoms in Children

Kids who have migraine tend to have similar symptoms as adults, though their attacks generally don’t last as long as grownups’ migraine attacks—in fact, they may not even experience the headache part.

Other symptoms may include:

  • Dizziness

  • Head pain (but not always)

  • Mood changes (your kid may get more irritable or moody for no apparent reason)

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Sensitivity to smells, sounds, lights, and touch (your child may want to retreat into a dark, quiet room, for instance)

  • Stomach pain

If your child is having bad headaches and you (or someone other family member) have a history of migraine headaches, then make an appointment with a headache specialist, if possible. The doctor will take a thorough medical history, so try to keep a record of your child’s symptoms.

When to See a Doctor for Migraine

When migraine starts to interfere with your daily activities, or you’ve progressed from episodic migraine to more than 15 attacks per month, it’s time to get help. In the last couple of years, there have been advancements in treatments for both types—and they can be life-changing.

Trouble is, many people—especially those who experience chronic migraine attacks—don’t get the help they need. It is estimated that less than 50% of those who battle migraine seek medical assistance. One study found that fewer than 5% of those dealing with symptoms have consulted with a doctor, got treated, and then followed through with treatments.

And while primary doctors can diagnose migraine attacks, sometimes it makes more sense to see a neurologist or even go to a dedicated headache doctor, or find a center that can manage your care and treat all your migraine symptoms. (Find what you’re looking for at the Migraine Research Foundation.) With just 500 headache specialists for the 39 million Americans seeking migraine relief, you may need to be persistent to land an appointment—but help is out there. So, don’t give up.

Diagnosis

Migraine Diagnosis

Migraine is a diagnosis of exclusion—your provider will have to rule out other causes before officially saying that, yes, migraine is to blame. To do this, doctors may perform any or all of the following:

Medical History

You’ll be asked to describe your headaches as your doctor asks you some questions, including:

  • Is your headache better when you lie down, or when you sit up?

  • Is your headache worse when you bend over, or when you strain for a bowel movement? Does your headache change on the weekends?

  • What makes your headache better and what makes it worse? And where does it hurt? Does it hurt anywhere else at other times?

  • Is it burning, or pounding, or throbbing?

  • When you have a headache, would you rather be in a sunny or dark room? What about a quiet room?

There’s also a set of criteria by the International Headache Society that doctors follow to make a diagnosis for migraine with or without aura. For migraine, you must have two of the following four features when it comes to headache pain:

  • It is moderately to severely intense

  • It tends to occur on one side

  • It has a throbbing or pulsating quality

  • It gets worse with routine physical activity

You also must experience one of the following two criteria during the attack:

  • Not being able to tolerate light and noise

  • Nausea and/or vomiting

If you have aura, you may experience:

  • Visual or sensory symptoms that last only as long as your migraine attack

  • Aura that comes on gradually

  • Aura that is usually followed by a headache, but not always. In fact, you may not have a headache (meaning, you have a silent migraine), or you have such a mild one that the headache isn’t very apparent.

Finally, you must have had at least five attacks in your lifetime to fulfill the diagnostic criteria for a migraine headache diagnosis, per the International Headache Society.

Imaging Tests

Not everyone needs a CT scan or MRI to rule out migraine. But to decide who does, doctors ask red-flag questions to see if there might be something more serious going on (like a brain bleed or underlying health condition, for instance). So a doctor will want to know if something happened before your headaches started.

Your physician will also likely ask if you’ve recently had an infection or a blow to the head. Or if your headaches started after the age of 50 and came upon you suddenly and very painfully (in the rare case you have an aneurysm that is leaking blood). Or if the patterns to your headaches changed in any way—you now get them every day when you used to have them occasionally, and they’re getting worse (a sign that you may have a tumor).

Treatment

Migraine Treatment

There are two types of treatment—therapies to prevent attacks, or at least lower the number and intensity of attacks (known as preventative); and treatments that you take during an attack (known as acute).

Even when you do take preventative medication, you usually need to have something on hand during an attack to decrease the pain. There are also complementary treatments, including lifestyle changes, that help keep triggers at bay.

Since 2018, new migraine meds that target CGRP have come onto the market that have sharply reduced the number of attacks people have every month. We’ll detail what’s available, plus how to treat your throbbing head pain when a migraine does show up, below.

Acute Migraine Medications

When you’re in the thick of your headache pain and need relief fast, these types of medications may be suggested by your doctor.

Pain Relievers

These are used when headaches strike and are usually sold over-the-counter (OTC), though sometimes a doctor can write Rx for stronger doses. Some of the more common ones include:

  • Aleve (naproxen sodium)

  • Advil (ibuprofen)

  • Excedrin (which contains aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine)

  • Tylenol (acetaminophen)

It’s best not to take more than the recommended dose, nor should you rely on them if you have more than 10 attacks per month. Overusing OTC pain relievers like those listed above can cause rebound headaches in people with migraine—the medication itself triggers more headaches that follow the attack. These rebound headaches go away once you stop taking too many pain relievers, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Triptans

These (mostly) oral meds target serotonin receptors in your brain and are meant to be taken as soon as you feel a migraine coming on. They usually provide relief in about 30 to 60 minutes, though they can reportedly worsen nausea.

These Rx medications aren’t recommended during pregnancy, nor for people with high blood pressure, history of strokes, or those with Raynaud syndrome, because they can narrow the arteries. And you can overuse them, too, making your migraine worse.

Medications include:

  • Imitrex (sumatriptan), which also comes in a nasal spray

  • Maxalt (rizatriptan)

Preventative Migraine Medications

These medications and injections are typically prescribed to prevent a migraine attack. They include:

Botox Shots

The same injections that can make wrinkles disappear can also prevent a migraine attack, although they are only approved for people with chronic migraine, and tend to work better for those who have many headaches a month, according to a review published in Pain Research & Management. A doctor gives you several shots (sometimes as many as a dozen or more) around your head, neck, and shoulders, and the toxin blocks the pain receptors in those muscles and nerves, preventing them from sending signals to the brain.

There are some rare but scary side effects (like drooping eyes), but the most common one is a dull pain after the injections, according to the Mayo Clinic. Each set of injections last about 12 weeks, and you have to prove that you’ve tried other treatments without success before getting the Botox green light from your doctor.

CGRP-Targeting Medications

These new drugs, some of which prevent attacks in the first place, come in the form of shots (either done in a doctor’s office or by you at home) or tablets. They block CGRP molecules or its receptors, so the chemical doesn’t flood the brain during an attack.

The preventatives, most monthly injections, are designed to cut the number of migraine attacks and have few side effects, mostly pain at the injection site and constipation. And the preventatives can be so effective at decreasing the intensity of a migraine (as well as how often it happens) that you might just need an OTC pain reliever during an attack. They include:

  • Aimovig (erenumab)

  • Ajovy (fremanezumab)

  • Emgality (galcanezumab)

A new, once-daily oral medication that is also a preventative was approved and launched by the FDA in late September 2021. It is called:

  • Qulipta (atogepant)

Other oral meds are taken during an attack to relieve the pain. These include:

  • Nurtec (rimegepant)

  • Ubrelvy (ubrogepant)

All these CGRP-targeting medications are FDA-approved for both chronic and episodic migraine attacks. In order to get insurance to pay for them, you have to prove you have tried the older meds (like triptans) and they’ve failed.

Off-Label Drugs

Sometimes doctors will prescribe drugs that are meant for other conditions in an effort to prevent headaches. These include:

  • Antidepressants. These include Prozac (fluoxetine) or Zoloft (sertraline) to help raise serotonin levels

  • Anti-seizure drugs. These include Topamax (topiramate); they block excess glutamate, another neurotransmitter involved in migraine

  • Birth control pills. These are for women who have migraine before their periods unless they have migraine attacks with aura. Those women have a higher risk of stroke, so doctors are reluctant to put them on hormonal contraception, which raise the risk about seven times higher than women who have migraine attacks without aura and who are not on birth control.

Common treatments for migraine: pain relievers, triptans, targeted meds, botox shots
Nikki Cagle

Non-Drug Devices

If you don’t want to go the drug route, you can try a pulsating device that blocks migraine pain by sending electrical signals to the brain. These devices include:

  • Cefaly device. This electrode is attached to a strap (it looks a bit like a small heart-monitor) that you wear on your forehead. You can use it during an attack, leaving it on for an hour as it buzzes the nerves going into the brain. You can also use it every evening for 20 minutes to prevent pain.

  • Nervio. This is a patch you wear on your arm that you activate during a migraine with a cellphone app. It sends signals to your brain stem to block the pain. It’s only approved for people with episodic migraine attacks.

  • Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation device (sTMS). This is about the size of a shoe and contains a magnet that pulses. You put it on the back of your head and the magnetic pulses stimulate electrical activity in the brain. You used to twice a day to prevent migraine, and give yourself four more pulses during an attack.

Preventing Your Next Migraine Attack

Along with medical treatments, you can also try improving your daily habits that may be setting you up for migraine attacks. Some of the more common lifestyle suggestions by doctors include:

Eating Healthier

No shock here, large amount of caffeine and alcohol intake can be associated with increased frequency of migraine. The correct kind of diet can help alleviate triggers that spark a migraine attack. Obesity has also been found to cause or worsen migraine symptoms, so it is important to consult with your doctor to find out what diet and exercise plans are best for you. Start here until you talk to your doctor about helpful diet plans.

Getting Better Sleep

People with migraine often have trouble drifting off or staying asleep, according to the American Migraine Foundation. They also may have sleep apnea and other sleep busters that leave them feeling unrefreshed when they wake up. If this is true for you, a doctor may work with you to ensure better sleep. A few ways to do this include:

  • Ditch digital devices before bed. The blue light of your screen right before you go to bed can keep you awake, and if it’s out of sight, you won’t be tempted to look at it if you wake up at 3 a.m.

  • Good sleep hygiene. Going to bed and waking up at the same time help regulate our bodies circadian rhythm, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up every day.

Managing Stress

While the scientific relationship between stress and migraine remains a mystery, research shows that those with better stress management skills do see relief alongside proper medical treatment. Stress can often be a trigger of migraine. Meditation, mindfulness, yoga, biofeedback—all these are proven stress relievers. Finding the best method for you may help alleviate symptoms and hopefully decrease triggers that could cause bad episodes. Read this article from the American Migraine Foundation for additional ways to deal with stress as a migraine trigger.

Living With

What’s Life Like for People With Migraine?

For people with episodic migraine, life is pretty normal between headaches. But since you can’t anticipate attacks, your life can get unpredictable. Chronic migraine attacks can be disabling emotionally and physically. Your productivity goes down and there’s a lot you cannot do.

There are also a number of co-existing conditions that can occur in people with migraine, especially those with chronic migraine. These can include:

Communities

Where Can I Find My Migraine Community?

Top Migraine-Related Instagrammers

Follow because: If you’ve looked up “migraine” on Instagram before, you’ve likely already stalked Amy’s feed. But if you’re new around here, Amy should be one of your first migraine follows. Since she started having headaches in 2015, she’s documented every step of the way, from her first neurologist appointment to her pain and activity tracker, and everything she’s learned about this headache-of-a-world.

Follow because: He deems himself the “health detective”—probably because, if there’s an alternative and holistic treatment for migraine, he’s going to hunt it down, try it, and tell you all about it. He believes in the connection between the brain, gut, and hormones, so his alternative treatments target the trifecta. The info makes for an interesting (and worthy!) follow but always be sure to check with your doc before going on your own alternative treatment journey.

Follow because: Sometimes lifting the spirit with humor is the best thing you can do when struggling with a chronic illness like migraines. Paula and her fellow advocates post the painful, but admittedly funny, struggles of dealing with migraine—like when you forget to eat, so you’re hungry, but you’ve also triggered a migraine, so you can’t eat because you’re nauseous.

Follow because: Her migraine attacks don’t care if she’s homeschooling her son, doing a speaking engagement for a migraine activist group, hang for days, sometimes weeks. Despite all that, she pushes through to be a mom and advocate—and that alone will push you along, too.

Top Migraine-Related Podcasts

  • The Headache Doctor Podcast. Jonathan Taves, M.D., explains the how, what, and why of headaches and all of its kinks, sans the medical talk. He explains what’s happening in your body when you have symptoms, why specific foods can trigger migraine attacks, and even why how your sitting can affect your pain.

  • The Headache 360 Podcast. Through a perfect mix of interpersonal stories and scientific background, Adam Lowenstein, M.D., provides in-depth conversations surrounding all different kinds of headaches and migraine attacks. He even hosts episodes dedicated to Q&A, where you can submit your own questions to be answered.

  • The Migraine Miracle Moment. While this podcast is hosted by neurologist and migraine sufferer Josh Turknett, M.D., it is not heavy on the medical jargon. It simply talks about his experience with migraine, how he helps it with diet and lifestyle changes, and features others who have had success curbing their migraine attacks with alternative treatments, too.

Top Migraine-Related Orgs and Support Groups

It’s good to find organizations and groups that are all dedicated toward researching the causes of migraine attacks and raising awareness about this condition. Even though there are millions of people just like you, many of them don’t get the help they need.

  • American Migraine Foundation. Their “find a doctor” feature on their site is a draw in and of itself. Beyond that, their patient guides contain easy-to-digest information and they have endless ways of getting involved with your migraine community.

  • Association of Migraine Disorders. If you find yourself wanting to learn more and get involved, you’ll want to become a part of this community. They create fun campaigns (like #shadesformigraine) to help build awareness, and they provide tons of education for you and your family so you can beat migraine together.

  • Chronic Daily Headache and Migraine Support Group. This private Facebook group has about 28,000 members from around the world and is open to migraine and other chronic headache patients and those who love them who post about 80 times a day. It’s worth checking out if you want the support of people who know what you’re going through.

  • Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP). Their guides for overcoming insurance barriers, how to navigate COVID-19 with migraine, and resources for disability will make you feel empowered and even somewhat at ease. Their guidance is priceless.

  • Migraine Research Foundation. Like the AMF, this non-profit provides a list of dedicated headache doctors as well as headache clinics.

  • Migraine Strong. They’re a fierce group of women who battle their migraine pain in a variety of different ways, and they welcome you with open arms into their support group. Tune in from afar by reading their stories and blog posts, or chime in to the conversation in their public Facebook group.

Migraine
Frequently Asked Questions

Typically, anywhere between four and 72 hours. Those with chronic migraine (more than 15 attacks a month) tend to have headaches that last longer (but still within that window).

Normally, you get a throbbing, pulsating pain on one side of your head, and you feel queasy. You might also be super-sensitive to bright lights or loud sounds. Some people get dizzy, too. One in five patients experiences an aura right before the headache part—either flashing lights, zigzags, or bright colors—or sometimes has trouble speaking or thinking of words. Sometimes the aura takes the form of obscured vision (like tunnel vision).

You can either prevent migraines from happening via drugs or devices that stimulate your brain, or you can take meds to stop an attack once it comes on. These medications range from pain relievers like Advil to newer drugs that target specific brain chemicals thought to be causing the pain.

Your genes, basically. Most people with migraine have a parent who had them and that makes your brain more vulnerable to certain triggers, whether it’s stress or smells or your hormones. When something sets off an attack (say, sleeping in on Saturday or drinking a glass of wine), there’s a reaction inside your brain that affects the parts responsible for feeling pain as well as processing light and sound.

This article was originally published May 15, 2020 and most recently updated July 13, 2022.
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Shaheen Lakhan, M.D., Neurologist: