Is it a Really Bad Headache or a Migraine?

Lots of people suffer from headaches all the time but are they just bad headaches or migraines? I used to have bad headaches all the time or what I thought was just a bad headache. I would get one four or five times a month. I went to see my doctor about it and found out I was suffering from Migraines. These were so bad that I couldn't move my head without it pounding. I was sensitive to light and sound and it was a constant throbbing every time I moved my head just a little bit. My doctor put me on Propranolol and it has helped me quite a bit. I still get migraines every once in awhile but only maybe a couple a month and they're not as bad as they used to be.

Many people get bad headaches and migraines mixed up. A bad headache is just that, a bad headache. But a migraine is a disease and can be life threatening. There are many symptoms of a migraine. Nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, numbness, difficulty in speech, vomiting, severe semihemispherical head pain, and aura's or light spots. If you have any of these symptoms you should consult your doctor and get it treated right away. There is no cure for a migraine but there are many treatments. Migraines are a genetically based illness. People with a single parent who suffer from migraines have a 50% chance of suffering from migraines also. My mother also suffered from migraines and so does my sister.

I know when I had migraines really bad, I thought I was dying. I had to lay down in a dark room and couldn't move until it was gone. I could take a bunch of Tylenol's or Ibuprofen and they didn't even help. Nothing helped me until my doctor put me on Propranolol. I still do suffer from them but not nearly as bad as I did. I take two Propranolol a day and it seems to help really well. There are many other prescribed drugs I could take for a migraine but my insurance won't cover them. I'm sure the newer medication would help a lot better but I can't complain since I don't get them as much as I used to.