Although someone may feel relieved after the agonizing headache from a migraine subsides, for people with this problem, their distress doesn’t end when the pain ends. There is a migraine phase called the postdrome that leaves an individual dazed, weary, confused, and achy. These symptoms are similar to other illnesses altogether.
According to recent research published in Neurology, these post-migraine symptoms are considered “migraine hangovers” and are common after almost 80% of migraine episodes. Graham Headache Center at Brigham clinical director Dr Paul Rizzoli said that there is increased focus from researchers on this under recognized migraine component.
Rizzoli explained that patients have inventive ways to describe their postdrome symptoms, unaware that they are a common aspect of migraine. For example, they say they feel drained, their brain feels empty, or they feel like they’ve had a hangover even if they weren’t drinking. Science hadn’t given this aspect of the illness much consideration until the past few years, but it’s a logical step after concentrating on the issue as a whole.
The average migraine could be a terrible experience, with symptoms including severe light sensitivity and sound, nausea, cognitive fog, and acute debilitating headaches. Migraines afflict roughly 16% of Americans and occur more frequently in women than in males. Among the main causes of trips to the emergency room are severe headaches.
Migraines can have four distinct phases, each with its unique symptoms and last anywhere from hours to days. For example, whereas the headache feels like a drill is going through the head, the pre-pain prodrome and aura stages may also feature a variety of visual abnormalities, acute irritation, speech trouble, or tingling and numbness.
After a migraine, days of postdrome symptoms might look tame, but the exhaustion, fogginess and stiff neck are just as worse as the migraines. To ease the effects of a migraine hangover, drink a lot of water, lighten the load until the pain goes away, do away with painkillers after the headache stops, and ease stress.