Hey there! Thank you for reaching out; I’ll offer advice where I can.
The problem with migraine headaches is that they are such a nebulous concept and have so many varied symptoms it’s almost impossible to nail down the exact symptoms and diagnosis beyond a few basics:
Throbbing pain behind the eye on one side of the head
Extreme aversion to harsh light, strong smells and loud noise
Even with the vague list of symptoms I posted above there are some people who will suffer with some of them and not others, some seriously and others very mildly.
For example I mentioned blackouts, and some people experience tunnel vision. I don’t suffer from either, but I know quite a few people who do including others who have reblogged this post.
Some people experience a migraine maybe once or twice a month. For others they are every other day.
Some can work through a migraine and have it fade out by itself, while others have to go and lie down in a darkened room just to deal with the pounding headache.
Some people can tie their migraine attacks to their time of the month; in others it can be as random as waking up slightly late one day.
And then there are the mirriad of things that can set off a migraine. Atmospheric pressure, change in the weather, differing stress levels, changed diet, changed routine, medication, anxiety, alcohol, having a lie in…the list is random and ridiculous.
As a result the diagnosis and treatment for migraine can be wildly varied too. This makes it difficult for doctors to diagnose, and as I have discovered fairly recently doctors just aren’t generally trained to handle migraines as an independent condition. As your doctor said it’s easy to just say ‘it’s just a bad headache, take some aspirin’, and there are very few migraine specialists willing to look into treating them any further than prescribing painkillers (and even then they are unwilling) .
I don’t think your doctor is necessarily bad at their job. Doctors as a whole want to reassure and help their patients, and more likely they were trying to comfort you (after all some migraines are compounded by stress and anxiety!) and stop you going down the slippery road of stronger painkillers. But if symptoms like those above persist and start affecting your day to day life I suggest you go back and insist on further examination.
Don’t be fobbed off, you know your own body and you know when something isn’t right.
I recently bought a book called Migraine by Oliver Sacks. I’m only partially through it but it is such a helpful and concise study of the migraine headache through history. He discusses the symptoms via case studies dating back for centuries, as well as tackling the mystery surrounding migraines and why they aren’t more commonly discussed by the medical profession.
It’s quite a wordy book but it is also hugely comforting for anyone who suffers from migraines. It lets them know that they are not alone, that just because their symptoms aren’t as dramatic as others it doesn’t mean they aren’t valid. It seems to come from someone who understands the suffering of others and seeks to make things clearer for those who don’t. I would highly recommend it if you’re interested, as it’s far easier to get though than a medical journal. :)
As for other sources I can only point to general medical sources like the NHS:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Migraine/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Or there is the Migraine Trust, a charity to help those who suffer from migraines:
https://www.migrainetrust.org/about-migraine/migraine-what-is-it/
http://www.migraine.org.uk/information/
These are all UK based websites but the information is valid regardless of your location :)
Hopefully your doctor is right and it’s just a bad headache, but if it really is a migraine remember that you’re not alone. Your pain is valid and there are people out there who understand and can offer advice. Don’t suffer in silence.
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