Treating migraine is as important for your brain function as it is your quality of life. Here’s what to do.
Migraine attacks can be a painful and frustrating part of life for some people. And if you get them, you might wonder why they’re happening to you — and better yet, how you can make them go away.
A migraine attack often causes severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. But migraine attacks are complex, and not everyone will have the same set of symptoms.
Investigating and treating migraine is not only important for your quality of life but also your cognitive function. Here’s what leading experts and scientific research say about the migraine-brain connection, plus the best remedies to treat and prevent attacks.
What is migraine, and how does it affect you?
Migraine attacks can be scary and painful, and they may last for hours or even days. And the condition involves more than just headaches. It’s a neurological disorder that can also come with other brain-related symptoms like:
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Short-term cognitive issues
- Tunnel vision
- Visual disturbances (auras)
- Sensitivity to light and/or sound
The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that migraine affects more than 10% percent of the world population, including about 17% of U.S. women and 6% of U.S. men each year. According to the American Headache Society, some older adults may experience a reduction in migraine attacks. But others may start having them for the first time in their lives.
How can I prevent migraine attacks from happening?
You might wonder whether you can prevent migraine attacks from happening entirely. While you may not be able to knock them out completely, you can do things to reduce how frequent and severe they might be.
If you’re someone who does experience migraine, it’s important to track your possible triggers. According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the most common ones include:
- Beverages that contain alcohol or caffeine
- Certain medications, or medication overuse
- Food additives, such as monosodium glutamate and aspartame
- Irregular sleep schedules
- Physical strain
- Sensory stimuli, such as bright or flashing lights and strong smells
- Stress
- Weather changes
Some of these triggers can be avoided, such as by switching to decaf or avoiding red wine. Others may require some management. If stress or sleep problems are triggers for you, things such as exercise, medication, deep breathing exercises, or tai chi may help curb attacks, according to the American Migraine Foundation.
Why should I seek treatment for migraine?
It will help you feel better, for starters. If you have head pain that regularly interferes with your activities of daily life, it’s important to get that evaluated by a professional.
“If we’re able to treat the person’s headache and get their overall number of headaches down, that’s more days that they have back where they’re not cognitively impaired from their migraine,” says Shayna Y. Sanguinetti, M.D. She is an assistant professor of neurology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, and she also sits on the editorial board of the American Migraine Foundation.
Olivia Begasse de Dhaem, M.D., a board-certified neurologist and headache specialist, and a member of the American Headache Society, has more to add: “Without treatment, migraine can interfere with your ability to function, study, [and] work,” she says. “Getting treatment may help you do all the things we know are good for your brain.” That includes activities such as:
- Eating well
- Exercising
- Getting enough sleep
- Stress-reducing mindfulness exercises
Untreated migraine attacks also have an impact on your ability to socialize and interact with others. “Migraine tends to be extremely isolating,” says Dr. Begasse de Dhaem, noting that “people with pain or debilitating conditions have less social contact.”
This is known to be detrimental to many people’s cognitive health. Plus, she says, migraine is associated with both depression and insomnia, two conditions that have known connections to cognitive impairment.
What medicines are used to treat migraine?
If lifestyle changes don’t stop your migraine attacks, there are some over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications that may either relieve pain or prevent migraine headaches from happening in the first place. Some of the options include:
- Pain relievers. These include prescription or OTC medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB).
- Triptans. Given as pills, shots, or nasal sprays, these medications treat a migraine attack by blocking pain pathways to the brain. They include prescription drugs such as sumatriptan (Imitrex, Tosymra) and rizatriptan (Maxalt, Maxalt-MLT).
- Lasmiditan (Reyvow). This newer oral tablet can have a sedative effect, so it’s not a good idea to drive or operate machinery for at least eight hours after taking it.
- Botox injections. Shots of this common wrinkle-removing drug can also help prevent migraines in some adults.
Medication options depend on the frequency and severity of your migraine attacks and which specific symptoms you have. Your doctor can help you decide which course of treatment to take.
What brain issues may be caused by migraine?
Migraine attacks are often associated with brain fog, which includes symptoms such as fuzzy thinking and issues with problem solving or memory recall. In fact, one study found that people rated cognitive problems as the second most debilitating symptom of migraine episodes, right after pain.
Can migraine cause permanent brain damage?
Given the strange, overwhelming symptoms of a migraine attack — which often include intense pain on one side of the head, nausea, sensitivity to light, and visual impairments, along with the thinking and memory problems — it’s easy to assume that these episodes could scar your brain permanently.
While studies have found that migraine is associated with structural changes in the brain, experts from the Migraine Trust and the American Migraine Foundation agree that there is no evidence those changes cause damage to the brain or long-term thinking problems like cognitive decline or dementia.
“There is no established long-term cognitive impairment associated with migraine,” says Peter Goadsby, M.D., Ph.D. He is a professor of neurology at King’s College in London. He stresses that the foggy brain symptoms many people experience are only temporary.
Additional sources:
Migraine prevalence: JAMA
Migraine impact: The Migraine Trust
Cognitive dysfunction and migraine: The Journal of Headache and Pain
Migraine symptoms: American Migraine Foundation
Link between social isolation and dementia: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Survey of migraine symptoms: Cephalalgia
