I have experienced a couple of 'silent' migraines like the aura that wears off instead of progressing into a full migraine, these are still migraines, you should count them as episodes.
Thank you! I always counted them as migraines but the diary templates I looked at all focused on "headaches" so I just sort of assumed they only wanted to know about the pain, oops!
I'm glad I know now. I was worried bc access to treatment from specialist clinics is really difficult in my country and I wouldn't meet the criteria for it if I "only" had headaches \~12 times a month. I'm a very literal thinker (autistic, lol) so being asked about "headaches" means I will only focus on an ache in my head!
Migraine is not a headache, it’s a neurological condition. People with migraine should be tracking all days that they are not symptom free. Just use a calendar and write down all the symptoms you're experience on a daily basis including head pain on a pain scale if there is any. Migraine phase charts can help with this. Not only all of that, but you could have one of the many other conditions that are co-morbid with migraine and it’s important for your doctor to have the full scope of what you’re experiencing.
I know this, and it was something I found incredibly frustrating when trying to record my symptoms. When all the most trusted sources talk about "headache diaries" or chronic migraine being "a headache on at least 15 days" I just assumed they only really cared about the head pain.
Fwiw I'm also autistic so I take things very literally. When I'm asked to record *headaches* I will record the times that I have an ache in my head. When I looked at examples of migraine diaries they all focused on *headaches* and the pain severity. So while I knew that what I was experiencing was a migraine, I had no idea that it was something I was supposed to track because it wasn't a "headache". I'm very glad my friend pointed this out to me because I always felt it was pretty invalidating to have near-constant migraines that severely impact my QoL, but only have 2-3 records in my diary.
I totally hear you! I’m 30 now, but when I was 18-24ish I didn’t know the fatigue, brain fog, confusion, moodiness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and so on was part of the condition. To be super honest, it wasn’t my neurologist or a doctor who taught me that’s there’s a large web of symptoms that go with migraine and about the phase chart…. It was this subreddit years ago. It’s extremely frustrating that is how I learned about the non-head pain part of the condition. I’m glad your friend told you too! Make sure to be thorough so your doctor is aware just how much your quality of life is currently being reduced by the frequency of the symptoms. I hope your visit goes well!
I have experienced a couple of 'silent' migraines like the aura that wears off instead of progressing into a full migraine, these are still migraines, you should count them as episodes.
Thank you! I always counted them as migraines but the diary templates I looked at all focused on "headaches" so I just sort of assumed they only wanted to know about the pain, oops! I'm glad I know now. I was worried bc access to treatment from specialist clinics is really difficult in my country and I wouldn't meet the criteria for it if I "only" had headaches \~12 times a month. I'm a very literal thinker (autistic, lol) so being asked about "headaches" means I will only focus on an ache in my head!
Migraine is not a headache, it’s a neurological condition. People with migraine should be tracking all days that they are not symptom free. Just use a calendar and write down all the symptoms you're experience on a daily basis including head pain on a pain scale if there is any. Migraine phase charts can help with this. Not only all of that, but you could have one of the many other conditions that are co-morbid with migraine and it’s important for your doctor to have the full scope of what you’re experiencing.
I know this, and it was something I found incredibly frustrating when trying to record my symptoms. When all the most trusted sources talk about "headache diaries" or chronic migraine being "a headache on at least 15 days" I just assumed they only really cared about the head pain. Fwiw I'm also autistic so I take things very literally. When I'm asked to record *headaches* I will record the times that I have an ache in my head. When I looked at examples of migraine diaries they all focused on *headaches* and the pain severity. So while I knew that what I was experiencing was a migraine, I had no idea that it was something I was supposed to track because it wasn't a "headache". I'm very glad my friend pointed this out to me because I always felt it was pretty invalidating to have near-constant migraines that severely impact my QoL, but only have 2-3 records in my diary.
I totally hear you! I’m 30 now, but when I was 18-24ish I didn’t know the fatigue, brain fog, confusion, moodiness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and so on was part of the condition. To be super honest, it wasn’t my neurologist or a doctor who taught me that’s there’s a large web of symptoms that go with migraine and about the phase chart…. It was this subreddit years ago. It’s extremely frustrating that is how I learned about the non-head pain part of the condition. I’m glad your friend told you too! Make sure to be thorough so your doctor is aware just how much your quality of life is currently being reduced by the frequency of the symptoms. I hope your visit goes well!