Whether it’s bright lights or stress that bring on the crippling pain of a migraine, the effects bring misery to thousands of people in Ireland. But by seeking advice and investigating your triggers, you could release the pressure in your head - and your life.

Often dismissed as “just headaches”, migraines can actually have a serious impact on a person’s health and lifestyle. Some 400,000 Irish people are estimated to suffer from the condition.

Susan Lyons, a medical rep from Dublin, is one such person. She started getting migraines when she was just three years of age.

“My mum thought it might be something like meningitis, but I was checked out and it wasn’t that,” she says. “As I got older, the headaches got more frequent but they were never properly diagnosed as migraines.”

Susan (31) decided to trace her birth mother when she was 23 and found out that there was a strong family history of migraines. This led to her getting diagnosed with the condition.

“I went to the Migraine Clinic in Beaumont Hospital and also got in touch with the Migraine Association. At the time, the migraines were getting worse. I had to regularly take painkillers to try and keep them at bay and the migraines were really knocking me out.”

Susan’s migraines differ from the typical presentation of the condition.

“I don’t have a lot of nausea and mine usually hit in the middle of the night when I’m asleep, which is unusual. It means I don’t get any of the warning signs of a migraine and can’t

take something for it in time. Most people who get migraines find it helps to lie down in a darkened room, but it actually makes the pain worse for me.”

Fortunately, Susan’s migraines have decreased in frequency over the past five years.

“I’m on a preventative medication and it’s cut the frequency of getting a migraine from two a week to one every four or five months. When I get a migraine now, it does seem worse because I forget how severe they can be.”

Like most other sufferers, Susan has spent a good deal of time trying to find what triggers her migraines.

“For me, food doesn’t trigger an attack. Changes in temperature can bring one on and there is a link to the menstrual cycle, though it’s not a big trigger for me.

“I find that if I have a stressful event, I’m fine in the run up to it and during it. But during the comedown, I can get bad migraines. It’s like my body releases the stress afterwards and then it hits me.”

Fellow migraine sufferer Dermot McMonagle, from Cavan, didn’t get his first migraine until he was 42.

“I did wonder what it was ,but when I described it to my son, who suffers migraines, he recognised the symptoms,” says Dermot, now 60.

“When I started to get migraines, I found it very frustrating trying to work out the best way to deal with them.

“Everyone had an opinion on what to do and what I should or shouldn’t eat. It was only when I went to the Migraine Clinic that I realised that no two people have the exact same migraines, so the advice can’t be the same across the board.”

Dermot felt the best way to manage his migraines was to get as much knowledge as possible about the causes and available treatments.

“Nowadays, I’m not getting them as frequently. I don’t take a preventative medicine as I find it’s better to treat the migraine as soon as I get the first symptoms. I’ve learnt what triggers my migraines - recently I discovered that the smell of lilies can set them off.”

Dermot is self-employed and works in PR.

“At work, I’m aware that a migraine can crop up anytime, so I tend to keep ahead so that I can take a few hours off if I need to rest. It’s also not a good idea to leave something until the last minute as stress can be a trigger.”

Dermot, who is involved in his local Migraine Association support group, says society has become more aware of migraine as a condition.

“I think that people who have migraines are also getting better at seeking help. It’s incumbent on GPs to make themselves a lot more aware of migraines and the drugs that can treat the condition.”

Esther Tomkins, a clinical nurse specialist in migraines and headaches, says that migraineurs (migraine sufferers) can be divided into three groups.

“One third of people find they can treat themselves using over-the-counter products, another third go to see their GP and another third have severe migraines and attend a specialist clinic.”

There are two such migraine clinics in Ireland - at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, and Cork University Hospital.

Esther says it’s vital for migraineurs to get a correct diagnosis and investigate their individual trigger factors.

“Trigger factors can include stress, sleep patterns, skipping meals during the day and hormonal causes,” she says. “Stress has been found to be the biggest trigger.”

The good news is that there is a range of medical treatments available.

Esther also advises that migraineurs use self-help techniques.

“Keeping a diary can help to identify what’s causing migraines and can also help people cope with the experience,” she says. “It can be a debilitating experience for people and can have a huge impact on their life. But there is a lot that can be done to help so no-one should feel they have to put up with it.”

For more information contact the Migraine Association of Ireland on Callsave 1850 200 378 or visit www. migraine.ie

Migraines - What you need to know

- Common migraines start with a headache on one side of the head and are usually accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light.

- Migraines occur when the usual balance of chemicals in the brain is altered, causing blood vessels to expand. The expanding blood vessels have an effect on surrounding tissue, and irritate the nerve endings.

- Migraines are three times more common in women than they are in men. It’s believed this is linked to hormonal changes experienced by women during menstrual cycles, pregnancy and the menopause.

- Genetics can influence your chance of developing migraines - studies have shown that 60pc of sufferers have a family history, and their mother is the relative most commonly affected.

- If someone suffers from regular headaches or what they believe is a migraine, they should still have it diagnosed by a doctor as, in rare cases, there may be an underlying condition. An MRI or CAT scan can determine if there is a more serious cause of headaches.

- Sleep can help relieve the symptoms of migraine while acupressure and self-massage can also help. If there is bright sunlight, it’s advisable that migraine sufferers wear sunglasses.
- Lisa Jewell
migraine.ie