These are some of the questions asked by people who have their first migraine attack.
The "pathophysiology" of a disease or illness traces the origin and the irregularities in the normal functioning of our body system.
Because a migraine is said to be vascular in nature, or is triggered when there is an irregularity in our blood vessel activity, it helps to at least understand how the blood flows around our body to supply oxygen to all our organs.
It helps a lot to speak with a qualified doctor about your migraine - to ask relevant questions, and to manage your migraine better.
So, humour yourself and read through the next few paragraphs to get a clearer picture of the issues mentioned above.
Blood is the reason why we are alive. It carries oxygen to all our organs to make them function well through 2 types of blood vessels - arteries and veins.
Just think of the heart as it were like a water pump that has 2 interconnected hoses hooked up to it. An artery carries the oxygen-rich blood that has just been pumped out of the heart into one of a hose-type blood vessel. The veins on the other hand carry the carbon dioxide rich blood back to the heart for recycling into being oxygen-rich again.
When one is having a migraine attack, the so-called temporal artery (the artery that is located outside of our skull just underneath the skin of our temple) dilates or is enlarged, then, the so called nerve fibers that surround or are coiled around our blood vessels are overstretched and the nerves shed off chemicals into our blood stream.
The said chemicals are responsible for causing inflammation (swelling of the artery), pain, and also causes the artery to enlarge (become bigger) a bit more. When the artery enlarges, the pain intensifies further because it only has a small space in between our skull and the skin and a bigger amount of blood is being forced to pass onto a small space.
Imagine a water hose that is squeezed in to fit a small space. When you open the faucet with the usual amount of water pressure, the water flow from the hose would be limited because of the small space limit that the hose is fit into and, because of the water pressure, the hose is stretched a bit and can sometimes cause some fragments of the hose material to shed off into the water that would eventually flow through.
If you try and touch the hose, you will feel that it is somewhat throbbing. This is similar to what happens during a migraine attack and why migraines usually affect only one side of the head.
In addition to this, migraine attacks are known to activate the sympathetic nervous system of our body. The sympathetic nervous system is often described as the part of our nervous system that is responsible in controlling our responses to pain and stress - the so called fight or flight response.
The fight or flight response is our body's natural defense mechanism against threats. What happens when one has a migraine attack is that, because of the decreased blood flow from the blood vessel or artery in our temple, blood circulation to the rest of our organs is reduced.
Because of this, the blood vessels leading to both our kidneys and our digestive system are constricted or shrink as the body's fight or flight response tries to shut down the systems that are not essential for the battle to allow all the body systems to receive an ample amount of blood in order to function normally.
As a result, saliva in the mouth is reduced and the emptying of the food in the stomach is delayed. The reduced amount of saliva leads to experiencing dizziness (nausea), vomiting, or the bladder and bowels open up (diarrhea) to minimize the need of the digestive system and kidneys for blood supply.
In instances when you experience any of these signs, it is still best to consult a doctor. Early detection leads to prevention of the worst possible complication.
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