Submitted by Gixy1122 t3_yhy5tt in explainlikeimfive
My head just started aching on the back left side, and a little bit above my left eyebrow (basically the whole top left side of my head.)
I’m just wondering if you guys think this is a migraine or a headache, and what the difference is!
I just read up on that actually, the pain has started to slow down but when it first started it felt like a million knives stabbing the side of my head. I appreciate the help. Thank you.
Migraines are caused by something happening inside the brain; the exact cause is still being researched. But the fact that it is inside the brain (an organ without any direct pain sensors) means that the pain caused by the migraine is not directly sensed in the location of the cause.
It also means that the side effects of a migraine are much more than just pain. Scintillating scotomas, tingling in limbs not explained by it 'falling asleep', nausea, emotional and mental confusion, sensitivity to sounds or scents or lights, these are all common enough. And for some migraines, the side effects are more hindering than the pain.
If you have a killer headache and no other symptoms, you have a killer headache. There's a chance it's a migraine (the chance is greater because it's on one side of your head edit: the fading of the pain in a few hours to a day are also a migraine symptom), but it can be any number of things; consult a doctor for advice. Now, if you have (or had in the last 12 hours) one or more of the other symptoms (the exact ones are different person to person and migraine to migraine) it's probably a migraine and you can treat it with that assumption (migraine pills are a combination of other OTC pain medications).
TLDR: migraines are a headache plus a bunch of side effects, while a headache is just pain that feels like it is coming from your head.
Interesting, thank you.
When I have a migraine, I also have visual problems, plus things seem to be happening faster than they are. It’s more than just a headache.
Yeah, I really don’t think I have a migraine after reading these. Part of me thinks I’ve never had one now but tonight my head has been pouring harder then ever, I can’t sleep or anything, I tried Tylenol and that still did no good. Thanks for your comment.
Real migrain is super uncommon and tends to be periodic.
There is thing which is sometime call false migraine. It is mainly caused outside head, ehen somesing deviates blood flows. There is listle joke how to understand if you have - you want to take hammer and break your skull. Its really painful
I hope that you are feeling better now.
Migraines affect vision and balance. They can also last for several hours and put people out of commission for days. Sometimes medical pain relievers don't affect migraines like they would help with headaches.
I had migraines when I was younger. Extreme nausea, dizziness, cold sweating, and horrible head pain. A true migraine can be debilitating, a lot more than just a nuisance or making it hard to function.
Last night it was starting to go away, so I thought it was just a terrible headache but when I goof out of bed this morning it started up again, even looking at my phone makes it very bad. Only thing I’m questioning is where the pain is, every thing online says migraines are mostly in the front of your face but my pain is on the back left.
cheekmo_52 t1_iugb0qg wrote
If you were experiencing a migraine, you would probably be too sensitive to light to post anything from a screen. It isn’t always the case, but light sensitivity is a very common symptom. You might also see “auras” around objects. The pain is generally much worse than a regular headache too.