Transformed Migraine - The Basics
by Teri Robert, MyMigraineConnection Lead Expert
Transformed Migraine
(TM) is Migraine which began manifesting in episodic Migraine attacks,
increasing in frequency and changing characteristics, and resulting in almost
daily less severe headaches punctuated by severe and debilitating Migraine
attacks.
Patients with
Transformed Migraine often share these characteristics:
- A
history of episodic Migraine beginning in their teens or twenties.
- Most
are women, 90% of whom have a history of Migraine with aura.
- Medication
overuse.
The process of
transformation is often characterized by:
- Migraine
attacks that became more frequent over a period of months or years.
- These
attacks were accompanied by phonophobia, photophobia, and nausea, but
these symptoms became less severe and less frequent.
Characteristics of
Transformed Migraine:
- A
pattern of daily or almost daily headaches that seem to be a mixture oftension-type
headaches and Migraine attacks.
- Pain
that drops in severity to mild to moderate.
- Pain
isn't always accompanied by phonophobia, photophobia, or nausea.
- Other
Migraine symptoms may persist including unilateral pain, gastrointestinal
symptoms, and aggravation by othertriggers.
Summary:
"Normal"
episodic Migraines can increase in frequency and change in characteristics to
produce almost daily headaches in addition to severe Migraine attacks. Medication
overuse is a factor in approximately 80% of Transformed
Migraine cases. Treatment generally involves discontinuing medications that are
being overused and working to find effective preventive regimens. Often, when
medication overuse is solved, the daily headache subsides and the Migraines
return to being episodic and more easily managed.
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