MORE THAN JUST A HEADACHE

Do You Know What Migraine Really Is?

- TIM CRAIG

It kind of feels like a vice grip on my head, almost similar to feeling like your head’s being stabbed.”Amy Beatty is describing what her typical migraine feels like. Beatty, from Winter Haven, has been getting migraines since she was 16. Now, the librarian and mother of two recognize when a migraine is around the corner.

“For me, when I start to get visual disturbances, like colors or bright lights in my field of vision, I know there is going to be paid within the next couple hours,” she says. “Sometimes the trigger is that there’s an extra amount of energy about a day before and I feel like I’m moving really fast.”

Beatty is one of 39 million Americans — and over a billion worldwide — who suffer from migraines. June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, but still, migraine is an often-misunderstood condition that is the third-most-prevalent illness in the world.

Migraine or Headache: What’s the Difference?

Headaches are classified into two main groups: primary, which refers to independent conditions that cause pain in the head, and secondary, which occur as a result of another condition. Primary headaches include tension headaches. Secondary headaches are ones that come as a part of another condition, like a sleeping disorder or inflammation.