Side Effects from Migraine Symptoms: The Hidden Dangers and Many Convolutions

The complexity of migraine disease causes so many side effects, the list seems endless. To add to the frustration we feel, people often tell us, “I suffer from headaches too,” knowing they probably have no idea what chemical and neurological processes are happening in our brains during a migraine attack. It’s enough to send us into a tizzy.

Beside the fact that the average person most likely doesn’t even know that migraine isn’t a headache, but rather a neurological event occurring in our brains. Unless they suffer migraine disease themselves, they surely cannot understand the complexity of the multitude of migraine side effects. How the state of migraine, with so many interrelated parts or aspects, turns our bodies into a living nightmare that often seems like it will never end! And I’m not talking about the symptoms that are side effects, like auras and nausea, but rather the ramifications of the actual side effects, and the dangers that those side effects might bring.

What is a convolution?

I actually turned to the thesaurus looking for synonyms to try to explain what I am referring to (in case you haven’t already noticed), and the word that struck me was CONVOLUTION: “Something that makes a situation more complicated or difficult”. These side effects that I am referring to are not just complications, but also convolutions. Honestly, I’ve never used this word before. I may say something is convoluted, but I’ve never used the word convolution. Other uses for it are “twists and turns” as in the intestines or the folds of the brain, or the twists of a mystery novel. (Gee, trying to figure out our migraines is like a mystery novel too! Isn’t it?)

Convolutions of migraine symptoms

These complications and convolutions of migraine symptoms are the hidden dangers that we have to navigate in addition to our agonizing pain. Every migraineur knows and lives with the side effects from the symptoms of migraines. Things like nausea, flashing lights from auras, fatigue, and brain fog. Plus, there are many unusual or uncommon side effects that are part of other types of migraines like fainting, aphasia, being frozen or unable to move, numbness in half of your body, and many more. It can be absolutely frightening to not be able to move, or thinking that you are speaking normally, only to learn gibberish is coming out of your mouth. Fainting uncontrollably or having blinding auras that completely wipe out your vision in a split second carries with it a fear of the unknown like no other. Will I go blind from my migraine while I’m driving? Will I be on the streets unable to see to get to safety? These are real fears, and true dangers, but still this is NOT what I’m talking about.

Side effects of migraine symptoms

What I want to discuss is the side effects of the side effects. Not kidding.

Many times in my life I have had photophobia so bad that I couldn’t drive home. The lights or sun held me captive inside buildings, laying on the floor in so much pain that I could barely talk... and I know I’m not the only one. Not only is this scary, but also hugely inconvenient! Thankfully, my boss drove me to my doctor for treatment, but my car was left behind at work. After my husband retrieved me and took me home, my car had to be retrieved too. So my husband called up the city bus company routes online, and figured out how to get back downtown. It took 4 bus changes and a couple of hours for him to get to my car. No danger for me that day because my boss took care of me; but what if I worked alone, or my boss had been out that day? What if I couldn’t get the medication from my doctor? What if I was single and wasn’t married to a wonderfulm understanding husband willing to go through such trouble?

Hidden dangers from migraine symptoms

There are other hidden dangers from symptoms. For instance, the vomiting can cause dehydration. Not being able to eat from the nausea can cause some people to become hypoglycemic, or if you are a diabetic, this adds an additional danger from not being about to eat or care for yourself. If you vomit frequently, the acid will erode your esophagus. Constipation from medication can leave you in a bad situation too, needing to strain to go, but the pounding headache won’t allow you to even push a little bit. This is compounded by migraines that last for days or weeks, and could lead to other intestinal complications.

As I mentioned above, fainting opens up the possibility of hitting your head, or breaking your back, like I did last time I fainted. Having the type of aura that can blind you almost instantly, unfortunately, offers endless complications and dangers. Hunting down your medication when you can’t see for 15 minutes is annoying, true, but blindly walking across your house to get to the medication can result in serious injury too. And again, what if you are driving when it occurs?

My migraine symptoms isolated me

I also live with hyperosmia (a hypersensitive sense of smell). I can’t go out in public if humans are around, or go to any activities or stores because these new super strong detergents will give me a migraine from 30 feet away. So my husband suggested adding “isolation” to my list. But this isn’t dangerous, I thought. Yet, he was right. I fell into a terrible depression the first 8 months after I was forced onto disability because of the daily chronic migraines that theses new fragrances give me. I’d been at that job for 22 years and the fragrances forced me out. I felt useless. I sat on the couch until I literally froze up from lack of movement. Unable to walk any distance or stand for more than 5 minutes, it took the physical therapist 5 months to get me back to walking again. So there is a danger there of falling into depression, and becoming weak.

Building my migraine toolkit

Not to leave this paper with only a hopeless list of hidden dangers, I want to add that living with migraine symptoms also offers some positive results too. After being blinded by my first total visual aura, I finally took the advice that other people have posted multiple times... I created my migraine toolkit immediately, putting my migraine medications in a box by my bedside table. I still had to feel my way across the house once, but you can’t have a toolkit in every room. I also created a toolkit for my purse inside a special pouch for when I am out and about, and have armed my house and car with vomit bags for when the nausea hits too quickly and severe.

Finding community changed my outlook

Another positive thing was finding all of you at Migraine.com. In my case, it has been life altering. Seriously, if I hadn’t had migraine, I wouldn’t have found Migraine.com. If I hadn’t found Migraine.com, I wouldn’t have read Holly Harding’s article about "The Guilt Trip of Migraine" and found the piece of advice that changed my outlook on migraine, chronic daily pain, and my life. Because of that article I have learned to live with a positive outlook. I have learned to find joy in the little things like a cup of tea, or a cloud. Something I might not have ever learned on my own because I was too busy, running around getting things done. Because of migraine I have learned to meditate and accept living in pain, no longer angry at migraine disease, because that is just wasting my energy. And we all know how much fatigue comes with a migraine attack. But most importantly, I no longer allow the fear of migraines to run my life. Instead, I’ve filled my life with art and music, things I didn’t have time to do until migraines slowed me down.

Yes, there are many hidden dangers in living with migraine disease. I’m sure you all can add to my list, and please do so! Please add your thoughts in the comment section below. But I want to end on this note... we may live with a disease that alters our lives, but with careful planning and a positive attitude, we don’t have to let that disease ruin our lives. We can contently carve out a place where we can find joy in spite of our pain, and that will bring us peace. May the peace be with you all.