"Today I woke up with a

tremendous

migraine

. They give me since I was little, and I already feel better because they give me like an aura, it comes with little lights in all your vision. It's horrible, a terrible thing. But here we go. Migraine, but nothing stops me ".

This is how the Mexican singer

Thalía

told

on her social networks how she has lived with intense headaches since she was 14 years old.

Like her, thousands of people suffer from

headaches

and migraines, a problem faced by 51% of Europeans and more than 12% of the Spanish population, specifically more than four million people, according to data from the latest study by the

Society Spanish Society of Neurology

(SEN).

And that affects women much more. In fact, they are 80% of patients with chronic migraine and there is even a specific type: menstrual migraine, the one suffered by tennis player

Serena Williams,

which produces crises in the days before and during

menstruation

. Also, migraine attacks that occur near this time are more severe, last longer, and respond worse to treatment. And another fact in women: more than 85% of women who choose artificial lactation have migraines in the first month after giving birth.

"You never know when a crisis is going to hit you, although over time, you learn to distinguish some of its symptoms, something that sometimes helps and sometimes doesn't help much," says

Patricia Ripoll,

42, who has been dealing with with disabling

headaches

from the age of seven. "It is the first great crisis that I remember, as a child. It was summer, pool time, but I was fatal, in bed without being able to move," she remembers. Since then, a non-stop, until in 2016 it became a chronic migraine. A time that he remembers as a real ordeal. "Every day I had a crisis, a daily migraine, I was out for a year."

And a situation that few understand, especially companies. "At first there were no problems, but then came the uncomfortable questions," he confesses. And that ended up taking its toll. Although on a voluntary basis, Patricia left her job as commercial director of large accounts in the company, a stressful job that does not help, to continue her professional path as a freelancer; it is the way to organize and manage your time when crises arrive. "The migraine forced me to change jobs, but thanks to it I am doing things that I am passionate about and fulfill," she tells us. Among others, the blog 'Mama has migraine' and the website 'Let's make the invisible visible', to expose what this problem means - "and others such as endometriosis or fibromyalgia",aim- both in personal and professional life and to help people like her have a place in companies.

A migraine brain

Patricia discovered very early what it means to have a "migraine brain", because pain is most often aroused during adolescence.

"Migraine affects more women as a result of puberty," says Dr.

Jesús Porta-Etessam

, coordinator of the

Migraine Unit of the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid

and vice president of the SEN, "hormonal changes make genes migraine triggers. "

For this reason, there are several especially critical moments for the problem to appear, one of them "

adolescence

, and especially a later one, from the age of 45, when

perimenopause

occurs

, due to the risk of chronification", he says. Porta-Etessam.

When it happened to Patricia and her migraine became chronic, she was sunk.

"It's unbearable, I spent days crying, so bad that I couldn't do anything ... you're defeated."

And besides, he felt guilty, absent from the life of his family and his children, aged 13 and 9.

"My son was asked when he was seven what a migraine was. 'That someone from your family is missing,' he answered. He stole from his mother. Listening to him was devastating. Yes, it steals your life."

Patricia Ripoll, author of the blog 'Mom has a migraine', with her two children.

Migraine is not a minor problem because it is widespread, half of those who suffer from it have a

serious or very serious

degree of

disability

, says the

Atlas of Migraine in Spain.

Enough to leave you bedridden, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. "We had booked a few days in a hotel on a cliff with a beautiful view of the sea, but we had the room right over the pool. The noise was enough to wake up the monster and I spent the whole vacation without getting out of bed, with everything closed and in complete

darkness

. Not even then was it enough to quell the

pain

, I've never wanted to go home more, what was going to be a quiet trip turned into hell ", confesses IG, 50, who has suffered from migraines for decades. When the pain is unbearable, the only solution for her is going to a hospital for a shock treatment. "It was where I ended that vacation, the

usual

painkillers

are not enough," he recalls.

The impact of this disease is especially serious in the workplace and in the family, and is frequently associated with symptoms associated with

depression or anxiety

. In fact, it is recognized by the World Health Organization as the disease that causes the most days of sick leave. "It is very disabling," says Dr. Porta-Etessam, "and is often accompanied by

nausea

and vomiting, although despite this it is a poorly recognized and treated pathology." "You can't even imagine what it feels like when you are forced to sit on the floor of a public bathroom, where you wouldn't even enter in normal conditions, after throwing up. It's horrible. Or take a taxi and they think you've drunk." , says Patricia.

She has a recognized 36% disability.

"It is a very hard step to take, but it must be taken," he says.

And he claims to have learned to live with migraine.

"Doing it has been similar to overcoming a grieving process, I have gone through all the stages, anger, denial ..., until I have reached acceptance. It has no cure and you have to live with it. In a different way with this disease, it continues to steal many moments of my life, but I have made peace. At the moment I suffer 12 seizures a month; compared to 30 it is a luxury, because I can enjoy the rest of the days. The objective is that time without pain be of quality ".

Patricia Ripoll now suffers an average of 12 crises per month;

in comparison, "a luxury".

A chronic problem

But when does a

headache

stop being 'normal' to become a migraine? We asked the specialist. "Migraine is a pathology of the human brain and it is very specific, so much so that we can diagnose it by the symptoms of the patients. It is characteristic that sometimes the pain acquires a

pulsating

quality

, like the heart, which is disturbed by the lights and worsens with the When you arrive you have to seek tranquility and avoid

sensory

stimuli

, lights, noises ... ", answers Porta-Etessam.

At this point, the doctor insists on distinguishing two types of migraine,

chronic

and

episodic

, which must be treated in time to avoid becoming chronic. "Let's imagine someone whose head hurts for more than half a month," he explains, "and from that time, eight days a month the pain is very

limiting

. It's horrible, that's three months a year with a migraine and more than six with a headache. , horrible".

What can be done?

To begin with, avoid

self-medication

and go to a specialist doctor to personalize a treatment, an essential condition for it to work.

"We must get to know the person, what they work for, their hobbies and decide on a tailored treatment. A comprehensive evaluation,

specific

treatment

and follow-up

is always necessary

, and avoid taking excessive medication," says Porta-Etessam.

Nowadays, the most appropriate thing is to act early at the first symptoms, taking "

anti-inflammatories

at the appropriate doses depending on the pattern of the seizures and looking for a quiet place to try to rest until the pain subsides."

The diet that relieves migraine

"I'm one hundred percent sure that it started in my

stomach

, because of something I ate. Some mixtures cause me a migraine. If I combine strawberries with chocolate, if I eat a lot of melon or very spicy things," said Thalía. Is it true that some foods can trigger pain and trigger a migraine? "Yes, but really

food

only triggers migraine in 20% of patients," answers Dr. Porta-Etessam. "The most

frequent

are nuts, citrus fruits, preserves, dairy products and sausages. Another different situation is coffee: if it is taken in excess, reducing its consumption can induce headaches, something that often coincides with the weekend. Plus excess

caffeine

it is a risk factor for chronification ", he points out.

By cons, there are also

friendly foods

.

To alleviate migraines it is necessary to "promote the consumption of vegetables, legumes, vegetables, fish ...", that is, follow the

Mediterranean diet

and "avoid precooked and fried products. It is also important to avoid fasting, because it can be a trigger of seizures, and maintain healthy habits, do moderate physical exercise and try to have a

regular

sleep

, "says the doctor.

And one last piece of advice from

Patricia Ripoll

to live with red lips despite the migraine: "Stop, don't try to get to everything. And take the medication before the pain wakes up, don't let it rise. It is useless. stand up and think that we can handle everything. "

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