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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Should I Be Concerned For The Popping Sensation In The Head Causing The Migraine To Worsen?

I have had a migraine headache for the past three days and about two hours ago I felt a painful popping sensation on the right side of my head and then it caused my migraine to worsen. Is this something really serious or it it nothing I should worry about?
Tue, 20 Dec 2016
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
hi and very pleased to answer you
Migraine is a condition characterized by frequent attacks of headaches, often violent and sometimes accompanied by other symptoms: nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise. Headaches are periodic and develop as attack. All headaches are not migraines.

Several theories have been developed on the causes of the disease. They highlight neurological, vascular and chemical factors.

Migraine with aura or signs that announce the coming of migraines (formerly "Classic Migraine" or "Ophthalmic Migraine"): accompanied by an aura (most often visual impairment with loss of sight and scintillations, sometimes with drowsiness of a hand and mouth, or Speech disorders) within one hour prior to the headache, or at the very beginning of the headache. Sometimes the aura is not followed by headache ("acephalalgic migraine"). 20% of patients have Migraine with aura.
Migraine without aura (formerly "Common Migraine"): Not preceded by neurological disorders, starts directly with headache. 80% of patients have Migraine without aura.

Diagnostic criteria for migraine headache: to be able to retain the diagnosis, there must have been at least 4 migraines attacks (2 for migraine with aura). duration of the crisis: from 4h to 72h. the headache has at least 2 of the following characteristics: Unilaterality (pain on one side of the skull), pulsatile (beating to the rhythm of the heart) or throbbing (jerking), aggravation by a banal physical activity.The headache is accompanied by one of the following manifestations: nausea or vomiting, intolerance to light and noise. Another disease must have been eliminated.

Migraines can be triggered by
menstrual bleeding (in women) - alcohol (wine) - stress (or rather post-stress) - lack of sleep - skipping a meal - dehydration - Certain odors - ...

The aggravating factors of migraine which increase the frequency of migraine are:
- estrogen-progestogen pill, postmenopausal estrogenic treatments
- excessive chronic caffeine consumption
- certain meteorological conditions (certain winds)
- the Depression – etc..

The first treatment of migraines is therefore the avoidance or management of triggering or aggravating factors. The migraine attack can be effectively abridged by analgesics or anti-inflammatories, or by specific anti-migraine drugs called "triptans". However, excessive use of these drugs (more than 1x per week) aggravates migraine and can make it chronic. When migraine attacks are frequent (more than 2 per month) or severely debilitating, a preventive anti-migraine (so-called "background") treatment can reduce the frequency and intensity of attacks. It aims to raise the migraine threshold. There are drug treatments (betablockers, antiseroninergic, anticonvulsant, vitamin B2 ..) and non-drug (supra-orbital neurostimulation, biofeedback ...).

for you, the painful popping sensation is an aggravating factor for your migraine. What you describe (painful popping sensation) sounds very much like the unsettlingly-named "exploding head syndrome or EHS" Because of the benign nature of EHS, many individuals do not require medical treatment. However, as the EHS aggravate your migraines then treatment may be necessary. Tricyclic antidepressants have been proven useful in some individuals. Calcium channel blockers may also be beneficial. Non-pharmacological strategies such as relaxation, improved sleep hygiene and counselling may also help to alleviate this symptom.

I ask you to consult a Neurologist.

Best wishes


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Should I Be Concerned For The Popping Sensation In The Head Causing The Migraine To Worsen?

hi and very pleased to answer you Migraine is a condition characterized by frequent attacks of headaches, often violent and sometimes accompanied by other symptoms: nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise. Headaches are periodic and develop as attack. All headaches are not migraines. Several theories have been developed on the causes of the disease. They highlight neurological, vascular and chemical factors. Migraine with aura or signs that announce the coming of migraines (formerly Classic Migraine or Ophthalmic Migraine ): accompanied by an aura (most often visual impairment with loss of sight and scintillations, sometimes with drowsiness of a hand and mouth, or Speech disorders) within one hour prior to the headache, or at the very beginning of the headache. Sometimes the aura is not followed by headache ( acephalalgic migraine ). 20% of patients have Migraine with aura. Migraine without aura (formerly Common Migraine ): Not preceded by neurological disorders, starts directly with headache. 80% of patients have Migraine without aura. Diagnostic criteria for migraine headache: to be able to retain the diagnosis, there must have been at least 4 migraines attacks (2 for migraine with aura). duration of the crisis: from 4h to 72h. the headache has at least 2 of the following characteristics: Unilaterality (pain on one side of the skull), pulsatile (beating to the rhythm of the heart) or throbbing (jerking), aggravation by a banal physical activity.The headache is accompanied by one of the following manifestations: nausea or vomiting, intolerance to light and noise. Another disease must have been eliminated. Migraines can be triggered by menstrual bleeding (in women) - alcohol (wine) - stress (or rather post-stress) - lack of sleep - skipping a meal - dehydration - Certain odors - ... The aggravating factors of migraine which increase the frequency of migraine are: - estrogen-progestogen pill, postmenopausal estrogenic treatments - excessive chronic caffeine consumption - certain meteorological conditions (certain winds) - the Depression – etc.. The first treatment of migraines is therefore the avoidance or management of triggering or aggravating factors. The migraine attack can be effectively abridged by analgesics or anti-inflammatories, or by specific anti-migraine drugs called triptans . However, excessive use of these drugs (more than 1x per week) aggravates migraine and can make it chronic. When migraine attacks are frequent (more than 2 per month) or severely debilitating, a preventive anti-migraine (so-called background ) treatment can reduce the frequency and intensity of attacks. It aims to raise the migraine threshold. There are drug treatments (betablockers, antiseroninergic, anticonvulsant, vitamin B2 ..) and non-drug (supra-orbital neurostimulation, biofeedback ...). for you, the painful popping sensation is an aggravating factor for your migraine. What you describe (painful popping sensation) sounds very much like the unsettlingly-named exploding head syndrome or EHS Because of the benign nature of EHS, many individuals do not require medical treatment. However, as the EHS aggravate your migraines then treatment may be necessary. Tricyclic antidepressants have been proven useful in some individuals. Calcium channel blockers may also be beneficial. Non-pharmacological strategies such as relaxation, improved sleep hygiene and counselling may also help to alleviate this symptom. I ask you to consult a Neurologist. Best wishes