How can I tell I have migraine?

Over 30 million Americans suffer from migraine and only about half of them know their diagnosis. Some people experience migraine so frequently that they tend to overuse medications. Untreated migraine can progress to chronic daily headaches.

Here’s how you can screen yourself for migraine:

Migraine is a likely diagnosis if you have two of the following three symptoms:

1) moderate to severe headaches,

2) light or sound sensitivity with headaches and

3) headaches which produce nausea or vomiting.

Remember you only need two of these criteria for a migraine diagnosis.

Migraine can occur on either side of the head and sometimes both sides at the same time. Sometimes the pain only occurs in the back of the head or upper neck. The diagnosis of migraine needs to be made by a healthcare professional.

Descriptions of migraine can be found at:

http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Migraine
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-headache/DS00120