We were recently asked a question on our Facebook Group, Support For Migraines, and we wanted to do some research and go into the science of why Migraines drain your energy for a few days afterward.
So first up, this is not an unknown symptom. Migraines do indeed drain a person’s energy and scientists have a name for this: Postdrome. Postdrome is the period after a Migraine happens that feels like a hangover. This is actually the fourth stage of a migraine attack (the previous 3 stages are the Prodrome, Aura, and Headache). Even though migraines have been studied for a while now, the Postdrome stage has only been studied since 2004. There still is not too much known about this stage. The likely guess is that this is a gradual recovery from the huge neurologic disruption that happened during the previous stages.
The key symptoms of this stage are lack of energy, dizziness, cloudy thinking, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle tension, confusion, and depression. It’s important to note that not everyone who suffers from migraines actually gets to this stage. Some are lucky enough that they finish at the third stage of migraines. These symptoms have an average duration of 25.2 hours.
We asked a few people what they describe this stage as and here are a few responses:
-“It feels like I was hit by a truck”
-“My brain seems foggy for a few days and it’s just the worst”
-“I can’t do anything but lay in bed for a few days”
The best way to treat this stage of a migraine is to stay hydrated, get some rest, make sure you are getting plenty of vitamins, and take any medication you need to for relief. If you take these steps to treat your postdrome stage, you should expedite your journey to recovery.
Have you ever had a Migraine “Hangover”? Comment below some of the symptoms you felt
Source:
http://blog.themigrainereliefcenter.com/how-to-deal-with-the-postdrome-phase-of-a-migraine
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/may/18/migraine-postdrome-research
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/478600_5
