Migraine headaches afflict more than twenty-nine million Americans, and that represents approximately 10 percent of the population. Migraines trouble women about three times as much as men and migraines are not confined to adults with a sizeable number of children suffering from them as well. An attack lasts anywhere from a few hours to three or four days, and in the case of longer attacks, victims commonly experience secondary effects for more extended periods. In spite of the fact that migraine headaches are so common roughly half of all victims do not see a physician about their condition.
One common symptom of a migraine headache is nausea and vomiting, but remember that other causes of head pain can make your stomach upset, too. Whatever type you have, visit your doctor about your symptoms. Your doctor will be able to figure out the cause and the best treatment to help you. The theory behind the vomiting when you have a migraine involves a brain chemical called serotonin. Scientists believe that a person is prone to migraine attack when some nerves in the brain signal the blood vessels on the brain’s surface to enlarge. What else makes them swell? Low levels of serotonin, which are also linked to motion sickness and nausea. People with low levels of serotonin are more likely to have migraines. Some people, mostly women, and individuals who are prone to motion sickness are more apt to get nausea with a migraine.
When you have a migraine attack, your digestive system is said to slow down significantly. And this is referred to as gastric stasis, or better still delayed stomach emptying. The most likely a cause of nausea and vomiting during a migraine is the undigested food that waits in the stomach. Sometimes it leads to constipation when the digestive system slows in the intestine.
Eating during a migraine attack is tough because of Gastric stasis and nausea it causes. People who experience 15 or more headache days a month, is said to have chronic migraines, and it lead to weight loss as a result of frequent migraine nausea. You can experience nausea in all the four stages of a migraine attack, which means that the stomach could still be upset even after the worst of the head pain subsides.
When you have been vomiting this can make it harder to take the medication you need to stop a migraine attack. Many people delay taking oral medication because of stomach upset, and even when they force their self to make it, the drug may take longer to absorb in the stomach. Scientist proof that earlier migraines are the easiest to treat, so delayed medication both prolong the attack and weaken relief.
Recent research shows that even after gastric stasis improves vomiting may still occur. While delayed stomach emptying may explain some of the migraine nausea and vomitings, it is not the whole story. The most common prescribed migraine medication which is Triptans, actually make gastric stasis worse while providing nausea relief at the same time. The most recent theories point to either the nervous system or changes in the brain stem during an attack as possible causes of migraine nausea and vomiting.
SOURCE: https://migraineagain.com/migraine-nausea-vomiting/
