Saturday, November 8, 2008

I am a migraineur...

Yep, I get migraines. I think I had my first one when I was in junior high. For me, migraines usually start as a small bright spot in my vision which gradually grows into a shimmering, jagged semicircle. This disruption in vision lasts for about a half hour and looks something like this:



After the vision clears up, I get a headache. I am lucky in that the headaches are usually not that bad, and my migraines are infrequent. Now I'm finding out I am even luckier than I thought, because a recent study links migraines to a lower risk of breast cancer. According to Reuters, "overall, women who had a history of migraines had a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who did not have a history of such headaches." (Full article here.)

It should be interesting to see future research on both health issues. In any event, next time I get a migraine I'll probably have a slightly more positive attitude about it. :)

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migraine art from here

8 comments:

Laura said...

Wow...as a fellow sufferer I had never heard that correlation either. Do you have even a lower risk if you had sever vomiting with the headache? Something good comes from bad. Yay!

I hope you have a restful, painfree weekend!

dust bunny said...

With or without the breast cancer link, you're one lucky migraineur....no eyepopping pain.

David B. said...

Yep I was so happy when I got my migraine yesterday. No breast cancer for me - woooo

Barbara B. said...

Laura, welcome to the migraine club... I think. :) I didn't hear anything specific regarding the severity of migraines and the risk reduction. I'm not sure they teased that out in the study.

db, agree!

david, LOL! and sorry about passing along those genes to you.

Lori said...

I got migraines many years ago, but they were likely from the birth control pills I was taking. I can still remember the pain. The only thing I could do was go to the ER for a shot of demerol. Wonder if I would still qualify for the no BC.

Sorry you have to go through these. They just sucks, they does.

Jennifer said...

(((Barbara)))

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

That illustration helps me understand migraines better. I've been fortunate enough not to have them.

P.S. Men can get breast cancer, can't they? So your son has a reason to be grateful after all.

Barbara B. said...

pg, interesting question! I will have to read the actual study rather than rely on the reporting of the study.

jennifer (jiff!), thanks

ruth, yes, good point!