Migraines And The Increased Risk of Suicide

Have you visited a migraine relief clinic in San Diego? Numerous people suffer from migraines nowadays. Migraines are known as a primary headache disorder. It causes regular headaches that range from moderate to severe pain. Usually, one side of the head suffers from migraines. However, in one-third of cases, both sides do. The pain it produces can be pulsating and throbbing and usually lasts between two to seventy-two hours. 

Migraine Symptoms

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Stomach cramps
• Diarrhea
• Sensitivity to certain smells, light, and sound

Physical activity can encourage migraine pain to become worse. Thankfully, there is a migraine relief clinic in San Diego to help you with these symptoms.

What Is An Aura?

At least one-third of people with migraines experience auras. An aura is a warning sign that a migraine attack is about to hit. Auras are frequently visual. They cause weird visual hallucinations or optical clues that include:

• Blurry vision
• Temporary blind spots
• Zigzag lines
• Other visual disturbances

It usually triggers close to an hour right before the head pain starts. There are some cases when an aura happens, but there is no head pain following it.

What Can Cause Migraine Attacks?

There is still a lot of mystery that surrounds migraines. Did you know that the brain cannot feel any pain? However, the blood vessels and nerves around the brain can sense pain. Researchers believe that migraines come about because of a combination of genetics and environmental factors. The fact is that almost two-thirds of people with migraines also have family members who have it as well.

Also, hormone levels seem to have a connection in the onset of migraines. Captivatingly, migraines are frequent among boys before puberty and more repeatedly in girls after their youth. Further, women have migraines at least three times more often compared to men. Finally, pregnancy shows a significant reduction in risk for migraines. As a result, this would indicate how hormones can be linked, as well. Every migraine relief clinic in San Diego helps patients suffering from symptoms of the condition.

How Migraines Can Affect People

Migraines can be severely disabling. It can make you miss out on many essential aspects of your daily life, such as:

• Relationships
• Social and family events
• Work
• Health

What is rarely realized by most people is that migraines, in extreme cases, can rob people of their lives. Their quality of life is decreased and severely affected.  As a result, there is also a high risk of suicide among people with migraines. If you are nearby, go to a migraine relief clinic in San Diego soon. 

Mental Health And Suicide Connection With Migraine Patients

A case study conducted by Pesa and Lage discovered that individuals with migraines and mental health comorbidities (this means two or multiple conditions exist in one person) are three times more susceptible to suicide than people without migraines. 

Another study published by Dr. Naomi Breslau examined and analyzed the risk of suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide in four different groups of people:

• A Group  – People with migraines with aura
• B Group  – Individuals with migraines with aura and major depressive disorder
• C Group – Those who experienced migraines without aura
• D Group – Persons with migraines without aura and one major depressive disorder

In conclusion, after her experiments, Dr. Breslau’s results found out that:

• Those in group A showed higher suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide than people without migraines or depression.
• People in group B revealed the same result as group A.
• Individuals in group B had higher suicide rates and suicidal thoughts than people with only one condition (can be either major depressive disorder or migraines).
• People in group C did not have any increased suicidal risk.
• Those in group D revealed considerably higher suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide than those without migraines or depression. Since group C showed not to have an increase. The increase in group D was due to a major depressive disorder.

The Studies Had These Added Conclusions

Some of the results can be because, throughout the different migraine phases, the levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin were negatively impacted. In short, it can seriously affect a person’s mood and behavior. Thus, it can bring about suicidal thoughts and tendencies.

There is also another thing worth looking into, and it has something to do with a few of the medications used to care for migraines. These drugs usually contain a quantity of neuronal stabilizing agents, known as anticonvulsants. These particular drugs have a warning label that states they can increase suicidal behavior and suicidal thinking.

Statistical Facts Concerning Migraineurs

Here are a few critical facts about people who suffer from migraines in correlation with suicide attempts:

• People with migraines without aura think about suicide as much as those who have migraines with aura. However, they are much less inclined to act upon their thoughts. 
• Individuals suffering from the most extreme and frequent migraines are more susceptible to make suicide attempts.
• One study showed that at least 26 percent of people with bipolar disorder also had chronic migraines.
• Those who suffer from chronic daily headaches do not have any suicidal tendencies as patients with migraines do. 
• The suicide rate in people with migraine is significantly higher than the general population. Out of all migraine sufferers, females with auras are at the highest of risks.
• Migraine patients with aura are more vulnerable to having multiple anxiety disorders, hypomania, and depression than those without an aura.

Natural And Long-Term Care For Migraines

Rather than add more medication to your existing prescriptions, it would be worth considering a natural solution for migraines. This area has proven effective and successful for a few decades, and it is called upper cervical chiropractic care. 

A clinical study involved 101 patients with different types of chronic migraines. After checking each patient’s history, it revealed that all 101 patients experienced some trauma to the neck or head in their past. This trauma and injury were from the following incidents:

• Car accidents
• Sporting related injuries 
• Simple tripping, sliding, and slipping incidents
• Falling accidents (from stairs and ladders)

Everyone was examined and revealed to suffer from a misalignment in their upper neck bones, the C1 (atlas) or C2 (axis) vertebra. Each one received a personally tailored adjustment specific to their needs. After their spinal adjustments, all patients reported experiencing a significant improvement in their migraine symptoms. Also, some patients experienced their migraine symptoms go away in as little 1 or 2 adjustments.

Visit our office here at the Upper Cervical Chiropractic San Diego, California. We use a gentle procedure that helps realign the vertebrae of the upper neck. We understand how a misalignment in this region can put undue pressure on the brainstem and cause the central nervous system not to work at its peak best, leading to migraines and other health issues.

Call us at (858) 577-0662 to book a consultation with us.

To schedule a consultation with Upper Cervical Chiropractic San Diego, call 858-434-5926 or just click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.