1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff Mom never told you from house top 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: works dot com. Hey Molly, Hey Kristen, I've got a 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,240 Speaker 1: riddle for you. Okay, what does Susan Olson, who played 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: Sydney on The Brady Bunch, and Joan Didion have been common? Okay, 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: so we've got um Sidian Brady Sydy Brady adorable pigtails 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: and Joan Didion not as adorable. That's harsh. Author of 7 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: the Year, Magical Thinking and essay Collections from the What 8 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 1: do they have in common? I'm gonna go with fashion 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: sense and love of asparagus. You're wrong, although they both 10 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: were pretty fashionable. Uh. Didion and Olsen both had problems 11 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 1: with chronic migraines. Yikes. But they're not alone. No, they're 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: not alone. Um, they are two of many women who 13 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: have problems with chronic migraines. Because the fact of the 14 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: matter is women have far more migraines than men. So 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: real quick, before we examine why that might be, um, 16 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: let's talk about what a migraine is. Because I think 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: the first time I first time I had a migraine 18 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:15,479 Speaker 1: for a long time, I thought it was some other 19 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: kind of headache. I thought it was like a sinus, 20 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: headache or something. But um, to have a migraine here, 21 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: you gotta have some of these. Moderate to severe pain 22 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: often described as pounding or throbbing, pain that affects the 23 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: whole head or shifts from one side of the head, 24 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: sensitivety sensitivity to light, noise or odors, yep, blurred vision, 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: nausea or vomiting, stomach upset, a dominant pain, loss of appetite, UH, 26 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: sensations of being very warm or cold, paleness, fatigue, dizziness 27 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: either and UH. You might have an aura, which is 28 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: bright flashing dots or lights that appear to you. And 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: this list of symptoms courtesy of web md, which also 30 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: notes that no migraine is really ever the same from 31 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: person to person. I always had teeth pain painted my teeth, Lana, 32 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: I had a migraine. Really Yeah. The few migraines that 33 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: I've had were always preceded by auras. So you were 34 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: an oora suffer. I was an aura sufferer. And I 35 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: think one thing also about about migraines is that if 36 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: you haven't had a migraine, you cannot understand or relate 37 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: to what it is. Oh No, I remember when I 38 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: had my first time. I was trying to describe it 39 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,679 Speaker 1: to the coworker of mine. She like gave me a 40 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: hug when she realized that, like someone else understood that 41 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,079 Speaker 1: she was going through. Well, maybe she have your hug too, 42 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: because you are a fellow woman who's had migraine problems. Um, 43 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: sevent of women, according to the Mayo Clinic, have migraine 44 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: pain will only six percent of men do. So it 45 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: begs the question why do women have more migraines than men? Well, 46 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: maybe first we should talk about um triggers. Okay, just 47 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: environmental triggers that might cause migraines. We've got things like stress, 48 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: bright lights, weird smells, changes in season, medication, alcohol, aged cheese, 49 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: I mean pretty much anything it seems like can can 50 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: bring on a migraine. Yes, it's actually kind of frustrating 51 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: because some of these things you really just can't avoid. 52 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: So it doesn't seem like the triggers would really be 53 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: gender specific. I mean men and women both encounter aged 54 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: cheese and alcohol at some point. But what you do 55 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: have to remember is that people might respond to triggers 56 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: in different ways. Um, Like, let's say there's a cup 57 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: of coffee and you have it, has this caffeine that 58 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: might trigger our migraine. Uh, it's probably gonna hit you 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:29,679 Speaker 1: a little harder as a woman than it's going to 60 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: hit a man, just because men are bigger. And that's 61 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: one thought. Maybe maybe just these triggers affect people differently. 62 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: We also have to take family history into account. Um. 63 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: For instance, identical twins who have my are more likely 64 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: to have both of them to have migraines than fraternal twins. 65 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: The closer you are to a family member who has migraines, 66 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: the more likely you are to have migraines. Like my 67 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: mom had terrible migraines. I remember when I was growing up, 68 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: and so you know I have migraines, and I know 69 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: that at least one of my sisters also suffers from 70 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: migraines sometimes. So the fact that you knew that this 71 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: family history was there probably led you to understanding what 72 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: was going on when you've had your first migraine. You know, 73 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: there's family history. We got some environmental things. The way 74 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: that we process our bodies processing is different from men. 75 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: And then they're the hormones, the h words hormones. Women 76 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: seem to get screwed with hormones. I gotta say, I 77 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: know we have. We have many articles on our site 78 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: about all the things that hormones to screw up for us, 79 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: and the big one is estrogen. Well, I was going 80 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: to talk about how we just have more migraines, but 81 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: talk about the role of estrogen and migraines. Okay, Well, 82 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: there there's a pattern between the levels of estrogen and 83 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: a woman's body and the frequency of migraines. And we 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: can trace all of this to the menstrual cycle. Whenever 85 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: our periods come right before during our periods are estrogen 86 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: levels drop. And it's also during those times that estrogen 87 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: levels drop, migraine levels rise. So the more estrogen that 88 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 1: we have surging through our blood means the fewer migraines 89 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: that we have. And if you want some backup for this, 90 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 1: up until the time that girls go through puberty, they 91 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: have the same number migraines as boys. You know, if 92 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: you are a childhood sufferer of migraines, it's it's all 93 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: about the same until you hit puberty. Yeah, and as 94 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: many as sixty as seventy of women who get migraines 95 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: report that their monthly cycle is related to when they 96 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: get migraines. So when that you know that estrogen level drops, 97 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: then then the headaches come. So if you're on let's say, 98 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: a hormonal contraceptive as your form of birth control, that 99 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: might be helping it because it's getting your hormones a 100 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: little bit more level, or it can even worse than it. Um. 101 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: But the the positive side is that you know it 102 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: can be one of the things that you work with 103 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: your doctor to kind of regulate so that you can 104 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: find a form of breath control that both or leaves 105 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: the migraines and serves as an effective contraceptive. Yeah. Um. 106 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: And then there's also a chance that it could be 107 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 1: triggered by an underlying central nervous system disorder, and basically 108 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: when that happens, this disorder would cause a release of 109 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: neuropeptides or brain chemicals which would excite your brain too 110 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,039 Speaker 1: much and then cause migraines. So those could be a 111 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: couple of other underlying reasons for it. But I think 112 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: so the newest research to come out about migraines and 113 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: why we get them has to do with something called 114 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: cortical spreading depression or CSD, and CSD is um sort 115 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: of a fancy term for brain excitability or a literal 116 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,799 Speaker 1: brain storm if you will. Yeah, it's like your brain. 117 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,720 Speaker 1: It's just there's just too much going on in your brain. 118 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: And maybe that's why women have more migraines, they just 119 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: have busier brains. No, Molly, that's not true. Cortical spreading 120 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: depression happens when you've got these series of waves, waves 121 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: of activity that move across your cortex or the outer 122 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: layer of your brain um And when these waves occur, 123 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: first you have a lot of rapid neuron firing okay, 124 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: and that causes your brain to get more excited, increases 125 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: the blood pressure and the blood flow to your brain 126 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: because all those neurons are firing. And then after that 127 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: there's a wave of what's called neuron inhibition, when basically 128 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: the the neurones aren't totally dormant, but they're really not 129 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: um they're not firing as much. And so once that 130 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: activity sort of slows down in the cortex, that reduces 131 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: the blood flow. So you have this sort of sudden 132 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: change in blood pressure in your brain, and that change 133 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: in pressure is where the headache pain from migraines comes from. Gotcha. 134 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: So it's like a roller coaster basically with drops and 135 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: then like even parts. Yes, and a study in Science 136 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: Daily was telling me was that women are just more 137 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: susceptible to these pressure changes. Women are have much lower 138 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: thresholds for this, about two to three times lower than men. Yeah, 139 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: it's just a lot easier for for women to experience 140 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: CSD than men. So okay, so now we know why 141 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: it happens. But I think really quickly should go over 142 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: what you should do if it happens, because web md 143 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: reports that even though more than twenty eight million American 144 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: women get migraines, only three to five percent of them 145 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: actually seek any help for it. Yeah, I just go 146 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: to bed if I can, I have to leave work 147 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: and go to bed. Well, that sort of attitude is 148 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: what is contributing to migraine being one of top four 149 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: disabling conditions. Yeah, that was reported by World Health Organization, 150 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: and they also contributed seventeen billion dollars a year, a 151 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: cord a Scientific American in lost work, disability payments, and 152 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: healthcare expenses. So these headaches are certainly not having imaginary effects, 153 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: even though some people don't sympathize with them. But what 154 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: can we do, Molly, if we have if the aura 155 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: comes on and our head starts pounding. Well, even if 156 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: you just want to go straight to bed, what you 157 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: should do is you should make a note of it 158 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: in a journal. Try and remember all the details, what 159 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: you might have eaten, how much sleep you might have gotten, 160 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,439 Speaker 1: so you can start to figure out your triggers, because 161 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: that's really going to help the doctor kind of determine 162 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: what might be the best course for you. And then 163 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: once you figure them out. I mean this sounds, you know, 164 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: kind of overly silly, but then you just sort of 165 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 1: trying to avoid them. Avoid migraines, avoid your triggers, regular sleep, exercise, 166 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: no aged aged cheese, if that's what does it for you, 167 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: cut back on the caffeine. And then after that, once 168 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: you've got your journal and you know your triggers, then 169 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: you know then the doctor. Don't be one of those 170 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: people who don't seek help for it. Talk to your 171 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: doctor and see what kind of medications might be available. 172 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,079 Speaker 1: And speaking of medications, there is a new drug that 173 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: they've been looking into that could be the key to 174 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:23,839 Speaker 1: migraine relief. It's a drug called ment mementine. Mementine, it's 175 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: kind of hard to say, and it's being studied. Um 176 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: for its uh, the ability to block cortical spreading depression, 177 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: that brain excitability, so you might be able to take 178 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: mementine and um and it'll calm your brain down so 179 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: that you don't have all that active firing and the 180 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,559 Speaker 1: changes in blood pressure and at the end of the 181 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: day a debilitating headache. And regardless of how that turns out, 182 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: they are you know, some things work like pain relieving medications, UM, 183 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: beta blockers, antidepressants, even botox injections have been studied as 184 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: a way to relieve migraines. Goodness, well, I guess they'll 185 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: make some women happy multit asking yep. But also on 186 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: the upside, if you are suffering from migraines. Okay, you're 187 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: a woman, you're suffering from migraines, and you don't you know, 188 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:11,839 Speaker 1: mementene is not yet an option for you. You can 189 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: wrestle easier at night because you have a thirty percent 190 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: lower chance of getting breast cancer. Says that it's a 191 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: new study that just came out. Um that was reported 192 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: in a bunch of different sources actually, but the one 193 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: that I found was in CBS News, and um, it 194 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: all has to do with those estrogen levels. They're basically 195 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: saying that women who have a lot of migraines have 196 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: low estrogen levels, and if you have low estrogen levels, 197 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: and you're less likely to develop breast cancer because women 198 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 1: with higher estrogen levels are more likely to develop it. Christen, 199 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: you're always looking on the bright side of things. Lower. 200 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: I mean, that's a pretty big number, Molly though, that is. 201 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: But I'm more concerned about the number of women who 202 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: already suffer migraines, and I think that if you are 203 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,439 Speaker 1: one of those women, you should maybe try some of 204 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: the tips we tried, and also find out more information 205 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:02,680 Speaker 1: about uh beans in the brain on how stuff works 206 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 207 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: visit how stuff works dot com.