Why do some people suffer from the agonizing head pain of migraines—and the nausea and sensitivity to light that can accompany them—while others don’t? The answer, at the biochemical level, is complicated, but probably boils down to this: Migraine sufferers’ brains are simply more sensitive to outside stimuli than are other people’s brains. Migraines used to be blamed on blood vessels in the brain dilating, or opening up. The newer thinking is that the expansion of blood vessels is the result of some other event, not the cause. The cause may in part be the excitation of a nerve responsible for sensation in the face.
Older theories about migraines suggested that symptoms were possibly due to fluctuations in blood flow to the brain. Now many headache researchers realize that changes in blood flow and blood vessels don’t initiate the pain, but may contribute to it. Current thinking regarding migraine pain has moved more toward the source of the problem, as improved technology and research have paved the way for a better understanding. Today, it is widely understood that chemical compounds and hormones, such as serotonin and estrogen, often play a role in pain sensitivity for migraine sufferers. One aspect of migraine pain theory explains that migraine pain happens due to waves of activity by groups of excitable brain cells. These trigger chemicals, such as serotonin, to narrow blood vessels. Serotonin is a chemical necessary for communication between nerve cells. It can cause narrowing of blood vessels throughout the body. When serotonin or estrogen levels change, the result for some is a migraine.
Nausea or vomiting. Migraines used what be blamed on blood vessels in the brain dilating, or opening up. The pain of a migraine headache can be intense. The newer thinking is that the expansion of blood vessels is the result of some other happens, not the cause. Schwedt, Todd J. Allscripts Migraine. Migraines, which often begin in childhood, adolescence or during adulthood, can progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, attack and post-drome. Looked at, investigated, drugged, charged, but not listened to.