The relief is profound when the trademark throbbing from a migraine finally lifts. But for many people regularly stricken with these potentially debilitating headaches, their distress isn’t over just because the pain ends. Instead, a distinct phase of migraine called the postdrome leaves them feeling achy, weary, dazed, and confused — symptoms eerily similar to another affliction altogether.
Dubbed the “migraine hangover,” this constellation of post-headache symptoms is remarkably common, according to research published in Neurology. According to Dr. Paul Rizzoli, clinical director of the Graham Headache Center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, scientists are increasingly turning their focus to this previously underrecognized component of migraine.
“Not knowing it’s an accepted part of migraine, patients come up with creative ways to tell us about their postdrome symptoms — they feel washed out, their head feels hollow, or they feel like they have a hangover but weren’t even drinking,” Dr. Rizzoli explains. “Until recent years, science hadn’t paid attention to this facet of the syndrome, but it’s a natural progression from focusing on the problem as a whole.”
The four phases of migraine
The typical migraine can be a horrible experience, with stabbing head pain, nausea, brain fog, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound, among other symptoms. Nearly 16% of Americans are affected by migraines, which strike women at roughly twice the rate as men. Severe headaches are also
Spanning hours to days, migraine headaches can include four clear phases, each with its own set of symptoms. The pre-pain prodrome and aura phases may include various visual changes, extremes of irritability, difficulty speaking, numbness, and tingling, while the headache can feel like a drill is working its way through the skull.
Lingering migraine symptoms: The hangover
After that ordeal, one to two days of postdrome symptoms may sound tame by comparison, Dr. Rizzoli says. But the lingering fogginess, exhaustion, and stiff neck can feel just as disabling as the previous headache. Since migraine is believed to act as a sort of electrical storm activating neurons in the brain, it’s possible that migraine hangover results from “some circuits being electrically or neurochemically exhausted,” Dr. Rizzoli says. “It just takes time for the brain to return to normal or even replace some chemicals that have been depleted in the process.”
But much is still unknown about migraine postdrome, he adds, and research has found no consistent association between factors such as the type of migraine medication taken and duration of any subsequent hangover.
Tips to ease a migraine hangover
Following these steps regularly may help you ward off lingering symptoms after a migraine:
- Drink plenty of water.
- Practice good headache hygiene by maintaining regular eating and sleeping patterns and
- If possible, try to lighten your load for next 24 hours after the headache pain ends.
- Stop taking pain medicine once the headache is gone.
