Serena Williams is inarguably one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Before anyone knew her name, though, she showed her affinity for the sport at the early age of four. Though she excelled in various national tournaments, Serena’s parents made the effort to balance her education with her games. As such, it wasn’t until she was 16 that she made her professional debut.
Through constant work, Serena won her first Tier 1 title in 1999 and continued to improve exponentially. Over the course of her illustrious career, she attained the status of Number one multiple times and was one of the highest-paid female athletes. She also holds a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
As hard as she fought on the court, nobody suspected that she was fighting a different kind of battle - migraines. It wasn’t until an interview with ‘Today’ in 2020, that Serena revealed that she’d been dealing with migraine headaches for over a decade.
She stated that "Migraine isn’t a knee injury — it’s something you can’t physically see.” This led to her hiding her pain from even her loved ones as she didn’t want it to sound like an excuse. Fortunately, she has found more effective ways to treat and manage her migraines since then.
What Are Migraines?
A migraine is a neurological condition that is classified as a primary headache. This classification means that an underlying illness isn’t causing the problem. While throbbing pain on one side of the head and nausea are characteristic of a migraine, there is actually a long list of possible symptoms that you can experience.
Before the start of a migraine, there can be irritability, trouble focusing, and muscle stiffness. During a migraine, you’re more likely to have sensitivity to light, nausea, fatigue, and loss of appetite. A migraine may last for a few hours or even days.
It’s estimated that up to 12% of Americans are dealing with chronic migraines and can be affected by the condition monthly or more frequently. Though anyone can develop migraines, you’re more likely to have the condition if you have family members with it, if you were born female, if you smoke, or if you’re between the ages of 15 and 55.
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How The Condition Is Diagnosed
There are no specific diagnostic tests for migraines so your doctor will conduct a thorough assessment to determine if you meet certain requirements.
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Before diagnosing you, however, they will likely request different tests to ensure that your headaches aren’t being caused by another condition. You may need to have blood tests, a magnetic resonance imaging test (MRI), or a computerized tomography (CT) scan to check your overall health.
If these tests don’t show an issue, it makes a migraine diagnosis more likely. During your visit, you’ll need to give the doctor details about your symptoms, any triggers you may have noticed, how often you have migraine headaches, how long the headaches last, and if anyone else in your family has them.
You may also be asked to maintain a migraine diary so the doctor can have a clearer picture of what you’re dealing with. This information may be useful to determine the type of migraine you have and an effective treatment plan.
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How Migraines Are Treated
Your treatment regimen will depend on the type of migraine, the severity of your symptoms, and if you have any other conditions. Generally, your doctor will focus on prescribing medications that reduce your symptoms and prevent future attacks.
Some of the drugs you may receive include painkillers, anti-nausea medications, and CGRP antagonists.
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It will also be important for you to avoid migraine triggers where possible. These triggers may differ from person to person but a few of the common ones are alcohol, caffeine, stress, poor sleep, certain medications, loud sounds, and strong smells.
Migraines are more common than you might think. Though the symptoms can vary, many people have migraines that are bad enough to disrupt their lives. If you have frequent headaches of any kind. It’s always a good idea to see your doctor as soon as possible.
