Migraine or Hangover: How Do You Know?

hangover (Photo credit: xooorx)

As well as the dreaded alcohol induced hangover, it is possible to have a migraine hangover or postdrome, that is affected by a migraine.

It should be obvious if you tie one on (drink heavily) the night before and wake up in the morning with light and sound sensitivity, dizziness, nausea, and a headache, you are probably suffering from a hangover and not a migraine.



But what if you haven't been drinking at all and you find yourself suffering in a similar fashion to the alcohol induced hangover? You may be suffering from migraine hangover or an actual migraine.

Wikipedia describes a migraine as;

The typical migraine headache is unilateral (affecting one half of the head) and pulsating in nature and lasting from two to 72 hours; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light) and phonophobia (increased sensitivity to sound); the symptoms are generally aggravated by routine activity. Approximately one-third of people who suffer from migraine headaches perceive an aura—transient visual, sensory, language, or motor disturbances signaling the migraine will soon occur.

A migraine hangover is typically The effects of a migraine that may persist for a day or more after the main headache has ended. Many postdrome sufferers report feeling sore in the area where the migraine headache had been. Some also have impaired thinking, head pain, cognitive difficulties, gastrointestinal symptoms, mood changes, and weakness for a few days after the headache has passed.

So, what do you do to overcome the hangover? In many ways you may do the same thing as any other hangover. Read my previous article, Do You Have A Migraine Hangover?, for ways to overcome your hangover.

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