As I began treatments for debilitating migraine headaches I also began researching the enemy. The more you know about your adversary, the better your chances of defeating it. No computerized database was available to me in the mid- seventies and I spent hours in libraries gaining what knowledge I could from medical journals and other resources.

          Migraines are a result of a mal-function of vaso-constricular veins in the back of the neck. There is clear-cut evidence that tension alone can cause the mal-function and often does but only in some cases. Certain allergies, too, can cause the same affect. There are many cases, though, grouped as "classic migraines," for which there is no definitive causality. Although the actual cause remains unknown, the physiology is the same. The veins in the neck constrict thus compromising the blood flow to the brain. It is at this stage most patients experience the familiar "aura" that signals the onset of a migraine: vision anomalies such as noticeable blind spots or inexplicable visible lights that range from a symmetrical circular design to random, floating or falling "light drops;" auditory signals that resemble severe tinitus; olifactory signals creating the sensation of specific smells that do not exist and excitation of the taste buds that create disagreeable tastes in the mouth. The body responds to a lack of adequate blood supply to the brain by decreasing blood flow to the extremities and rushing new supplies to the head. The hands and feet get cold and can even become cyanotic; the fingers experience a tingling, numbing sensation. With an inadequate supply of oxygen, the brain looses its ability to maintain constriction of the veins in the neck and at some point they dilate . . . fully. The consequence is immediate and dramatic. The blood that the body has been pouring into the neck is released at once and floods the brain causing it to expand within the confines of the skull, swelling and creating extreme pressure and pain. The eyeballs themselves are forced outward through the eye sockets and appear to "bulge." Eye pain is severe due to the pressure exerted on the orb. The pain inside the confining skull can be excruciating. The intense pressure affects most brain functions; reasoning is particularly affected, speech, memory, sight, hearing, digestion, breathing, normal glandular and other body functions are all negatively impacted. The brain itself is compromised under such excessive pressure making it difficult to regain normal function and direct normal blood flow which helps to explain the deficits in digestion and gastro-intestinal anomolies. The brain's primary functions would be to recover itself, the heart, the lungs and balanced endocrinology.

          The psychology of migraines themselves is interesting. Fear of the headache can actually cause the onset. Once the agonizing pain of a migraine has been experienced, the body's psychological reactions to the possibility of undergoing a repeat event can cause tension and a physiological constriction of the neck veins. The body, thus confused, begins sending extra blood to the head. The brain, to protect itself, constricts the veins tighter starting the cycle.

          The headache itself and the recovery period relate in direct proportion to the body's ability to maintain constriction and redirect blood flow: the more blood stored behind the constricted veins, the more damage by swelling and the longer the recovery period. Permanent damage to eyesight from pressure has been recorded in some cases. It is possible that some have experienced permanent brain impairments that particularly affect balance.

          Most, if not all, migraines are more severe on one side of the head than the other. Chronic sufferers can tell you how many days it will last on the primary side and then will explain that it migrates to the other side but is less severe although that, too, has a predictable cycle. Research failed to explain this difference. My own hypothesis is that the real measure of the headache is (pain times time). The whole brain is affected by the product of that equation but for one side the pain is more severe for a lesser time while the other side the time is the greater factor. I believe that the pain exists on the secondary side the whole time but the patient is less aware of it because of the extreme pain on the primary side. I have absolutely no ideas why the two halves would react differently to the same stimulus.

          When I did my original research on migraines is was to help me learn how to control them. It was completely selfish and self-centered; I was desperate. There was no altruism involved. It was not research for any work to be published. For that reason, I have no citations and I apologize. I'm sure those of you who suffer from migraines will understand. The research was done in 1976. My first story was written as part of a WR121 class in 1995 to satisfy assignment requirements. It was never intended to help others learn what I had learned. Since that time, I have become involved in an internet community that may find merit and hope from my personal experience. For those people, I have expanded the first story to include this, basic physiology, and another paper on the mechanisms of biofeedback.