What is a migraine?

If you asked five different people who live with migraines, you''d probably get five different answers. Why? Because migraines are different for everyone.

Your migraine attacks are unique and the experience you have during an attack won''t be exactly the same as anyone else''s. As there''s no one way to get a migraine, there''s also no one way to prevent or treat them.

Researchers used to think migraine was a vascular condition, or one related to the blood vessels, but it''s now classed as neurological, which means it''s related to the nervous system. What''s more, they don''t yet know what causes you to get migraines, and there''s no test you can have to get diagnosed.

So migraines are a bit of a mystery. Frustrating, right? Don''t worry. You don''t need to know why you suffer from migraines to understand how to reduce the number of attacks you get or even avoid them altogether. The aim of this book is to help you figure out the best way to prevent your migraines.

The first step is to try to understand your own experience. Then you''ll be in the best position to work out how to reduce the number of attacks you have, or even avoid them altogether.