Those who suffer migraine know it is far more than just a bad headache.

For those who don't it is hard to explain, and probably one of the reasons why it is one of the most misunderstood conditions.

Migraineurs, as we are known, also experience symptoms including nausea and vomiting, visual disturbances, extreme sensitivity to light, sound or smell, with attacks lasting up to 72 hours.

I have suffered migraine on and off since I was a teenager. Typically mine start with the visual disturbances reminiscent of looking through a kaleidoscope followed by the debilitating headache. Luckily for me they are infrequent and last little more than 24 hours. Although when pregnant with my second child I also suffered numbness down my right side which led me to fear I was having a stroke.

Giving birth seemed to cure them, but now they have started again – about once a month. According to Lee Tomkins, director of Migraine Action, this is a common pattern and another reason why migraine can be tough to understand.

"Although it is estimated that 190,000 people in the UK will have a migraine attack today, people can find it a very isolating condition. Migraineurs often suffer in silence, either believing it will not be taken seriously or that there is little that can be done for them."

In a bid to raise awareness of the condition Migraine Action is holding an awareness week which starts with an education day in Leeds on Saturday.

"People who don't suffer migraine still think it is little more than a bad headache, but for many it is a debilitating condition for which there is no diagnosis and no cure and which is completely unpredictable."

There are an increasing number of treatments on the market which help some sufferers reduce the severity of the symptoms, but not all.

According to Lee Tomkins a new class of treatments will be coming on to the market in the next couple of years designed specifically to target migraine. Perhaps more interestingly, on the same time scale a number of preventative drugs are also due to hit the market.

Dr Susan Bradford, a Sheffield GP who has a special interest in migraine and will be speaking at the education day at Leeds University. She will be talking about the latest news on preventative medicine.

"In the next couple of years we are expecting there to be a drug which you can take everyday which will reduce people's chance of developing a migraine. A couple of years might sound a long time but for someone who has suffered migraine for 30 years it isn't that long," says Lee Tomkins.

Beverley Taylor Levin first started with migraine when she was 17, she is now 36.

She has tried everything to combat the symptoms which are pretty much a daily occurrence, but in the end Beverley say she has learnt to live with the constant headaches and nausea, a tall order with a four-year-old son.

"When I first had a migraine I just suddenly got this blinding headache and sickness. I thought I had a brain tumour because the pain was so bad. But the doctor diagnosed migraine and sent me to bed with paracetamol."

Over the years Beverley, from Leeds, has learnt to live with her condition, although she says she has struggled.

"It is a common story that people just don't understand migraine. They think you just have a bad headache, because they can't see anything is wrong with you."

Beverley set up a West Yorkshire branch of Migraine Action to support other sufferers, and although the group has fizzled out a bit recently, Beverley says she would restart the group if there was enough interest.

"Sometimes it is good to take to people who know what you are going through," she says.

"Migraine Awareness week is a way of telling people just what we go through."


Migraine awareness week

To help launch Migraine Awareness Week (September 7-13), Migraine Action is hosting an education day in Leeds on Saturday to provide expert information and advice .

The event at Leeds University will include a talk from Dr Susan Bradford and Dr Saul Berkovitz, consultant physician at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, will also be giving a talk on complementary medicines in migraine management.

The meeting will take place at The University House, Cromer Terrace, University of Leeds Campus, between 10am and 3pm. There is a charge of £10 per person with lunch included.

For information and to book, call Migraine Action on 0116 275 8317, email info@migraine.org.uk or visit www.migraine.org.uk

Migraine factfile

One in eight people in the UK suffer migraine

Twice as many women as men are sufferers

Migraine affects people of all ages (even children), and all social classes

Migraine is more than just a headache. Other symptoms can include visual disturbances, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light, noise or smell

A migraine attack can last for between four and 72 hours

Sufferers experience an average of 13 attacks each year

An estimated 190,000 people have a migraine attack every day in the UK

Every day, more than 100,000 people are absent from work or school in the UK as a result of migraine

Migraine costs the UK about £1bn a year.