quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:

What do you do about them?

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Suffer.
I don't' take anything prescription, I usually find a cool, dark spot to lie down, if I can.
If I need to be functional, or if the pain is too extreme,...wait, is a mild, non-prescription remedy proscribed by the "no medical advice"?
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Funny you should ask, Boogie - Daughter is currently lying in a darkened room suffering Day 3 of the worst one she's had since January.

The problem we have with hers is that she's only 11 (when she was first diagnosed she was only 7) and can't take triptans for at least another six years. We tried the only preventative medication she's allowed; it worked for a while and then gradually became less effective. At the moment the migraine-prevention strategy is for her to wear glasses with coloured lenses. I think she might need new ones in a different colour; when these work, they can stop a migraine in about six seconds but they haven't helped with this one. Painkillers don't seem to help once she's in the middle of an attack either.
 

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Posted by Jenny Ann (# 3131) on :
 
I get short sharp migraines with visual aura. My migraines are 3-4hrs long from first speck of flashing light to headache gone/'hangover' starting. I know this makes me more fortunate than most people who suffer from migraine, but I still get very frustrated with it.

I cannot work out the triggers at all. It's none of the obvious ones (not food related etc.). I know skipping a meal _can_ be a trigger but not always, the light at certain times of year can be an issue (low clear sunlight - I wear sunglasses at any hint of sunlight, I don't care if people think I'm being precious), stress might be an issue but again, not consistently.

I didn't think they were linked to hormones at all, but I did get them more frequently in the first trimester of pregnancy when your hormones go a bit mental (technical term), so maybe they are to blame. I suspect its a combination of the lot to be honest, which isn't manageable as an avoidance technique.

I tend to get them in waves. So I'll get one, then another one 4 weeks later, then the next 3 weeks later etc. until I get to the end of my tether as I'm having them daily and about to cut my own head off, and then they just stop. I've now been migraine free for 10 weeks. Last time this happened I was migraine free for months until they came back for another wave.

Because they are so short (flashing lights increasing gradually for 30/40 minutes then 30 minutes of 'free' time with no symptoms, then a 2-3 hr headache with sickness - not nausea, proper sickness) I don't take anything serious. If I can take 2 pink migraleve at the first hint of flashing lights I can sometimes stop the headache and sickness, I can usually reduce it to a milder headache and nausea which is much easier to deal with and mostly means I can stay at work.

I get very annoyed with people who:

a) say they have a migraine when its a headache (I also hate people that say they have flu when its a cold) - it makes it harder for those of us who do get migraine to be taken seriously

and

b) tell me my migraines don't really count as they're so short - since when was it a competition to feel the worst?
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Yes, we had problems with Little J's previous school - the headmistress thought she was malingering and refused to accept that she really was too ill to be at school when in the throes of an attack. We're hoping the secondary school will be more reasonable, but it's early days yet.

The major trigger for Little J is light - there are a couple of food triggers too, but they're easy to avoid since she doesn't like them much anyway. It seems weird that simply wearing a pair of glasses with coloured lenses should make such a big difference to her, but it does.
 

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Posted by Nicodemia (# 4756) on :
 
I used to get terrible ones, but not any more. It turned out they were (a) hormonal and (b) caused by a lie-in on Sundays!!

Once I got well past the menopause I was, mostly, rid of them.

But that isn't much help to any of you, I am afraid.
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Nicodemia:
Once I got well past the menopause I was, mostly, rid of them.

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Me too thank goodness. During menopause however they got much worse and once I ended up in hospital because the doctor suspected a stroke.

Hint to all doctors; before you spend time checking whether a patient's eyes are tracking as a basis for your diagnosis, ask them if they ever track properly

Huia
 

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Posted by Marama (# 330) on :
 
Another who found they have been much better since menopause. Mind you, I had a mild one yesterday - but it went much more quickly that they used to.
 

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Posted by TheAlethiophile (# 16870) on :
 
I get them very rarely, but they are almost always brought on by stress. I dose myself up on either aspirin or a combination of paracetamol & ibuprofen. Other than that, I just wait for them to pass and suffer as quietly as possible, though the commute home is usually hell.
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Nicodemia:

Once I got well past the menopause I was, mostly, rid of them.

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I was spayed five years ago, so it's not that
 

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Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Jenny Ann:
I get short sharp migraines with visual aura. My migraines are 3-4hrs long from first speck of flashing light to headache gone/'hangover' starting. I know this makes me more fortunate than most people who suffer from migraine, but I still get very frustrated with it.

---

Mine are/were very similar - if I could knock it on the head (sorry!) with something as soon as I felt it coming on I was usually OK the next day (although I would still feel a bit fragile and more susceptible to triggers than usual), but if not then nothing would touch it, and although I could usually get through the day if it came on at work, by the time I got home all I could do was lie down in a dark room with a pillow over my head (because the dark room was never dark enough).

My main triggers seem to be caffeine and/or tannins (I've never quite figured out which, but I never drink coffee and rarely drink normal tea because it's just not worth the headache and associated symptoms and misery, and also have to be careful with red wine). I would also get a corker of a migraine most months around my period (thanks for nothing, hormones).

I did find that from about the 2nd trimester of pregnancy onwards they did really improve, and overall in pregnancy I had significantly fewer migraines and headaches (yes they are different! Annoyingly I get both) than before. So far since giving birth (my baby is now nearly 10 months old) I've only had a couple of relatively mild migraines and a handful of headaches. This is so much better than before it's just amazing. I'm guessing that pregnancy isn't really an option for you though, Boogie

for you - they really are horrible.
 

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Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :
 
My wife used to suffer debilitating migraines - up to three days of non-functioning. One reducer that helped immensely was reducing the amount of salt in her (our!) diet. Another trigger was pork - there is something, presumably in the injections now given to pigs, that triggered migraines, so we basically don't eat pork any longer.

In effect, the triggers were somewhat akin allergy reactions. You may want to have a look at what you are eating.
 

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Posted by Jenny Ann (# 3131) on :
 
The thing I read that made most sense to me about triggers was that it can be a combination of things, so it might not be chocolate (or red wine, or the angle of the sun, or hormones, or stress, or whatever) by itself, but a combination of stuff. This made me feel significantly less like it was something I was doing that caused it, and therefore enabled me to stress less about it.

Has anyone tried to make a trigger diary?

Jen
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
We did a migraine diary for Little J and found that she got migraines when she was:

Overtired
Stressed
Excited
Hungry
Thirsty
Too hot
Too cold
Any combination of the above

...and sometimes for no obvious reason that we could see. When we found out about the coloured glasses (from Josephine on another All Saints thread, btw) all became clear - there's a particular wavelength of light that sets her off, and if she doesn't have her glasses on to block it she's permanently on the verge of having a migraine and any of the other things can tip her over into an attack...

I think the colour she needs on her glasses might have changed again. Optician's appointment booked for Friday (spaying is not really an option when you're only 11).

I used to be really jealous of people who had food triggers - even my mother, who can't eat a whole range of things including cheese, chocolate and bananas and can't drink red wine or coffee. It would be slightly easier to manage if her migraines were triggered by a particular kind of food.
 

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Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:
Anyone else here suffer with migraines?

What do you do about them?

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Far too much codeine (morphine derivative).
 

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Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
That can cause it's own problems. Sumatriptans may work for some people.
 

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Posted by comet (# 10353) on :
 
both my daughter and I have migraines, but in both of our cases migraine pain is fairly rare. 2-3 times a year. However, much more often is the migraine other stuff. flashing lights, dizziness, hallucinatory smells, and general weirdness.

I've never found a single thing that helps with that. Chasee#1 finds both coffee and red wine to help a little, despite being told they would make it worse. I just try to tell myself to enjoy the show.

When the pain kicks in, I'll ibuprofin myself to the max and tell myself it's taking the edge off, but I'm not sure it is. I do find red wine to help, a little. like, breathing doesn't quite hurt as much. otherwise, it's a dark and quiet room with no smells and a barf bucket nearby.

painful and boring.

pain episodes last 24-48 hours for me. the non-pain weirdness can last up to a week. does not appear to be hormone dependent for me, it's a pretty random thing. Though, the weirdness gets more active during season changes, spring and fall when the daily light changes are most dramatic.
 

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Posted by Jemima the 9th (# 15106) on :
 
Fellow sufferer here. No food triggers (thank God, a life without cheese would make me very sad). Triggers tend to be:
tiredness
stress
dehydration
too much screen use (er....)

I take ibuprofen unless I'm feeling really nauseous, in which case paracetamol. At the first inkling of a migraine, which is usually funny floaty black things in front of the eyes. Soon followed by the most almighty pain, I'm sure my left eyeball is demon possessed at the time.

I took migraleve for a while, but I found although it pushed the migraine back, they tended to last longer.

The one joy is that I get magnificent post-migraine highs the next day, where I am slightly manic and basically eeeeenvincible. (Evil laugh).
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I used to have hormonal migraines pretty often. Past menopause I have them very infrequently. For myself, the biggest thing for warding them off is keeping hydrated and not skipping meals. As for meds, I take ibuprofen and put heat rub on my forehead. Then I lie down in my dark, quiet bedroom and don't move at all for several hours. They never last longer than eight hours. I started getting them at about four. I remember missing Thanksgiving one year as a kid.
 

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Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Jemima the 9th:
I'm sure my left eyeball is demon possessed at the time.

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Ooh, I have a migraine thing about my left eyeball too! I thought I was weird (quiet at the back please ) until I read about someone else who said that when she has a migraine one of her hands feels about 10 times bigger than usual, and she can't pick anything up because she has such a strong sense of her hands being this ridiculous size. And I thought that made so much sense of my eyeball thing - basically I am really aware of this huge tennis-ball sized thing in my head (I am distinctly aware of the shape of the back of it, on the inside).
 

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Posted by Prester John (# 5502) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:
Anyone else here suffer with migraines?

What do you do about them?

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• caffinee
• over the counter medication
• steaming hot shower followed by curling into the fetal position in a dark corner
• activity that releases endorphins (provided that it isn't too painful and the spouse is willing)

quote:

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Originally posted by comet:
However, much more often is the migraine other stuff. flashing lights, dizziness, hallucinatory smells, and general weirdness.

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Yeah, I get those. First time I had an aural migraine I quietly freaked out. Much relived when I found out it was just a migraine. Never taken anything for them, though.
Not sure you can blame your general weirdness on migraines, though...
 

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Posted by comet (# 10353) on :
 
well, yes. there's that.
 

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Posted by Mad Cat (# 9104) on :
 
Yaaar .... left eyeball!

My triggers are stress and tiredness: the attack usually comes when I relax. Two bad periods for frequency of attacks were when I had a long commute (90 minutes each way) by bus, and at another time when work was particularly stressful. The migraines were coming on Wednesday most weeks. Finally, my boss told me to talk to the GP. The usual meds are contra-indicated with (by?) my anti-depressant, so I take Atenolol as a prophylactic. I've only had a few auras and one or two attacks punch through, to my relief.

I occasionally get visual disturbance, but usually I just get sentitive to smells. I don't always get nauseous, but always have the crushing pain. And the hangover afterwards - bleaurgh!

I've now got several wee 'migraine kits' in plactic boxes, one for each handbag. In each is strong Ibuprofen and anti-nausea tablets. In the house I usually have some emergency co-codamol for when 'Buprofen doesn't cut it.

The worst migraines are the vomitous ones: one time I couldn't keep anything down for 24 hours. Pain meds, anti-nausea pills, water - everything bounced.
 

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Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Jane R:


The problem we have with hers is that she's only 11 (when she was first diagnosed she was only 7) ..........
Painkillers don't seem to help once she's in the middle of an attack either.

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I was diagnosed at the age of 8, my doctor said that it was very important to take the painkillers as soon as I knew an attack was coming.

He said that once an attack had started the stomach 'shut down' and didn't process anything, so painkillers don't get into the system. There may be a more technical term but he was explaining to a child.

They used to loose me 2/3 days of my life, one day of pain and then up to 2 of feeling so week that I couldn't do anything.

I have grown out of them to a large extent and when they do come they are not as severe as they used to be they no longer lose me several days of my life.

Triggers are too much cafeine, cafeine withdrawal, red wine, strong smells such as perfume and air freshener, too much sunlight.
 

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Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
Yes, although I haven't had a full blown one for a long time now. If I can catch it early enough with two Migraleve pink tablets (I always carry them) I can keep it at bay. Once it has a hold the only thing to do is take medication, hope it stays down, go to bed in a dark room and pray that the pain subsides sufficiently to permit sleep.

I'm told that feverfew, taken daily, can reduce them or even get rid of them altogether. Apparently it needs to be taken routinely and the best way is to eat a fresh leaf every day, but it tastes vile. Tablets are available from the health food shop. Always read the label.

Nen - off to check her Migraleve Pink supply.
 

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Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
I found this interesting, though you guys probably already know all this stuff. I was surprised oestrogen patches are thought to help, if you get decreases are menopause.
 

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Posted by Scots lass (# 2699) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Evensong:

quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:
Anyone else here suffer with migraines?

What do you do about them?

---

Far too much codeine (morphine derivative).

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quote:

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* was diagnosed at the age of 8, my doctor said that it was very important to take the painkillers as soon as * knew an attack was coming.

He said that once an attack had started the stomach 'shut down' and didn't process anything, so painkillers don't get into the system. There may be a more technical term but he was explaining to a child.

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That's interesting. It would explain why she keeps refusing painkillers in the middle of an attack. She gets a warning sign (ears start to hurt) but usually only a few minutes before the attack starts - enough time to get to the painkillers at home, but probably not at school.

It might also explain why she said she wasn't hungry this morning (day 4; * think we're having multiple attacks one after another).

Aargh!
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
That possibly explains why my doctor used to give me injections in the backside - one of voltaren and another of something that stopped me throwing up.

Made a big difference.

Huia
 

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Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Well, we have a solution. New glasses with a completely different colour on the lenses. Now we just have to survive until they get here...
 

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Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :
 
* 've been cautious about joining this thread because if * 'm at a vulnerable point even thinking about them can set them off. So * might not revisit often.

In my teens and younger adulthood when * was having them about twice weekly * dreaded trips to the doctors. But now they seem to only happen twice a year (yay) when * catch sunrays at particular low angles. Thankfully * usually get pulses of light in the corner of my vision so * find it helps to take migralieve immediately and then only feel tender and groggy for the rest of the day. If * have none of those handy a couple of fast-action paracetamol can take the edge off it, but not nearly as much.

When * 've recovered * can usually analyse the few days before the attack and see some warning signs - but at the time * don't notice them.

Occasionally * get completely disabling attacks that come right out of the blue - * can't walk, any movement is agony and causes nausea - it can take a few days to recover from these.

What * experience is bad enough - * do feel for people who have longer and/or stronger attacks.
 

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Posted by Celtic Knotweed (# 13008) on :
 
Another migraine-affected bod checking in. Had them since my early teens, and at least since Mum also gets them there was someone around who knew what was happening and why.

Sandemaniac has semi-seriously suggested that he's one of my triggers (having had a few weekends we'd planned be hit by the damn things). Thing is, although they're sort of triggered by red wine/dark chocolate/coffee/bright lights, this doesn't always hold true. It's more of a cumulative thing, where point on menstrual cycle, plus amount of trigger(s), plus general well-being, plus dehydration, all combine to go ouch. Then * curl up in a little ball and hide in a dark room for 3-12 hours. Then feel groggy for another day. Some of my workmates look surprised when * say mine are mild...

Quite agree with the stomach shutting down thing. After talking to my GP last year, she gave me a prescription for triptans, then told me not to use it unless the OTC stuff didn't work. Part of the conversation had involved working out that melt in the mouth ibuprofen might work, so we tested that. Works for me providing * remember to take them as soon as the aura starts, and since it's not on prescription, much more affordable (and fewer side-effects).
 

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Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
I got my first migraine, as far as I can tell, when my prospective mother in law came to visit. So I guess stress is a trigger.

I got them about three times a year - took the strongest over-the-counter painkiller (paracetamol/codeine mix) and went to bed in quiet, darkened room for 24 hours. I got visual aura beforehand.

Since mid thirties I have been on a beta blocker for high blood pressure, and one of its good side-effects is suppressing migraines. So I don't get full migraines any more. But when I am overtired and stressed, I still get the visual aura, often followed by a "normal" headache. It just doesn't escalate into the full debilitating migraine any more.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
l used to get them when l was a teenager. l didn't realise what they were at first, and thought they were just exceptionally bad headaches that didn't respond to aspirin, solpadeine, or paracetamol. The penny didn't drop until after a school trip to Coventry when l developed tunnel vision. (The long coach journey home was a barrel of fun.) After that it escalated into the full works with flashing lights and a severe pain over one eye, another at the base of my skull and no pain in between.

Migraleve proved a godsend. It was the only thing that worked. There was a window of opportunity to stop migraine in its tracks by taking two early on, but miss that window and it was a darkened room for the rest of the day.

It stopped after a while and l had none for years after that. A few years ago one morning at the office l unexpectedly got a very bright zigzag in my field of vision and some nausea which was made noticeably worse by artificial light. l couldn't look at the screen and had to go outside until it subsided. Again the penny didn't drop until afterwards - it was one of the things "the Change" can bring. These days l often get mini-ones with tingling and a few flashes, usually due to caffeine or too much chocolate, but rarely the actual headache itself. If l ease off the caffeine/chocolate it fades out after about 20 minutes.

[ 20. September 2014, 06:37: Message edited by: Ariel ]
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Tunnel vision? Had an incident where my peripheral vision went white and progressively narrowed to almost nothing. Gradually came back. Was told that was a precursor to fainting, but perhaps it was yet another symptom of migraine.
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
Migraine sufferer just up from a day episode. Unusually for me this definitely had nausea in it in the first half. Had them since a late teenager when * had Abdominal Migraine. It was in that case a response to not eating and a blood sugar drop can still trigger a migraine. This complicates things as stress is another trigger and * am less likely to eat sensibly if stressed.

Symptoms are vary hugely indeed the headache only occurs in a minority of cases but because photo and phonophobia occur regularly without pain, it is difficult for others to determine. It produces a reaction a bit like the surprise of a sudden noise or sound but continually.

One of my aura is a taste aura. This basically makes black coffee taste as if it has sour milk in it and chocolate taste very odd.

J***ie's first rule of migraine treatment, if it is strong enough to help it is strong enough to trigger migraine. So be careful over what you do but the list below is things that have helped me:

• Magnesium supplements
• low dose Amiltryptyline
• ginger tea drunk as anti-nausea
• Pain killers taken early
• eating regularly
• restrict caffeine intake (it speeds up the sugar high and lows)
• aromatherapy of Jasmine (mood lifter), geranium (actually supposed to be good for migraine), ginger (tummy/digestion) and cinamon (calming). However sometimes it is too strong a sensation and * do not do it.

quote:

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Accused at school of malingering .... hopefully things have changed.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Lothlorien:
I second the part about catching early if at all possible.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Drifting Star:
Anyone who posts that they have a migraine on Facebook - or anywhere else, for that matter - is deluding themselves. Or possibly knowingly exaggerating. If they had a migraine they would not be willingly using their computer.

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