Anyone else suffer from migraines?

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stephj1216
stephj1216 Posts: 75 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone...

Does anyone else here suffer from severe migraines? And if you do, how do you get through them? I had one so severe last night that even my abortive medicines didn't work, so I didn't make it to the gym. I'm not sure how effective working out would be to help stop the pain. Are any of yall able to work through them or do you just go to a dark room and sleep them off like I do?

Any suggestions?
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  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
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    I get migraines -- I have since I was a child (diagnosed at 12, along with crippling vertigo). When I get a headache, I don't push myself to do any exercise. I try to take care of my head as much as possible, especially since mine are vascular, getting the heart rate up is not really appealing.

    I live everyday life through them (I have a threshold to where they become 'I must curl up in a dark room and cry', but I've learned to live with the pain), but I always, always, always try to baby my head because I want them to go away. I've learned that for me, pushing myself just makes them last that much longer!

    I can always pick back up with my calories and exercise after, but when I have one, I usually eat at maintenance (if I can eat) and rest my head. Really depends on how long it lasts (~1-2 days vs week or more).
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
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    I get them but only during certain times of the month, and only in the past year or two I don't know why. Excedrin has been my life saver, i'm not sure mine are as severe as yours sound though. I always go lay down in a quiet and pitch dark room too. They make me feel really nauseous so eating is difficult.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    When my migraines got a lot more severe and frequent I went to the doctor and found out I was hypothyroid. Started treatment for that and now I get a less severe migraine maybe once or twice a month instead of every day for over a week. I could not get much of anything done when the pain and nausea were too bad for days.
    I used an app called migraine buddy to help track everything about my migraines.
    What helps me is sitting or laying down in a dark cool room.
    Caffeine does not make me feel better. I know it helps some people.

    Triggers for me are usually my period, bright light, perfumes or air fresheners, artificial sweeteners, weather changes and I guess my thyroid not working.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    I have chronic migraine, and advise that if you get them often you see a neurologist.

    I'm on a treatment regimen and find that it manages most of them, though some break through the rescue meds and require some sleeping off.

    I can walk when I have a low level migraine and it sometimes improves it. Strenuous exercise is actually a trigger for me, so all of my exercise is at a moderate level at most.

    I'm one of the oddballs whose migraines got worse after menopause for some reason.
  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    No way do I even think about exercise when one hits - I can barely move. I think about hiding in a dark, quiet room and trying to sleep it off.
    On the flipside, I also don't think about eating, so don't eat more than I need (though afterwards I often crave salty food...).

    If they are happening more, maybe a visit to the doctor?
    My doc has been great - I've been taking a prophylactic for several years now, which kept them to a minimum, but this year they got out of control again.
    One visit to the doc, and now taking another daily pill, and since then only had a handful in the last 3 months (was at least 12 days in the month before I went). Going back for a follow up next month, so will be interesting where we go from here. I didn't really want to be popping pills every day, but if the alternative is migraines, I'm all good with meds.

    My triggers are:
    Hormones
    Bright lights/sunlight
    Low blood sugar
    Lack of decent sleep
    Alcohol
    Perfumes
    Cigarette smell (seriously, I once bought a second hand pair of pants that must have been from a smoker's home and just being in the same room, not wearing them, set me off - could barely smell anything with my nose, but it was awful, and as soon as I took them out and put them in the wash, it started to improve)

    It seems that none of these are a definite trigger, but if I reach a critical point it's all over (ie, tired, plus someone wearing strong perfume, plus bright lights).

  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    In addition to lack of sleep, I find too much sleep is a trigger for me as well. I really need to keep a very consistent sleep schedule to manage mine.
  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    Danp wrote: »
    I get them, but I seem to get them in bouts. I'll not have one for a very long time then I seem to get them frequently for a while before they go away again and I agree, they're just the worst.

    The only thing that pains me more than suffering from a migraine is how misunderstood they are -
    - "Oh I've got such a migraine". No you don't you've got a headache, I can tell because you're still at your desk at work and not hiding under the covers from any light at all or hunched over the toilet bowl crying
    - "You're probably dehydrated" - No, Just no
    - "What do you mean you'll be off work for 3 days, it's just a headache" - No it's not. The migraine can last for more than 1 day by itself and even when it's gone I'm usually wiped for the next 24 hours while I recover. It's not just a headache
    - "Have you taken paracetamol/ibuprofen/etc" - Really, that's like trying to fill the grand canyon by throwing bricks in it. But while the subject is up, you don't happen to have any morphine or heroin do you?
    - "You should try Pranayama/Meditation/Yoga/Other Woo" - You should try shutting up!

    YES!!! So much YES!!! To all of this.

    And, ugh, those migraine hangovers are awful. Yes, I'm extremely grateful to not be crying on the floor in pain, but really, don't expect me to think or even follow a conversation for at least 24 hours after the meds & migraine wear off.
    I often find I get a bit of a high the following day after the hangover though - probably just the thrill of being able to function like a human again.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    I tend to get a visual aura a few hours before an attack. My vision will go hazy or wavy. My eyes also go weird like I can see everything but can't focus my eyes on any one thing.

    When this happens I tend to make a dash for home but there are no outward symptoms of what's going to happen. Many times in the past I've had an aura come on and said that I'm heading home because I'm not feeling well only to be told "What? You don't look sick, you look perfectly fine"
  • shelbydodgeguy
    shelbydodgeguy Posts: 194 Member
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    I've suffered from migraines since I was five or six years old. Flickering florescence lights, certain colors of incandescent lights, sometimes sunlight, certain smells (perfumes, colognes, hairsprays, shampoos) tend to trigger them. I get everything with them - aura beforehand, sensitivity to light, sound, movement, etc. It's horrific.

    Ultra hot showers followed by ice packs help, and I have to be in a completely dark room and stay as still as possible until it passes. On the bright side with a low dose anticonvulsant and then a diet change a few months back they've been reduced by 75% or more. Instead of near constant migraines I'm only getting them when exposed to triggers other than a handful of times.
  • besmith11
    besmith11 Posts: 106 Member
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    I have suffered with diagnosed migraines since I was 8. I do NOT exercise when I have one. I can barely move when I have one. My face droops and my speech slurs like I am drunk/having a stroke. (Seen a neurologist, no it's not actually a stroke but the symptoms scare people).

    On preventative medication and rescue ones. I used to get them several times a month lasting several days. Normally the first three days were the worst. After that, the next couple of days were bearable.

    Triggers for me:
    - Not enough sleep
    - Stress
    - Alcohol
    - Eating more than 2300 mg of sodium a day
    - Perfumes

    @Danp - YESSSSSS!!!! I hate all of those comments.
  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
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    I had my first one in about 8 months last week at work. I get really bad visual aura for about 40 min beforehand and sometimes if I’m really lucky it’s only the ocular migraine and real “pain” never hits just pressure everywhere. This time my district boss showed up for her monthly meeting so I had to stick around even though I could only see half of her face and it jacked with my speech so I swear I sounded like I was drunk. And yes the hangover for the next 24 hours is terrible! My anxiety spikes and I’m slow as hell. No chance I’d even consider the gym. I’d probably hurt myself.
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
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    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    In addition to lack of sleep, I find too much sleep is a trigger for me as well. I really need to keep a very consistent sleep schedule to manage mine.

    This. I find if I oversleep even by a little bit, I am WAY more prone to a migraine and then the weekend is gone like a candle flame in the wind.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    You may want to read The Migraine Brain, by Carolyn Bernstein.

    That was a fantastic book for me for recognizing some triggers I didn't know I had, as well as understanding more about the process of migraines. Sometimes the process of a migraine can start days before symptoms manifest, which may be why a migraine sometimes seems to immediately manifest after exposure to a trigger, whereas other times it doesn't. One person can also have different symptoms at different times. Like another poster, my speech can often start slurring before I'm about to get a migraine. I often cannot tell, but others can. My coworkers will tell me if they notice, so that I can take my abortive. I've also experienced numbness in my face and, just a few times, on the left side of my body. I learned through that book that those are symptoms for some.

    I also recommend seeing a neurologist if you are not already, as others have suggested. I had to teach myself about migraines because my PCPs were woefully ignorant. Thankfully, I am now seeing a neurologist due to my new insurance. His interest in The Migraine Brain was piqued as several of my answers to his questions I learned from that book.

    My point with all of that is actually answering your question in a roundabout way. No one can tell you whether working out will help with the pain. Migraines are difficult to treat and difficult for others to understand precisely because they vary so much. Triggers, symptoms, and the pain and migraine itself can vary from person to person, and for each person. Sometimes I get aura, sometimes I don't. Sometimes a numb face, sometimes not. Sometimes nauseous, not always. Sometimes cigarette odor or perfume trigger an immediate migraine, sometimes they don't. You have to try things out for yourself to identify your own triggers and treatments.
  • stephj1216
    stephj1216 Posts: 75 Member
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    Thank you everyone! I saw my neurologist yesterday and we decided that my current regimen was not working so we switched it up a bit. She recommended botox as soon as insurance approves it now that I have failed 2 different preventative medications.

    I feel much better than I did 2 nights ago but still having some postdrome headache which should go away soon.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,960 Member
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    Thank you to everyone posting in this thread.

    Anyone who "thinks" they have migraines should definitely get a diagnosis. I suffered with them for two decades until I went through menopause. For me they were completely disabling, I couldn't even get out of bed unless it was to throw up.

    I ended up in the ER at one point because I couldn't even keep water down. I would say if you are able to do anything other than be in bed then it may be some other type of headache.

    My prophylactic regimen started with a daily tricyclic, then they added a beta blocker, then they added an anticonvulsant. I tried Immitrex as a rescue, even the self-injectable. It worked but the increased heart rate scared me. Immitrex tablets worked but they took an hour or two to take effect. I finally settled on Maxalt, it dissolves on the tongue and it worked within minutes with no side effects for me. I was spending $200 a month out of pocket for treatment. Worth it, but the meds are expensive.

    My healing thoughts go out to anyone who suffers. It is a chronic fear that's always there and a horrible chronic condition.
  • leonadixon
    leonadixon Posts: 479 Member
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    stephj1216 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone! I saw my neurologist yesterday and we decided that my current regimen was not working so we switched it up a bit. She recommended botox as soon as insurance approves it now that I have failed 2 different preventative medications.

    I feel much better than I did 2 nights ago but still having some postdrome headache which should go away soon.

    The botox has been amazing for me this past year. Unfortunately, it's been losing its efficacy each time I get the next injection. It wore off 6 weeks early this time (I have just gotten over a 2 week long migraine and had to be treated with prednisone to break it). We are now going to try the brand new Aimovig which is supposed to be the first FDA approved preventative for migraine. I hope you get them under control! They are so debilitating!
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    I do keto for migraine control, it is working marvelously for about 13 months now.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    I get migraines with a scary aura that mimics symptoms of a stroke. In addition to a visual aura, I go numb on one side—hand, arm, neck, and sometimes foot—and I have trouble putting my thoughts into words. The actual headache part is mild and happens on the side that didn’t go numb. Sometimes I don’t get the headache at all. I also get the postdrome/migraine hangover for the next day or two. My neurologist told me that I can’t take most migraine medications with this type of aura. I also cannot take a combined birth control pill (the most common type) as the estrogen would raise my risk of a real stroke. My doctor just taught me how to tell my migraine aura from stroke symptoms: if I don’t have visual symptoms, I’d better call 911.

    My trigger turned out to be almost entirely hormonal. I switched from the pill to a Mirena IUD (no estrogen, just progestin) and the migraines almost totally stopped. Now I get one about once a year or less, usually when I’m really stressed or getting sick.

    I would definitely not exercise with a migraine. When I notice that aura starting, I drop whatever I’m doing, take the maximum dose of ibuprofen—which doesn’t do much, but it’s the only thing I can take—and go lie down to wait it out.

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