Anyone else suffer from migraines?
Options
Replies
-
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »leonadixon wrote: »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!
Yeah, I'm starting to have it wear off too. My neuro is looking to switch me over on this next visit.
Regarding people saying "if it's not debilitating, it's not a migraine"... I take issue with that, and my neurologist (who is staff at a headache research center) would as well. I still get the debilitating kind, but it's important to remember that migraine is a systemic disease with a host of symptoms. Headache is only one of them. And the severity of the headache can vary in people who have migraine disease whenever they have a migraine.
Even with botox, I still have a daily low-level headache. I am never entirely pain free. I also always have mild nausea. The meds I'm on (tricyclic, anticonvulslant, and an anti-emetic - I don't tolerate beta blockers well) help to keep me at a manageable level most days. I can function.
Until something triggers a bad one. I don't tolerate triptans (they close my throat), so I'm on old school DHE as a rescue med.
Anyway, that daily low-level throbbing headache is part and parcel of my migraine disease, but it's not a full-blown migraine where I need to pull out all the stops. But it's still a migraine.
I was going to say the same thing regarding "debilitating," but didn't want to get into it.
I seriously learned a lot from reading The Migraine Brain. It helped me feel validated about my migraine symptoms, and so much better knowing that my symptoms were not unknown, I wasn't just imagining or exaggerating things, and most people, including doctors, know squat about migraines.6 -
Aimovig once-a-month injection is new and it's changed my life.2
-
I don’t try to go to the gym with migraines. I get nausea so I usually grab gravol and a cool towel and listen to podcasts in darkness. But I will mention estrogen birth control can cause migraines and I’ve barely had any since I went off of it. I hadn’t even considered it as a possibility!0
-
When I got new glasses a few years back they used a different type of glass and I started getting Ocular Migraines. They were exactly like this:
It's animated here:
https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/ocular-migraine.htm
They mostly went away after a few weeks but bright light has triggered them a few times since then.
These are much less painful and debilitating than what everyone else is describing on this thread, but I still wouldn't force myself to workout during one.
Once it happened when I was walking in the woods (after accidentally looking directly into the sun), and I finished my walk, but I would not have left the house and driven to my walk had it started sooner.2 -
Maybe try a magnesium supplement? I've heard it's great for people who suffer from migraines.0
-
My wife has had severe migraines since she was a child. They get worse around her period and the main trigger when it’s not her TOM is carbs(mostly sweet stuff). She use to eat a raw diet which helped about 50%. Now she’s doing a Keto-ish diet which she read about in a book about migraines written by Angela Stanton. She’s at about 90% improvement when it’s not her TOM and 50% during TOM.
So basically her goal is to prevent them, but when they do happen she doesn’t workout until she isn’t feeling fragile anymore (usually at least 1 day past end of severe symptoms)1 -
the natural ways to help alleviate them are as follows
Per the world's foremost Naturopathic doctor:
Dr. Weil first recommends eliminating coffee (including decaffeinated coffee) as well as all other sources of caffeine from your daily routine. Make sure you are not taking any OTC or prescription drugs that contain it. Once you are completely off caffeine, you can use coffee or other forms of caffeine as an effective and immediate treatment for migraine. Drink one or two cups of strong coffee at the first sign of an attack, then lie down in a dark, quiet room.
Eliminate dietary triggers of migraine and also avoid all artificial sweeteners, including aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal).
Experiment with the herb butterbur as a preventative. This plant (Petasites hybridus), native to Europe, northern Africa and southwestern Asia has been clinically studied. Results of a small study published in the May, 2000, issue of the journal Headache showed that an extract of butterbur root significantly reduced the frequency of migraine attacks among the 58 patients participating. If you decide to try it, avoid the crude herb, which contains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Instead, choose PA-free butterbur extracts standardized to contain a minimum of 7.5 mg of petasin and isopetasin. The adult dosage ranges from 50-100 mg twice daily with meals. Side effects are rare.
You can also try feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), 100-150 mg daily of a product standardized to contain at least 0.2 percent parthenolides. This herb helps prevent the release of substances that dilate blood vessels in the head. You can stay on it indefinitely.
Another option is coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). A study published in the February 22, 2005, issue of Neurology found that CoQ10 was superior to a placebo in preventing migraines. Researchers tested CoQ10 among a group of 43 patients, about half of whom received a placebo. Of the patients who took CoQ10, 50 percent reported significantly reduced frequency of headaches compared to only 14 percent of those who took the placebo. Dosage of CoQ10 in the trial was 100 mg three times daily.
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) can also be helpful, as can magnesium. The recommended dose of riboflavin is 400 mg daily – a high dose, which needs to be prescribed by a physician.
You should first try these therapies individually, and allow enough time – usually six to eight weeks – to experience a change and then judge results before trying the next.3 -
Aimovig once-a-month injection is new and it's changed my life.
@SFJULES66 Can you tell me about your experience with this? I just started last month and am super anxious about it.0 -
LatoyasTime wrote: »Maybe try a magnesium supplement? I've heard it's great for people who suffer from migraines.
Magnesium supplementation is part of the protocol my neurologist has me on, but it's by no means a cure-all. If only it were!0 -
the natural ways to help alleviate them are as follows
Per the world's foremost Naturopathic doctor:
Dr. Weil first recommends eliminating coffee (including decaffeinated coffee) as well as all other sources of caffeine from your daily routine. Make sure you are not taking any OTC or prescription drugs that contain it. Once you are completely off caffeine, you can use coffee or other forms of caffeine as an effective and immediate treatment for migraine. Drink one or two cups of strong coffee at the first sign of an attack, then lie down in a dark, quiet room.
Eliminate dietary triggers of migraine and also avoid all artificial sweeteners, including aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal).
Experiment with the herb butterbur as a preventative. This plant (Petasites hybridus), native to Europe, northern Africa and southwestern Asia has been clinically studied. Results of a small study published in the May, 2000, issue of the journal Headache showed that an extract of butterbur root significantly reduced the frequency of migraine attacks among the 58 patients participating. If you decide to try it, avoid the crude herb, which contains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Instead, choose PA-free butterbur extracts standardized to contain a minimum of 7.5 mg of petasin and isopetasin. The adult dosage ranges from 50-100 mg twice daily with meals. Side effects are rare.
You can also try feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), 100-150 mg daily of a product standardized to contain at least 0.2 percent parthenolides. This herb helps prevent the release of substances that dilate blood vessels in the head. You can stay on it indefinitely.
Another option is coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). A study published in the February 22, 2005, issue of Neurology found that CoQ10 was superior to a placebo in preventing migraines. Researchers tested CoQ10 among a group of 43 patients, about half of whom received a placebo. Of the patients who took CoQ10, 50 percent reported significantly reduced frequency of headaches compared to only 14 percent of those who took the placebo. Dosage of CoQ10 in the trial was 100 mg three times daily.
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) can also be helpful, as can magnesium. The recommended dose of riboflavin is 400 mg daily – a high dose, which needs to be prescribed by a physician.
You should first try these therapies individually, and allow enough time – usually six to eight weeks – to experience a change and then judge results before trying the next.
Dr. Weil is a ... questionable source.
However, there is science behind recommending these supplements, so I'll give you that. The headache research center I go to recommends the supplements as well.
Saying that? They're not cure-alls. And for people with chronic migraine they are exactly what they are called - supplements to daily medicines and rescue medicines to make migraine disease more manageable.
FWIW, after a while on butterbur, I found taking it made my migraines worse and had to stop taking it.5 -
Haven't read the other posts.
I used to get migraines about a third of the time. They lasted for days. Annoying. Understatement.
When I went gluten-free, about 80-90% of them were gone. I was a celiac.
When I went very low carb, the rest of my migraines went away. I get a short one every few months now, usually from too many refined carbs, but otherwise I am migraine free. YMMV5 -
@leonadixon, I'm on month 3 and my migraines have become infrequent and very mild. I only have to reach for my rescue medication (Maxalt aka rizitropan) several times a month which is a huge reduction for me. I was getting 3 per week. My only side effect is constipation, which is a bummer. I really like it. How are you doing with it?0
-
Butterbur is supposed to work if you want to buy something at the store. My neurologist recommends it to his migraine sufferers. There are clinical studies that prove it works.1
-
LatoyasTime wrote: »Maybe try a magnesium supplement? I've heard it's great for people who suffer from migraines.
Magnesium has helped me.
0 -
@leonadixon, I'm on month 3 and my migraines have become infrequent and very mild. I only have to reach for my rescue medication (Maxalt aka rizitropan) several times a month which is a huge reduction for me. I was getting 3 per week. My only side effect is constipation, which is a bummer. I really like it. How are you doing with it?
I have only had one dose. My second is this weekend. So far, it's like I am not taking anything. Been a very, very rough month for me. What dose are you on? the 70 or 140? I am wondering if I just may need the higher dose...? I have my doctor appointment at the end of this month to discuss.0 -
Aimovig!!!0
-
Ditto for CoQ10. One thing to note is that a form that is water and fat-soluble absorbs better.
For magnesium, this is another one that you may want to look into the absorption. A citrate or glycinate often absorbs better.0 -
Butterbur is supposed to work if you want to buy something at the store. My neurologist recommends it to his migraine sufferers. There are clinical studies that prove it works.
@SFJULES66 I suffer from migraines and I had never heard of butterbar so I looked it up real quick to check it out and saw where in addition to being used to treat migraines, it's also used to stimulate appetite (from the WebMD site)... maybe not the best supplement for people trying to count calories so just thought I would share before someone ran out to pick it up! LOL
0 -
I get them all the time! I take meds for it but sometimes I’m to late in taking them the meds don’t work. Working out also triggers mine sometimes. When I have them I take a hot shower and rest. For me that’s the only way mine will go away. Never push yourself if you are uncomfortable. There is always tomorrow! Glad you made a post about this cause a lot of people suffer from migraines and a lot of people don’t understand the severity of them0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 390 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 922 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions