Migraine headaches!

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RoseRoiz
RoseRoiz Posts: 95
in Health and Weight Loss
I am having a hard time working out as often as I need to because I suffer from debilitating migraine headaches. My physician attributes them to hormones. Has anyone found a treatment for migraines that they have found to be sucessful? I have not been very sucessful with either M@xalt or !mitrex. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!
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  • walkdmc
    walkdmc Posts: 529 Member
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    There are preventive medications and measures to ward off migraines. It sounds like you should make an appt with your doctor to discuss your migraines. I suffer from migraines and believe me, you need an appointment dedicated to this topic. Too often folks visit their doctor and try to address their migraines with others issues and it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

    My migraines are triggered by changes in my sleep habits, either too much or too little sleep. I also get migraines if I have too much chocolate, red wine, cheese or nuts, especially if I have those things around the mid-point of my cycle. Ovulation triggers migraines in me.
  • Masachapa
    Masachapa Posts: 79
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    I feel for you! Life is very unpleasant when a headache dominates your life!
  • StephTheBookworm
    StephTheBookworm Posts: 177 Member
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    I also have migraines. I take Sumatriptan (generic Imitrex) when I get a migraine, but I HATE it because it makes my back and limbs very sore and stiff so I rarely take it.

    What has helped is that my doctor has put me on a preventative medication. We had to experiment a bit before we found one that helps, but I am currently taking Propranolol every night before bed. It's a blood pressure medication, but can also be used for migraines, which is what I use it for. It has helped decrease my migraines significantly.

    Good luck!
  • Il_DaniD_lI
    Il_DaniD_lI Posts: 1,593 Member
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    I get them too and have tried just about every medication possible. The only medication that has worked for me is Relpax taken with an anti-inflammatory.
  • RoseRoiz
    RoseRoiz Posts: 95
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    I just hate relying on medication to relieve my headaches. Has anyone been sucessful using acupuncture or biofeedback?

    The antidepressants the doctor had me try left me lethargic and ambitionless. Hated them!!
  • Showcats
    Showcats Posts: 32
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    I also take blood pressure meds and seizure meds for a preventative. Maxalt usually helps when I get a migraine but I normally have to take 2 doses of it. I have lots of food triggers as well so figuring them out has helped tremendously. However, without the preventatives, I had headaches every day and migraines at least 2-3 times a week. Good luck figuring out what works for you.
  • RoseRoiz
    RoseRoiz Posts: 95
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    Maxalt is my current go-to. My doctor had me keep a food diary for a while, but we were unable to make any definitive associations between headaches and any particular food.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    The best part of menopause was leaving those behind!

    When I was getting them, I abstained completely from caffeine. I had hot chocolate every morning, and if I was traveling and the hotel didn't have it, I would get a candy bar from the first gas station. (Withdrawal from either gave me migraines that lasted for days on end.)

    I started my birth control pill packs on Wednesdays, because I realized my headaches were occurring on the Wednesday before my period and the Wednesday of my period when I started my packs on Sunday. That moved the migraines to Saturdays, so I didn't have to deal with them at work. I would just take tylenol in the morning before I got a headache (once the headache starts, your stomach stops emptying, and most stuff other than aspirin isn't absorbed very well.) Plus I could nap if I needed to.

    Maxalt worked best for me for a rescue, as imitrex shots are like getting hit in the back of the neck by a 4x4, and imitrex pills and spray made me nauseated. My headaches were under control before most of the current drugs came out.

    Everyone has their own pattern of headaches and their own triggers, so the more you know about your own migraines, the fewer you'll end up with.
  • mrsmoreno05
    mrsmoreno05 Posts: 16
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    I am having a hard time working out as often as I need to because I suffer from debilitating migraine headaches. My physician attributes them to hormones. Has anyone found a treatment for migraines that they have found to be sucessful? I have not been very sucessful with either M@xalt or !mitrex. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!

    Have you seen a neurologist? A normal physician may not be who you need to see.
    I suffer from a rare neurological disorder, and I was getting horrible migraines and I was sent to a neurologist - of course I had no idea at the time of the disorder until many test were ran.
  • peachprl
    peachprl Posts: 119 Member
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    I take topamax as a preventative and it does me wonders. If I do get a bad migraine, I do get acupuncture and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend it :-)
  • Showcats
    Showcats Posts: 32
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    I have heard that acupunture can help but have never tried it. I have noticed that getting a massage helps some but I still have to take the preventatives.
  • RoseRoiz
    RoseRoiz Posts: 95
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    The 4x4 analogy is so true! The effects of the Imitrex injection was worse than the headache it was supposed to relieve!

    I appreciate everybodys input. Unfortunately, I do have a bad headache right now and I'm going to head off for bed.

    I'll check this thread again in the morning. Thanks girls!!
  • BlessedShauna777
    BlessedShauna777 Posts: 118 Member
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    My older sister suffers from chronic headaches. There are days I'd call her to talk and she answers the phone sobbing. She's been to tons of doctors and they pretty much told her to take the same meds you mentioned and not much changed. She actually started taking birth control, Yasmin, and it has helped ALOT.
  • BlessedShauna777
    BlessedShauna777 Posts: 118 Member
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    My older sister suffers from chronic headaches. There are days I'd call her to talk and she answers the phone sobbing. She's been to tons of doctors and they pretty much told her to take the same meds you mentioned and not much changed. She actually started taking birth control, Yasmin, and it has helped ALOT.
  • rf1170
    rf1170 Posts: 180 Member
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    If you can see a neurologist, it would probably help a lot in finding a way to manage the headaches. Look for one who has experience treating migraine patients, because the chances are good they've treated someone in your position before. That said, I know that Botox was recently approved for chronic migraine (defined as 15 or more headache days per month). If the muscles in your head and neck are compressing your nerves, Botox can relax them for three or four months. The treatment is pretty expensive, but I think most insurances are paying for it now since it was approved by the FDA. Good luck!
  • angimac
    angimac Posts: 145 Member
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    Chiropractor helped with mine until I could no longer go see him.
    Doctor recommended that I take 500mg acetaminophen at the same time as 400mg of ibuprofen and go lie down with an ice pack at the onset of any headache I had because I was so prone to migraines.
    To this day, I treat all headaches with 2 ice packs - one wrapped around the base of my skull and the other across my eyes. Sometimes that will help with no meds, IF I manage to catch it in time.
  • mrsmoreno05
    mrsmoreno05 Posts: 16
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    I take topamax twice a day. 100mg in the morning and 200mg at night and I also take Propranolol 40 Mg twice a day. I get occipital nerve blocks every 6weeks http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/401060_10150545458473797_753533796_9018631_448563277_n.jpg

    If you are really sufferings these often, you should seek a neurologist.
  • viser_haut
    viser_haut Posts: 97 Member
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    I feel your pain! I actually had one earlier but thankfully it's gone now. My migraines are also hormonal, and my doctor prescribes me something called Zomig (Zolmitriptan)... Thankfully in the UK I get it free, which is a blessing as from what I understand it's very expensive (you only get 6 tablets at a time :( )... It usually takes a migraine away in about 30 minutes though, which is amazing, particularly if you don't want to spend the whole day trapped in a room in the dark.
    However I've found that it makes me quite drowsy, which I find worth putting up with when the blinding pain goes away in my eyes, but I am interested in hearing about non-medication solutions! I've heard (not sure of the truth in it) that regularly having chilli or spicy foods is a preventative tool, as it eases the pressure in your blood vessels?
  • kayhatlen
    kayhatlen Posts: 46
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    I'm in a migraine phase currently due to weather fluctuations here in Wisconsin. I've had them for 3 days now. Maxalt is my go to medicine plus a cocktail of other meds and caffeine. It took experimenting with the meds to find what usually works for me. Sometimes nothing works and I end up in the ER to get Demerol shots. Today was a migraine day for me and I ended up forcing myself to exercise and it got rid of the end of the migraine! I have heard acupuncture works, but have not tried it myself. Sometimes I do go to my chiropractor and the back adjustments he does can help alleviate some of the pain.
  • PodWif
    PodWif Posts: 16
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    My husband had migraines almost daily for 3 years before he was able to find a neurologist you could figure out how to help him. I'll have to get back to you on exactly what medicines he was given but he was admitted to the hospital for 3 days to be given whatever drug it was in an IV for those 3 days that was suppose to block the pain receptors and then he was given two medicines as a preventive, one for morning and night I believe. He quit taking the preventive meds because he didn't like the side effects and as long as he avoids chocolate (he can't have it all anymore or it's an instant migrane), caffinee, actemphonie, eats regularly, and gets enough sleep he's been able to keep them at bay.

    Chocolate, caffinee, and acetamphonnie we not always something he had problems with but they later became issues and now triggers.

    PS - sorry my spelling is so horrible in this post.

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