Any Migraineurs Out there?

siliisobel

I have had migraines since I was about 10 (32 now). I didnt realise they were migraines until I was about 24 so was constantly taking painkillers which never worked. I find my triggers are hormones, tiredness, oversleeping, skipping meals, eating later than usual and alcohol. They are horrible! It was like a miracle when I realised I was getting migraines and my doctor gave me Sumatriptan, I couldnt believe they worked it was such a relief. They do make my skin really sensitive when they kick in though but its a small price to pay to be rid of the migraine.

dizzmizliz

I've had them a few years... first doctor I saw diagnosed tension headaches. After 3 years of "treatment" for them I went to anotehr doctor on day 3 of a particularly nasty one and he diagnosed migraines! My triggers are stress, flickering sunlight, dehydration, and alcohol... and then sometimes when I'm completely chilled one will strike! Unfortunately once I've got one exercise makes it worse, tried to work through it the other week and ended up whimpering on the sofa!

I'm taking pizotifen (UK) daily to try and reduce them and I think it's helped a bit.

cNhobbes

imitrex is my savior

saragato

I've had ocular migraines, sometimes with pain sometimes without, for not quite a year now. They started when one day I lost vision in my left eye completely. It subsided but I still had blurred or double vision in that one eye (it just would never focus) but I had tests done by both an eye doctor and neurologist and neither found anything. I was put on medication for them anyway and the eye problem quit after I got a new lens prescription. They went away for about 2 or 3 months but the last month and a half I have had daily migraines despite taking the prescription so I end up taking Advil Migraine at least twice a day. Even without it I still have the edges of my vision that pulse and I have a very high sensitivity to bright light and flashing/blinking lights.

My only guess is it's stress since for years I've given myself stress headaches and more recently stress hives on my arms. I have General Anxiety Disorder so it doesn't take much to get me riled enough. As someone else mentioned, a dark room and some chill out time are usually what works best for me.

aquapussy

I get them and it is totally hormonal. Every month during that certain time. The only thing that really works for me is mixing some ASA with Tylenol 3. The codeine knocks it out usually.

deb_rn

Thankfully, I don't have them but my daughter, who is almost 28, has had them since she was 3 years old... Unfortunately, nothing helps her much... She has tried multiple medications and her doctor suggested acupuncture, but her health insurance will not approve it. She does not seem to have food triggers but lack of sleep is a huge trigger for her.

wendywwhite

I've had them since I was a teenager - and my teenage daughter now has them. Hormones :-( Dehydration, alcohol and sugar are all triggers - especially red wine and gin. (tannin) I tried both Imotrex and Zomig but would still have the migraine for a few days even if the symptoms were lessened. A few years ago landed on Relpax - a new class of drugs that targets just migraines. Life changing - knocks it out with no side effects. I will say that since I've greatly reduced gluten and alcohol and stay hydrated I really don't suffer from them frequently - used to be 2x a month now once every few months.

lynn1982

I've suffered with migraines since the age of 10 (I'm now 30), usually once a week and no less than once a month. My triggers are usually: stress, peanut butter, weather, and that time of the month. I've tried a number of different medications and the only solution for me seemed to be locking myself in a dark and silent room. About 6 months ago I started seeing a chiropractor and in the past 4 months, I've had 2 migraines (one after eating peanut butter and the other on a particularly stressful day with changing weather patterns) and they weren't nearly as bad as they used to be.

deb_rn

I used to get shocking migraines, all the time; tried everything - food, pills, alllsorts and no improvement. I wound up trying acupuncture; 6 sessions and no migraines in 10 years. The medical profession doesn't know that much!

My daughter's doctor suggested acupuncture and her insurance will no approve. She asked them if they would consider approval if her doctor wrote a letter of medical necessity and they told her not to even waste his time, because the answer is NO.

6mimi

My husband and I both suffer from migraines and I think my nine-year-old is starting to get them now too. It runs on both sides of our families. I was getting them as many as 5 days a week for years when I was drinking more soda pop and eating processed food. Now that I eat clean and gave up the pop I seem to get them a couple times a month. The worse ones are from hormones and only an Imitrex injection helps with those. I give myself a shot in the leg. It makes me feel yucky for about a half hour but it really fights off the headache. If they are not my bad hormone migraines I can usually fight them off with Excederin Migraine. Those are on recall now and not available so I found that I can take a caffiene pill I found at the drug store along with two over the counter pain killers and that combo really helps. The imitrex pills, vicodin. or Rx ibuprophan do not help at all. I also have fibromyalsia and my specialist said that going on a mold free/wheat free diet can really help the fibro and with headaches. I haven't tried it yet but there could be something to it as I noticed that I often start getting headaches after I eat a bagel. Also another thing to watch for is if you clench teeth at night. I was often waking with headaches and I think my daily stress was making me clench my teeth at night triggering migraines that I would wake up with. I purchased a bite gaurd through my dentist, and also started doing yoga for the stress relief.
I exercise a lot when I am not suffering a migraine because it is great for the body and to fight stress. However if it is one of the hormone induced migraines I do not push myself at all to exercise. It already feels like my body is at war and I just am so miserable. When it finally lets up I still do not push a workout because my body is just exhausted from all of the pain. The older I get (38 now) the more I realize I need to listen to what my body is telling me. If it says I need to rest, I listen and push a bigger workout another day.

lablovr108

I've had migraines since I was 9 or so. I take Relpax with either Advil or Aleve when I get one. I used to take Imitrex, but even the highest doses of that weren't helping me any longer. My biggest triggers are hormonal, stress and changes in the weather.

My doctor told me to try taking magnesium as there have been studies that show that may reduce the frequency of migraines. I've read articles to that effect as well. I started taking magnesium daily last August. I have definitely noticed a decrease in the number of headaches I've had. Not sure if it's coincidence, but I'm going to continue to take it.

I can't exercise when I have a headache. Just moving around makes my head throb worse.

tinydancer4

I didn't start getting them until I was 19 and I'm now 26. Mine really vary - can be anything from one every 3 months to 3 a week.

The only sure fire trigger I've identified is going too long without eating, that usually brings on a migraine. Makes dieting harder! I always try and eat something every 2-3 hours and never skip breakfast.

The problem I have is that my migraines always include nausea and sickness, so if I try and take pills after one has started I often end up throwing them up. Not nice!

Since I started trying to lose weight (only just over a week ago!) I have been exercising a lot more and, without wanting to jinx anything, I haven't had any migraines in that time...

malkb27

I would call my condition chronic headaches with severe migraines every other month. I've tried a variety of migraine medicine, but I didn't like the side effects. I've been dealing with this for as long as I can remember. I have a million triggers (not enough sleep, too much sleep, out in the sun, stress, etc.)

I'd like to reiterate what a few other people have said about removing gluten, though. I eliminated gluten about 7 weeks ago and I have gone from having a headache almost every day to having a headache once or twice a week. And I haven't had a single migraine. Now my headaches are less severe and either completely go away with ibuprophen (which they didn't used to) or go away on their own. It's amazing.

It's hard to get rid of gluten, but for me it has been worth it. And I do plan on eating gluten from time-to-time because I can't imagine never eating pizza again!

P.S. Rice pasta is really tasty!

katiejarr

I never had a migraine in my life until I started menopause at 47. Then Pow! I was using Imatrex and it was a miracle until about last year when my body just said NO to it and it literally stopped working and I had a migraine for literally 2 weeks and nothing worked. Went to the ER and they gave me Dilotted. That worked and also made me sick. The next day I went to a Neurologist. He put me on 100 mg of Topamax twice a day and low dose of Pamelor (which worked but makes me too dehydrated so we are working on finding something to replace it). For the most part Topamax is a miracle drug but it took about a month to get used to. You have to work through the loopie stage and after a month you don't feel that any more. About 2 days a month I do get a headache but not a massive migraine...then I can take an Alieve...if I do get a migraine once in a blue moon I take 2 Tramadale and 1 Fiorcet and 2 Alieve and that cocktail will nock it out. Eventually once I am through menopause I should stop the migraines because mine are diagnosed as Menopausal Migraines but they are miserable :explode:

katiejarr

Oh regarding exercise...I practice Yoga but I do NOT exercise if I have a migraine ...I can't move when Im having a migraine! I also get nausea but no aura. But otherwise I exercise 5 days a week. Ive heard that exercise can help migraine suffers...I also take magnesium every day.