Migraines!

00Angela00
00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
So I've suffered from migraines for years now. :-( They've been getting worse the last couple of months (I've had 4 this week!) so I've decided to really put my foot down and get this figured out. There are several complications though ... the first, my husband and are trying for our first baby so I'm unable to take any preventative medications. I take Imitrex when I get a migraine but it's a class C drug so I'm hoping to get to the point where that is last resort. I definetely get migraines if I eat too little, not often enough, etc. So now that I've decided to work to try and lose weight again I have to struggle with making sure I'm not cutting too far back.

So I wanted to see if anyone else has had this same struggle and what you had tried that has worked?

I do have an appt with a neurologist on the 31st. And am trying to stay away from Cheese, Chocolate, Alcohol, artificial sweetners, MSG, pickled fods and lots of little things as well to see if any of those trigger my migraines AND am working hard to drink 8 glasses of water or more.
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Replies

  • abr25
    abr25 Posts: 179
    I had chronic migrane headaches for years. I got my wisdom teeth out a few years back and they have subsided SIGNIFICANTLY ever since. Do you have yours still?
  • 00Angela00
    00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
    I had my taken out in '07, migraines are worse now than before! Although I do get jaw pain every few months which means I probably clench my teeth ... but mouth guards are expesive aren't they?! If my jaw only hearts every few months does that meant that I don't clench regularly?
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
    How long have you been trying to get pregnant? I have antiphospholipid syndrome which is a blood disorder. It can actually keep you from getting pregnant, staying pregnant and the number one symptom is headaches. SEVERE headaches. I just started having the most earth shattering headaches last week and ended up my coumadin was low enough for symptoms to leak through. Just something to think about!

    Look it up online: Hughes Syndrome of Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Some people have all of the symptoms and other people have online one or two. Not trying to scare you but I always think its better to be aware of everything then live in the dark!

    I will keep you in my prayers. I know how hard it can be to get a diagnosis and deal with doctors! Write me ANY time you want!
  • 00Angela00
    00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
    I've actually read that 50-60% of women who suffer from migraines get improvement when pregnant? Although it is true that a small percentage of woman get more or worse headaches. Is the syndrome migraine related or pregnancy related?
  • 00Angela00
    00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
    oh and I didn't answer your question, we've just started trying this month.
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
    The syndrome is blood related for lack of a better way to put it. You have thick or sticky blood. It causes the severe headaches. I've had two miscarriages, both before getting diagnosed. Headaches weren't my biggest symptom until AFTER I was diagnosed. Now when my coumadin drops I seriously think death is coming...lol...anyhow, I'm including a paragraphs that I found a very basic website regarding the disease:

    "Did you suffer from headaches or migraine as a teenager? So often this is one of the major features of the illness. Sometimes the headaches disappear in the 20’s to return with a vengeance in the 30’s or 40’s. This is a most important feature of Hughes Syndrome, and a symptom which sometimes improves dramatically when treatment is started. Often migraine features such as flashing lights and zigzag patterns accompany the headaches found in Hughes Syndrome patients. "

    http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/symptoms.htm

    Its just something to be aware. Obviously there are tons of different reasons why someone can have headaches. But a neuro and an MRI are a good way to start. To be diagnosed with APS involves one simple blood test. :o)
  • cds2327
    cds2327 Posts: 439
    I had/have the same problem. I tried for years to watch my food and all that....turns out Nuts...yup, nuts, peanut butter, any type of nut triggered my headache. cut them out and see what happened.
    also, once i got preggers, I didn't have any migraines during so maybe you won't either.
  • 00Angela00
    00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
    I had/have the same problem. I tried for years to watch my food and all that....turns out Nuts...yup, nuts, peanut butter, any type of nut triggered my headache. cut them out and see what happened.
    also, once i got preggers, I didn't have any migraines during so maybe you won't either.

    Someone at work mentioned peanuts, so does this include all nuts including almonds? It sucks how much of my "health food" snacks are being cut out because of the migraines!
  • jrbowers83
    jrbowers83 Posts: 282 Member
    So I've suffered from migraines for years now. :-( They've been getting worse the last couple of months (I've had 4 this week!) so I've decided to really put my foot down and get this figured out. There are several complications though ... the first, my husband and are trying for our first baby so I'm unable to take any preventative medications. I take Imitrex when I get a migraine but it's a class C drug so I'm hoping to get to the point where that is last resort. I definetely get migraines if I eat too little, not often enough, etc. So now that I've decided to work to try and lose weight again I have to struggle with making sure I'm not cutting too far back.

    So I wanted to see if anyone else has had this same struggle and what you had tried that has worked?

    I do have an appt with a neurologist on the 31st. And am trying to stay away from Cheese, Chocolate, Alcohol, artificial sweetners, MSG, pickled fods and lots of little things as well to see if any of those trigger my migraines AND am working hard to drink 8 glasses of water or more.

    Well, I unfortunately have the same problem. I haven't had them as bad since I started REALLY drinking water, and nothing else... no tea, coffe, sodas, even if it's diet or decaf. Over the last couple weeks they started coming back, and I couldn't really find anything diff in my diet. One day I had a sugar splurge and blamed it on that. But 2 days later I ate great and drank lots of water and had one come on that was worse. So IDK the cause still. Could be stress, or maybe even weather fluctuation? I hope that you are able to narrow down a cause. Mine used to be about twice a week and have slowed to one every month or so. Oh, not to dishearten you, but my migraines were ten times WORSE during my pregnancy. I'd get them almost every day, always worse at night, so if I worked a late shift I'd have to have coworkers drive me home sometimes. Again, I hope that you're able to get help with them before you get pregnant. And good luck!
  • nickerbee
    nickerbee Posts: 2
    I got migraines from caffeine...Once I stopped drinking caffeinated pop the migraines stopped...I could still each chocolate but this in just the last few months I have had to watch how much chocolate I eat..If I eat too much it will give me a migraine. The migraines would last until the caffeine was out of my system...nothing would touch them. I even went to the doctor he put me on a muscle relaxer because I was clenching my jaw due to the migraine but that didn't even help.
  • vhuber
    vhuber Posts: 8,779 Member
    I had migraines from YELLOW 5 dye found in numerous foods!! Taco seasoning, Spaghetti seasoning, cheeto's, doritos, punch, pop,and guess what is in the pill coloring to remove a headache? I eliminated and the headaches went away! Now if I eat some cheetoos, I have a mild headache the next day but I still watch it!
  • ashaver_21
    ashaver_21 Posts: 97
    So I've suffered from migraines for years now. :-( They've been getting worse the last couple of months (I've had 4 this week!) so I've decided to really put my foot down and get this figured out. There are several complications though ... the first, my husband and are trying for our first baby so I'm unable to take any preventative medications. I take Imitrex when I get a migraine but it's a class C drug so I'm hoping to get to the point where that is last resort. I definitely get migraines if I eat too little, not often enough, etc. So now that I've decided to work to try and lose weight again I have to struggle with making sure I'm not cutting too far back.

    So I wanted to see if anyone else has had this same struggle and what you had tried that has worked?

    I do have an appt with a neurologist on the 31st. And am trying to stay away from Cheese, Chocolate, Alcohol, artificial sweeteners, MSG, pickled fods and lots of little things as well to see if any of those trigger my migraines AND am working hard to drink 8 glasses of water or more.

    I have migraines ever since I was little. My parents always thought I was just using it as an excuse to get out of doing things. I was always very active in sports and dance. They started getting worse when I turned 16 and it put me in the hospital. They gave me a shot of morphine and a shot of Imitrex one in each butt check so not only did I have a headache my butt hurt! Shortly after that I was back in the hospital for 3 days with a stomach ache and a migraine. They found out I was allergic to birth control pills. They blamed the pills at first. Not even a month after that I found out I was pregnant. They headaches went away while I was pregnant but came back shortly after I had my daughter and because I was breast feeding I couldn't take anything. After six years of migraines have come to the conclusion that it is my blood pressure. I have low blood pressure and I don't absorb oxygen like your supposed to. I can get upset or in a stressful situation that will raise my blood pressure and with out getting enough oxygen it causes headaches. I don't even notice it when it happens. I only see when it goes to far. I start to see little white spots and feel light headed sometime I get pale. Then bam a migraine that will put me out of commission for up to 3 days.... I hope this helps diet does affect me to. I don't eat meat that is processed and I can't eat meat from certain stores. I am a hunter and eat what I kill. I don't get migraines when eating deer meat. I can eat nuts, and chocolate. I don't have dairy in the mornings or I get sick and am no good all day.

    I would like to add something.... It can be hereditary too. My son has an autoimmune disease where his blood has trouble clotting and worse his body thinks his blood cells are a virus and will kill themselves off. Scary.... He is doing good now and has had only one case of that happening. But the other day he was bouncing around and in a great mood. He is 4 years old by the way. He was bopping his head around like he was listening to music but there was nothing playing. We asked him what he was doing and his reply was " I have people dancing on my brain!" I asked "what kind of music was playing?" He replied " No music they are singing" I thought to just leave that one alone and let him be in a good mood. 5 minutes later he turned pale and started rubbing his eye brow and temple. I asked him what was a matter and he replied " the people are stomping on my brain now and the are screaming." I have him a big glass of water and put him down for a nap. That seemed to work until that night. I was working on the computer and he came into my bedroom with a bad bloody nose and a headache. I am waiting for his blood work to come back....
  • jacqueline0821
    jacqueline0821 Posts: 667 Member
    I got migraines from caffeine...Once I stopped drinking caffeinated pop the migraines stopped...I could still each chocolate but this in just the last few months I have had to watch how much chocolate I eat..If I eat too much it will give me a migraine. The migraines would last until the caffeine was out of my system...nothing would touch them. I even went to the doctor he put me on a muscle relaxer because I was clenching my jaw due to the migraine but that didn't even help.
    This was the same problem that I experience with my migraines. The caffeine triggers it.

    I saw this in one of my magazines - it has some good info
    http://www.headaches.org/headacheu/
  • heatherdwilliams
    heatherdwilliams Posts: 1
    I have had the same problems for years. When I was pregnant they got worse. My OB/GYN said they would either get better or worse depending on your body. Foods are not a trigger of my migraines. You will need to keep a food diary to see if they are the cause of yours. I found that mine were mostly hormonal and cannot take any birth control. I do get them if I eat too much or not enough as well. I think you can have different triggers. When I was pregnant I did not even take Tylenol. I believe that Midrin is a drug that you can take during pregnancy, but they didn' t help me so I just suffered through them. Good luck and I hope you find a cause and also relief. I take Treximet now. It is better than Imitrex. It is expensive, but if you have ins it is worth it. Try it, its great. I have tried every preventative med and none work with me. I have also tried all but 2 pain meds for miagraines. As I said before. Good Luck in your quest for answers
  • BamaRose0107
    BamaRose0107 Posts: 635
    I have suffered from migraines for years. I tried imitrex and others but nothing worked. I found out after many doctors visits that my migraines were being triggered by stress, anxiety and a pinched nerve in my neck. I tend to tense my shoulders when I am stressed which makes it so much worse at times. They got less intense and further apart when I started losing weight and exercising and I also started doing yoga to relieve stress.
  • mdale2
    mdale2 Posts: 79
    Wheat allergies and seasonal allergies trigger mine. I have sinus issues that seem to go hand in hand with severe headaches/migraines.

    Taking seasonal allergy meds and cutting out wheat has helped immensely.

    Funny thing about caffeine - combined with aspirin it actually reduces a migraine for me.
  • ♥Faerie♥
    ♥Faerie♥ Posts: 14,053 Member
    I have also suffered from this obnoxious, annoying, debilitating disease since I was very young. I even remember my first one. I have tried everything, but the only thing that works for me is maxalt. I have also found that consuming aspartame can sometimes trigger one, as well as stress, that monthly fun time, not getting enough water, etc.
    Feverfew sometimes lessens the pain if I am out of maxalt, (it is sooooo expensive!) so I have it growing all over my garden!
  • porterbaby38
    porterbaby38 Posts: 1,401
    i get migraines all the time, they're really bad since i was in a real bad car accident in 2002.
  • 00Angela00
    00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
    I had migraines from YELLOW 5 dye found in numerous foods!! Taco seasoning, Spaghetti seasoning, cheeto's, doritos, punch, pop,and guess what is in the pill coloring to remove a headache? I eliminated and the headaches went away! Now if I eat some cheetoos, I have a mild headache the next day but I still watch it!

    Wow, this is really interesting! I might try eliminating this as well to see if it helps! Thanks!
  • 00Angela00
    00Angela00 Posts: 1,077 Member
    So I've suffered from migraines for years now. :-( They've been getting worse the last couple of months (I've had 4 this week!) so I've decided to really put my foot down and get this figured out. There are several complications though ... the first, my husband and are trying for our first baby so I'm unable to take any preventative medications. I take Imitrex when I get a migraine but it's a class C drug so I'm hoping to get to the point where that is last resort. I definitely get migraines if I eat too little, not often enough, etc. So now that I've decided to work to try and lose weight again I have to struggle with making sure I'm not cutting too far back.

    So I wanted to see if anyone else has had this same struggle and what you had tried that has worked?

    I do have an appt with a neurologist on the 31st. And am trying to stay away from Cheese, Chocolate, Alcohol, artificial sweeteners, MSG, pickled fods and lots of little things as well to see if any of those trigger my migraines AND am working hard to drink 8 glasses of water or more.

    I have migraines ever since I was little. My parents always thought I was just using it as an excuse to get out of doing things. I was always very active in sports and dance. They started getting worse when I turned 16 and it put me in the hospital. They gave me a shot of morphine and a shot of Imitrex one in each butt check so not only did I have a headache my butt hurt! Shortly after that I was back in the hospital for 3 days with a stomach ache and a migraine. They found out I was allergic to birth control pills. They blamed the pills at first. Not even a month after that I found out I was pregnant. They headaches went away while I was pregnant but came back shortly after I had my daughter and because I was breast feeding I couldn't take anything. After six years of migraines have come to the conclusion that it is my blood pressure. I have low blood pressure and I don't absorb oxygen like your supposed to. I can get upset or in a stressful situation that will raise my blood pressure and with out getting enough oxygen it causes headaches. I don't even notice it when it happens. I only see when it goes to far. I start to see little white spots and feel light headed sometime I get pale. Then bam a migraine that will put me out of commission for up to 3 days.... I hope this helps diet does affect me to. I don't eat meat that is processed and I can't eat meat from certain stores. I am a hunter and eat what I kill. I don't get migraines when eating deer meat. I can eat nuts, and chocolate. I don't have dairy in the mornings or I get sick and am no good all day.

    I would like to add something.... It can be hereditary too. My son has an autoimmune disease where his blood has trouble clotting and worse his body thinks his blood cells are a virus and will kill themselves off. Scary.... He is doing good now and has had only one case of that happening. But the other day he was bouncing around and in a great mood. He is 4 years old by the way. He was bopping his head around like he was listening to music but there was nothing playing. We asked him what he was doing and his reply was " I have people dancing on my brain!" I asked "what kind of music was playing?" He replied " No music they are singing" I thought to just leave that one alone and let him be in a good mood. 5 minutes later he turned pale and started rubbing his eye brow and temple. I asked him what was a matter and he replied " the people are stomping on my brain now and the are screaming." I have him a big glass of water and put him down for a nap. That seemed to work until that night. I was working on the computer and he came into my bedroom with a bad bloody nose and a headache. I am waiting for his blood work to come back....

    Wow, I am so sorry to hear about what is going on with your son. I'm praying for wisdom for the doctors and that it will never occur again!
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