Migraine Sufferers on MFP

Yes! I my case, the vertigo and vomiting was frightening! I began taking all kinds of medicines & ended up with terrible side effects. When I remembered that my doctor had identified a wheat sensitivity years before (that I had ignored) I decided to start my elimination diet by getting rid of gluten.... It worked really well! I was still getting minor barometric migraines until I began to take feverfew twice a day on the advice of a friend who is an herbalist. Now I am pretty much symptom free. FINALLY! Feel better!!!

Talk with your doctor about Amerge. I take it for my migraines. It's my wonder drug.

When I was a teen up until my 20s I used to get a huge migraine every month with intense vomiting, to the point where I couldn't even take a sip of water. Now that I'm in my 30s I might get two huge ones (usually barometric-related) a year. I used to take Imitrex when they were more regular. Now I just take Excedrin Migraine when I feel one coming on and it usually works. I don't get dizzy, just an aura.

I used to get very frequent migraines. No vertigo in my case, but I had the traditional symptoms. I was on imitrex for a while, but it never seemed to work for me. I had to cut out gluten because I breastfeed my daughter who was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, and my migraines disappeared. I believe someone else had mentioned that as well. Maybe try going gluten-free for a while and see how things go. There are tons of GF options. Amy's organic and Udi's are two of my favorite brands

I was under the care of a neurologist for years for migraines. Ugh. Mine were triggered by hormones (I'm female) on a monthly basis, and also by Barometric changes - usually lows.

Have you changed your form of birth control since these symptoms changed? Have you given birth? Some forms of birth control affect the symptoms by changing your hormone levels.

I have been getting migraines since I was very young as well (probably my whole life, it just took until I was about 7 or 8 to pinpoint what was going on as doctors were very cautious to diagnose a young child with migraines back then, maybe they still are.) My onset symptoms have changed over the years, quite drastically in the last year or so. I used to have similar onset symptoms as you did as a child and sometimes it still follows that pattern, but lately I've been getting a sharp pain in my scalp (like I got hit and it’s forming a goose-egg, without the lump), followed by dizziness/nausea/vomiting followed minor loss of motor and cognitive function (like a mini stroke.) I nearly always have light and scent sensitivity, regardless of which pattern my migraine decides to follow. Sometimes the headache portion of my migraine is not too severe, sometimes it is. I went to my doctor (and then another doctor just for a second opinion, since the stroke symptoms were pretty scary) a couple months ago and they both said that it is common for migraines to morph as you get older since your hormones fluctuate throughout your life. Imitrex didn’t work very well when I was younger, but it works much better for me now- I don’t know why that is. When I was younger I used the injectable kind which worked better than the pills, but now the pills work pretty effectively. I would get a refill on that if I were you, for sure. I’d also go to the doctor just so he can check you out to make sure there isn’t any other underlying issues, you don’t want to risk it when it comes to your brain. Good luck!

Yep, guilty. Heat, sunlight and stress trigger mine, sometimes smells as well. I don't use medication anymore other than painkillers when it strikes... A migraine completely ends the day for me, the moment I have one, I'm in bed until the next morning.

Relpax has been my lifesaver. I've had migraines as long as I can remember, all the way back to grade K. It's the same class as Imitrex but in pill form and doesn't make you feel as flushed and gross as Imitrex and I think it works better.

Migraines run in my family at least back to my great-grandmother. I never had them as badly as you did, but eating right and regular exercise have definitely made a huge difference.

I've had migraines ever since I can remember. My doctors wouldn't name them as migraines though, they called them headaches, which aren't even close to being the same thing. I used to get them so bad that I had to have a dark room, a cold wash cloth, and I would puke almost every 5-15 minutes depending on how bad it was. I know someone who ended up getting bloody noses and dizziness though with them. They have gotten better over the years, where I can handle them to a point. Light no longer bothers me as long as it's not directly in my eyes, and sound doesn't bother me at all either like it used to. Unfortunately I've learned that Migraines are a neurological disorder, if you have them, you have them for life, but I've learned that they do get better to handle with age.

Seardefilip...there is no cure for migraines. There are preventative things that can help for some people, you just have to find it. But even then, you will still get migraines.

Migraines run in my mother's side of my family. Interesting fact: We've recently discovered that they were caused by food sensitivities!

We each found out what food bothered us, and we've removed them from our diets. So far, we've been about 6 months migraine-free! This is involving about 4 people.

It's awesome when food is the only trigger, and you find that food that triggers them. Unfortunately there's too many triggers that I have that I can't really get rid of. Sunlight (if it's really bright) Movie theater noise usually always brings on a migraine, Heat is a huge issue and I dont even have AC in my house X.X

Been a migraine suffer since my late 40's, mine are menopausal migraines, was on Imatrex and it worked for about 5 years and then it stopped working, now Im under the care of a neologist and Im on Topamax (200 mg a day) and a low dose of nortriptiline, overall it manages them but for those rare exceptions I take pain killers (codeine, tramadol and Alieve), mine are KILLER Migraines!!!

I do take magnesium everyday but I don't really know if it makes much difference, Im hoping when Im post menopausal the migraines will stop!

That's amazing.....I went through the same transformation.

What's even more amazing is since I've started on this site over 3 months ago I have only had 1 vertigo/dizzy migraine.

It all came down to two things for me.......and MSG sensitivity which triggered the only vertigo spell I've had and not drinking enough water. I was constantly dehydrated along with eating fast food that was laced with MSG.......not saying MSG is bad but for migraine people it can be a huge trigger. Wine's a trigger for me as well but I've always known that one.

All that being said, hormones play a role in migraines as well.

I am sorry you suffer from Migraines. Let me ask you a few questions.
When was the last time you had a MRI done on your brain?
When you exert yourself do you get the sharp pain and that is when the dizziness happens?

The reason I ask...I to suffered from migraines from young youth and had been misdiagnosed for 30+ years. Not until I had one ER doctor run an MRI on me. He then showed me the test....my brain looked like a tadpole....I have Chiari Malformation. It is a birth defect that is there from birth but starts getting worse the older you get.

If you have not please have a MRI run, again your brain will show if you have this. Mine was so bad I was diagnosed on a Monday and was having surgery on that Thursday.

If you have any questions, please let me know....Also let me know what you find out
Mary