Anybody suffer from Migraines

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  • stunningalmond
    stunningalmond Posts: 275 Member
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    I suffer from migraines and have taken pretty much every kind of medication for them and they do not work. The only thing I can do is lay in a quiet, dark room with a cold washcloth over my eyes. The crazy thing is though, when I have one, if I work out, it seems to help. I know that sounds insane but it works.I found that the more sugar I ate, the more frequent my migraines happened. So, I completely cut out sugar and only eat clean foods and drink water and green tea and that has helped too. Migraines are different for everyone though. Mine seem to occur around my monthly cycle and are probably related to that. I have had MRI's, seen a neurologist, everything and I still get them and no medication works. I would just tell you to maybe try modifying your diet a bit and see if that helps. If you would like to be friends on here that would be great, we can help each other through them. Have a great day and I hope you feel better!!!

    I could have wrote this myself. I've given up sugar and preservatives and so far, no more headaches/migraines!
  • lindsy721
    lindsy721 Posts: 350 Member
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    Ohhh, sweetie I feel your pain!! I suffered for 10 years before getting things under control... I actually tried a book that a ton of people in the online migraine community were raving about, it's called "Heal Your Headache" by Dr. David Buchholz. It's a system built around an elimination diet, and oh, my goodness... long as I stick to that lifestyle, I am cured. I've told lots of fellow migraineurs about it, and even took it to my doctor because it had helped me so much and she has so many patients with migraine!
    So, might be worth a try for you.
    Let me know if it helps!
  • Go1096
    Go1096 Posts: 83 Member
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    i used to get migraine really bad. they would last 4-5 days and i would get 3-4 a month. but since I started exercising and losing weight, since July i have been migraine free and have only had one bad headache... hope your's ease up for you :)

    me too. I have bad migraines forever...Since I have been trying to get healthy though I have had one.
    I too went to a neurologist and didn't find anything. So they gave me some pills. They only put me to sleep.
    So I take Advil Migraine hide in a hole and wait for it to pass.

    I saw this movie called Fat Sick and Nearly dead. A woman in this documentary was complaining of migraines and she went on a juicing fast for 10 days and the headaches stopped.

    I want to give that a go once I can afford a juicer. :)
  • Healthydiner65
    Healthydiner65 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    I am a classic migraine sufferer . I get the migraine aura before the headache.I am on estradial which a hormone that virtually has ended my migraines.Not reccomended for everyone but it works for me.
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
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    Fellow migraine sufferer. I've had migraines since I was 14... 12 years now. I've been on almost every medication possible since then (preventative), and then stop working. I'm on Topamax twice a day now, and have been for 2 years, and (knock on wood), it's worked so far, and it's been the longest a medication has worked. I still get them, but only a couple a month. In the past, when a medication doesn't work, I'll get them a few times a week, and then can last for hours. Like you, I've ended up in the ER, and I've missed countless days of work and school (when I was in school). The only thing that works for me when I have a really bad migraine is a dark room and my bed - and hopefully sleeping it off. If I can catch it before it's full-blown, Ibuprofen sometimes works. I also take a combo of Ativan and Compazine for the bad ones, for the purpose of knocking me out and sleeping them off. None of the others work for me. My best advice? Avoid your triggers and stay hydrated. Add me if you want to - I've been through a lot with these over the years!
  • lenoresaari
    lenoresaari Posts: 500 Member
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    I have found that if I eat a very simple diet-
    following a book that I found written by a doctor
    then I am ok. If you want me to look for
    the book I will -friend me and I will give you the title after I find it:glasses: .
  • kittymoney
    kittymoney Posts: 115 Member
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    migraines for many years here, college days blamed it on stress and would be out in bed or in a relaxing bath tub, found i had a pressure point in my neck that would relieve the pain in my head. one time took out my lower back really bad and after a month of suffering went to chiropractor for my first time and found lower spine out of wack and as I prepared the journey to a better lower back found out my neck was out of line. now when i get migraines and feel the tension in my neck i go to the chiropractor and i feel much better. if i don't go and ride it out i usually end up with a couple migraines a week.

    Sometimes i would just grab anything to feel relief for eating and have learned i need to control that. after a migraine has passed i am usually wiped out and pretty tired.
  • avir8
    avir8 Posts: 671 Member
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    Botox has FDA approval for treatment of migraines, and should not have effect on diet either. (And for those who think it's for cosmetic reasons this injection goes in the neck areas sorry)
  • RunMyOregonBunsOff
    RunMyOregonBunsOff Posts: 862 Member
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    Here is a link to some migraine triggers...some of them, you might not know about. Check it out.

    http://www.medicinenet.com/headache_and_migraine_triggers_pictures_slideshow/article.htm
  • sarahmichelle876
    sarahmichelle876 Posts: 94
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    Oh gosh, I've taken so many meds for migraines that it's messed my stomach up too and now I have horrible acid reflux. I can't completely make them go away, but I've found that drinking cold caffeine with my meds, a dark room. And having my husbanding push the back of my neck with his fingers. Like make tiny circles with his fingers while applying pressure on each side of my spine all the way into my hair. It takes the edge off my migraines.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Cluster Headaches all the time. Rather have a Migraine over them any day of the week.
  • Rmazula
    Rmazula Posts: 58 Member
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    @avir8: I am not sure if you are on botox for migraines, but I wanted to clear up where the botox is injected (at least for me - and I have been told by my doctor, that they follow a specific way they do it) First, it is medical grade botox and can only be done by a certified doctor. It can only be done every 3 months per FDA. They put the botox at your pain spots in specific and other areas. So different areas on your forehead, top of head, base of skull, shoulders. In order to get botox, you have to get approved by your insurance, which can take some time. I have severe migraine and they rejected me the first time around, so my doctor had to re-submit.

    There are generally about 30 shots. I am a wimp so I usually have my husband there to hold my hand. With every cycle of injections your body will slowly get used to it and the migraines should go down, hopefully to a point where you won't need the botox anymore. My botox is currently wearing off at 10-11 weeks, so I have a couple weeks that are really difficult. I still get migraines, but compared to getting them 1-2 weeks, all in a row; 14 or so migraines a month, it is a lot better. For the most part, it has cut the number of my migraines a month in half, some months I have more, some months I have less, some months none. It does not work for everyone though.

    I have found no other preventative medication to work for me. I have really bad vision and balance problems, more so than the pain. Sometimes I would rather have the pain. I am so debilitated with this, something I am sure everyone can relate to.

    Anyways, regarding losing weight. Yes, it sucks and is very frustrating. When I get my migraines, drinking Sprite helps and eating carbs helps, so you can see where that leads me. I am unable to do cardio, weights. I have to just sit, lay down, because my balance is horrible, just walking is hard. Sometimes it causes me to starve myself, sometimes it causes me to eat too much and generally I just grab whatever is there. I usually have to eat softer foods, it is hard for me to eat much of substance, so I snack. I have found it is definitely a challenge when they are severe :(

    Is there anything anyone does when they are severe that helps them?
  • zbmb30
    zbmb30 Posts: 178 Member
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    I have migraines. I started getting them when I was a junior in college and they progressed to me having them pretty frequently. After my boyfriend's mom got on to me and said that she would take me to a neurologist herself if I didn't go, I finally scheduled an appointment. She said everything seemed fine with me, and my MRI came back normal. She told me to cut out the diet sodas. She said I shouldn't really have anything other than water. She gave me a list of foods I can have and can't have. I try to follow it (limit sugar intake, no frozen meals, etc.). I have water pretty much all day. I'll wake up and drink a bottle of water when I am getting ready for work, then 2 cups of coffee after breakfast at work, and then the rest of the day is water. I will allow myself some diet soda on the weekends (just for the taste). I still get migraines, but not nearly as often. I keep only fruit in my office for snacks, so when I start to get a headache I won't be tempted with any other foods. I also don't keep cash on me on purpose, so I won't hit the vending machines.

    My family doctor prescribed me medicines to take when I get migraines. He prescribed one that begins with a S, but it doesn't work very well for me. He also prescribed me Relpax, which is expensive. My insurance (I got off my parents this year) actually allows me 8 pills a month for $15. They usually help with the migraines when nothing else will. I do get sleepy on those though. My neurologist tried me on some preventitive medicine, but I was having bad side effects on it, so I quit taking it.

    I also noticed last week that I will sometimes get migraines after working out. I am doing a running program through my work, and we ran maybe 15-20 minutes last week and as soon as I stopped and walked to cool down and stretch, my head was throbbing. It got worse through the night, so I woke up and took a Relpax and it was gone by the time I had to wake up and get ready for work.

    I hope this helps you. I know migraines are a pain (no pun intended). Feel free to add me as a friend!

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