Any Migraine Sufferers?

I've had migraines and other headaches for almost as long as I can remember. I've tried most anything--from prescriptions to home remedies. I just couldn't bear locking myself in a cold room for hours or days on end.

In October, I went low-carb (I lose weight the best this way and I can stick with it). By November, I hadn't had my usual headaches. I wrote all this down, along with what I stopped eating. When I cheated around Christmas and ate a ton of sugar and carbs, I woke up the next day with a migraine.

So, for me, the sugar and starches (and probably wheat) are my triggers. I'm glad too, because they are something I can easily avoid.

The magnesium supplement worked wonders years ago for me. I went from having 3-5 migraines a month to 1-2.

I suffered for years with intense migraines, then I read a book about migraines and their triggers, I really feel that food has soo very much to do with migraines, not everyone agrees with me, but if I drink two cups of coffee say and about 2 hours later have a cup of tea, I am def. going to have a migraine within two hours, you have to learn your triggers, it could come from food, a weather change, the sun etc there are so many triggers you just need to find out what is yours, its not simple but well worth it. And the best medication out there once you feel one coming on is Exedrin! I used to get auras before so it gave me time to get to my meds before the headache came on like a tornado and landed me in the hospital. Took a big part of my life away from suffering since I was 5 yrs old.

Do and read everything you can, like I said its worth it, once you find out your triggers life will be so much better.

good luck and I hope this info helps a bit.

My migraines last between 3-5 days. I have been getting them since 2007 and never found my triggers either. One thing I have noticed that keeps them away is eating clean and excersing daily. And vigorously. No easy workouts. It also helps my back pain (I have a slight case of scoliosis). I have minimized the occurences, but not eliminated them completely. Unfortunately, I may never know what causes them, but I dislike precriptions and will avoid them if I can. I feel your pain....

I suffered chronic migraine for years before I switched doctors and she looked at the meds that I was taking and told me that she thought the birth control pills were bring them on. Once I got off them I went from 3-4 migraines a week to....well....Yesterday was the first time that I'd felt one coming on in almost a year and I was able to stop it before it got back with 2 aleve and a small amount of chocolate. Chocolate always seemed to help for some reason. That and an ice pack. I was also told to stay away from any pain reliever that contained aspirin because that was working against me. My son still finds it hilarious that one of the prescription pain killers (relpax) I was given for the migraines stated that one of the side effects of the pill was headaches. Good luck and if you don't want to take pills for the head aches (and I understand that because I have too many that I have to take for other medical conditions) research and try natural remedies and see what works for you. Like the chocoalte and ice for me.

I have had daily migraines (yes, every afternoon) since I was about 19 for 2 years. In the end it came down to a few factors I think.

Firstly, EYES! I had astigmatism, and had my eyes checked at the beginning of my journey to fix this problem but was only given normal prescription which didn't fix my astigmatism. Get your eyes checked properly.

Secondly, GLUTEN! That stuff has being wreaking havoc with me, and I only know that now that I have gone gluten free.

Thirdly, SUGAR! When my sugar levels weren't so good (or what I felt like was my sugar levels) I would start to get a migraine.

Finally, STRESS! After exams/stressful situation when I 'relaxed' I would get a splitting migraine. Still managed to get 38/40 in my accounting with a migraine in 1st year though (fell asleep half way through the time slot after quickly finishing paper haha).

I still get them from time to time, and have found that my glasses prescription has changed drastically - my astigmatism seemed to have corrected itself in December last year (I started getting migraines again so got my glasses checked) - turns out the glasses had started doing me harm. But that being said, now 3 months later my sight is getting worse again.

Never ending battle, sorry!

bump for later, thank you for sharing your stories.

I have been having migraines since my freshmen year of high school and once I had my son, they only got worse and more frequent. A few years ago I went in for a routine eye exam and found out that I had a Pseudotumor cerebri, which is just a build-up of of intracranial pressure for no explainable reason. I was told that with diet and exercise, that it would eventually go away on its own. They have not disappeared yet (I have one as I am typing this) but they have been so frequent (currently get them at least once a month and they last for 2-3 days to a week), that I have learned to deal with the pressure and pain and push through so that I can get what I need to done. Showers are the only thing that really help with my migraines besides sleep. Over the counter meds don't really work. Caffeine used to help, but I have cut it out of my diet except for occasionally when we go out for dinner.

I also get migraines, but mine are related to a bleeding disorder that I have. So when mine start I know that my platelet counts are out of whack. Just a word of caution, some of the recommendations on here would tank my blood counts and make mine worse (but then again I can't even take aspirin so I'm a weird exception to most rules). If you haven't had blood tests done, it's a good place to start. Vitamin deficiencies can also cause migraines, so a full blood work up would pick up anything going on there. I hope you get some relief... they are not fun to deal with.

i have had migraines since I was about 4. lasting 2 days to 2 weeks.
many things trigger mine.... stress, allergies, bright lights, weather changes, hormones, loud noisy places/people, this one guy with a high pitched laugh, rain.

sometimes they come out of nowhere , not sure the trigger.

I sometimes have symptoms 1-2 days before. vision problems, speech difficulty, irritability, "brain fuzz", dyslexia, extreme fatigue, "floaters" (little black specks floating in my vision), decreased blood pressure, and large pupils.

I tested chocolate, cheese, and wine- those don't seem to be trigger. BUT I am testing processed flour/rice/sugar. so far, I have had few headaches/migraines since eliminating those. but it's only been 3 weeks.

I have never had food cravings as an aura or prodrome. I have found that craving like that usually idicate the food is partial culprit. eliminate those foods totally for a month. see what happens.

I was diagnosed with Chronic Migraine Syndrome when I was 14, and a year later I was hospitalized for about a week because they get to the point where I lose my vision, can't walk, and am practically a vegetable lying in bed. For a few years after my hospitalization, I would go to the doctor twice a day to get shots that relieved the pain. This was mostly during my early high school years. I am 22 now, and I still have frequent migraines, but the severe ones are few and far between.

I'm still not sure what causes them, and I've been poked, prodded, and scanned by so many doctors that it's frustrating. My dentist believed it could have been TMJ related, so I went through weekly jaw therapy for two years. It helped a bit, but not much. I've tried every prescription under the sun, and my migraines don't want to respond to any of them. Medicine just doesn't seem to have an answer for me. When I started changing my diet, I instantly started seeing changes.

First I eliminated soda (nearly 3 years now, and I haven't had a single drop!), and that greatly improved how I felt. Then I eliminated any white/fake grains (bleached, enriched, etc) and went to whole grains and wheat. This also helped a lot, but I still didn't feel great (this included other stomach problems I've had). Then my doctor suggested we look at my diet and try eliminating things one by one, and we might find another food that bothered me. And by golly, we did. The culprit was orange juice. I used to drink a gallon of orange juice every three to four days. My mother could hardly keep it in the house, but I didn't and don't drink milk so it was my main source of calcium. Little did I know that the high acidic levels were tearing my body apart.

Obviously, orange juice wasn't the only thing causing my migraines since I still have them, but today they're mostly caused by stress and my sleep disorder. I've kind of given up on finding a real answer, and take an Excedrin when the pain is too much.