Migraines and people that get ill easy?

Hollyhocks89
Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi didnt know where to post this really!
Anyone else suffer with migraines or just generally get ill easily?
I have had all sorts of illness mumps glandular fever tonsillitis you name it iv probably had it lol! I have tonsillitis right now but i honeslty get some kind of illness monthly i would say! It really doesnt help when i'm trying to loose weight but am ill because im so drained and run down just the thought of exercise is horrible! I also get migraines not as often as i used to but when i have one i cant do anything and it makes me want to eat loads not sure why!
I was hoping that eating alot more fruit veg would help ith me not getting ill so much also taking vitamin tablets but it doesnt really has anyone else tried anything that helps them to not catch things so easily?
I'm so tired of it all
Thanks

Replies

  • missjojo31
    missjojo31 Posts: 150
    I suffer with migraines, even more so if i have certain types of cheese,
    i cant eat oranges as they give me migraines too, something i used to eat loads of to stop me getting so ill.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    Sorry to hear you've been so ill. My health is generally good... if you exercise (just walking is good), drink water, and stay away from processed food and sugar, that should help your immune system.

    I've suffered from migraines since I was a teen, but have them under control. Mine are generally caused by dehydration (specifically, not enough water), when my coffee wears off, too much stress, and a few food triggers.

    My worst headaches were caused by over-the-counter headache meds. I had daily headaches for a long time, went through expensive tests with no diagnosis, and cured them when I stopped taking all common meds like aspirin, Advil, Excedrin, etc. If you have frequent headaches and take any over the counter med on a regular basis, google Rebound Headache and your med for more information. Most doctors aren't educated about this (but headache centers are).
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    I probably have a few food triggers but iv never really pin pointed what they are i know if i drink hot chocolate of eat marshmellows (and i love them together) i would get one in a matter of minutes!
    Hollisgrant thats interesting ill look into that thanks i do take alot of paracetamol mostly dissolvable coz it works faster and ibuprofen! i cant take codiene (if thats how you spell it) coz it make me throw up!
    Im on penicillin at the moment for my tonsillitis i have to take 8 a day which i thought was quite a high dosage usually they just tell me to take 4 a day!
    I dont get as many headaches as i used to coz i make sure that i drink plenty now whereas when i was a teenager i didnt really bother or think about it so they were so much worse then!
  • Joannesmith2818
    Joannesmith2818 Posts: 438 Member
    Well I was a sufferer of daily tension type headache with at least 3-4 migraines a week. I then took a course of amitryptaline and now headaches are rare. I also think diet and exercise have helped me. I don't tend to get ill in any other way. X
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    This is interesting because I have food triggers for migraines too and didn't realize it was that common, but almost everyone here mentions it. Mine are cheddar cheese and some spice I haven't identified (it's in Italian sausage). Once I learned what foods to avoid it made a huge difference, although sometimes I'll eat something not realizing that spice is in it.

    The more fit you are, the stronger your entire body is. I used to get every single bug that went around the office but since starting to work out with a trainer I've been really healthy. Keep it up and you'll start seeing the benefits.
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    I just want to feel better in general and every time i go to start my diet and want to exercise i come down with something so then i cant exercise because im so exhausted and run down! I'm hoping that once iv got rid of this tonsillitis that i will start feeling alot better and stop getting so ill once im exercising and losing weight!
    I never drink hot chocolate because i know its not good for my head also red wine which i love can be really bad but theres not much else i can think of that triggers mine but i think mine are alot to do with my time of the month and hormones!
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I probably have a few food triggers but iv never really pin pointed what they are i know if i drink hot chocolate of eat marshmellows (and i love them together) i would get one in a matter of minutes!
    Hollisgrant thats interesting ill look into that thanks i do take alot of paracetamol mostly dissolvable coz it works faster and ibuprofen! i cant take codiene (if thats how you spell it) coz it make me throw up!
    Im on penicillin at the moment for my tonsillitis i have to take 8 a day which i thought was quite a high dosage usually they just tell me to take 4 a day!
    I dont get as many headaches as i used to coz i make sure that i drink plenty now whereas when i was a teenager i didnt really bother or think about it so they were so much worse then!

    Headache prone people can get severe headaches from regularly taking common headache meds. I'm not familiar with paracetamol, but ibuprofen will definitely cause headaches if you take it on a regular basis. Unless you have some medical condition that requires you to take these meds, stop taking them.... you will get a headache, but it's a medicine-withdrawal headache... and then the headaches should go away.

    I get headaches from red wine, too much chocolate, too many peanuts, etc. It's good to figure out what your triggers are.... I can have these foods, but only in small amounts.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I just want to feel better in general and every time i go to start my diet and want to exercise i come down with something so then i cant exercise because im so exhausted and run down! I'm hoping that once iv got rid of this tonsillitis that i will start feeling alot better and stop getting so ill once im exercising and losing weight!
    I never drink hot chocolate because i know its not good for my head also red wine which i love can be really bad but theres not much else i can think of that triggers mine but i think mine are alot to do with my time of the month and hormones!

    Eat a log of veggies like broccoli, kale, carrots, etc. That should help build up your immune system.
  • cwilliams080676
    cwilliams080676 Posts: 118 Member
    Feel free to add me. I suffer from Chronic migraines.
  • mcibty
    mcibty Posts: 1,252 Member
    I had a migraine yesterday and I actually think it was my body's way of telling me to have a rest. Since starting to eat better though I am a lot less ill and recover a lot quicker. Hope it helps you too!
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    Thanks Hollisgrant I will try all that out and let you know how i get on :smile: I think paracetamol is worse than ibuprofen (my dad is always telling me off for taking painkillers) And I know long term use of both can cause stomache ulcers and heart problems etc! I dont take half as much as i used to though! x
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    Migraines used to be a common problem in my life, as well as throat ailments. When I was teaching (college not young kids) I used to tell my students that I would deduct points if they came to class sick. I gladly did private class make up to keep from being exposed. Migraines were so much a part of my life that people recognized when I had them and would comment "Have one of your headaches" because I would rub my temples. This went on for years ... I felt like it was just my lot in life ... later on I started having dental problems and had to have the fillings in my upper molars removed. Extreme yes, but over night my problem was solved. I don't know this for a fact, but I have read much about it, and I think it was the fillings in my molars. My migraines went away, and my immune system was much improved.
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    Cyclingbonnie Wow thats strange glad you are much better now! I do have a couple of fillings! My bottom jaw is bad i got punched when i was younger coz i got in the middle of my brothers friend having a fight and i was the one that took the brunt of the punch and my jaw clicks now all the time iv never really mentioned it to the docs or detist tho but i think it did knock it out of place a bit! I get ulcers all the time too!!! and this makes me feel crap and run down and they usually last a couple of weeks and get about 4-5 at a time! have told the docs about this but they dont really do anything about it!
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
    I am still trying to pin down why I am having more of them. Mine have changes in the last year. Right now, I'm watching diet sodas. Most of them, as well as much drink flavor additives, contain aspartame. At one time, it didn't bother me, but now, it may. I also watch what has caused problems for others in posts like this because they have tracked down to things I had not considered. I'd rather live without a lot of things than have headaches. Next to go is reducing the amount of Splenda I use...it's in my tea and coffee as a replacement to soft drinks. I don't seem to have as much trouble on my coffee days, but I was drinking more tea on the weekends, and I think I use more in the tea. I was getting headaches regularly by Monday. I'd advise a food, water, and activity log and marking days you get a headache. You may see patterns you can try to adjust.. Also, half a Relpax is my friend. Saves the day when I feel one coming on.
  • Asimi7
    Asimi7 Posts: 13 Member
    Interesting post. I have always gotten sick very easily, every month I have had some illness, my whole life! I would miss so much school as a kid! I also have suffered with frequent migraines...5-10 a month, and before I had a medication that worked for me, I had a migraine non stop for years!

    Well, here is the weird thing. Last year...actually a year ago tomorrow, I was very sick, in the hospital, and ended up needing a blood transfusion. They thought I had Pneumonia, and I wasn't getting better despite repeated treatment, turned out being a different type of lung infection caused by a fungus in the soil in the Desert South West (where we lived at the time). I was pregnant at the time, and we lost our baby, due to it, during the induction to deliver him, I hemorrhaged...hence the blood transfusion. BUT, I haven't been sick since! Nothing, not a cold, not a stomach virus...literally nothing! The frequency of my migraines has not changed at all, still the same 5-10 a month...but anyways, just think it's kinda weird. I think I must have gotten transfused with some blood from somebody with some killer antibodies!

    On a side note, the nurse was telling me that people with the AB blood type, which I have (she does too), tend to have weaker immune systems...I don't know the truth in that, (I have very low confidence in medical professionals anymore) but that's what she said.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I probably have a few food triggers but iv never really pin pointed what they are i know if i drink hot chocolate of eat marshmellows (and i love them together) i would get one in a matter of minutes!
    Hollisgrant thats interesting ill look into that thanks i do take alot of paracetamol mostly dissolvable coz it works faster and ibuprofen! i cant take codiene (if thats how you spell it) coz it make me throw up!
    Im on penicillin at the moment for my tonsillitis i have to take 8 a day which i thought was quite a high dosage usually they just tell me to take 4 a day!
    I dont get as many headaches as i used to coz i make sure that i drink plenty now whereas when i was a teenager i didnt really bother or think about it so they were so much worse then!

    Headache prone people can get severe headaches from regularly taking common headache meds. I'm not familiar with paracetamol, but ibuprofen will definitely cause headaches if you take it on a regular basis. Unless you have some medical condition that requires you to take these meds, stop taking them.... you will get a headache, but it's a medicine-withdrawal headache... and then the headaches should go away.

    I get headaches from red wine, too much chocolate, too many peanuts, etc. It's good to figure out what your triggers are.... I can have these foods, but only in small amounts.

    paracetamol is the British name for aceto-something whatever you call it in America. AFAIK overuse can cause headaches
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I have chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraine, and other related fun. Have you been to see a neurologist? I get botox for the migraines and it's lessened them by about half. You can only qualify for it if you're having 15 or more headache days per month, so I don't know if that's you or not, but even if not the neurologist can help you with treatment options.

    As for getting sick a lot, I used to do that when I had active lupus. Now it's in remission and I hardly ever get sick, but for awhile there I caught everything and I would also be sick to my stomach with depressing regularity.
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    Asimi sorry about your loss
    Its good you dont get ill anymore it must be something to do with the blood transfusion! I'm not sure what blood type i am but i do know i have a negative blood type because i had to have an anti D injection when i miscarried!
    Iv always have a rubbish immune system but mostly since i had glandular fever when i was 15-16 it completley ran me down and i was ill with it for over a year i took so much time off school and hardly went out with friends at all i would just stay home and sleep mostly!
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    I have chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraine, and other related fun. Have you been to see a neurologist? I get botox for the migraines and it's lessened them by about half. You can only qualify for it if you're having 15 or more headache days per month, so I don't know if that's you or not, but even if not the neurologist can help you with treatment options.

    As for getting sick a lot, I used to do that when I had active lupus. Now it's in remission and I hardly ever get sick, but for awhile there I caught everything and I would also be sick to my stomach with depressing regularity.

    Hi no iv not been refered or anything docs just tend to fob me off with things to try and stop the migraines before they start like beta blockers and there was another i took but i literally couldnt get up in the mornings they used to knock me out!
    My migraines i would have some odd days having them and sometimes have one for 2 solid weeks I would take painkillers to stop them being so bad througout the day but theyd be thereagain when i wake up! And where i work on computers and around loads of screens and crap lighting it doesnt help!
  • LauraHasABabyJack
    LauraHasABabyJack Posts: 629 Member
    My husband gets severe migraines. Last summer he was out of work for six weeks straight because they got so bad. After multiple doctors and visits, we discovered he has horrible food and environmental allergies. Avoiding the food allergens has improved them dramatically. Even when he gets one now they aren't so nasty or prolonged. He's going for weekly allergy shots to hopefully help with the environmental allergies. He also has been feeling better physically in other ways- not so many stomach problems, fewer colds, less feeling cruddy.
  • TheRainQueen
    TheRainQueen Posts: 43 Member
    Sometimes migraines can be due to stressors (loss of sleep, lack of food nutrition, poor emotional state, weather, where your body stores stress, water dehydration etc.). I am actually having a more mild one now and there are different types Ive had since I was diagnosed at 12 years old. I have an allergy to aspartame (nutrasweet). So I avoid it. I also get migraines from stress but exercise, proper sleep and implementing certain things (a bath, heat pad or an ice pack) can help before I may be "forced" to take heavier medications for it. I try to stay as organic/homeopathic as possible. As far as always being sick, I have really had the problem with migraines but am healthy otherwise. If I get a flu, it can last longer than for some people but I rarely get colds or other things.
  • Asimi7
    Asimi7 Posts: 13 Member
    Asimi sorry about your loss
    Its good you dont get ill anymore it must be something to do with the blood transfusion! I'm not sure what blood type i am but i do know i have a negative blood type because i had to have an anti D injection when i miscarried!
    Iv always have a rubbish immune system but mostly since i had glandular fever when i was 15-16 it completley ran me down and i was ill with it for over a year i took so much time off school and hardly went out with friends at all i would just stay home and sleep mostly!

    So for you it started when you had the Glandular Fever? That's interesting. Sounds like that may have thrown off your chemistry somehow. Maybe a Naturopath could help? Long story, but I've had some residual problems since the lung infection...it will always be in my body, and I need to keep it dormant. Naturopaths treat you, they get to the root of the problem, instead of treating symptoms. The downside, a lot of insurances don't cover them, some will, in some states, as an out of network doctor. In my State, there is pretty much no insurance that will....so, it's out of pocket. I'm still considering it though.

    So do you have a medication that works for your migraines? I had tried so many, but 11 years ago, finally found one that worked for me, Esgic+ (Butalbital), so now I don't worry about them, because I know that if I feel one coming on, relief is on the way.
  • Hollyhocks89
    Hollyhocks89 Posts: 92 Member
    Asimi sorry about your loss
    Its good you dont get ill anymore it must be something to do with the blood transfusion! I'm not sure what blood type i am but i do know i have a negative blood type because i had to have an anti D injection when i miscarried!
    Iv always have a rubbish immune system but mostly since i had glandular fever when i was 15-16 it completley ran me down and i was ill with it for over a year i took so much time off school and hardly went out with friends at all i would just stay home and sleep mostly!

    So for you it started when you had the Glandular Fever? That's interesting. Sounds like that may have thrown off your chemistry somehow. Maybe a Naturopath could help? Long story, but I've had some residual problems since the lung infection...it will always be in my body, and I need to keep it dormant. Naturopaths treat you, they get to the root of the problem, instead of treating symptoms. The downside, a lot of insurances don't cover them, some will, in some states, as an out of network doctor. In my State, there is pretty much no insurance that will....so, it's out of pocket. I'm still considering it though.

    So do you have a medication that works for your migraines? I had tried so many, but 11 years ago, finally found one that worked for me, Esgic+ (Butalbital), so now I don't worry about them, because I know that if I feel one coming on, relief is on the way.

    My migraines iv had since i was 12-13 but yer the illnesses have pretty much been since i had glandular fever i think it must have ran my immune system down so much i had sore throat and flu like symptoms every couple of weeks that would last a couple of weeks for over a year and i even had blood tests which the glandular fever still showed up in after a year of first being diagnosed! But docs didnt do anything for me about any of that just kept pumping me full of penicillin and other antibiotics as and when i needed them! No they put me on something called pizotofen (i think it was something like that) which did kind of work but i couldnt stay on them coz i was like a zombie on them i could wake up and i was just be exhausted coz they knocked me out!
    I am quite lucky because im in the uk so free healthcare but theyve just not bothered looking into any of it for me just fob me off with more pills!!
    I will have a look at naturopaths x

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