Does anyone else have constant migraines?

ckemmis · June 2013

I have a migraine disorder that causes me to have a migraine 15+ days out of the month, when I do get them they can go on for days or weeks, my longest one last 22 days. I'm on medication for it, but it really doesn't do me any good, it just makes me feel off.

I'm wondering how some of you guys work out if you have the same problem. Some days, mine aren't too bad, and I can workout through them, I just have to do something that isn't very intense, but others days are complete hell. Any tips or advice?

judtod · June 2013

You have my sympathy. I have been there. Exercising can help. But, what got rid of 95% of my headaches was botox. You may want to give it a try. If so, have it done by a doctor who does it for migraines, not one who does it for cosmetic reasons. It changed my life.

ScarletFyre · June 2013

Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of tips - i am suffering the same as you though. How often you you work out, when you aren't suffering migraines? I did read that women who workout 3 or more times a week for at least 30 (I think) minutes a day suffer less migraines (i don't know why the article said women specifically other than it was a women's health mag). I will look up the article again for accuracy - i am going off memory on this. It's a double edged sword though isn't it? It's hard to workout that much with the migraines.

I get several migraines a week, and sometimes a workout actually helps it; other times it makes it worse. These things suck. lol

I feel like if i could just get on a routine, i'd get less, but, as i am sure you know, with the migraines, it's not that easy. I am blessed that i have not had one as long as your longest, and i am very sorry you have had to have one that long! I have only two medications i found that i can tolerate (I have bad reactions to most) and i have my doubts to how well one even works).

Sorry there isn't much in the way of tips or advice, but i can say that anything i do learn i'll pass your way

magpie_17 · June 2013

When my headaches were really bad (a combo of tension headaches and migraines, 20-25 days out of the month), I removed all high impact exercise from my schedule. Stuck to low impact - yoga, elliptical, walking - while I was working with a massage therapist, haedache specialist and physical therapist to try to reduce the intensity and occurence of my migraines and headaches. I was also put on a daily preventive medication and given tension headache meds and migraine meds. It took 4-6 months, but eventually I was able to start running, lifting heavier weights and generally increasing high impact exercise again.

mrs_mab · June 2013

One word.........GLUTEN!

Cut it out of your diet, as much as you can, all of it if you can! I have suffererd from migraines for years, and just recently started cutting back gluten from our diets everywhere I can at home after doing a lot of research on it. My migraines have pretty much stopped all together, not to mention the arthritis inflamation/pain my husband had is GONE as well! GLUTEN is VERY BAD for us!

Amandatorie · June 2013

Have you seen a specialist who's really willing to work with you to figure out your triggers, and experiment with different prophylactic medications or treatments, and also different treatments when the migraine occurs? Have you kept a migraine diary? Tried an elimination diet related to that?

I take propranolol daily to prevent migraines. It works wonders for me. It's really my miracle drug. Once I get a migraine (which is very rare), none of the migraine medicines I've tried really do anything to help, and some (like Imitrex) just make it seem worse. The only thing that helps is drinking an obscene amount of water, it seems. However, being dehydrated is one of my only known triggers. The other I know of is coming down from stress...like right after exams in college, for example, or the first day on vacation, was when I'd be most likely to get a migraine.

bellaa_x0 · June 2013

i had terrible migraines.. not 15+ days long, but 3-4 days at a time and was sent to a neurologist. i had an MRI done on my brain just in case and with everything fine, he prescribed me imitrex which works wonders.. however, since january when i started focusing on clean eating and working out i have only had ONE migraine and i think it was sparked from alcohol consumption (unfortunately, this is one of my triggers) while on vacation.

jesuison · June 2013

Ugh, migraines. They run in my family. I have taken Maxalt and Topamax. Maxalt was great because it was one you just take when you feel it coming on, so after hard workouts it would be easy to do. I also stopped taking birth control because it made me have a headache everyday. It was horrible.

BUT, my doctor has just told me to start taking Bluebonnet Magnesium Citrate (from Whole Foods) and the Vitafusion Calcium w/ Vitamin D from Target. I am not sure why she was adamant about these brands, but I got them and between quitting the B/C and taking that, I haven't had a single migraine for a month. This is down from my 4-5 I was having before the birth control.

ckemmis · June 2013

I haven't seen a neurologist yet, but I have an appointment scheduled for August 1st. I'm currently taking Imitrex, and we are not friends. It makes me feel tired, loopy, and I can't focus to save my life when I take it, which isn't good, because I'm a college student. I really don't think it is stress, because over the month long break that I had from school, I was still getting the migraines.

The only thing that really keeps them away, or allows me to ignore them, is when I'm keeping myself busy. I guess it's because I'm able to focus on the task at hand and I've become accustomed to having them, I'm just able to work through it. Within the last year or two, I wouldn't get migraines as often as I do now, only about once a month, if that. But in March I changed birth control pills, because apparently weight loss can mess with your system, and that's when they really started, I had an 18 day migraine that month. After just that one month I switched back to my old birth control pills, but I'm still having the headaches. Some days are good, some days I can't even move, and I get this numbness feeling in the back of my head/neck (totally normal btw, if it gets down to my arms, then I have to go to the ER).

I try to workout about three times a weeks, usually, if I'm at school, I'll do 35 minutes on the elliptical, but if I'm at home, I try to lift light weights, nothing major. My GP told me to take my medication with a motrin and a mountain dew, but that doesn't work most days either, it's hit or miss.

Sorry this is long, I tried to respond to all of the tips/advice that everyone said. Thanks everyone!

nspink22 · June 2013

I used to get bad headaches all the time, but once I started going to the chiropractor on a regular basis, they went away. Not sure if this would help you at all, but it could be worth a shot.

Joreanasaurous · June 2013

You have my sympathy. I have been there. Exercising can help. But, what got rid of 95% of my headaches was botox. You may want to give it a try. If so, have it done by a doctor who does it for migraines, not one who does it for cosmetic reasons. It changed my life.

Botox has worked wonders with my migraines. Only thing that has worked for me.

djshari · June 2013

I get them. Some months are better than others. Most coincide with my cycle so I can at least predict them. The ones that come out of the blue are the worst though. Last time I had to get an imitrex refill the nurse at my doctors office said that maybe I can get into the neurologist this summer. Imitrex also makes me feel like a zombie sometimes - cold, clammy, sleepy, and achey all over. Sometimes it only lasts 6-8 hours and since I can only take 2 in a day sometimes I just can't do anything at all.

cmpollard01 · June 2013

I started having migraines after changing from brand name BC to generic about 7 years ago...my mom had them when I was little, but it wasn't until I started with them that we found out my grandfather had them. It seems (from the research i've done) that if you have a male in your family that had them, his offspring (and their offspring) are more likely to have them-and really bad ones.

I was on Topamax for a while, but I was maxed out on my dosage and still getting 1-2 migraines a week-so I stepped down off of it completely. Sometimes they would last days, sometimes I could get rid of it overnight. the worst was a two week migraine-I was an assistant branch manager with my manager on vacation one week, and another teammate the following week. There was NO way I could call in...I was miserable! I've tried Relpax (does nothing for me), Maxalt (it helps, but not if i need to remain functional-that stuff kicks my butt!), Treximet (the combo of Imitrex and naproxen sodium-for some reason i had a horrible reaction)...I feel like they've given me every migraine med they can. I am prescribed Imitrex-and I hate it. I get sick to my stomach from the migraine, sick to my stomach from the medicine, and then throwing up makes it worse! I have to take promethezine about 20 minutes before the Imitrex, so by the time the meds get in my system I'm sleepy, miserable, and therefore whiny and grumpy.

I will say, I have found that Goody's powders work wonders for my migraines. I tried one during that 14 day migraine...and that's what finally got rid of it! I thought it was a fluke, so I tried it the next time i got one. My headache is usually gone within 20-30 minutes, there's no icky after effects (or, as i like to call it, migraine hangover), and if you can find the orange ones, they don't taste so bad.

I have a ridiculous list of triggers, but some i can't avoid (like the weather, or staring at my computer 8 hours a day), but I will say that since I was forced to learn how to deal with working & being semi functional during them, it has actually helped. I did have several a few weeks ago that started after my daily walk/jog, but I haven't had one like that since.

I hope you're able to find some relief soon! I was so disgusted with my neurologist that I stopped bothering to go. As for the Botox, i have a friend who has had a lot of success with the shots-she had tried everything any doctor or holistic practitioner suggested, but she got no relief until she started Botox shots. She has been migraine free for about 2 months. It might be worth asking about!

LovelyVeggies · June 2013

I really sympathize with your condition. I am very prone to migraines and used to get them several days a week, but in recent years I have only been getting them maybe 4-6 days per month. Imitrex usually works for me, but since you get them so often, you should probably be on a prophylactic medication that you take every day.

I don't have much advice about working out, since I just don't feel up to much when I have a bad migraine. Mine often involve nausea and dizziness. Some light yoga has actually helped reduce the symptoms sometimes but not always. A moderate walk can help too if it's a mild one.

Have you tried also keeping a journal of food and activity to try to determine your triggers. (I know you probably log your food and exercise here, but you may not necessarily be using your log to determine triggers.) I figured out that mine were often triggered by blood sugar swings, so trying to avoid letting the blood sugar drop for too long helped a lot. When I weaned myself off coffee, the frequency and severity of my migraines was cut in half. Alcohol is also a problem. Now that I'm more careful about these things, I mostly only get migraines from hormone fluctuations around that time of the month.

I will also say that since I've started my diet about a month ago, my experience has been similar to bellaa's. I've gotten only two migraines and both were on days when I had worked out a lot harder than I was used to and probably didn't eat enough, so my blood sugar got low. The rest of the time, I think my healthy eating has been helping me--I've been trying to eat mostly whole foods and lots of vegetables and fruit. It may be all the magnesium I've been getting from eating tons of greens plus nuts and seeds. Magnesium deficiency has been linked to migraines. I never had much luck with taking the pills, but perhaps getting it from dietary sources works better for me.

Sorry to go on so long... I hope you find a way of treating and managing your migraines that works for you!

magpie_17 · June 2013

I take Maxalt for my migraines, Naproxen for my tension headaches. I've had great success with these two.

runningjen74 · June 2013

I feel for you. I've got bad migraines in the past - two that ran in to each other lasting 20+ days with a couple of days in between where I felt so so. I ended up in accident and emergency with the second one as I couldn't keep water or anything down and was getting so dehydrated. I lost about 20 lb over the 4 weeks - these completely debilitated me. I don't get, or at least very rarely, get migraines...But I do (did) suffer with headaches a lot (*disclaimer, these may have been migraines, but they never compared with the really bad ones, so I've only ever classified them as headaches. Yes I know the difference, some would have had the migraine signs, but not all). I'd get 1-2 a week or more with a couple of bad ones a month. These have all but gone over the last 4 months.

Since about Feb, I eat a mainly gluten free diet, I've given up all grains. I don't eat, or at least aim not to eat any processed food. I keep sugar to a minimum. I've increased my protein(aim for 30%) + fats (aim for 50%). I ensure that I get my sleep. I ensure my meals are regular. If I fail on any of these, I get a headache - simple as. Depending on the size of the slip, I might just feel groggy, but other days I feel like I've a hangover - sugar is the biggest culprit for me. If I want something sweet, some fruit or 85%+ dark chocolate. But even with fruit, I aim to keep it for when I'm hungry or tied in with my exercise + hence need the extra boost. I can't tell you exactly which has made the biggest difference but I'd go with sugar (I count all processed food in here)

I essentially eat a primal diet, I did try the whole paleo diet and give up legumes and dairy, but found that they didn't effect me.

I feel fantastic - quite simply I don't get headaches any more, unless I eat c@$p. I'm not fanatical about it, just do my best. The headache generally comes the day following eating 'bad' food for me, just something to note when your looking at your diary.

Does anyone else have constant migraines?

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