Migraine Sufferers Unite!

ThoughtsOfBelle
ThoughtsOfBelle Posts: 34 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys!

General 'health and fitness' question relating to migraines - I just posted a blog entry about my migraines, and would be really interested in hearing from other sufferers!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ThoughtsOfBelle/view/migraine-hell-sufferers-unite-52427

Basically, I was wondering if you get migraines, or know people who do - how do you (or they) manage them? Can you exercise while stricken? When you get a migraine, what form does it come in? And what are your triggers?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts :)

Replies

  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
    Hey I personally don't get migranes however my fiance does. Honestly they say alot of different things cause migranes unfortantly figuring out exactly what does isn't always easy. My fiance has had to call off of work bc of how bad he has gotten them. They've gotten so bad that the light affects him and sometimes sound will even affect him. Sometimes his migranes have lasted up to 72 hours. Honestly I wouldn't exercise if you have a migrane that can cause them to get 10 times worse. I've exercised before when I had a headach and it only got worse so I could just imagine how it what it be like to workout w a migrane. Not a good idea! If you feel a headach coming on stop and drink some water slowly... Rest for a while and see how you feel if it gets worse and turns out to be a migrane then end your workout. You can always pick back up and do it later on in the day..... I don't know what else to tell you other than take some excredrin extra strenght and just take it easy till it eases up. I hope that I could be of some help.
  • seele52
    seele52 Posts: 8 Member
    I have had migraine and take a daily medication. Not sure exactly what triggers mine but I know stress will cause one and one my monthly cycle I used to always get one. Some foods can also trigger them like some wines, cheese and chocolate.
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
    I am completely debilitated with mine. It hurts to even breathe. I usually end up trying to sleep or we end up at the hospital. I've taken many medications but none of them work for me. I've only had one this year that has ended up at the hospital but most of them I can manage with sleep and dark. No idea what triggers mine. I went to a neurologist for years and we could never figure it out.
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
    Well....... I have been sufferring from migraines and headahces since I was 14ish.. I am 34 now.. so for 20 years. However I get to have wonderful migraines called aura migraines. I get to see flashy zig zag lights.. I can't see for 20 minutes and after that PAIN out the *kitten* comes in.

    I have been to a neurologist.. got a cat scan and some other tests done. I have nothing blocking anything and nothing is growing where it shouldn't. For pain I have a prescription called Imitrex. My best friend also takes this. It will almost always take the pain away. Sometimes it doesn't but more often it does. Other than that I do not eat MSG, processed meats and aged cheese such as mozzarella,romano, asiago, parmesan, cheddar and swiss. The trigger in these aged cheeses, processed meats etc is called tyramine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foods_containing_tyramine

    Tyramine can trigger headahces specifically migraines. There are fruits that contain this and soy contains ALOT.

    If you haven't tried to pinpoint anything specific maybe start looking into not eating these foods, if you do. I try my best not to eat anything that contains this.


    I am always searching for an answer to make it all go away. The last two things that I need to get out of my body are BC's but not trying for a child til april and of course I need to stop smoking. Which will happen January 1!!!!

    In the last 3 weeks I have had a total of 6 aura migraines. 2 sets of which happened back to back. I am in search of new neurologist. Luckily I can exercise since my occurance of migraines don't come til night or very early morning. Once I have taken my imitrex I am good to go with exercise. So far I haven't skipped any exercise days because of them.

    Last but not least... to anyone with migraines.. do not ever.. and I mean EVER take the drug topomax. It is evil.. it will mess with your body and the after effects will continue for years. I stopped taking it in 05.. and I still can not sweat properly.. I have hyperthermia.. and I get overheated constantly.

    I feel like I rambled. I have so much to say on headahces and migraines I just don't know where to begin.
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
    My old neurologist told me there are no cures for headaches/migraines. Most of the time they can never pinpoint what causes them. However here is a list to start out with of what to avoid and things to do to try and prevent them from happening.

    Avoid
    Food - aged cheese, wine, processed meats, msg, chocolate
    Stress
    Birth Control Pills meaning increased or decreased Estrogen levels
    Smoking


    Try:
    Imitrex for pain
    Excedrin Migraine
    Chiropractor - get adjusted
    OPC - Anti Oxidant drink mix - my friend uses this and she says she has felt so much better and headaches are a minimum
    Botox Injections in the back of head (maybe front too) - this is a new thing. Most insurances will now pay for this but I think there is still alot of money that you need to pay out to get this done.
    Massages - some high end places actually do different massage techniques for headaches and migraines. Massage Envy is a place that does these. Not sure where you live but Pittsburgh has these places.


    I think I am missing some stuff. If I remember anything else I'll definitely reply again lol
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
    One last thought.. the lady that used to wax my eyebrows got a migraine during child birth. It was so extreme that she almost had a stroke.

    Some people don't understand the severity of this. I was told that it is a disease, unfortunately an incurable one. It is not to be taken lightly and more people should educate themselves on the subject.
  • WonderNoodle
    WonderNoodle Posts: 549
    I never had a migrane until I was pregnant with my second child. Then found that mine are triggered by EXTREME stress and hormones. I can't take any oral contraceptive as by the second day, violent migrane.

    So, I can keep mine at bay mostly except once a month and if I feel it coming on, I can usually take excedrin migrane with soda (double-dip of caffine which is SUPPOSED to be a trigger) and keep it to a regular headache. Usually.
  • WonderNoodle
    WonderNoodle Posts: 549
    Can you exercise while stricken?

    Absolutely not. When stricken, I must be in complete dark, silence, NO SMELLS anywhere in my area. The next day is truely like being hungover. No function.
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311

    The next day is truely like being hungover. No function.



    No doubt about that!!!
  • ThoughtsOfBelle
    ThoughtsOfBelle Posts: 34 Member
    Mine are mainly back/neck, hormonal, and smell triggered. Luckily(?) i experience different severity - so at the moment while I'm suffering from TOM related migraines, i can still work (while at reduced capacity).
    For me, exercise sometimes also triggers them, especially if my back or neck are feeling particularly tense. I tend to medicate with aspirin for the headache itself, and an anti-inflammatory/codeine situation for the neck/back.

    I also get nauseous, but SUCK at throwing up, so it has to be sooo extreme for me to actually vomit. Sometimes you just NEED to get all the yuckiness out, but my body won't comply.

    Does anyone use heat/cold packs to reduce symptoms?
  • ThoughtsOfBelle
    ThoughtsOfBelle Posts: 34 Member
    Oh one more thing - does anyone ever feel like their brain is working BETTER a couple of days after a migraine? I once read a report that compared migraines to a computer's need to be shut down - once it reboots itself it works more effectively.

    Not sure if that's true - but the report also said that if this WAS true, migraine sufferers were more likely to be intelligent, high-functioning individuals, so I'm happy to go along with the theory, if only for that ;)
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
    Ive sometimes put a cold washcloth on my head. Soothes it a little bit but that is about it.
  • gurlondrums
    gurlondrums Posts: 187
    I started getting migraines in February and ended up in the emergency four times in one month. In one instance, they thought I had a TIA (mini stroke). My doctor believes my triggers come from my workplace. I work in a medical office and the bright lights coupled with staring at a computer screen all day and being stressed at different points during the day and sometimes neck strain. I have a medicine cabinet I keep in my purse. Muscle relaxers, Imitrex, Excedrine Migraine, Excedrine Tension Headache, blood pressure pills (they regulate the blood pressure in your head, I don't have high blood pressure). I ended up stopping working out after I had lost 30 pounds because the migraines were so bad. I gained more than half back and now I'm trying to lose again. It's difficult to live with but I'm managing.
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
    Oh yea! I take one muscle relaxer at night because I grind and clench my teeth. So I have stopped my morning headaches with those. I thought that maybe that was the reason for all my headaches but sadly not. At least I have managed those ones.

    I can do excedrin tension headache medicine but not excedrine migraine. it works sometimes.

    I did try the blood pressure pill thing but I've heard that taking those when you don't have high blood pressure is not good. So I stopped taking those.

    i wish i could put a place with my headaches. I get them anywhere and everywhere, no particular spot =(
  • WildFlower7
    WildFlower7 Posts: 714 Member
    <<<<<BUMP>>>>> Just came a cross this post and didn't want to not be able to find it again but have no time to omment right at this moment. Will come back later, both my mother and I are sufferer's nice to find a group of people like this!
  • kiuney
    kiuney Posts: 68
    I too suffer from migraines... I've been managing with Excedrin Migraine for years but recently, I'm needing to double up on the dosage. I have been taking an herbal supplement called Feverfew for a couple of years now and that seemed to work pretty well (not so much lately, but then again, nothing is really working at the moment).

    Re: taking Topamax... I tried that out of desperation a few years back. I am fortunate to not have any long lasting side effects but it did make me super spacey. I don't think I lasted more than a week on it. I'd rather live with migraines than be "high" all the time... (and not a fun "high" either...LOL).

    To answer the original question, if I have a migraine, I do not exercise.
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
    Bump for later
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