Migraines & Headaches

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  • Ginger046
    Ginger046 Posts: 204 Member
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    I've always suffered from migranes.. usually a few a month until september when I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease.. since changing my diet I only get migranes when I eat something with gluten that I shouldnt have :)

    I'm not suggesting that you cut out gluten!! Please dont!! but try finding out which foods do trigger them and go see a doc about it once you've got your wee list!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I find my migraines are linked to dehydration, lack of sleep and...this is the big one....eating processed foods.

    When I don't drink enough water, I get them bad as well. I currently have one :sick:

    How in the hell are you even sat up?! The most I can manage is to drag my sorry *kitten* to the toilet bowl for a spew and asking my husband to please just euthanize me.
    Not all migraines are that bad. I have been lucky that I get a lot of them, but rarely get ones that bad (though they happen occasionally). Also, sometimes a migraine is general nausea and shakiness without even a tiny bit of head pain for me.

    They really and truly are a strange phenomenon. I worked in a neurology office for a while and one of the theories I heard about there was they think they may be related to epilepsy -- little epileptic seizures. I don't think it was confirmed, but something they were exploring. I haven't looked into it since then.

    In all forms, they suck, I agree. I hadn't realized that you can get them without having head pain - everyday is a school day :smile:

    One thing I have noticed whenever the migraine topic crops up on MFP is that they are almost exclusively answered by women.

    Which makes me think that maybe men are the leading cause of migraine...

    Jokes (kind of).
    Ha ha! That could be it! Women get them far more than men do ... We have solved it! :wink:

    Yeah, you can get them without pain. They affect the entire body.

    My daughter used to wake up a lot and immediately throw up. Her (mostly useless) pediatrician diagnosed it over the phone as acid reflux and told me to just give her Pepcid before bed every night. Well, a few months later I was watching The Doctors and a woman called in asking about the same thing with her kid and they said that often happens with kids in families with migraine history (ours goes back at least four generations that I know of). She didn't have the head pain when it happened, but she had the nausea. And she does get migraines, too.
  • LesliemarieAZ
    LesliemarieAZ Posts: 352 Member
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    Did anyone else get a migraine just by reading this thread? Oddly, that's one of the triggers for me - just talking about headaches gives me one! I also get headaches from not getting enough sleep, being in front of the computer for too long, hunger, stress, and being out in the sun. I get them so often that I feel like my supervisors at work don't believe me anymore about having to leave early or not come in at all, and I pretty much always run out of PTO by the end of the year because of it!

    I'm interested to know what kinds of meds everyone else is taking? I've been prescribed Imitrex for mine, but I don't often take it because it makes me really dizzy (which only makes the headache worse).
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I'm interested to know what kinds of meds everyone else is taking? I've been prescribed Imitrex for mine, but I don't often take it because it makes me really dizzy (which only makes the headache worse).

    Usually a couple Exedrin with an Aleve or ibuprofin will fix mine -- especially if I catch it early. But I keep Maxalt around just in case that doesn't work. They're pricey but they work miracles.

    I'm not on anything preventative simply because mine usually are manageable and I can function.

    Also, yoga helps a TON. I have walked into a yoga class with a splitting migraine and it was gone in five minutes.
  • jesiann2014
    jesiann2014 Posts: 521 Member
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    Withuot Maxalt, I would not be able to function. The Maxalt takes care of the pain. I can manage with the blurred vision, nausea, light sensitivity, shortness of breath, etc. The pain? No way! Puts me down... :(
  • LesliemarieAZ
    LesliemarieAZ Posts: 352 Member
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    Usually a couple Exedrin with an Aleve or ibuprofin will fix mine -- especially if I catch it early. But I keep Maxalt around just in case that doesn't work. They're pricey but they work miracles.

    I'm not on anything preventative simply because mine usually are manageable and I can function.

    Also, yoga helps a TON. I have walked into a yoga class with a splitting migraine and it was gone in five minutes.

    I usually take Aleve as well and it's really helpful but only if I catch it early. Sometimes my migraine starts in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping, and by morning time it's an awful rager. I'll look into Maxalt - thanks!
  • djflowerz
    djflowerz Posts: 23 Member
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    Are you anemic? I have mild anemia caused by frequent, heavy periods. I eat red meat and vegetable sources of iron but I still need a daily iron pill supplement. This has reduced my headaches.
  • liekewheeless
    liekewheeless Posts: 416 Member
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    I switch between ibuprofen and Tylenol (generic equivalent). If I keep taking the same stuff it stops working. (I don't mix them, just one month this one and than the other)

    I also need to take it immediately when I start feeling a pressure (not a headache yet) or no amount will work. Then it still takes about 2 hours to kick in.

    Sometimes throwing up helps.
  • melinda_great
    melinda_great Posts: 33 Member
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    I struggle a lot with migraines and other headaches. Aside from finding your own personal triggers and avoiding those things, the biggest preventative things that help me are getting enough sleep and getting regular exercise. The regular exercise is a huge factor. If I slack off for more than a week, I pay for it immediately. The exercise is usually just as simple as a 20-30 minute walk, but the payoff is enormous. I treat it as a "prescription" just like my preventative med, and it works. I also find that I get fewer when I'm at a lower weight.

    I've also found things that help once my headaches and migraines start, since my Imitrex doesn't always last the entire month and I try to stretch it. Generic versions of Excedrin Migraine are great to try as soon as you begin to get a headache. Walmart has a "headache formula" that you can get for about $2.00 for 100 pills. An ice pack on the back of your head is awesome as well. This is my absolute favorite thing. I have a flexible one from Rite Aid that came with a stretchy band with velcro, and it's a life saver. Peppermint oil also eases my headache pain.
  • HappyathomeMN
    HappyathomeMN Posts: 498 Member
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    I have the Maxalt MLT version because I can't swallow much at all when I have a migraine and the Imitrex shots were becoming too much. The version of Maxalt is a melt tablet that you don't have to swallow, it melts on your tongue. It has worked wonders for me.
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
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    I take Maxalt now, which is a real saviour, but if you don't have good medical insurance it can cost upwards of $100 for 3 tabs (in Canada, anyhow).
    I was on sandomigraine for about a year, but I built up a sensitivity to it and get having to up the dose, which led to heart palpitations and me getting pulled. Then my doctor got a little more creative and put me on beta-blockers (which actually have a long history of being helpful with migraines, but they have no idea why), and I took those for a little over a year -- only draw back is that they make exercise something you have to be really careful about because your heart rate doesn't come up the same way, meaning less oxygen is making it through your blood stream, meaning I've passed out on a treadmill before haha


    Edit: my maxalt is the melt tablet as well, but more so I can metabolize it a bit before I start throwing it up :/
  • Ms_Chai
    Ms_Chai Posts: 86 Member
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    Chiropractic care can work wonders! Also, you might want to ask your doctor about Ideopathic Intracranial Hypertension. I started getting awful, awful headaches...and that is what ended up being the cause. A simple check of your optic nerves can usually tell if you have increased ICP or not. It got worse for me when I exercised too because the exercise strain naturally can increase your ICP...which just exacerbates a problem you might already have. I hope you find your answers. Headaches are really awful.
  • WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr
    WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr Posts: 2,150 Member
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    I would suggest looking into daily meds like topamax (there are others types out there besides this one, just talk to your doc, mine started me on a low dose of this and said if I got any of the side effects to let her know and she would switch me since my job requires me to do fine hand work and keep ahold of my senses). Look at what's going on around you in your life since there are a lot of triggers and they vary person by person, some that you may not even realize that you're doing to yourself (I'll exlplain in a sec) and start eliminating as much as you can.

    My sister is triggered by food and anything she doesn't want to do (ask her to help work in the yard and see how fast she suddenly gets a migraine), I'm triggered by certain foods, lack of sleep or food or a combination of both, high stress, when my neck goes out a certain way (always relieved when I go to the chiro), changes in the barometric pressure (hurricane season is hell), and (here's that doing something to myself without even realizing it I was going to explain) wearing my glasses when I don't need to (I have to wear glasses for distance, but it's always been easier just to wear them all the time since I could still see close up with them on with no problem, well, last year I pretty much had a constant headache that got worse as the day went on and I was having trouble reading, it finally dawned on me that my eyes could no longer handle correcting for the distance lenses when I was reading close up... stopped wearing my glasses except for driving or when I'm far away looking at something and the constant headache went away!)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I take Maxalt now, which is a real saviour, but if you don't have good medical insurance it can cost upwards of $100 for 3 tabs (in Canada, anyhow).

    Yikes! And I was complaining that nine cost me $30 after (good) insurance!
  • LesliemarieAZ
    LesliemarieAZ Posts: 352 Member
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    (ask her to help work in the yard and see how fast she suddenly gets a migraine)

    Hey that's a trigger for me too! lol :laugh: :laugh:
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
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    Migraine sufferer for years - going on decades now. Can't stress enough how important it is to find your "triggers". Beyond that, I took every medication known to human kind without any success. Oddly enough I stumbled on something helpful totally by accident late last year and it's changed my life - Robaxin. Neurologist really can't say why it works, but it does. I haven't taken migraine meds more than once in 2014 (knock on wood) whereas before I was running out of my monthly insurance allotment of meds each month. Moral of the story is keep trying.....
  • momiles11
    momiles11 Posts: 8
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    Hi!

    I've been getting migraines since I was 14 and at times it has seemed that no matter what I did, I would get up to 8 a month. However, I am currently NOT on preventive medication and having the fewest migraines in my life. I also typically get them in mid-afternoon or upon first waking. After years of tracking, I finally determined most of my migraines occur because of low blood sugar. Other triggers are certain foods (not as often, but includes anything fermented or aged, including yogurt and alcohol; cheese; chocolate; and certain preservatives) and certain visual experiences, like sitting in a darkened movie theater then walking into the daylight, or looking at my iPhone screen when the sun is shining on it.

    I've been vegan for 2 years and don't eat much processed food, and that has helped some, but the biggest thing I can do to prevent migraines is eat a protein- or fat-rich snack or meal every 3-4 hours. If I skip lunch, I get a migraine every time. Sometimes I can even prevent a migraine that is starting from becoming full-blown by eating some almonds or something and having some caffeine. You could try this perhaps! I think the reason they come on at those certain times could--if you're like me--have something to do with your glucose level dropping after a meal or after having your belly be empty all night.
  • sarabeth320
    sarabeth320 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for thier input!

    I taking rx meds (Cataflam) as needed and I was prescribed preventative meds to take at night daily (Pamelor), but they make me soooo tired that I cannot stand to be on a high enough dose to see any results.. like falling asleep while driving home from work tired (at 5pm). I also take Maxalt as needed. I was cautioned not to take any of the OTC migraine meds with caffeine because they induce migraines (google: MOH headaches).

    I am going to try chiropractor next and also iron supplements, as I am slighlty anemic.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    I've seen specialists and tried various things in the past, but can't seem to shake them all together. Do you think it could be something related to my diet or calorie intake? Exercise intensifies them, so it's hard for me to get motivated to work out when I know i am going to be left with a head banger afterwards.

    Yup.

    Mine were like that, I worked with my neuro and we found a solution that probably shouldn't have worked, but works well when I remember to be consistent about it. Supplementing Magnesium.

    Good luck.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for thier input!

    I taking rx meds (Cataflam) as needed and I was prescribed preventative meds to take at night daily (Pamelor), but they make me soooo tired that I cannot stand to be on a high enough dose to see any results.. like falling asleep while driving home from work tired (at 5pm). I also take Maxalt as needed. I was cautioned not to take any of the OTC migraine meds with caffeine because they induce migraines (google: MOH headaches).

    I am going to try chiropractor next and also iron supplements, as I am slighlty anemic.
    The iron may solve the problem. Low iron is a definite trigger. Good luck. And also, if you haven't keep a headache diary! What you ate and when, what you did that day, the weather -- everything.

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