Fellow migraine sufferers

I am 38 and from about 15 to 35 I had 1 or 2 migraines a week. A couple of years ago my doctor prescribed propranolol as a daily preventative. Now it may not work for everyone but it has worked perfectly for me. As long as I remember to take it I am 100pc migraine free! It's like living a whole new life. Maybe ask your doctor about it.

oh_happy_day wrote: »

On the food front - caffeine is a big one for me. I try to limit myself to two cups of coffee a day. I haven't noticed any other food triggers. Fatigue, fluorescent lights, sleep deprivation are my major triggers, and I think hormones have played a part at various points in my life.

Same triggers for me, plus alcohol. I take migraleve which helps if I take it early enough. For me, it's the nausia that I hate more than the pain.

Hormones play a huge part for me. And certain foods - the usual caffeine, alcohol and dehydration, and more unusually oranges(!) are a massive trigger. Got prescribed sumatriptan a few years ago which worked for me (but made me feel a bit loopy!) but then I got pregnant and couldn't take them any more - about 6 weeks into my pregnancy I got a very minor migraine attack, but I have had nothing since then (and my little one is now nearly 2) so I can only assume that hormones have played a massive part in this. I'm 30 and had previously been getting migraines for about 5 years every 2-3 months, lasting 3 days every time. I can totally sympathise with anyone plagued my migraines - they are awful!

Eliminating artificial sweeteners seemed to really help. Also regular acupuncture. I started with going 2x/week for a month or so, then cut down to once or twice a month for about a year. Now I go when I feel like I need to.

Oh I forgot another major trigger - tight shoulders and neck. Yoga helps with this but I also get remedial massages every couple of months. (If I ever get rich, that's turning into a weekly event.) Stress related knots in my neck/shoulders, sleep deprivation and increased caffeine are the perfect storm when I'm under the fluorescent lights at work. I've also noticed glare and flashes of the sun can trigger an aura. I have sunglasses stashed in all my handbags, gym bags, the car etc. Overall I think they've improved partly with age, partly with better self-care and partly because I have a routine down as soon as I suspect one is coming.

Does anyone else get a weird feeling the day before a migraine? It's hard to describe but I feel a bit off and strange, spaced out and tired. It often only makes sense once I get an aura!

I've recently been diagnosed with migraines, but have had them since I was 10 or so. Dehydration is a major trigger. Caffeine, not so much. Low quality chocolate is a bad one as well. My mother will get them randomly, and there seems to be no trigger. My sister is on a preventative medicine. Hers are triggered by bending over at the waist, chocolate, caffeine, dehydration, a hot day (Florida), or just seem to come out of nowhere. Her symptoms include confusion, memory loss (and resulting anxiety), nausea and vomiting, and loss of vision.

This seems to be a group of fellow sufferers, so I hope you don't mind if I look for some migraine answers as well. Maybe you all have experienced what I'm experiencing as well. I had been suffering from sporadic acquired horizontal nystagmus and a minute case of vertigo (the world didn't spin, I just often could not determine the position of my head on my shoulders) since early April. Last month (June 27), I had a typical aura migraine (first aura migraine for me), with loss of eyesight and peripheral aura, severe pain in the temple and pressure behind forehead and intense nausea, but many symptoms have not gone away even today. For two weeks after my migraine, I had an awful pressure behind my forehead, temples and sinuses. Even now, the pressure is a mild nagging behind my forehead, and I still have sensitivity to light. My body wass off balance (standing, walking, sitting, etc.) and my vertigo has been getting progressively worse. Three times in the past week, I have been caught unaware while sitting quietly, sleeping, and walking by severe vertigo. I have fell down while walking, and was unable to sit up on my own. It lasts about 30-45 minutes. All the time now, I have trouble concentrating. Sometimes I find myself slurring my speech like I'm drunk. My doctor has already prescribed me B12 and ferrous fumarate, since I was a bit on the lower side of the normal range according to my last blood test, and I take magnesium and probiotics. I've had a neurological exam (could not provoke nystagmus) and balance tests. The balance tests included the moving platform test, the projector screen/camera goggle test, the hot/cold air in my ear test, positional vertigo test. So far, I know that I failed the platform test (I mean, thank God for that harness) and am waiting on my projector/ear/positional vertigo test results. I'll be getting an MRI this week, and have been preemptively scheduled for vestibular therapy, just in case it's an inner ear issue. Has anybody suffered from these symptoms? How did you treat it?

I had them about a third of the time for many decades. Some would last days - it wore you down. Mine were just auras, pain, and some confusion - I just can't think straight with one.

It turned out they were largely caused by eating gluten as an undiagnosed celiac. Once I went gluten free their frequency really decreased.

They appear to have diminished again since I limited my carbs. I am prediabetic so that could be the link there.

I have basilar type migraines, which are like hemiplegic minus the paralysis. I also have chronic vertigo and nystagmus from a head injury and the migraines and it makes it very hard to compensate long term so my balance is terrible. Botox does the most for me preventative wise, but I still pass out a lot and lose speech abilities. It's a sucky way to live, but I refuse to let them steal more of my life than they have to.

I have been struggled with migraines for the past 20 years. I can still remember the very first one I got, while babysitting of course. I have never been able to pinpoint many triggers except for the common ones of dehydration and extreme or prolonged heat. For the past couple of years I have been having less of the actual migraines but more problems with auras. I won't feel the head pain but I will have the visual disturbances, vertigo and nausea. I am currently back on Topamax which seems to be helping. Best of luck to the rest of you, I feel your pain.

I am somewhat comforted by the fact that so many of you have mentioned muscle tightness in the neck or shoulders. I did not know that could be a trigger! And two incidences of vertigo. These are new symptoms for me within the past year. I've had migraines and tension headaches for over 20 years.

Learn your trigger factors and control them. I cant believe that wont have a significant effect on frequency and severity.

Loads of downloadable information here
http://www.migrainetrust.org/factsheets

Have had them since grade school, complete with auras, nausea, hyper-reactive to light, scent, and sound. Triggers: hormones, perfume, ASPARTAME (it's the debbil!). Not on medication because they are no longer that frequent and can be controlled with ibuprofen if caught early.