Migraine headaches!

I feel for you! Life is very unpleasant when a headache dominates your life!

I get them too and have tried just about every medication possible. The only medication that has worked for me is Relpax taken with an anti-inflammatory.

I also take blood pressure meds and seizure meds for a preventative. Maxalt usually helps when I get a migraine but I normally have to take 2 doses of it. I have lots of food triggers as well so figuring them out has helped tremendously. However, without the preventatives, I had headaches every day and migraines at least 2-3 times a week. Good luck figuring out what works for you.

The best part of menopause was leaving those behind!

When I was getting them, I abstained completely from caffeine. I had hot chocolate every morning, and if I was traveling and the hotel didn't have it, I would get a candy bar from the first gas station. (Withdrawal from either gave me migraines that lasted for days on end.)

I started my birth control pill packs on Wednesdays, because I realized my headaches were occurring on the Wednesday before my period and the Wednesday of my period when I started my packs on Sunday. That moved the migraines to Saturdays, so I didn't have to deal with them at work. I would just take tylenol in the morning before I got a headache (once the headache starts, your stomach stops emptying, and most stuff other than aspirin isn't absorbed very well.) Plus I could nap if I needed to.

Maxalt worked best for me for a rescue, as imitrex shots are like getting hit in the back of the neck by a 4x4, and imitrex pills and spray made me nauseated. My headaches were under control before most of the current drugs came out.

Everyone has their own pattern of headaches and their own triggers, so the more you know about your own migraines, the fewer you'll end up with.

I take topamax as a preventative and it does me wonders. If I do get a bad migraine, I do get acupuncture and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend it :-)

My older sister suffers from chronic headaches. There are days I'd call her to talk and she answers the phone sobbing. She's been to tons of doctors and they pretty much told her to take the same meds you mentioned and not much changed. She actually started taking birth control, Yasmin, and it has helped ALOT.

Chiropractor helped with mine until I could no longer go see him.
Doctor recommended that I take 500mg acetaminophen at the same time as 400mg of ibuprofen and go lie down with an ice pack at the onset of any headache I had because I was so prone to migraines.
To this day, I treat all headaches with 2 ice packs - one wrapped around the base of my skull and the other across my eyes. Sometimes that will help with no meds, IF I manage to catch it in time.

I feel your pain! I actually had one earlier but thankfully it's gone now. My migraines are also hormonal, and my doctor prescribes me something called Zomig (Zolmitriptan)... Thankfully in the UK I get it free, which is a blessing as from what I understand it's very expensive (you only get 6 tablets at a time )... It usually takes a migraine away in about 30 minutes though, which is amazing, particularly if you don't want to spend the whole day trapped in a room in the dark.
However I've found that it makes me quite drowsy, which I find worth putting up with when the blinding pain goes away in my eyes, but I am interested in hearing about non-medication solutions! I've heard (not sure of the truth in it) that regularly having chilli or spicy foods is a preventative tool, as it eases the pressure in your blood vessels?

My husband had migraines almost daily for 3 years before he was able to find a neurologist you could figure out how to help him. I'll have to get back to you on exactly what medicines he was given but he was admitted to the hospital for 3 days to be given whatever drug it was in an IV for those 3 days that was suppose to block the pain receptors and then he was given two medicines as a preventive, one for morning and night I believe. He quit taking the preventive meds because he didn't like the side effects and as long as he avoids chocolate (he can't have it all anymore or it's an instant migrane), caffinee, actemphonie, eats regularly, and gets enough sleep he's been able to keep them at bay.

Chocolate, caffinee, and acetamphonnie we not always something he had problems with but they later became issues and now triggers.

PS - sorry my spelling is so horrible in this post.

I am having a hard time working out as often as I need to because I suffer from debilitating migraine headaches. My physician attributes them to hormones. Has anyone found a treatment for migraines that they have found to be sucessful? I have not been very sucessful with either M@xalt or !mitrex. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!

You have to catch it during the aura phase (if you get that it helps) for those medications to work. Any later and you're in for the ride. I didn't love Maxalt but Zomig is milder and works well.

One of my best friends used to suffer from these often, I get them as well but they let up a lot after I had sinus surgery. My friend actually tried everything including spending thousands on a special doctor. They still didn't go away. Then one day I heard that some types of birth control can cause migraines, I told her about it and she went off the meds and the migraines went away. It has been well over two years now and the migraines are very few and far between for her.

You may consider looking at current meds that could cause the issue or possibly seeing an ENT doctor as well. When it comes to migraines I suggest looking at all your options because it seems to me that each person has different triggers and cures.

I still am considering trying acupuncture for the times I do get them.

I too suffer from migraines.. used to be 6-8 per month. I went to a headache clinic at a university hospital. They started me on a low dose blood pressure pill as a preventative and it has worked wonderfully. Haven't had a migraine since before Christmas. It's been truly life-changing!

I'm in a migraine phase currently due to weather fluctuations here in Wisconsin. I've had them for 3 days now.

I am in Illinois and I have had them on and off for the last 7 days! I went to a neurologist a few years ago. She prescribed Relpax. Usually one tab does it for me. I get absolutely NO side effect from it. The prescription allows me to take a second pill if the migraine does not go away. I have never had the need for a second dose yet!

Also, cardio helps my migraine. It usually gets better after a good workout.

I am a chronic migraine sufferer. I currently get Botox injections every 13 weeks by my neurologist. I had hormonal migraines. I am know on the depoprovera shot every 10 weeks by the gyn, which stopped those.
I am also on a preventative.
The imitrex injections and many other medications did nothing for me.
Best advice is to see a neurologist!