Migraines

I have suffered from migraines for 6 years now.  Usually 1 sided, but can switch from left to right.  Nothing helps, most meds make me very ill.  The day before I get them, I feel exhausted and yawn excessively.  The next morning, I awake with one.  It can last from 48 hours up to an entire week.

I would like to know if anyone else out there suffers from them.  What has worked for you and if you can give me any advice.  I could really use some right now. 

I am finally seeing a neurologist in June, but I wonder if they will know the cause or have a cure. 

So if anyone out there could share their expereince with me, I would greatly appreciate it.

i had migraines for years. i did the master cleanse (only a short 4 day one) and followed up with an organic vegan diet for a month and it fixed them for me.

avoid triggers - fake sweetener really did me in too. i can have it now though. meds didnt work. i could take the max dose and still be in pain. i did the master cleanse to see if it would work. i didnt think it would at all. but i am glad that it did. AND glad i didnt have to do it for 10 days. google master cleanse pdf for instructions online.

its been 2 years since that cleanse and some headaches have come back. but very rarely and NEVER like it was before. before breathing was too loud to bear. my own breathing. it was terrible.

QUIET!

No Scents or Sounds...Dim the lights, etc...

I can repeat just about every symptom mentioned previously-however have you ever considered shaving your head “Britney” style, simply because a claustrophobic feeling or perhaps a creepy crawling? Eekth! I haven’t tried bald...though some days...

I just think of her and come to my senses. 

Anyone experience high pitch tones...no one seem to notice! Dog whistles, maybe.

I swear and the older I get the worse they seem... I tend to notice more barrages around migraine episodes.

The smell no one else senses.

 *I love the rip the head off quote...exactly! 

I have a hypersensitive larynx and dysfunctional vocal cords...so not only scents = migraine and allergies...I choke, as my windpipe is closed, unable to breathe-not the best time for vomiting!If I am lucky enough not to have an asthma attack as I survive the aforementioned.

 Migraines put me off food; my VCD has prevented me from eating properly for as long as a couple of weeks nothing down, anything up... 

MIGRAINE HELL !!!...

Cause? We hired a lawn company to treat our lawn; they said the hospital used them without incident-long history in the community, what was my problem...I could not figure this out; windows are usually closed for days around yard work ours or neighbors, I do not venture out at such time.

Until they treated a second time and I was sick again 2 weeks straight!

Did I make the connection...they kept calling, we kept saying go away!!! I explained the situation and all they could say was it must be something else...2 years without them and I have never had a recurrence as bad as that prior to the 1st application or since the second and final application!I rather sit in the store with fresh shelved detergents than deal with THAT and persons with perfume/cologne than ever deal with the “lawn” people again. 

I do not know about you however, I try avoiding store perfume counters and soap/detergent aisles, elevators with scents including cigarettes, etc., flea markets are no longer fun usually the stall operator smokes. It is difficult at the salon because the odors of chemicals and perfumes.

The owner whistles and my brother whistles...everyone whistles!

My husband and I ask politely that they refrain from whistling but they ignore us ruining my day sometimes for weeks :(

We apologize, ask and explain how this affects me (ICE PICK, ANYONE)

If I cannot have the courtesy of family, in - laws - too... how can I expect total strangers to give me 5 - 10 min peace? Granted they sometimes forget but minute by minute and if we are doing you a favor please respect us and refrain...is it that difficult not to purse lips and rip. Must all commercials now have a whistler...

 I ruin every outing because of something...I end up sitting in the car or staying home...

 It is not FUN for me either! 

I am not one for meds so if I can manage. Hide away, dark, quiet, etc.I have been told cold compress-expands the vessels though I prefer heat and try both.

Chocolate is good for my migraines bad for calories & everything else so I just smell the candy wrappers .true>LOL

Coffee out, coffee raises my Triglycerides. I miss coffee. MSG -bad.

Splenda so far so good, I do not want to contemplate a world without it, right now, it is all I have, I have more in the NO column then YES :(. Aspartame-bad.

 Hot water bottle as a “safety blanket” sometimes I also get ice cold to miserably hot so ice pack helps here, too.

A fan lightly oscillating works as “white noise”, relaxing breeze...if you can stand it, sometimes yes/no...play it minute by minute, sometimes this is all that lulls me to sleep.

I also like using my husband’s tee shirts, they are light, and cool to the touch...can be soothing across the forehead, full face or just over the eyes. Sometimes I take the lightest and drape one over my eyes and one over my throat. A recent discovery works wonders.

The fan helps drown out the cats cleaning regimen, it used to be cute! I haven’t had peace in months! I am embarrassed to say that the (3) cats’ cleaning is driving me up the wall.

As I write, this Callie is playing with paper, which helps to illuminate my point.

I feel as though I have a glass of water and once it is full, over flowing all things that can set my nerves on end, clash like cymbals.

What came first the migraine or the raw nerves-raw nerves or migraine?

Origin / consequence...or altogether at once...

I could go on forever...I think I have.

 No meds have really ever helped and I am very careful besides.However, if I must take something in conjunction with quiet, bottles, etc. and nothing else has worked. I take Pamprin, not necessarily for the migraine mostly to relax my entire system.With the migraine, nerves firing, and everything sparking like fireworks, I get so ---Let us just say, not only my head would be ripped off but also ...anyone in the vicinity I take a Pamprin (hopefully just in time) relax everything else, which in turns alleviates stress, which eases optimistically the migraine sooner than later.SLEEP the very best medicine if you can manage to get there... 

Lastly, breathing exercises are key.

How long...as long as I can remember,varying degrees though worse as I age and frequency fluctuates. Sneak attack or full onslaught.

P.S.

I read that if you drink Rosemary tea that it helps ease some headaches.I like 1 lipton tea bag *decaf (the only tea I can drink anymore) with 1 tsp dried Rosemary herb (use teaball)

Steep 10 min and sweeten to your taste.  I use 2 Splenda packets.

Add lemon and honey-lucky you

DO NOT STEEP LONGER I tried an hour, plain and needed to dilute several times. Experiment ... 

My case is hardly severe compared to some of you.  But for the more occassional migraine sufferer...

I have been getting migraines on and off since I was a kid.  I haven't been able to pinpoint any cause.  I do get regular headaches always the week before my period, but the migraines are only once or twice a month.  All I can do is lay in a dark room with ice on my head.  I recently had a change in them - they're occurring right after a hard workout and I am seeing auras.  I'm going to the neurologist, too.  He wasn't too helpful before, but I have chosen not to take any meds, either.

I do have regular MRIs that show an abnormal enhancement in an area of my brain, but it is unchanged and likely not the cause of headaches.

Good luck, and keep a journal of your headaches and any possible triggers to give to your doc.

Thank you for putting this up here!  It is astounding to see how many people are afflicted with such pain!  Everyone here is so helpful.  Thanks to all.

I developed migraine headaches a little over 2 years ago.  I discovered, like several other posters, it was artificial sweeteners that were the principle cause. I have since discovered that Almonds (in any amount) and MSG (in larger amounts) will also trigger my migraines. I also have to avoid all nuts whenever I have a headache because they will trigger it to turn into a migraine. Sudden weather changes and my TOTM can also cause migraines as well.

The only thing that gets rid of a migraine all together is imitrex, if it is taken within 30 min of the start of the actual migraine. If it progresses beyond that, the only thing that helps is sleep, in a completely dark room and cold ice on my forehead or back of the neck. 

I will usually go through cycles of getting migraines. I will sometimes have a month where I almost constantly have some varying degrees of a migraine and then I will go 3 to 6 months of none at all. Although I have been getting them more frequently in the past 6 months.

So since starting this thread, I have been put on Migravent.  I take it 3 x a day.  I have also tried the low tyramine diet.  The neurologists also perscibed Aleve, then MigQuinn.  (I had an alergic reaction to Aleve.)(The Migquinn doesn't work at all, but at least I don't vomit from it.)

So here I am, my head has been pounding since Wednesday.  (Today is Sunday)Tuesday, I felt it comming on...I was extremely fatigued and began excessive yawning.  It began on the left side and has now switched to the right.  I have not been Migraine free, not one month.  My head hurt so bad last night, I thought for sure I was going to stroke out!  I woke my husband up at 4 a.m. and told him how scared I was.

Which brings me to my next question:

How many of you had an epidural during labor, who never had migraines before, but have them monthly now?

Just curious...

I just recently got a migrain and I almost never get them. It was so bad that I was close to barfing through out the entire day!!!! I can't help but wondering if it's because I'm working out so much, because it was right after I worked out in the morning and i suddenly hit me. Is that a sign that I'm being to harsh on myself?

My husband suffers from migraines. From about November 2007 until about six weeks ago, he had a migraine every day, all day.  He says that the on the pain scale his migraines reached from anywhere between a 3-7.  He went to a neurologist when they first started and got all the drugs and such thrown at him.  He's been on several different anti-convulsives and anti-depressants to fight the migraines.  He's also been given every pain pill imaginable from regular Tylenol all the way up to Vicodin.  The medicines he was taking weren't helping at all.  He still had migraines everyday.   

About nine weeks ago, after research of our own, we decided that what the doctors were doing wasn't effective at all.  First,  he started on a detox from his pain medicine.  Then, we went on a very restrictive diet.  It is an all vegan diet, with many other restrictions.  Besides vegan, he doesn't eat nuts, yeast, fermented things, preservatives, artificial coloring, coffee, chocolate, vinegar, and a few other things I'm probably forgetting.  After being on the diet for a week, his headaches were gone.  It was an amazing relief  from a year of migraines everyday.  

Have had them all my life. I take Midrin and an Excedrin and it usually works within an hour. Sometimes not completely. When I get them they can last for days but if I take the medication it controls them.

I have had migraines every since I can remember (I am 24 yrs old). Only recently did I see a doctor. She prescribed a different medicine until I found ones that i liked. I did not like Imitrex or Maxalt. I like Relpax and Zomig (taken when migraine comes on). I also take Inderal (propranolol is generic form) which is actually a blood pressure medicine daily to prevent headaches.  I've heard that Topamax works well to prevent them as well.

I also take Excedrin Migraine in between taking a prescription pill. Taking the prescription more than one day in a row can lead to horrible rebound headaches.

I used to get crippling migraines until I figured out what triggers them. For me, it's the combination of lack of sleep and not eating/drinking enough. So if I don't get enough sleep one night, I'm extra careful to eat regularly and stay hydrated the next day.

When I feel a migraine coming on (visual shooters and nausea come first for me), I drink a big glass of water or two to help rehydrate, take ibuprofen, and try to fall asleep ASAP. The sooner I fall asleep, the faster it goes away and the less miserable I feel. Usually when I wake up 3-4 hours later, it's gone.

I suspect that the napping cure won't work for everyone, but I would recommend considering dehydration / lack of food / lack of sleep as a possible trigger.

Good luck!

Don't have migraines so can't contribute much, but I thought I would share a piece of migraine trivia that might make you feel, well, if not lucky, then at least not THIS unlucky:

May I present - Hemicrania Continua. Diagnostic criteria: unremitting headache, moderate to severe (never mild), with NO pain-free periods (24/7) for a minimum of 3 months.

When I first learned about the existence of this diagnosis I was surprised that it ever became a diagnosis. This means that lots of people have made it to three months of constant pain without shooting themselves - they are certainly brave.

So, be glad you've just got occasional migraines, eh? :)

EDIT: Aaaah! Zombie thread! (Note OP date) I got taken in again! Funny that it happens to be about.... braaaains.