Migraines - any advice?

Blaendulais

koneguitarist said:

Never really suffered from Migraines, so can't understand the hell some of you go through. However one of our DJ's on station swears as soon as he gets symptoms of a migraine coming on, and he gets seriously bad ones. He keeps salted crisps with him and sucks them, basically licking the salt off them. That and a dark room helps him more than medication. 

Has he tried slapping his belly with a wet fish? 

4114Effects

Well that's about ten in the last three weeks. Time for a visit to the docs I think. Something must be triggering them. Probably this flipping forum :-)

Placidcasual79

4114Effects said:

Just wondered if there were any other sufferers out there with any tips on avoiding / treating them? 

I get the classic migraine - loss of vision / swirly auras in one eye, then 30 mins later splitting headache and nausea / vomiting. If I pop a couple of Migraleive Pink as soon as I spot the warning signs I can usually avoid the worst of it, although I still have to go sleep in a dark room for a few hours until it wears off. I'm usually spaced out and tired for a couple of days afterwards too - head still hurts when I bend over or cough etc.

Triggers seem to be random, I've not managed to narrow it down to anything - just comes on without warning. Had my eyes tested recently too so it's not that.

I have almost the exact same migraine - same pattern, timescales etc. How old are you? I used to get them several times a month in my early twenties. I am 37 now and fortunately they seem to have worn off. I maybe get 3 or 4 a year now.

I've tried changing diet, sleep, various medications etc all with little effect. 

It annoys the s*t out of me when people say they have a migraine when they have a headache. A migraine is something else entirely. All of my sense highten - partiucaly smell.

Anyway, I cant offer advice only sympathy.......hopefully you have sympathetic employers, friends and family.  .

ToneControl

Jesus
just had my first ever visual aura last night (I had flashing lights in peripheral vision before  - but nothing like this)
I thought I'd had a stroke or something, I couldn't  see or read properly for 30 minutes, was  shitting myself

I'd had my migraine  prophylactic the previous evening - this "let's  try this off-label" drug, an  anti-epileptic they've given me, always seems to trigger a migraine a day later (I can't take it every day as recommended, since if I take it all the time, it just reduces my IQ by 40 or 50, so I am trying it just on Friday nights), but this time  the migraine was something new

so far they've tried me on

• a drug that made me sleepy all afternoon, and nearly got me fired
  
• one that  gave me  insane nightmares and interfered with sex
• this one, which makes me unable to drive  or think properly

they proposed using some electrical shock cap  for 30 mins a day - which sounds  impractical,
but they dismissed as quackery a treatment to stop certain muscles working that seem to be part of the chain reaction for migraines, even though the test for this (botox in the same muscles) is a last-chance NHS treatment

I'm wondering if NHS botox is the answer

thumpingrug

I have had migraines fro years and am prescribed Rizatriptan to take when I have one. I only get 6 at a time as I understand they cost around £8 per tablet. I was usually having one or two attacks per weeks but following a bout of migraines last year that went on continuously for three weeks and meant that I went through 4 repeat prescription in a month the Doc called me in and asked if I wanted to try Topiramate, an any epilepsy drug that also acts to prevent migraines.  I take one tablet at night and since then have had no more than a handful of headaches. Its seriously changed my life.  The only side effect is that it send me to sleep rather quickly, hence taking it at night.

ToneControl

thumpingrug said:

I have had migraines fro years and am prescribed Rizatriptan to take when I have one. I only get 6 at a time as I understand they cost around £8 per tablet. I was usually having one or two attacks per weeks but following a bout of migraines last year that went on continuously for three weeks and meant that I went through 4 repeat prescription in a month the Doc called me in and asked if I wanted to try Topiramate, an any epilepsy drug that also acts to prevent migraines.  I take one tablet at night and since then have had no more than a handful of headaches. Its seriously changed my life.  The only side effect is that it send me to sleep rather quickly, hence taking it at night.

I am on Topiramate
It causes  "cognitive deficit" in 20-25% of people. Unfortunately, I'm in that group, so I am only taking it on Friday nights

professorben

Boss MT-2

ToneControl

ooohh
Just found this:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-will-antibodies-finally-put-end-migraines

crunchman

octatonic said:

sinbaadi said:

Caffeine addiction gave me withdrawal migraines for years.  There's a reason so many pain relief tablets contain the stuff.

The odd coffee or glass of cola, and regular cups of tea were enough that if I went a day with no caffeine intake, a banging head was waiting for me, curable only with sleep, normally.  Usually happened on a day off when my routine intake changed, so not great.

I'm actually cutting back my caffeine intake- slowly reducing my intake one day at a time.
Next week should be interesting as it will be my first day without any at all- I expect it to be a couple of days of a headache.

I cut it out 3 years ago in the run up to climbing Kilimanjaro.  With a gradual cut down I was fine.  Years ago I just quit cold Turkey and had headaches for 3 weeks.

These days I'm drinking industrial quantities of coffee again.  I do need to cut down.

thumpingrug

ToneControl said:

thumpingrug said:

I have had migraines fro years and am prescribed Rizatriptan to take when I have one. I only get 6 at a time as I understand they cost around £8 per tablet. I was usually having one or two attacks per weeks but following a bout of migraines last year that went on continuously for three weeks and meant that I went through 4 repeat prescription in a month the Doc called me in and asked if I wanted to try Topiramate, an any epilepsy drug that also acts to prevent migraines.  I take one tablet at night and since then have had no more than a handful of headaches. Its seriously changed my life.  The only side effect is that it send me to sleep rather quickly, hence taking it at night.

I am on Topiramate
It causes  "cognitive deficit" in 20-25% of people. Unfortunately, I'm in that group, so I am only taking it on Friday nights

I feel for you TC, Im fortunate that I haven't experienced that.  However the migraines left me pretty incapable of of doing anything so I think I would be willing to have tried anything.

ToneControl

You've all heard of Botox injections in the eyebrows for migraines?