Migraine Sufferers

Hi all,

I though I would start a thread for those of us who suffer from migraines.

If you are a migraine sufferer then you will know how debilitating they can be.

I was diagnosed with migraines when I was 4 years old and they have continued through my adulthood. My last hospitalisation was when I was 18 however I still continue to get migraines 6-10 times a year. I have learned how to spot the symptoms, avoid the triggers and manage the pain (therefore avoiding hospital for so long).

For a period a few years ago I had cluster headaches as well which meant I couldn't go to school for over a month - they were chronic. I had a 2 week period of clusters again this year which was awful.

I would love to hear from anyone who suffers from migraines who can share their experiences.

I usually get them with the arrival of AF but can get them mid cycle at times as well which is what has happened this month. I am on imigrain which i must take as soon as I feel one is inbound and it can usually disappear within the hour. My doctor wants me to take a preventative, to stop them from occuring at all. So have to get that script filled as Imigrain is pretty expensive for 4 tablets, and 4 tablets wont do me 1mth if a get a mid cycle migraine.

I have never been hospitalised with migraines but been pretty unwell at times.

Love

i feel your pain girls i have suffered migraines and servere headaches from the age of 11 years hospitalised on average once every 3 months or so till i had my first child they then began to taper out and for the first 2 years of her life i suffered i wasn't hospitalise at all though i still had the occassional migraine when she was 3 i hit rock bottom and averaged one every 2 weeks and was tried on a array of preventive drugs none of which worked i tried accupucture it helped a little i then had my 2nd child and they all but disappeared and probably got one a year for the next 7 years and then just before i fell pg with Ryan i was hospitalised again with a cluster that lasted 10 days of pure hell i have had one since having him i seriously can not remember a day when i don't wake up with a headache in varying degrees and i have come to terms with that fact that is is a game of chance whether it turms into a migraine or not i have become very good at recogonising the signs and try very hard to avoid triggers and medicate accordingly over the years i have had countless tests MRI Ct scans etc and all they have found is fused vertabrae at C4 and C5 which is constricting blood and nerve pulses apparently it can be operated on but the chance of ending up in a wheelchair doesn't appeal to me so i soilder on the best i can but it ****es me off that i have missed out on so much of my children by being in bed lights off curtains drawn and a wet wash clothe on my head so this thread i will watch with anticipation for some great tips .

I haven't spoken to my doctor about a preventative but he does give me painkillers and mersyndol every 3 months. I have a stockpile of Nuerofen Plus which I take at the first sign of a headache. If that doesn't work then I move on to the mersyndol, close the curtains, get a bucket and try and sleep it off.

My work is incredibly understanding - my bosses mother was a sufferer so he allows me as much time off as I need.

I find that if I take some painkillers at the first sign of a headache it usually goes away within an hour or so. But if the headache starts in the middle of the night when I am asleep - it's too late by the time I wake up and absolutely nothing works to kick it. That is when I have to sleep, sleep, sleep! It usually takes me about 3 days to fully recover from my migraines - I spend those days feeling like I've been run over by a truck. My whole body gets exhausted by them.

When I have had clusters nothing works at all. The pain is like taking a baseball bat to the head but amplified by 10 - and that pain is constant for about 30 minutes every 3-4 hours. Although last time it was only once every 24 hours (usually at about 5pm). Absolutely horrific.

I think I might head to my GP though and talk to him about preventative medication.

Prior to having the girls, I used to get constant migraines. At one stage, I had one for 5 weeks, most of that time I was in hospital. I used to have a preventer, and it worked fabulously. But since having the girls, I've only had one migraine, which was a week ago. So I no longer need to take the preventer.

I used to get migranes every couple of mths or so, usually when i was stressed or overtired. I started getting them when I was about 7yrs old.
When I was about 19 I started getting the "flashing lights" & distorted vision about half an hour before the headache would start. If I took nurofen plus & had a lie down before the headache started I would usually be ok.
Since being pregnant with DD I haven't had one! I was so worried about being pregnant & not being able to take painkillers, but I haven't had to worry :)

That is my fear too Sneaky - I am so anxious about not being able to take anything when I do fall pregnant.

My triggers are also fatigue and stress however I usually have an instant reaction when I eat vintage cheese which sucks because I love it so much!! I also have to avoid chinese food, red wine and can't go overboard on chocolate. Basically anything with amines in it I can't have - although I am not as strict as I should be with my diet.

Migraines are so nasty. I hear everyone pain. I used to get absolute shockers. They would put me out for a couple of days, and needed pretty strong pain killers to get rid of them. If I didn't get the drugs in soon enough I would just lie in bed with a cold washer on my face and groan in pain, willing myself not to throw up cause that made the pain worse. They were often stress triggered, or triggered by foods like chocolate.

I spent about 6 months having acupuncture and using Chinese herbs, and have not had a migraine since, and it has been about 18 months. I am not saying that acupuncture will work for everyone, but with my triggers it did wonders.

I hope you all manage to find some from of relief from your suffering....

I don't suffer from migraines but my almost 5 year old does.. They started in Novemeber 2006. We use periactin (anyone else use this) when it becomes too bad

He Gets them for 5 days at a time every 6-8 weeks. It is horrible and sad to watch..

Amy I am curious how they treated yours as a young child? Isaac had an MRI in June and we have a follow up app in september to get the results of that..

We noticed with Isaac yoghurt meusli bars are a trigger for him.. We did trial them last month but instead of a headache we got extremely bad behaviour.. so not sure what happened there..

Anyways will be watching this thread for some more natural remedies as I hate the way the periactin makes him go

Oh god girls I don't know how you survive. I've only ever had 1 migraine, last year. It was horrible. I thought I was having a stroke because I went all numb on half my face and down one arm. Then my vision went all weird. I hope I don't have anymore. I was worried I might get them when I was pregnant because my mum did.

Nic - Once I was diagnosed at the age of 4 my Mum was tasked with the job of finding out what my triggers were. Unfortunately they were difficult to pick because there are so many different triggers that cause my migraines. Sometimes I can eat vintage cheese and I am absolutely 100% fine. Other times I will eat it and within 10 minutes I have a full blown migraine. I believe it is a combination of things as well as my monthly cycle.

My doctor put me on a low-amine/low-msg diet from 8 years old until I was about 13 (I was a stubborn teenager and she couldn't control what I ate after that!) and that seemed to cut the migraines back from 1-2 a month to 1-2 per year. They went back to 1-2 a month when I was a teenager and I spent lots of time in emergency on a drip as I dehydrated quickly once the vomiting began. Once I grew out of my rebellious teens and realised the foods I was eating were causing the migraines they have slowed up once again. I know what to avoid and I know how to spot the symptoms and take pain medication in time. I would suggest looking into the low-amine diet - you would be surprised at the foods that contain amines which is what can trigger migraines. Bananas, tomatos, oranges, lemons, limes and avocados are all big no-no's. This may ease up the frequency of Issac's migraines. You can google "low amine diet" or "migraine diet" which should bring up heaps of info. A good article is here.

Also, teach him about the symptoms that can occur prior to a migraine. He may be able to spot them sooner and avoid being in so much pain if you can catch the headache early.

Thanks for the reply Amy.. Isaac eats a lot of bananas.. They are his favourite fruit.. I so hope they aren't the cause or one of the causes..

I did try talking to him last time about how he was feeling before he got "dizzy" That what he calls them..

I researched a little a few months back and he has what uis called a 5 day aura.. I think thats what it was called.. Day 1 he starts to get a little dizzy day 2 is worse and he may go to sleep for an hour or 2.. Day 3 and 4 are bad.. We can have vomitting, dizziness, lots of sleep and lots of crying.. Day 5 is similar to day 1... then day 6 he is generally fine.. It follows the same pattern 99% of the time..

Nic I would suggest removing the bananas from his diet for a month and see how it goes. Try and replace it with something else he likes. You never know!!

I will give that a go too.. Be tough but he seems to be eating a lot more mandarins lately so hopefully I can convince him they are better then bananas// I will just tell him I am hoping they will make his dizzies go away

i too am a migrane sufferer
i have been since i was 13 when AF showed up
seems my body doesnt like hormone changes. I get them before AF, when AF stops, just before i O and just after. So yeah up to 4 a month.
Tried everything including the preventer which didnt really work.
Just have to knock myself out, and lie down till the vommitting and headbanging stop- such fun

The best thing about being pg is that i dont get them when i am!!! No hormone changes.
Other triggers for me are citrus fruits and juices, MSG and sometimes tomato based products

i got limited success with natropath, osteopath and a/p - reduces the amount and try and regulate my hormones

odette

Hey! Yeah I suffer from migranes too(don't remember what age they started but I know it was in high school), but I'm not on any meds and, thankfully, haven't had to be hospitalised. I don't have a trigger, but know when I'm about to have one, and if I get on top of it quick enough - I can make it less severe. One of my warning signs is fuzziness. Things seem to blur while they're in focus iykwim. If I don't manage to get to it in time, it can be anywhere from still be able to make myself do things, to in a dark room with no noise, light, smell or touch. I get headaches a few days before AF, sometimes a migrane.

rufalina mentioned accupuncture. I tried that for just my normal everyday headaches... It worked! Was sprung by AF (before I was tracking it) as there was no lead-up headache! Will have to make a mercy dash next time I have a migrane!

Nic - mandarins are probably worse than bananas as they are a citrus (citrus fruits are very high in amines). Have a look at the diet and work out which fruits are low-amine and try to find one that he likes. Just a thought!!

I always get a headache the day before AF too - every single month without fail.

This thread is great, for some stupid reason it never occured to me to discuss this on here!!!
I have suffered migraines since around 14yo. they're definitely hormonal and worse just before and during AF. I wouldn't say we put off having children, but i was probably making myself sicker worrying about what would happen when i'm pregnant and not able to take my best friend Imigran and 2nd bestie Aspirin! At the end of the day we own a business and i need to be there, taking maternity leave is a stretch but i can be flexible, i'm not so career minded just enjoy what i do and have worked hard to be good at it. I'm happy for the change but can't afford to not be there for the pregnancy aswell as afterwards.

4 months before we started ttc i went to the naturopath and joined a gym. The naturopath put me on some hormone balancing herbs (since feb 2007 i only have 1 ovary and that 1 doesn't like to ovulate- sometimes once a year if not on pill) and gave me some homeopathic migraine drops. I know you're either into that sort of thing or not, but I've certainly found it has worked she's amazing! I think that combined with going to the gym and getting regular exercise which admittedly i didn't do enough of. My migraines have been less frequent and at the very least i can stop a headache turning into a migraine by using the drops.

Massive breakthrough for me I've tried acupunture, chiro, chinese herbal doctors, preventatives can't think of more but basically since i've been in the workforce i've spent a lot of time and money on treatments, some of them have helped a bit but then stop.

So now I'm 15weeks preg and my migraines were great- non existent for first 12 weeks and no where near as bad asthey were in the last couple of weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way! I'll certainly be keeping my eye on this thread to see everyone else's tips!!



P.S. Does everyone hate it when you have a migraine and someone says "yeah don't you hate it when you have a headache" meanwhile i'm trying not to vomit all over them!!:D

Or when they say "Just take a panadol - you'll be right"..... Ummm helloooooo if you knew what a migraine felt like you would not be suggesting panadol - you would be suggesting a tranquiliser!!

Or when people say "yeah I think I've had a migraine before..." hahaha YEAH RIGHT!

So comforting when you just want to throttle them! LOL My hubby has learnt don't touch me, don't talk to me just walk away and turn off the light! Please!

Haha my DH is the same - he knows to stay away when I have one. Although he was very good yesterday when I had a real nasty one - he even held my hair back while I was vomiting!

Diagnosed at 9 with migraines and there is a stong genetic background of migraines.
I have tried lots and lots (and lots) of things. But for now like Kat I use Imigran although there have been times when IV peth has been the only thing to get me though.
One thing about doing IVF is i knew without a doubt when i was or wasn't pg, so it meant i could take medication without fear of harming a baby. Early pregnancy was not much fun - I was hit quite hard, and never seemed to shake a migraine completely. However after about the 5 month mark i was never troubled again. Wow, I was lucky. Since DS was born I have only had one shocker - and thankfully i had some EBM in the freezer, so i could take Imigran again.

So, that's my story :p
When you find a cure...let me know. I am still keen to go on the botox trials!!!

I've heard about the botox - sounds very interesting.

Does anyone know what surgery Keiran Perkins wife had?? I remember reading in a magazine that she was a constant sufferer of migraines and then she had this surgery and she's barely had one since.. I've tried looking but can't find it anywhere.

if you google sam perkins migraines. you should be able to get a 60 mins transcript from Ninemsn abuot the procedure she had.

love

If i remember rightly she has a 'thing' implanted in the base of her skull and a battery pack as well and it sends signals when she gets a migraine. Sounds very full on, and it only works for certain types of migraines.

I don't think they'll let me put the Botox in my crowsfeet though...:doh:

Migranes can be treated with acupuncture - its one of the conditions recognised by the WHO as treatable by acupuncture, which is of course safe in pregnancy. :D

I have looked into acupuncture - but with limited practitioners in my town I am skeptical.

The last one who I spoke to said to me that she guaranteed that she could cure my migraines. I was put off by this comment as she had no idea of my medical history or the severity of my illness.

There are a few more around so I will check them out. I could have used something on Tuesday night when I had my head in the toilet bowl and felt like my head had cracked open....

We are on day 3 of no banana's. going well so far..

Do any of you notice behaviour differences in yourselves leading up to a migraine? The reason for asking is we have noticed with Isaac that in the 2 weeks leading up to a migraine. he gets very tantrummy. So this week it is tantrums.. throwns himself on the ground kind of tanty's.. Next week he will be highly emotional and then a few days after that he will start his 5 day cycle...

I do notice that I feel absolutely fantastic the day before. It's almost like I'm on a high and I am happy, relaxed, comfortable and very bubbly. I usually get an awesome nights sleep the night before a migraine too. I guess that is my body gearing up for one.

I had a really nasty migraine on Saturday night. I put it purely down to stress as we had an open house that day and I had spent all of Friday night cleaning with bleach and chemicals. My brother and his girlfriend also travelled up for a visit on Friday night so the excitement of that combined with the stress and the chemicals made for one hell of a migraine.

At work today but I feel like I have been hit by a train...

I have a nasty one atm. Had it yesterday, managed to go to work last night with it. But am feeling queasy, my vision keeps blurring and It's making me wanna cut off my head. Yesterday I tried Panadine forte and maxalon, that helped a little, I used a heat pack on my neck too and that helped a little too. But this morning it's back full force and I wanna crawl off into a corner. But not an option with 3 under 4. I am about to take my cafergot and another panadine forte. But have to take maxalon 20 mins before as it makes me feel even sicker in the tummy. So am waiting now....

Have had migraines since I was a young child. I can carry on most of the time without having to take the cafergot, to be honest I had forgotten I had it as it's been so long since I was last able to have it (pre prg). It works most of the time, but occasionally it doesn't. Fingers crossed...

I sooooo symapthise with other sufferers. Migraines are soooo bad and ppl who've never had one have NO idea how bad they are. Dh used to think they were just bad headaches.....till he got one. Now he understands a bit better....
Someone switch off the damn lights please hehehe.

Buckets and buckets of sympathy coming your way Katkins. :hug::hug: (and maybe a bucket in case the Maxolon doesn't do it's thing). I shouldn't joke though, it's cruel, isn't it. Thankfully my DH has never had one, but he can be very kind when I have one. I hope that Little L never gets them.

Don't give up on the Acupuncture idea AS. From experience I can tell you that it can help. Cure? I'm not so sure, but it can ease them, and lessen the frequency. The only reason i am not seeing an acupuncturist now is the cost - seeing as i am not working. It's not that expensive when it works though - the relief is worth the cost. I still got them, but the frequency was less.

Hope that made sense?

Cafergot made me feel so sick. My doctor ended up taking me off them. Since you have to take them at the first signs of a migraine, I thought what is the bloody point when I had to lay down for a couple of hours after taking the Cafergot anyway !! Might as well just have taken panadine forte/Mersyndol and be done with it.

Anyway I am now on the preventative. Sandomigran. You take one a night at bedtime, and get 100 in the pack. I am due for AF anyday so not sure if I have been on Sandomigran long enough to prevent a migraine, since I am only on day 3. A side effect though, it is giving me bad gas from the rear end LOL. Hopefully that will settle when the body is used to it. Sandomigran is also meant to prevent cluster headaches, but wont stop "tension" headaches.

I have to see my GP in a month, cause if it doesn't prevent it you can up the dosage. You can take a max of 9 a day but I said to my husband if it ever got that bad I would rather just go back on Imigran, cause I know within 30 mins of that hitting the system the migraine has eased up.

Love

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Dh used to think they were just bad headaches.....till he got one.

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That was the same here! Least he knows now.

I had one just recently... lol the day after I found this thread! And I felt the warning signs again today... omg I was so nauseas. Thought we were going to need to pull over! Thankfully we got to it in time. Bless those thought full dh's!