Migranes

Haven't had one in years..I realized that the antihistimine was causing them and quit taking it--no more migranes. It was classic, spots, then almost all vision gone for about 40 min, then vision came back and the vise started clamping. I used to take Imitrex for them--it was a toss-up as to which was worse, the migrane or what the Imitrex did. I sure hope this isn't a new trend starting.

Who else suffers from them?

Not a head achy person. Can only offer condolences to those who suffer.

I don't remember the last time I had a headache, probably the 1960s maybe early '70s, and I've never had a migraine. I can't imagine what having one is like.

Steve, I'm also a sufferer. Have had them since I was about 13 years old. The older I get, the less frequent they occur, but when I was young, I would lose feeling in fingers and lower legs from them along with the lost vision. But like you I can always tell when they are coming by the onset of what I call the "cracked windshield" view in my eyes. Hard to explain to someone that has never had them. It's bizarre. Excederin Migraine is my best friend if I catch it in time, if not.................well, you know!

Steve and Clayton,
I know exactly what you are going through as I had them for years but I think I finally outgrew them some time ago.
It seemed that after I retired I didn't have them anymore. I know I had a very stressful job and I'm sure that had a
bearing on the headaches. It ran in the family because my mother and uncle also had them. I too had the inability
to talk and make sense while having one. Also the vision was also a problem. I think the worst part for me was the
blinding pain (headache) coming out of one. I didn't have any for about the last three or four years I was working.
So far so good and I hope it stays that way. I really don't need to start with them again now at my age (78) .
I didn't take any special medication just extra strength aspirin, and lots of them.

Hang in there as it will get better.

George Herschell

My wife, her mother and sister were plagued with them. The wife was getting like 1 or 2 a week - headache, nausea, diarrhea, the only relief for her was a shot of stadol for pain, and phenergain for nausea, then sleep for hours on end. She had a ministroke almost 2 years ago/ All kinds of med changes. After that none for about a year. Now she's getting an occasional one again. They have really ruined a lot of days, vacations, and good times for her.

I get them, but their random. I might not have one for a month or so, then I might have two in one week. I've learned the warning signs, and Excederin Migrain often heads it off if I catch it soon enough. Funny thing about mine is if I sleep late I'm more prone to get one on that day, and they ALWAYS start out as sinus pressure (like from allergies) then move over the same eye . At that point I'm done for a while, and it won't go away untill I take something for it and lay down for a nap.

My son gets them, He is on so many meds that he has no idea of the cause nor does he see them coming. Just the price he pays for being a transplant recipient.

Dave

Dave, sorry to hear about your son's migranes. Like I said, I haven't had one in years. I'm going on 27 hours right now--even my hair hurts! I don't have any meds for it, so I'm toughing it out. I hope they can get a handle on your son's because they can be debilitating.

Migraine - a term often misused/overused...A lot of migraine headaches are actually sinus-related. You would be amazed as to what some Sudafed and Ibuprofen will do.

Additionally, the non-steroidals such as Ibuprofen and naproxen are mainstays in true migraine therapy. A lot of folks request narcotics such as Vicodin and Darvocet - but the aforementioned NSAIDs are a LOT more effective, in most cases.

The triptans such as Imitrex and Maxalt are good drugs....but often misused...and are $$$....which is why most insurance companies restrict the number of tablets they will pay for in any 30-day period.

I will get a migraine every once in a blue moon...my aura (how I know that one is coming) is blurred vision for a few minutes. If I can get some ibuprofen down me during that period of "aura", my headache will be a lot less severe.

I hope your headaches are not too severe.

I used to suffer with very bad migraines, the aura and nausea type that make you want to drill holes in your head to relieve the pressure, until last year. I had a stroke last March and since then I've never even come close to a headache let alone a migraine. I guess it must have changed something in my brain but I have no idea what.

Not a cure I'd recommend though....

I get what are called "Cluster Migraines" where I will go for a month with none, and then I will get them three or four days in a row. I have never been able to identify a trigger, except cigarette smoke will almost always give me one. Probably because I smoked for 15 years and my body reacts to it in the same way it used to react to tequila after gotten sick on the stuff once. Self-preservation I think.

Anyway, Sudafed and Ibuprofin do nothing for these - I take Relpax - It works really well but it is a diarhetic (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) and lowers blood pressure. My blood pressure is low already, so it does tend to make me sleepy and I have to pee every half hour or so, but it's better than the headaches. Like I said, I haven't really found what triggers them, so I just live with them.

Hang in there - they do always pass.

There are many kinds of migraines. My wife had them all since childhood. I could write a book about hers. Most are genetic. They are a physical problem. Many new drugs allowed my wife to go from having to get shots to controling them.
I have had cluster migraines wish are usually very short duration but have not had any for years.
I really do feel for those with chronic migraines. My wife passed and has no more pain.

I used to get them a lot but not so much anymore. I did have one about 3 weeks ago - my first in years. I get nausea and end up worshiping the porcelain gods just praying to pass out. Any kind of light is extremely painful.

Ian - I tried the stroke route in June and I guess it didnt work for me

I have suffered from migraines for years. Years back I kept a journal of everything I ate or dranks. After a while, we were able to determine what foods triggered mine. I don't get them too often anymore, but when I do I put an ice pack on the pack of my neck, once across my forhead, take an immitrex and 2 excederine. I find that the ice is the most helpful.

I am so sorry you have to endure those headaches, they are wicked.

-Carolyn

I have supposedly had both the "splitting" migraine type (once during senior finals in college) which I would compare to an ice cream headache that lasted for 9 hrs, and much later in life, the visual (non-painful) type wherein my vision blurred for a short while, then the image would literally fragment. Fragment in the sense that what I thought I saw (in my brain) looked very much like a photo that someone had torn into pieces. I thought that one was a torn retina, but ophthalmologist said no, it was migraine! Thankfully, I've not had either type since (about 8 yrs.). Nothing worked for either ~ they just had to wear off. I feel sorry for folks who are plagued with them frequently. It is good that we have a resident pharmacist, Rick, to help thread through the medications and practices out there.

Thanks, guys. Mine went for about 30 hours and then tapered off. I'll skip the stroke route if at all possible. I'm sure it was the medicine I was taking. I'll live with the cough. It was funny, it had been so long that I had had one, that I didn't realize what was going on at first. Once I realized, I shifted gears with my students and had them watch video while I sat and enjoyed the pain.

Gilbert, I'm sorry about your wife. I'd be lost if mine were to go.

Mine mostly went away when I quit smoking.

My wife suffers from them. She knocks them out with herbals, instantly. "Butterburr" liquid (Latin name "Petasites"). A few drops under the tongue and the migraine is gone. A lot of herbals are overlooked these days in the age of manufactured drugs. Another one that works is "Feverfew".

My wife gets them. Most of hers are food related.

I had migranes for years, clusters here too, the last bad series (about 10 years ago) was 6 out of 7 days where I'd wake up at about 1:15 in the morning feeling like I had a spike pounding into my skull above my right eye. About 10 minutes of extremely sharp pain, and then run to the bathroom to be sick. About 5 minutes after that, it was all over except what I came to call the 'tracer'. Kind of a 'reminder' dull pain in the same spot the migrane was.
To kill the clusters, the doc put me on a couse of prednisone for a week or so. The next time I started to feel them, I'd go get another course of predisone and that would keep the headaches from starting.

I haven't had a migrane for about 6 years now. Knock on wood!

It's odd, but just the thought of those brings on the feeling of the 'tracer'.

Peter, et al....

Yes, there is a lot to be said of homeopathic/natural therapies....and remember, most ALL of our drug therapies originated with roots, leaves, berries, etc! (I always enjoyed my Pharmacognosy classes in college)

Please do be careful when purchasing and using these therapies....even though they are natural, they can still interact with other synthetic drugs (and themselves); you can still experience side effects; they still have the potential of toxicities. Read the labels.

Remember, too, that the FDA is not involved in controlling the content/purity/labeling/claims of these therapies at this time....so a big CAVEAT EMPTOR is in order. While the FDA often "protects us from ourselves" a little too frequently, I'm glad that they exist.

The important thing....use what works for you...in recommended/advised doses only.