Migranes - Saint Marys,GA

Hi-
Massage therapy may really help you. I am an LMT if you want to look me up, I would love to work with you!
Take Care,
G. Englert LMT

I would suggest contacting a Reiki Master. Reiki is a form of energy healing and can do wounders for headaches.

When I was pregnant, my OB prescribed my Midrine, which worked great, and was safe for the baby. Good luck, I know how hard it is to have a headache and kids and try to function daily. Sleep is also the key. But I hope if you can get this medicine it works for you.

I have migraines and there are all kinds of medications out there that are non-narcotic for migraines....which I believe vicodin is. Imitrex, Midrin, and Zomig are a few of these that have worked on me. Be wary of taking narcotics due to the rising percentage of people, especially women, who are unknowingly getting addicted to pain medications.

Oh K.,

I know how you feel! I've had them too. The prescription medicine worked for me, but I try hard not to ever take prescription medicine if I don't absolutly have too. All medicines have side effects no matter what they are. Diet and nutrition might be part of it. Sugar is a BIG factor in headaches. Actually, sugar substistutes are worse than just plain sugar, but both are very bad for you. Try cutting out your sugar TOTALLY. When I need a sweetner, I use only honey. and also I've found a chiropractor to be a big help in relieving headaches.
Also,I don't know if you have a need to do part time work from home, but I work with a wonderful team of moms that help moms work from home. If you ever need any info. or have friends looking to work from home, please visit my web site or give me a call. Hope the headaches leave soon!!

www.freedomunitedteam.com/tm2620 or call ###-###-####

have a great day! T.

I would highly recommend seeing a chiropractor. I had terrible headaches while I was pregnant with our son and getting adjusted was the only thing that helped. Plus, you don't want to take medication if you don't have to since you are pregnant. Find a chiropractor in your area and start going... you will be so happy you did. Women that are under chiropractic care tend to have easier pregnancies and deliveries. Good luck!

Massage and/or acupuncture are natural alternatives to medication and may have a better effect. Have you tried mild exercise, such as a walk or swim? It would get the oxygen going and may help. Cut down on caffeine, including chocolate, and keep trying to get lots of sleep.

Best of luck and congratulations on baby #2!

One other thing you may also consider is if you have allergies - even mild ones. I had mild allergies which always included a mild headache that for some reason turned major when I was pregnant.

Good luck!

M.

Oh I had the worst headaches during the first trimester with my son--fortune for me, I didn't have another one to worry about too!
Make sure you are getting enough water. Look at your caffeine intake--too much can cause headaches, as can cutting back or removing it completely from your diet (though this usually only lasts about a week). Aspartame (the artificial sweetener) is also know to cause migraines.
Mostly though--its probably those hormones that are causing it and the only thing I know that completely works is getting to week 13....
hang in there!

I have suffered with migranes for as long as I could remember...I feel your pain! Being pregnant I'd be careful using fioricet or vicodin. I'm on fioricet and valium and that's the only thing that has been able to level them (after trying over 25 medications), so I can function. Stress seems to be one of the main triggers...lack of sleep or diet can also make things worse. Fioricet has caffine in it so don't take it when you need sleep and try to cut out caffine if your in-take is high. Do keep in mind rebound headaches are also caused from fiorcet or stopping caffine. Valium was my fix all....relaxed me long enough to calm down and sleep when needed. Good luck, I know this isn't easy. Check out the web it helped me!

K. ~ The next time you go to Publix, Walgreens, etc. that has a blood pressure machine, be sure to take you b/p. High b/p can cause headaches!

K.,

Are you getting enough water? You need about 10 glasses a day when you are pg. Many headaches are indicators of dehydration. If you drink 4 glasses of water in a row and it doesn't ease up a little, then I would consider something else. But you really should try increasing your water intake first.

Take Care,
T.

Actually, you may want to look into Physical Therapy - especially if the pain is severe tension originating in the back of the neck & shoulders vs. more classic migrane symptoms (behind the eyes).

I started getting severe headaches when my son was around 7-8mo. Basically, the position of your body and frame as you're doing things with him (posture hunched over all the time, carrying/lifting with one side more than another, holding position when feeding/nursing, etc) has an impact on your muscles, ligaments, skeleton, joints, and so on. Eventually your body will scream at you if it is out of balance. If some of your internal stabilization muscles are weak (these are deep muscles you usually don't work out at the gym and NEVER really think about), building up large muscle groups in other areas from the daily lifting and toting around you do for your son will also cause an imbalance that can lead to chronic pain.

I'm not saying that's the answer, but it is helping me with my particular problem. A PT can probably explain it much better than me. If it's something you look into, be sure you get a GOOD therapist who is experienced working with your particular pain centers. I used to not put a lot of faith in PT, but after my experience I am a believer. If you live in G'ville I can give you the name of the person I see. She is AWESOME.

Whatever happens, best of luck. Chronic pain is really terrible. Please post back to the board to let us know how things worked out for you.

:)

Hi K.. When I was pregnant with my daughter I had a simular case of having a constant headache. My dr. seemed to think it was the baby laying on a nerve so he sent me to a massage therapist ( wich happened to be his sister ). I went to her about 4 times and with her work my headaches were gone. The massages were wonderful.
L.

K.,
I feel for you, I am a migraine sufferer and have been for years. You would need to check with your doctor, but I have had to take a combination of fioricet and maxalt-mlt, which helped for a little while but built up an immunity and had to switch to something else. Check with your doctor to see if there is a combination of something that you can take. Good luck.

Hello K.,

I can relate, I too suffer from migraines. Here are some ideas for you to try: taking a med with sudafed (you maybe experiencing a migraine along with allergies, which can be very common with all of us living in FL); eat a popicle ~ I have been told that the cold can constrict blood vessels; avoid nuts and chocolate. Any type of nut can trigger a migraine for me, and in the past, under stress chocolate can bring a migraine.

In the past I have used several meds to control or limit the frequency of these migraines, including advil for migraines; excedirin for migraines; fioricet, imitrex and verapamil (I don't think I have the correct spelling for this med, but I can tell you in high doses this cardiac medicine works very well).

Good Luck, hope they get better for you,

J. W

Have you been tested for pre-ecclampsia? A severe headache goes along with this.

K.,

I have had migraines since I was a kid - been to multiple doctors who all said it's genetics but there are some things you can do.

Some migraines are triggered so watch what you are eating, maybe even keep a journal to see if any foods make it worse.

Ice packs on your forehead and neck will help slow the blood (which is causing the veins to swell, hence the migraine) and relieve if not stop the migraine.

My doctor prescribed Migrainex - I wasn't pregnant at the time and didn't have any while pregnant (another added benefit of pregnancy for me) so I don't know if you can take while pregnant.

Praying for your relief.

I know that you stated you have been to the doctors, but did he happen to take your blood pressure. I know that when my daughter gets a bad headache that seems to last for days, her blood pressure is up. She has learned to drink a lot more water and watches what she eats also, like chocolate, nuts and bananas. I know this advise is a little late, but every little bit might help.

S.

A prescription called "Midren" helped me. I am not sure if I spelled that correctly though. I've had Migranes almost my entire life (started around age 12, I'm now 32), and sometimes, nothing ever seems to work which is real frustrating. I've tried several things (both over the counter & prescription), but they all seem to be just a temporary fix if they even work at all. Midren seemed to work the best and for the longest period of time, but it too quit working after months of sucess w/ it. I think maybe the trick is to switch them up when they quit working.

When I get a real bad migrane I normally have to be in a cool, dark, and quiet place for a while before I begin to get any relief. After several years of migranes, I was sent for a cat-scan or MRI (can't remember which) of my brain, which revealed that I have a brain mass/tumor... but doctors and I are unsure if it has anything to do w/ my migranes or not. I have also went to be seen by a Neurologist who diagnosed me w/ epilepsy but didn't help much w/ my migranes (maybe just me though).

Keep tying different things (don't give up) and switching up the ones that work, and keep pushing your doctor to help you get some relief (or a 2nd opinion or find another doctor).

Personally, I believe stress is another factor, and if you can find a way to relax you may get some relief as well from your migranes (pamper yourself to a nice soaking bath, etc to escape from the kids, house and stress for a bit)... a little bit of "me time" goes a long way. But still the most effective thing I discovered is lowering the a/c and finding a spot in a COOL/cold, DARK, and completely QUIET room to LAY DOWN, CLOSE your eyes, and relax and hopefully fall asleep; and when you wake up, you should feel much better.

Two other medications, that I have been told works is "Dolgic plus" and "Relpax" I believe both are prescriptions (don't know if safe for the baby though, you'll have to check that out). And all migrane and headache medications are always best if taken at the first sign or symptom of a heahache/migrane (I cannot stress that enough!). Also, Tylenol 3's helped me in the past when I was pregnant and that (and the Midrin) was all the doctor would allow me to take (and I did get some relief from them).

I am not big into taking medications but I'll try almost anything to get rid of a bad migrane... Just remember though that it is always best to take the medicine, at the VERY FIRST SIGN of a headache to ward off the potential migrane that the headache may develope into if not warded off right away.

I also have discovered that I have to stay away from artificial sweetners b/c I always seem to get a migrane when I use them. Another thing I relized is that sometimes I get a migrane if I don't have enough caffine. I drink too much soda, and every time I cut back and try to quit I get a bad headache which oftens turns into a migrane.

Another thing that sometimes seems to cause my migranes is wearing my hair in a tight ponytail. I found that often, just letting my hair down (literally, by taking the ponytail holder out of my hair, and actually letting my hair go loose), I get some relief and my head begins to feel better.

Massages also seem to help a lot, and work very well when done right! Get your temples, neck, shoulders and back massaged. Massage does wonders!

I hope some of this helps, and I pray you find some relief for the horrible migranes. I know how bad they can be, how long they can last, and how they can suddenly stop you completely in your tracks, they're no fun and I'm sorry you are experiencing them, I wish you the best of luck.

And just remember to take something for a headache and/or migrane, at the very first sign or symptom, do not wait! It is a lot easier to prevent a migrane than it is to get rid of it.

GOOD LUCK, I sympathize w/ you.

Neck muscle stiffness can lead to AWFUL headaches. The doctor suspected a brain aneurysm in me once and it turned out I had just thrown my head around too much dancing. After three days of feeling like there was a white-hot poker running from my right eye to the base of my skull, I put arnica salve on my neck, the muscles eased, and the headache went away.
So, if you think neck stiffness or pain could be contributing, try massage and arnica (all natural, plant-based) salve and see if that helps.

Hi, K.:

Congrats on your second pregnancy! I wanted to respond because I too have had migraine headaches since I was about 9. During pregnancy, especially in the first and second trimester, I seemed to have more of them, but they were a little less severe. One thing I know affects them is sleep. Obviously, you're dealing with a little one at 8mo, but you're also pg, which means your requirement for sleep is increased.

Next, as you know while pregnant, you're supposed to avoid certain meds. I can give you a list of things that can alleviate either pain, and/or frequency, but suggest you certainly run it by the OB first. Here's what worked for me and currently does:

1) Excedrin Tension Headache: this contains Acetaminophen and caffeine. It does not contain aspirin, which you're supposed to avoid all together. The caffeine allows for the blood vessels in the head to release and hopefully, allowing the headache to end.

2) Riboflavin (which is nothing more than a B vitamin). Taking this in a higher, concentrated dose one time each day (200mg) is a safe, non-toxic to you or baby way to stop the frequency and severity of headaches. My GP prescribed that when Imitrex and one other did not work for me. When I was pg, I relied on that and the Excedrine Tension to get rid of them.

3) acupressure: if you can unwind for just a few minutes at night before bed in a warm (not hot) bath, place two fingers at the point where your collar bones meet. At the bottom of your fingers, go two more fingers to the left. You should find a spot that seems a tad bit tender. Massage that with those two fingers for 1 min on, 1min off for about 5 mins. That should hit a pressure point and help to release the pressure.

As I said before, the sleep is probably one factor. One more that I have no clue how you'll respond to, but I used to get a minor headache every day for years. I stopped chewing no sugar gum (replaced it with Big Red, which has regular sugar, not aspartame (Equal) in it and no joke, the headaches went away totally). I can send links to websites if you like on that info and the riboflavin. Hope it helps, and good luck with your babies!!!

C.