Hiya Mama's. I suffer from migraines. I have a wonderful family history of them. I know my triggers (menstrual, stress/lack of sleep) there's not much I can do to stop them, but it seems like they just keeping getting WORSE. Before they would be one day long...I'd have to take meds, go to sleep in a dark room and the next day they would be gone. Now in the last few years they seem to last longer and longer. The last one I had lasted FIVE days. I have migraine medicine (the knockoff of imitrex, sumatriptipan (sp?) the higest dose i can get) and my doc recently gave me some zipsor, which is supposed to help boost the migraine meds. The meds make me so sick though, it's almost as bad as the migraine. I've tried some other meds, they've made me sick too. My doc has wanted to put me on some preventative meds...I know they use some types of anti-seizure meds to prevent them. I am leery of doing this, but I can't continue on with DAYS and DAYS of migraines. It stops your whole life, and trying to work is just impossible!!!
My questions are:
What meds do you take for your migraines? Do they make you sick...have you ever taken Imitrex and did it make you sick?
Do you take any preventative meds, which ones and how do they work for you? Any side effects? Do they help?
Any other words of wisdom?
I will probably go back to my doc soon for this and a few other issues.
Thanks mamas!
sometimes, especialy if meds do not help, it could be more physical.
Maybe you should try seeing a chiropractor.
I just had this conversation with a friend that had migraines about 20 times per month. She said her second child was found to be allergic to dyes in food so since she was nursing she cut out all the dyes in the food she ate to help her son.
She said she went from having 20 migranes per month to having just one or two. All she said she did was to stop eating things with food dyes. (FD&C yellow #5, FD&C red #40, Blue #6, etc) She was amazed.
I don't get headaches, maybe once per year. So I'm simply passing on this about the food dyes because of her experiences. Good luck to you and yours.
I cut caffeine completely out of my diet. It was screwing up my natural hormonal cycles.
I tried to treat my menstrual migraines with a low dose birth control pill. This made them WORSE....and I felt awful. My body was all jacked up. I stopped taking the pill and went back to having less headaches...then I removed caffeine from my diet. It's still a work in progress, but so far, it's really helped. I'd be happy with just 1 or 2 headaches a month instead of the several I was having. Also, a nice plus....I used to get pretty bad breast pain. When I stopped the caffeine, the pain stopped too.
Best of luck to you!
Have you tried adding a magnesium supplement to your diet? In some cases of terrible migraines magnesium i.v. is given. If you haven't tried this I would start there. It helped my sister tremendously!
Hi there!
I take Maxalt and Fiornal. They're older drugs for migraines, but they work the best for me. I have no side affects from these. Others I have taken have made me feel worse like you said. Imitrex made me feel kinda "out of body". Hated it.
Also, my mom just was recommended to take Feverfew daily as a preventative for migraines. She has been doing it for 6 weeks, and has only had one migraine in that time. She was getting around 1 headache per week. I'm planning to start this myself. It was also recommended on the Dr. Oz show, so google that for more info.
I'm sure you have, but make sure you know what food/sensory triggers affect you. I can't drink red wine or have anything with MSG or I am 100% getting a headache. Cut out processed foods and try to eliminate caffeine to one drink per day. Make sure you are wearing sunglasses BEFORE you exit your home or office during the daytime. Sometimes the sudden change in light can trigger a migraine in me. This maybe TMI, but make sure you are not constipated. Eat lots of fiber or Activia to keep your bowels moving properly. Constipation can lead to headaches according to my doctor. Lastly, make try a daily allergy relief med like Claritan or Zyrtec. I take the ones with the "D" around allergy season, and they help tremendously. If I get a sinus headache, it turns into a migraine for sure.
I went on blood pressure meds years ago to help curb my migraines, and it worked, but at 25, I didn't want to be on that type of medicine for the rest of my life, and have to increase the dosage as I aged. I found that watching what I ate, and all that I mentioned above, along with daily physical exercise has helped me most.
Good luck! Migraines suck the big one.
My mother got help from an accupunctureist and an accupressurist (hand and foot pressure points) and found releif there. Part of it is the stress and when you are stressed it puts your body in distress and sometimes addressing your body as a whole helps. She also got a full physical and found out about some SMALL and probably would have gone un noticed medical issues that were easy fixes and seemed to help as well. So, my suggestion to you is have a full physical - blood work, physical tests etc and find a reputable accupressure or punctureist - I suggest try the pressure first but I have had accupuncture myself and it does not hurt, I just chose not to look :P She now has minor headaches here and there and has gotten a few migraines and simply sees her accupunctureist every few months as preventative and when she feels one coming on.
I've suffered from migrames for 32 years since I was 16. I have tried several differant meds, My neuologist put me on Topamax 9 years ago as a preventative and it has worked great for me. The sides effects were tingling in the hands and feet for a couple of weeks and weight loss. I also take Ansaid (Flurbiprfen) at the very minute I feel any type of head ache coming on. My next step is Botox injections in the head and face. My neurolgist says those also work great for migraines. I really feel for you. Good luck.
Sorry I am a little late getting in. I have migraines from the same triggers and sometimes after I would have lethargy before or after...I mean to the point I couldnt move if I had to. they say drink plenty of water, I do, I drink 3-4 qts. a day. My chiropractor has used accupuncture and there's a point up inside the back of my head she "massages" and its an almost instant relief. One time it took her an hour to get it to release (I had let it go for waaaayy too before seeking tx). When I get them I barely go through the motion of life. I have had double vision, vomitting, etc. I barely get them anymore. It's just another avenue to try if you haven't already. Good luck, I know how debilitating they can be & I feel so sorry for my kids when I get them because I am worthless :(
I suffered in college/grad school from migraines on a weekly basis until my doctor prescribed a beta-blocker as a daily preventive. This reduced my migraines to about 8-10 a year...less than one a month! I used it for years until I got pregnant, and since then I've either been pregnant or nursing for the past 5 years so med-free. For some reason pregnancy really helped the frequency of my migraines (though probably not a good reason to get pregnant! Ha!). When I did have migraines, I took Imitrex but it was completely ineffective. A friend has a new kind of Imitrex in an epi-pen-like administration and says it is way more effective than oral administration. A cousin in Australia has completely debilitating migraines on a near-daily basis and the only relief she has found is from Botox, which apparently helps relax some of the blood vessels thought to cause migraines.
I'm sorry you are suffering so terribly. Hopefully you get some good options here to discuss with your doctor and the two of you can find a solution together. Best of luck!
I have had migraines for nearly 30 years - since high school. I am currently taking Phrenelin Forte with fair results. Over the years I have taken Imitrex, Maxalt, Relpax, Topimax, Inderal, Fiorinal (most could have been tic-tacs and had no results) as well as others I just can't remember. I have taken daily medications such as beta blockers and calcium channel blockers as well as chiropractic and accupuncture treatments...none to satisfactory results.
Mine get worse when I have insomnia (frequently). I need to figure something out!
Hi there, I'm writing to tell you about something I saw on TV last night. I must have been totally bored, but I watched an infomercial, on something called My Pillow. My husband has lots of allergies when he goes to bed, and it seems to be the pillows, so this infomercial piqued my interest. Anyway, there was this lady on there, who had suffered lots of migraines, and was in pain daily. She ended up getting these pillows and her migraines went away. I know what you are thinking that they just used this to sell the pillows, but they explained this material that is inside the pillows that doesn't flatten out after you have gone to sleep, and it keeps your neck muscles in line with your spine and you get a good night's rest and it helps with headaches. Anyway just thought I'd pass it along. I do not have one of these pillows but was thinking of getting them because of the material inside, due to allergies. Hope you find something to help you.
Preventative (daily) take this:
http://www.vitacost.com/quantum-migrelief
Also go find an Asian acupuncturist in your area, and let them know. My father has some of the WORST migraines you can imagine. I had him do just this, and it has cured him going on several months now (before he had to take lots of pain medication, now None). Make sure to find an Asian (not anyone else) as they know this field (acupuncture) much better than any western trained individual.
That's the difference - in western medicine (your typical american doctor) the answer is to use the band-aid approach, cover up your symptoms with more pain medication, never curing the true issue....
Asian/eastern medicine does not use this approach, they try to actually find what the issue is and cure it, a holistic approach, a whole body thinking to this. Acupuncture is one means to this, often we have blockages that need to be cleared. Another thing to look up (there is plenty on you tube) is learning EFT (has cured many people with not only migraines but many other things).
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/1...
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/0...
I currently take Relpax as needed and used to take Imitrex.
I can't prevent them from happening but I can create a bit of a buffer that lowers their frequency.
For me it's pretty basic, stay hydrated (at least 8 glasses of water a day), keep your caffeine levels regular (at the very least I have one cup of coffee every day, maybe a soda as well, but no more than that) and don't go crazy with processed sugars.
I don't know what my triggers are physically because I get them at all times of day and month. I get them when I am sleep deprived and well rested, when I am hungry and when I am full, etc. and they started as early as 7 years old, long before I ever had my first sip of coffee.
I have suffered for years - at one point, pretty much 6 days a week - completely debilitating. I had an MRI to be safe. Neurologist put me on some medicine (Topomax) for 6 months - that stopped the cycle. My best friend is now Excedrin. She visits about twice a week and if I catch the pain early, it's gone in 20 minutes...plus I get a boos of energy!
Im so sorry!! We have a wonderful family history of them too. My older sis gets them the worst. She is on topomax for them and that's the anti seizure one. Its better than nothing but it doesn't stop them all. Although, she went from being on the verge of a constant migraine to maybe one a month so it has helped. The only thing that bothered her at first wasit has the side effect to cause tingling in your hands and feet and head and face. It did that for about 2 months before her body got adjusted to it. I would give it a try. Anything has to be better than that misery! I hope you get some relief! I've seen the absolute misery it can cause.
I'm so sorry - I used to have these ALL the time and know how horrible they are.
Honestly, when I changed my diet, they decreased DRAMATICALLY. So many of our maladies are linked to the foods we take into our bodies, so I would start there before going on the migraine meds - many of which have nasty side effects. Your diet is one of the best preventive measures you can take!
My personal diet triggers:
-dehydration
-not eating enough throughout the day
-MSG - this was huge for me
-artificial colors / flavors
-other preservatives in food
When I went "real" with my diet - eating things as natural as possible and cutting out artificial flavors, colors and preservatives - many things got better: energy, weight, mood...and headaches!
"Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." ~Hippocrates
When they do come, I try to get as much rest as I can, stay hydrated, do accupressure between your thumb and forefinger (as hard as you can stand it) and have a cool "rice / herb buddy" over my eyes and/or under my neck.
Good luck - I hope you find some relief!
I take supplements for prevention: magnesium, butterburr
I take preventive meds: propranolol (usually for high blood pressure) and lexapro (usually for depression)
I use naratriptan when I get one which really helps for me.
I have recently started physical therapy. Oh. my. goodness. I have gone from two migraines a WEED to three to four a month and have only been doing this for three months! I am hopeful.
Good luck!
ALSO IMPORTANT: I removed all caffeine from my diet. I used to use Excedrine Migraine regularly, but am actually better since I weaned off of it. This is not necessarily fun.
I was on Zonegran for a while and it helped quite a bit BUT really damaged my stomach. I can no longer eat fresh fruit and veges due to scar tissue :(
I changed my diet considerably. I started by eating mostly whole foods (meats, fruits and veges) then gently and carefully added things in. Dairy was a big trigger for me - mostly cheese.
A great book that helped me is: Heal your headache; the 1-2-3 program for taking charge of your headaches. by Dr. David Buchholz
I tried the Imitrex, but like you got sick on them. I now use Frova. If I can catch my migraine before it really hits the meds will help. If I already have a full blown migraine then I don't even bother taking them.
My doctor also had me on a very low dose hormone patch that I would put on a week prior to my cycle. It did help with my hormone swings and the migraines that accompanied them. I got them less often and less severe.
I tried preventative meds multiple times. I didn't have any luck with them.
I also tried acupuncture. I went for a year and it did give me some relief, not 100%. Then about 6 months after I quit going they came back.
The only time (since I was 11) I have been migraine free is when I was pregnant.
