Anyone else get summer migraines?

[HoggleHoggle]

Background: got terrible migraines as a child, suddenly stopped around 16. Then last summer I started getting at least one a week (am now 30). They stopped in the autumn and I haven't had one until about a fortnight ago, I've had 4 since then.

What's going on? Is it summer related? They also started after I'd moved to a new house. It's a south facing house and I'd read on here once that apparently that can be bad for headaches. I guess the light is brighter?

I am already utterly miserable and sick of having to cancel things. All that helps is lying in a dark room with something cool on my head, which is pretty impractical given that I'm looking after toddler ds.

I'm sure I'm drinking enough. Migraleve/cocodamol don't help. I stay away from screens as much as possible. Have cut out caffeine and chocolate as they're triggers for me. Am I missing anything?!

[NanaNina]

BIG sympathy - I suffered with migraines for years on end, about one a week at its worst. Like you no pain killer touched it. GP assured me there was nothing else that could help. Sent me to a neurologist who asked me describe the pain etc and announced that YES I did have migraine! He prescribed medication to prevent the migraine rather than a pain killer. No joy.

Then I went to a homeopath - no improvement, but she was also a GP and she asked if my GP had prescribed "one of the triptans" NO I said "Well that's what I'd be doing if you were my patient" she said. I asked her to write down the name which she did - took it to the GP explaining about seeing the homeopath and she thought this might help - passed over the paper and he said "yes she's probably right" - click click whrr on the printer and I had the prescription for naratriptan and it changed my life. Like you I had to lie in a dark room for 24 hours sometimes, taking this triptan I was pain free in 2 hours to get on with my life. They aren't pain killers they act on the blood vessels surrounding the brain, that swell in migraine attacks which cause the pain, sickness etc. They help to reduce the swelling and so you don't get the pain.

OK I've read on here of people not getting relief from the triptans but it's so worth a try. Be warned though they are expensive, (not hugely around £5/£6) and that's why that GP was not telling me about them. Shocking.

[HoggleHoggle]

Thanks nana! I will give my doctor a whirl for those.

Thankfully yesterday's migraine has gone overnight which is a huge relief.

[MechanicGirl]

HogglePoggle, reading your post was like reading my own migraine history! I too suffered badly until my late teens, then they vanished only to return a year or so ago (I'm 32) with a vengeance. I now have all new triggers which I'm still trying to figure out (pizza now lays me out for 2 days - I mean come on, how unfair?!) and have read that changing atmospheric pressure, especially sudden changes, can be a trigger. Sleep disturbance certainly is for me and my Dad (whom I have to thank for inheriting them) and you mentioned a toddler...

I had no luck with my GP - repeatedly told it's "just a headache, deal with it" and refusal to help any further so I took matters into my own hands. A pharmacist friend recommended a reliable online doctor pharmacy and I now get my sumatriptan prescriptions through them. It's an absolute God send! It kills the pain and nausea within a couple of hours and usually that's the end of it, although sometimes a second dose is required if the migraine is particularly persistent. I like those cold gel strip thingies as well while I'm waiting for the triptan to work.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed you manage to convince your doctor to let you try them. No they don't work for everyone but if they work for you then they really are brilliant. I'm also glad you're feeling better today.

[Beelzebop]

Hi there, I have migraines occasionally. My two main triggers seem to be stress and changes in air pressure particularly before a storm. I am able to feel now when a storm is coming which sounds mad, but it's true!

[HoggleHoggle]

Mechanic, how strange we're so similar! They're an absolute shitter to be honest, are really starting to affect my life (in summer, anyway!)

I think the weather/sudden changes is true too. I did have one migraine over the Autumn/winter, it was after I'd been inside for a week after an operation. The first time I went outside I immediately got a hideous 2 day migraine.

[NanaNina]

You can actually buy Sumatripan (brand name Imigram) but they're about £7 or £8 for 2 and they ask you all sorts of Qs. I only bought them once when I ran out of the ones from my GP.

I think it's shocking Mechanic that you had the same experience as me with the GPs and it's all about cost. I know their budget is finite but at least they could be honest! It's bad enough for something as medically insignificant as migraine to with-hold meds but it also happens to cancer patients.

I have also bought Sumatripan off the internet because I needed to know I had a supply for when the migraine came, and I know it's a bit dodgy but they were fine and relatively cheap. However you should be able to get them on the NHS without any trouble. There's something else I've just thought of that my friend used to take - think it was called Maxi-Melt - as it's name suggest it melts on the tongue but I'm not sure I've got the name right, but certainly go for one of the Triptans first.

Let us know how you get on.