Migraines/headaches

[WhoahThereCrazyHorse]

Would anyone mind sharing their experience of things that have worked for headaches and migraines? I’m increasing suffering with these and would like to take some action, so going to eliminate some foods and see if that has an impact. Would love to know of things that have worked for others.

TIA

Unhelpful comment but nothing really - 4head and kool n soothe strips during but nothing has stopped them for me. Have tried a lot of triptans (pain relief) and preventatives. They’re bastard things.

I have cut out alcohol. I was never a big drinker, a couple of glasses of wine a week maybe but I'd regularly get clanging headaches that hung around for days.
Since I've cut down (I've had two very small glasses of wine in about 6 weeks) I've not had a single headache. Damn

Is it migraine or headache because they are different?
If its migraine then Triptan medications are the best. Take on an empty stomach with caffeine and they work fast.
Also there's been research into high doses of vitamin b2 riboflavin and magnesium helping as a preventative. I'm starting that and seems positive so far.

Fixing my anemia worked for me. Also making sure I'm drinking enough.

Syndol is the only thing that works for me.

If migraine, sumatriptan has changed my life.

Sumitriptan does it for me, too.

Ok thanks. For those asking, I suffer with migraines, as well as an almost constant (I’d guess at 80% of the time) fairly low level headache. It’s getting a bit wearing.

Go to your GP. You don't need to suffer! I was at the point where I was having 2 or 3 a week which lasted a day or so with a day's hangover each time, so I barely got any respite. After trying triptans which helped stop the pain but not the frequency, she put me on Topiramate, a daily anti-epilepsy medication. I now have one every other month or so, which is a small price to pay. I'm 40 and have been suffering with them since my early teens. I thought it was normal, my GP was horrified.

Topiramate and triptans helped me, but with unpleasant side effects from the Topiramate.

Acupuncture helped me drastically reduce migraine and I was clear for several months. Other things that have an impact:

Central heating gives me headaches if too hot, so sleeping in a cool room with no overnight heating is a big help.

Catching migraine very quickly with ibruprofen, caffeine, and sugar (esp if I can add in sleep) really helps.

Jaw and neck tension triggers a lot, so amazing physio/chiro can help if done regularly. If I hold my smart phone too long and crane my neck, it doesn’t help either.

Booze is definitely a trigger, as is interrupted sleep.

Good luck!

Triptans don’t work for me. Or at least the three I tried didn’t.

Do you know why you have a low-level headache all the time? Could your iron be low? Are you very tired and/or stressed? I ask because sometimes I get this, I will then guaranteed get a migraine at the weekend so lose most of it to sleeping it off .

However, when I just get one for no discernible reason (no food triggers aside from haribo and coke together so I obviously avoid the combo!) I take two paracetamol, two ibuprofen and try and sleep with a cool flannel on my forehead or back of my neck. This normally cures it in about half an hour so long as I take the medication at the first twinge of pain.

Honestly it took until I was 30 before I was diagnosed, I’m 37 now and I’ve only fairly recently (like in the past two years) found the paracetamol/ibuprofen mix that works. In a pinch, four paracetamol works but not as well. My doctor said that’s ok so long as I only do it once every so often.

A friend of mine found Botox worked well for her.

Things that helped me include a mouth guard for teeth grinding, avoiding awkward neck positions for too long (e.g.holding a phone to mumsnet!), reducing sugar intake, getting enough sleep, pilates-type stretching and trying to reduce stress. Still get migraines but not as often. Good luck

Wish I had the answer. My 14 year old gets them. She had one for two weeks last year and missed a month of school. We have been to GP three times, a &e once (she was in tears with pain) and resorted to a private doctor. Shes had MRIs. It was only the private doctor who suggested something other than ibuprofen. Amyltriptaline didn't work. Now on prozotofen but that's not really working. Pain clinic won't see her as she's under 18 (helpful). She also gets severe shoulder pain. We've tried acupuncture, chiropractor and physiotherapy. We are going to try craniotherapy.
The search continues.

3 x 300mg dispersable aspirin in full sugar coke

I got a daith piercing. I went from having headache every day and a migraine once a week to barely one a month.

Then I cut out dairy and now I never get them touch wood

Amitriptyline as a daily preventative measure and sumatriptan (sp) for when 1 starts also cocodimol (you can get low dose over the counter but mid- high doses you need a prescription). I know people (through neurological department) who are on LSD for them.
A constant headache can be a sign of something more serious please do talk to your doctor

I’ve been on ketogenic diet for last 3 months for this reason. It’s helped massively.

Sumatriptan, codeine and full fat coke in a dark, cold room with a cold strip on my head helps.

I cut out cheese, in particular, cheddar. I can tolerate a small amount of lactose cheese (can't tell the difference really using it for cooking) and now rarely drink alcohol.

600mg aspirin preferribly soluble with a full sugar fizzy drink if I have - normally catches it.

I cut out dairy and sugar and eggs (apparently I had an intolerance to the former and latter, and I know I was just eating too much of the sugar).
I saw a neurologist privately for proper pain relief (none of the preventatives we tried worked for me, but zolmitriptan works every single time).
I convinced myself I had type 2 diabetes when I realised that many migraines were happening when I didn’t eat at least every 2 hours. I overhauled my diet to balance my blood sugar better, and it helped a lot (I didn’t have diabetes or metabolic syndrome which we were both v surprised by, but I am convinced that I do have poor blood sugar control 😂).
I started seeing a chiropractor weekly. Expensive but cheaper than the amount I was spending on triptans (private prescriptions). This has been amazing.
I started using a hot water bottle instead of ice.
Peppermint oil on the site of the pain until the triptans kick in.

Migraines are awful. I was similar OP, daily headache, only 3-4 hours headache free in the morning and if I didn’t treat it with migraine meds it became a migraine.

Getting treatment for my anemia helped. As did changing to a different contraceptive pill.
Oh and drinking LOADS of water every day and never having caffeine or alcohol (apart from a special occasion). If my blood sugar drops or I get dehydrated then I get a migraine too so I always make sure I have a snack and a bottle of water wherever I go

What medication do you take and how often?

Riboflavin 400mg is clinically proven to help migraine - www.migrainetrust.org/living-with-migraine/treatments/supplements-and-herbs/ - I take all of these supplements for my chronic migraine.

Cutting out refined sugar.

Daith piercing cured me too. I get one a year now rather than several a month

Daith piercing for me too! Made a HUGE difference, I very rarely get one now 🙂 Also, trying to avoid feeling highly stressed and doing my best to get enough sleep and enough to eat. If I do get one then a heated eye mask plus codeine really helps. I took amatryptaline for about two years which helped but then the side effects began to outweigh the benefits. Hope you find something that works 🙂