Any tips to prevent this recurring migraine?

[LadyWimple]

I have had a migraine every day for the past 4 weeks. The migraine will go away if I use my triptan medication but it always comes back within 12 - 24 hours. I have tried not using the triptans for over a week but the headache never once subsided. I was vomiting so much my face was badly bruised and purple. The migraine wouldn't go . I took a triptan last night when the pain became too much to bear and now I am just dreading and waiting for it to hit again.

Things I've been doing are walking, drinking lots of water being really gentle with myself, taking my preventative medication, getting to bed at a decent time etc. I just can't break the cycle.

I don't want to go to A&E I have never done that for migraine. I've been living with this condition for 25 years and am under the care of a specialist neurologist. My next appointment isn't until July and nobody is answering the clinic phone (whichbI understand).

My plan for today is to lie in bed in the dark, take an Epsom salt bath and drink lots of water to try and break the cycle. Does anyone else have any tips?

I went through something very similar when I went off work for a bit, had 24 migraines in one month and ended up going to see a private specialist. She gave me some really good advice about caffeine - it turned out because I was off work, I wasn't having my daily coffee and that seemed to be a big part of it. If you wake up with them, she advised drinking coffee at bedtime (I know how mad that seems) but it's changed my life. Its a very small amount, couple of fingers in a cup and it doesn't keep me awake.

I also have a can of coke every day, that's massively helped me. No idea why.

You really need to talk to your GP though, I've been there where you are and it's so awful. Especially the vomiting. Soul destroying. Other than the triptans, do you take anything else? Might be worth looking into beta blockers or other migraine specific medications. Big hugs from me, sounds absolutely horrendous

Ibuprofen or another NSAID, taken at the full dose (usually 3x a day) sometimes works for me in preventing recurring ones. Keep taking long after you think you need to, e.g. 3 or 4 days.

Acupressure? If you google migraine acupressure then several links come up about pressure points in your hand and neck, worth a try, sometimes helped me. I would agree with the coffee too, and sometimes cold orange juice really helps me. No idea why, no sense to it.

I wish you all the best,, they are the vilest thing. Mine went on forever until I worked out my worst triggers - alcohol and chocolate.

Oh you poor thing, hope you feel better really soon. Definitely ensure you're having some caffeine and sugar every day, coffee and cake works for me 😉 I have a heated eye mask which helps immensely (mine are usually focused in and around my left eye and temple), it eases the pain and helps me to relax. Stress can be a major trigger for me. When things start to get back to normal, maybe consider getting your daith pierced too? This drastically reduced the number of migraines I was getting and I've sinced stopped taking amitriptyline. Good luck 🙂

Sorry to everyone I typed up a response earlier and lost it!

@MrsRonaldUlyssesSwanson I have recently stopped drinking coke on a daily basis so perhaps lack of caffeine is a factor. I wanted to stop the coke due to weight I was gaining but I sort of knew I was self medicating to some extent. I don’t like coffee and usually drink decaf tea on the advice of my neuro but will try adding in some caffeinated tea to see it that helps. I’ve been on beta blockers and pretty much all the various preventives but I haven’t done the cgrp antibodies yet so will discuss that with my neuro next time at see him.

@elephantskiss thanks for replying. I have naproxen on prescription and usually only take it as needed. It doesn’t work once the migraine has started but I’ll try taking it for a few days to see if it helps prevent reoccurrence.

Are you using the computer more? That makes mine worse. I agree with the importance of caffeine, and keep your blood sugar regular.
Sending you sympathy, it's horrible.

Strong coffee relieves my head pain, although often makes me vomit. It's proved worth it.

@mermaidbutmytailfelloff I will try the acupressure as you suggest. I often find coke and salty crisps help with mine, not sure why perhaps it’s do do with my blood pressure dropping and then the salt and crisps raise it? Or blood sugar, I don’t know. I love orange juice but feel very averse to it when I feel a migraine coming on but I’ll try it!

I need to find an alternative to the food self medicating as I’ve gained so much weight. Husband and I are both working from home and he’s not impressed with midweek coke and crisps!

My triggers are my hormones and the weather but also everything, exercise, stress, light etc I don’t drink at all never could due to migraines but I like chocolate. It can cause a migraine if I have too much but on Saturday I ate a fry’s cream just as a migraine was starting and it just vanished, only to return a few hours later sadly but it felt like magic at the time. I do suspect something metabolic is going on though.

Could it be a sinus infection. I’m taking Sudafed at the moment as I had what I thought was a migraine for 3 days straight. Friend suggested it could be my sinus and within a day of taking the headaches have gone Hope that helps

@ClaraTA Thanks Clara, especially for the cake recommendation! I do agree that the combo of pure sugar and carb makes cake a magical rescue food! I have probably relied too much on coke and certain foods to self medicate leading to weight gain.

My husband is working at home with me and unimpressed by my reluctance to exercise and snacking or by my constant migrainous state but then he thinks all I need is a brisk walk in the fresh air and a glass of water. Never had a headache, let alone a migraine in his life naturally!

I don’t have a heated eye mask but will look into that. I often wrap my head in hot water bottles which can help temporarily.

I have heard of the daith piercing and it gets mixed reviews but yes I will consider it again.

I'd bet my bottom dollar it's you stopping the coke, it's almost identical to me being off work and not drinking coffee. I said to the specialist that I knew it wasn't good for me to be drinking coke every day but she pointed out it's worse having daily migraines. I calorie count so just make sure it's within my daily limits. I was almost at the point of having the medical botox privately, it's changed my life and saved me £500

@FaFoutis No more than usual am trying to stay off screens today - mostly!

@MaMisled more recommendations for coffee, you know I hate the stuff but perhaps I should force myself to down a cup. Do you take it preemptively or once the pain starts?

@Georgia2001 I’m prone to sinus infections and I don’t think it’s that but I’ll perhaps try a decongestant next time the pain kicks in and I’ll use my neti pot!

I've been through similar and although triptans work once I have a migraine, my migraines tend to wake me in the early hours and disrupt my sleep. It then becomes a vicious cycle because sleep deprivation can trigger migraine. I found beta blockers did nothing for me. I was prescribed nortriptyline earlier this year after suffering migraine after migraine for a number of weeks. It has been great. I've had far fewer migraines. I will say that the stress of the last few weeks and having to work from home, etc meant I had a week with stress induced migraines, but that has calmed down now. Please speak to your doctor. The effect of constant migraines is awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I've cut down on caffeine, switching from coffee to tea and I try to go for a daily walk. Just being outside is beneficial to me. Everyone is different though - it's worth trying things to see what works best for you.

@MrsRonaldUlyssesSwanson your probably right, I really feel I ought to stop using it but having daily migraine and taking all the tablets isn’t great either as you say.

Hope I don’t get stopped by the police going to buy some essential “coke” at the local shop

Like many previous posters, coke and something salty (in my case salty little pretzels) help me - but in my case only once the migraine is starting to go away. I literally cannot drink or eat anything else.
I used to suffer terribly, mainly from being so sick rather than the actual migraine headache. It wasn't unusual that I would throw up 20-25 times a day.
I was told the 4 main triggers were coffee, chocolate, red wine and orange juice. So I cut out one after the other. Only once I cut out coffee (as in having my daily coffee) I stopped throwing up with my migraines. Which was a vast improvement.
Not sure if this is helpful information for you though.
My migraines are hormonal, so I am prone to them just before my period.
I try and make sure I eat regular meals and get enough sleep. Sometimes it helps, other times it doesn't.
All the best. Migraines are awful

The worst thing is the triggers...what's a cure for me is a trigger for someone else.

@viktoria that's exactly the migraines I get, with the vomiting and that's the worst part. No-one can know how horrendous it is unless they've felt that misery. I'm quite stoic and regularly sob during migraines due to the sickness.

Another weird tip that ties in with what you said is Alkaselzer XS. It's got aspirin (good for headaches), caffeine and salt in it and I find it's really effective at lifting lesser headaches or staving off migraines.

@ladywimple I only have a can every day, no more. Even get a bottle and just have 200ml a day? Or every other day and see if that helps?

I have always used caffeine to fend off migraines. I buy paracetamol plus, which has caffeine in it (2 tablets = about the same as in a strong filter coffee) and works very well for me if I wake up with a migraine in the morning. I think the theory is that caffeine is a vasoconstrictor and blood vessels dilate during migraine allowing the blood to rush through, so constricting them helps. I think it has a similar action to triptans. I keep a packet on top of my wardrobe and if I wake with a bad headache take them ASAP.

Different things work for different people but I’d say it’s worth a try. It’s difficult if you’re at the vomiting stage though, as not much can be done.

I only realised recently that migraleve contains an anti sickness ingredient, but doesn’t contain the caffeine. I think you can get anti sickness drugs prescribed for migraine?

Migraine action trust (I think) has a v good website that talks through all the potential remedies or aids for dealing with migraine and summarises research as to their effectiveness. It gave me a good few ideas to try.

Have you had Botox? Not sure if that would be paid for? Mine is covered through work insurance as the govt doesn’t seem it necessary. In combination with beta blockers it has greatly reduced my migraines. The neurologist injects 39 shots into my neck and shoulders.

When your migraines are coming on try a bag of frozen peas at the base of your neck. And triptans work best if you take them when the migraine is coming on. If you take too many in a 4 week period it can reduce their effectiveness.

Sorry, I have nothing to add, but am sending sympathy. I had a migraine yesterday so am feeling fragile today, I can’t imagine having one day after day.

I’m really surprised so many of you take caffeine to help a migraine - I was told by a neurologist to give up caffeine! This was about fifteen years ago. I cut out all caffeine then, I do have it now but only very small amounts. I have learned something new!

Hi OP, you have my sympathy, migraine can be so debilitating. Do you perhaps wear varifocal glasses? These were a big trigger for me, I have been advised never to wear them again. I switched to bi focals with a tint to lessen blue light and found that greatly helped. Hope you get some relief.

@ritascornershop botox is available on the NHS but it's a medication of last resort - you need to have tried three seperate migraine medications and be having 20+ migraines a month before you're considered for it. I've heard excellent things about it's efficacy which is why I looked into privately but luckily I haven't got to that stage

That's NHS Scotland guidelines for it, may be different in other parts of the UK. My GP had never heard of it.

@MrsRonaldUlyssesSwanson - ah, somewhat similar to my province in Canada. They want us to show we’ve tried other things for quite some time first, and have them half the month, then they’ll prescribe it. The cost of the drug is still not covered though (differs from province to province) and it’s bloody expensive, but luckily I have extended coverage through work.

Aw @LadyWimple try not to be too hard on yourself! If the food and coca cola help then that's good! We're living in a very unprecidented/strange/scary time and anything that helps to relieve that awful pain is totally fine right now, it's all part of taking care of yourself.
As I was reading your reply, I was thinking "I bet her husband has never had a migraine!" 😉
The eye mask is so lovely, I got mine from Amazon and I use it all the time - often when I go to bed. When I got the piercing I figured that even if it didn't work, it would still look nice 😄