Fucking migraines

[mikado1]

Floaters and pain sat, floaters, pain and pins and needles in face Sun, just floaters and nausea yesterday and now out of the blue, thinking I was recovered, more pain and floaters. Can only take migrelief once in 24 hrs and nurofen doing nothing. I just hate them. Does anyone do anything else to help? It was months and months since I got one but now I've had two lasting a few days in 3m. I hate them!!!

Huge sympathies op- I'm up to 8 auras in 12 days, including one that started while I was asleep and I could even bloody see it in my dreams. Walking round with my sunglasses on because the light sensitivity is still there. If you find a magic cure please let me know! I've found asprin best to take away the pain but it doesnt actually stop the aura and light sensitivity...

I don’t find that chocolate is a trigger, I think that people reach for it, or coffee when the migraine is on it’s way and then blame that as the cause. I find caffeine (which is in choc and coffee) helps the tablets work/headache go and a bit of sugar helps too so any red coke/sugary coffee etc will help a bit and even more alongside the aspirin

Get down to the Gp first thing!

nothing you can do now except sleep it off in a dark room and ditch your phone and tv if you really need entertainment have a radio on low.
My prescription is
sumatriptan 50mg (didn’t work alone so took another) 100mg
Then 2 (25mg) codeine.
I only take it all once as it works for me but some ppl take it all every 4hrs

Works great! And I just sleep most of the day Still as I can’t do anything even after the pain passes

Triptans here too I'm on tramadol and paracetamol for chronic pain elsewhere so they won't work.

A must is a sleep in a dark quiet room too if you can

Cocodamol and a dark room tends to work next for me. Hope you feel better soon

Acupuncture really helped mine when I came off the pill when first trying to get pregnant. I was getting one every couple of weeks but the acupuncture stopped them and the couple I had were no where near as bad. I was skeptical but it really did work. No idea how. When I got prenant though I found that prenancy triggered frequent, awful, long migraines. My second pregnancy confirmed this! But a chat with a migraine specialist informed me that food triggers are thought to be cravings. I have found that when I really want to eat sweet things coupled with being very tired it is a sign a migraine is coming.

Ibuprofen and paracetamol together helps me bit it only gets rid of the headache, it doesn’t help with the visual stuff or the foggy head/hangover type feeling. My doctor told me to take aspirin but I haven’t tried that yet.

I agree with PPs who have said get some triptans! I had to try a few before I found one that worked for me but they are so much more effective that over the counter painkillers. Carry them around and take one as soon as you feel the symptoms coming on. It doesn’t always stop them, but sometimes it does. Migraines are horrific. I hope you feel better soon OP.

It's so individual.

I've tried: acupuncture, anti-depressants, BP medication - all preventatives that haven't really helped.

Ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol, caffeine, cloth on the head, sleep, Migraleve - treatments that did absolutely bugger all.

Sumetriptan 50mg - knocks the migraine out but makes me feel like shit.

Rizatriptan ?mg - knocks the migraine out and I feel OK, but about $8 a dose.

I'm ready to try a few more preventatives as I'm taking about 15 triptans a month ATM.

I swear by 'head pressure' release technique.

I'll explain this the best I can! You'll need the help of someone. Big hands help because it covers more of the forehead area.

1. Sit up in a chair
2. Get your helper to use their arm to cup around the back of your head. The back of your head should rest / nestle in the bend of the arm (the opposite bit of the elbow )
3. Using the free hand, ask your helper to put the palm of their hand on your forehead
4. Apply gentle pressure and build the pressure up for 10 seconds and then release

The pressure applied shouldn't hurt you but should feel like pressure is being applied.

Rest and it should disappear over the next few hours or get better.

Usually when it starts to disappear, I eat. Eating helps to get rid of the last lingering bits of the migraine.

I've been using that technique for 1.5 years now and my migraines now usually only last 6 hours after head pressure and sleep.

Prior to that it was something that would last 1 week.

Hope it helps someone!

I can't think of anything more likely to make me vomit than trying to drink coke with migraine, that's terrible advice.

Some migraine remedies have caffeine in them so I would try that instead.

I haven’t read the rest of the thread so I apologise if I am repeating anything but Asda’s own brand migraine tablets worked best for me I then had a faith piercing and went from having 1 migraine a month that made me have to go to bed to none in almost 2 years

Feverfew, you can buy it from any health food shop, it takes about 3 months to kick in but really helps. It’s also recognised by GPs

Couldn’t read entire thread as I too am suffering from one at the moment. Sledgehammer head banging splitting pain

I'm going to try and remember to try some of these next time I get one, I already use a few of them but defo want to try Munrow's technique!

One thing that I've recently realised helps is a big plate of chips covered in salt and vinager, I think confirming what CommanderDaisy said about low salt as I drink so much water, so it's the stodge or the salt or both, especially when I get to the stage that the migraine is almost but not quite gone, this really wipes it out. Hope you feel better soon.

Paracetamol works on a different cox blocker to nsaids but causes less side effects hence its preference by gps but honestly it’s never as effective.

I’ve known some people to take strong opiods like tramadol and oramorth for bad migraines but with an antiemetic like metacoplamide for the sickness but it works wonders for lots... maybe ask your gp?

Also the person on the anti hypertensive it’s not unusual to be put in these, some find anti convulsants work as they decrease neuronal excitability hence decreasing that pain stimulus also

Another person who had their life changed by triptans. They actually stop the migraine. Another migraine trigger I worked out fairly late in the day was that leaving too big a gap between meals. When I tried not to eat after 6pm, I often woke up feeling migrainey the next day

Lifelong migaine sufferer - tried loads over the years and now manage them well. What I've found works for me:
Keep blood sugar up - no skipping breakfast, snack and cup of tea late in evening before bedime. A migraine specialist once recommeded "have breakfast before you go to bed" - ie bowl of cereal etc.

Set my alarm clock at weekends - don't sleep in late, linked to blood sugar too. Waking up late often mean waking with a headache. (Have tea and toast - then go back to sleep for lie in!)
Drugs - Sumitriptans on prescription. First sign of headache - half a sumitriptan tablet with two paracetemol (with caffiene) . If migraine already established - Sumitriptan injection (clicker pen).
Migraine Association are great and find out if any migraine clinics near you. Most GPs I had over the years weren't that informed - my migraine (and life!) were transformed by knowing more about options and causes and getting specialist drugs. Good luck!

Chronic migraine sufferer here too. Sorry you are suffering it's rubbish. I take 1800 gabapentin daily and have botox but I find naproxen and a strong coffee really helps when a migraine comes on now although still not managed to stop that happening regularly unfortunately.

Another chronic sufferer here.

Def Aspirin in coke. Although I don’t use it as on a regular nsaid for another condition.

Tristan’s were a game changer. I am lucky and don’t get any side effects but I know a lot do. I have zolmitriptan.

Topiramate as a preventative was amazing but I got kidney stones and I’m not allowed it any more.

I can’t take beta blockers as I’m asthmatic and pretty much exhausted the options now.

My current treatment is 2mg of candasartan and Botox every 12 weeks. It’s working amazingly. From 5-6 a week to not even one a week now.

Hope you feel better soon.

Poor you OP! It is especially tough with children depending on you

Have you had an eye test recently? Since getting a new prescription last year mine have almost completely gone away.

Sumatriptan and a sleep works for me. I often wake with a migraine quite well advanced, then I have to add co-codamol and an anti-emetic (prescribed, but OTC stugeron works quite well).

Topiramate reduced the frequency massively.

Know your triggers. Mine aren't food-related, but include fluorescent light and some smells (cheap paint, paraffin, petrol, some perfumes) and try and avoid them. I had the fluorescent light above my desk at work removed, and they've since replaced the rest of the lights with low-energy halogen lights, which are actually brighter but don't trigger my migraines.

And something to look forward to: since the menopause, my migraines are much less frequent, less severe and don't last as long.

This might just be me but daily vitamin D supplements have really helped.

A few years back i was getting at least 3 a week around this time of year. Doc did bloods and said they were normal apart from a slight vitamin D deficiency. Picked up some supplements above didn't get another all winter.

Aspirin dose is up to 900mg (300mg tablets rather than 75mg). Soluble is the same as dispersible. Non-soluble work too but not as quickly