To ask if anyone else has migraine "hangover"

[polkadotpjs]

Got another hormonal
Migraine Friday. Mostly headed off by Triptan but bad enough to need 2 x paramol and a nap pre school run ( floated through that on those meds plus ibuprofen). Another Triptan Saturday as it felt like it was back and more Paramol No Triptan Sunday but more painkillers then and yesterday. And today only ibuprofen but my scalp tonight is so sore and my throat inside and my ear - all down the headache side. And I want to eat crisps and drink coke and craving salt.
It's knackering but I'm trying to document 6 months worth and then go back to talk preventatives. Anyone else ?

Also - just for the irony - I've never had an actual hangover from alcohol, so I'm just calling it a migraine hangover because it seems appropriate!

Doctor told me he wasn't allowed to tell me but 3 aspirin and a glass of coke at the first signs can be useful. It's helped on a few occasions so I generally mention it in migraine conversations in case it does anybody any good.

He said they can't make it public because it's not profitable enough.

@Rockhopper81

Also - just for the irony - I've never had an actual hangover from alcohol, so I'm just calling it a migraine hangover because it seems appropriate!

Maybe you should try one, just to compare? It's not the same, but there are similarities. I walk in what I call 'The Hangover Position' (bent forward quite dramatically at the waist, leaning on stuff a lot) for both, in private

My migraine hangovers last up to a week. Completely wiped out, dizzy, unsteady. I end up with a cocktail of ibuprofen with lysine, co-codomol and whatever anti sickness meds are to hand.

@LakieLady - I've never bothered to learn to drive because my migraines hit really quickly. I get partial vision loss & muscle spasms & sensation on one side, I don't think I'd feel safe to drive. And I'd probably not be legal, TBH.

Sorry you’re feeling so rubbish.
I agree with the others , it’s definitely a real thing and I usually feel out of it for a few days afterwards, especially if it’s a bad one .

@TryingnottobeWaynettaSlob

Yes I always get a migraine hangover mixed with a weird elation that it’s gone. But feel totally wiped out and out of it, I usually get my Words mixed up and crave high fat salty food.

I absolutely lost my shit at my husband yesterday for being pernickety about my inability to finish a sentence, given that it's a clear sign of migraine for me.

He claims that he had a migraine once. ONCE. I told my occupational health doctor that, and she expressed surprise that he was still alive.

Yeah currently on day 2 of the hangover. Feel like my body parts aren’t fully connected to each other - like there’s just some string holding my elbows together and my forearms could just fall off if I’m not careful. Or sometimes like I’m a computer consciousness in an android body, I have to send very conscious commands to move my arms and there’s a brief delay. Really really odd!

I’m a doctor & when my migraines started I worked in a neuro centre renowned for migraine research.

I got told by one of the neurologists in a corridor consultation to take 900mg dispersible aspirin (the solubility helps absorption) & some caffeine. If I get it in at the first sign of trouble it works a treat. And 10years later I still use it.

My migraines are rare 1-2/year and if I miss my aspirin I can be unwell for 24-48hrs.

I always have some aspirin in my work bag! On the odd ocassion I haven’t the pharmacy team looked at my very oddly as I attempted to buy supplies from them. Aspirin is so rarely used they only had 75mg cardiac preventative stuff in stock and taking 12 tablets seems extreme!

At a push high dose non steroidal works.
And I suspect if I’d got to the vomiting stage Rectal diclofenac might help.

You do have to have a stomach that can take aspirin/NSAIS though...

I didn't know it had an official name!
I get these. I used to think that it was the painkillers taking away the actual pain but leaving all the other symptoms! Now I know.
I get the weird thing where it feels like my brain can't keep up with my eyes. Like the effect you get if you use a really bad digital video camera and move it around too fast.
And yes to the aspirin. I only twigged this when I was visiting my then boyfriend (now DH) and one started. All he had in was some soluble aspirin so I took some on the off chance, assuming it would have no effect at all. Worked better than the awful Migralieve my mum kept buying.

I get the hangover and feel utterly wiped out for a couple of days after. Even just lying on the couch all day and keeping my eyes open feels like a massive effort. I feel weird and spaced out too and struggle to remember my words properly when speaking. My vision can go a bit blurry too and I just feel like utter crap!
My migraines seem to be triggered by hormones as I get them around ovulation time and a few days before my period

Yeah same here. Sadly I'm not on any triptans or preventatives as my GP is shite.
I get hormonal cluster migraine that makes me feel like I've been hit by several buses. I get the migraine then the days after I get headache, neck ache and ear ache. It's like the flu. Also feel really sick and dizzy.
I've logged it for months on an app but got nowhere, was told there was no way migraine can cause neck and ear ache despite showing them the pattern. It's twice a month- ovulation and after period when presumably my hormones are all over the place.
I think mine is linked to my PCOS as well.

But no you're not alone.

And I want to eat crisps and drink coke and craving salt.

Eat salty crisps and drink the coke!

I get this too, but more for chronic pain flare-ups. Do what you need to do.

I actually feel very tearful reading this. My head is much improved today but I struggled with work yesterday and I'm so busy I just wanted to lie down and cry (with a big bag of kettle chips). My ear seems improved too but I'm knackered. And my DH is still being a shit about it. He doesn't get it at all. As it hit I realised it was the same day as last year when I was feeling poorly post migraine and I couldn't cook my son's birthday tea - so we went out for a pizza with me drugged up to the eyeballs. So I'm nothing if not regular and able to exactly track to my periods.

Thanks so much all - I bought some aspirin to keep in the house/ bag but the pharmacist rolled her eyes at me when I said it was for migraine

I would really suggest people consider the implant/Mirena coil if you get hormonal migraines. The implant has really helped me and it's progesterone only so shouldn't be a risk for almost everyone.

You have my sympathy OP. I've been a Regular migraine sufferer since I was about 14.

Mine tend to follow a pattern of short warning signs (tingling in face and hands, possibly slight visual disturbance, pain, twitch in my eyelid), migraine, then a day of hangover (lighter headache, temp up and down, feeling starving then sick, craving carbs) then a weird euphoric feeling, usually 2 days after the actual migraine.

I had a bit of a bad time on preventative meds. Only thing thats ever helped me was 900mg dispersible aspirin, dissolved in a small glass of weak squash. I drink through a straw so you get less of the horrible taste - I stash mine everywhere (bedroom, living room, kitchen, handbag, work, car. Even my mum has some stashed away for me just in case).

I can see you've bought some. Do not take them on an empty stomach!

WRT your H, I think it's hard because no one can understand the pain of a migraine unless they've ever had one. My DH doesn't really get headaches so he used to be a bit eye-roll-ish about them, until I had one that sort of paralysed half my face and made me so fuzzy I had really delayed responses when he spoke to me so he thought I'd had a stroke. He called an ambulance and at the hospital they explained how severe a migraine can be.
Since then he's learned what I need when they kick off (not a lot - quiet, dark, water, meds).
Send your DH some articles and push him to know what you need so he can help.

Just read your last post. Are yours stress related? There's usually more than one trigger.

Yes! I've always spent at least a day after the migraine attack feeling fuzzy, like the world is spinning or I'm out of time with everything else and generally spaced out. I forget words too and my brain struggles to make simple connections. Horrible!

It's hormones for sure but I think stress must play a part too, knowing I'm being a nuisance
I'm so very tired today but hopefully on the way out the other side. It really helps knowing that this is a common-ish thing

Your certainly not on your own with it. There's been a few posts on this thread that have made me pinpoint symptoms I've never specifically voiced before. Clumsiness and difficulty speaking in a straight line, particularly.

I feel like migraines are an unwelcome 'friend' that we are constantly getting to know better.

Hope you feel better after a good sleep, @polkadotpjs

My postdrome is generally depression, paranoia and aphasia. It's exciting and awful at the same time.

I moved to the countryside last year and now, from up to 15 migraines a month, I hardly have any.

While it’s awful to read how hard it is for others, it’s hugely comforting to know we’re not alone!

I had my first migraine at age 11, it’s been my constant (unwelcome) companion since then. Like others, I know the signs now and manage them so much better as a result. One of kids has had migraine since 7 yrs old but their experience is so much better as we know what it is and how to manage it whereas my parents tried but had no idea.

I loose vision in one eye, balance goes - driving is not option when I have migraine. Vomiting and then sleep are the peak points.

Hormones, sleep disruption and dehydration are my triggers. Learning the signals and taking the meds that work for you in time are key.

My signals are cravings, I have learned that this builds a day or two before any pain or discomfort. I crave carbs (salty) and pork - sausages in particular. It’s not an uncontrollable urge or craving, I just find myself choosing these food types in the day or two before an attack.

Migraine hangovers are real. I call it a ‘soft head’ feeling and my need for carbs is also real - white bread, pasta, chips being the go to options. It’s hard to describe the hangover as it’s not like an alcohol hangover as such.

I have a weird one, after a migraine I can’t see properly. I will try to explain this one. I can definitely ‘see’ things but I can’t find them or make them out. For example, the day after an attack I can never find what I am looking for in my makeup bag. The items will definitely be in the bag, I’ll lift everything out multiple times but won’t be able to see or find something - different things each time. I always and eventually find whatever it is as it’s alway there. It’s like my brain just doesn’t seem to be able to process what I’m seeing. Am I making any sense? Does anyone else have this?

It’s like my brain just doesn’t seem to be able to process what I’m seeing

Yes. I'm exceptionally stupid and slow with a migraine, and can look directly at a thing without registering it. Eventually I'll twig it's the thing I've been looking for, but then I have to deal with beating myself up psychologically for being so BLOODY STUPID. I'm nothing like this in normal life. I'm a forgiving type, and usually find my failings funny more than anything else.

Does anybody else pee a lot? I drink and pee loads with a migraine - it's often my first sign that one is coming. It's like I drink the water and my body doesn't process it at all, it just goes straight to my bladder. I stay thirsty. I've read that peeing a lot is a migraine thing, but I don't understand the mechanism.

I have never talked to other migraine sufferers and this thread is so helpful. Like other posters it not about pain, it's the not being able to speak properly, clumsiness so miss picking up a drink, feeling of being spaced out away from life that causes me stress. Also everything white seems to glow and burn my eyes.

It makes me feel nauseous a bit like travel sickness, strong smells can push me over the edge. I can't bend down, e.g. to put on shoes as get dizzy.

I take ibuprofen, eat starchy carbs, dark room and apply pressure to the lower back of my skull just above neck. Definitely going to try coke next time after recommendations on here.

@Wond3rment I lose vision in my left eye, too. I'm currently pretty sure I've got one brewing as my left eye is playing up. All white things look hazy. It's bloody horrible and unfortunately my eldest DD has inherited it