Does anybody here suffer with migraines?

[Dinosaurs1991]

Shamelessly posting for traffic because the health boards are much quieter.

I have a diagnosis of acute TMD (facial pain) but had a weird episode yesterday that I think hope may be just a migraine.

Very occasionally (once every year or so) I have aura without pain that lasts 20-30 minutes but I don't know what a 'proper' migraine feels like.

Yesterday during a TMD flare up I had the most horrendously painful headache, eye pain, neck pain etc that went on for a good 16 hours. My entire head, both eyes. Just awful. Not typical TMD.

I had to go and lay down in the darkened bedroom for a couple of hours. I was quite dizzy when I got up and heavily vomited twice. Dihydrocodiene didn't touch the pain.

Today the pain is gone but I feel spaced out, tired, dizzy and nauseous. Quite ill actually. Hangover like. Never had anything like that happen before. I've had headaches in the past but that was on another level.

Does this sound like a migraine and is the way I feel today typical? If so I won't bother my GP, I'm just a bit concerned as it was excruciating and I'm not feeling good at all.

When I get a a migraine and miss the warning and therefore the window to take pain relief the pain is horrific - me screeching in pain thinking I'm going to die vomiting not unusual. Hangover like the next day absolutely.

@RandomMess

When I get a a migraine and miss the warning and therefore the window to take pain relief the pain is horrific - me screeching in pain thinking I'm going to die vomiting not unusual. Hangover like the next day absolutely.

Oh that's shit I'm so sorry, but thank you that has reassured me considerably!

I feel terrible for people who suffer with that on a regular basis, I would've happily asked DH to put me out of my misery.

What a horrible horrible thing

Yes, that sounds like a migraine. The migraine hangover is a well-known thing, and bloody unpleasant voice of experience. I hope you feel much better soon, OP.

Yes, that sounds like a migraine with a vertigo 'hsngover'. Mine are few and far between but are triggered by low pressure, so the last few days of storms have been horrendous. Maybe that was your trigger as well..?

Really sorry to read that you've both experienced them too, I thought I had a reasonable tolerance for pain but I just could not function.

Very interesting theory about the storms. Is weather usually a trigger for people?

I hope I feel better tomorrow. It took me almost 2 weeks to kick a stinking cold and now this 😐

Triggers can be weird and wonderful things.

Hormones can be one - mine started when I started my periods and reappeared with peri menopause also if I'm tired and eat too much/too strong cheese. Has to be that combination 🤷🏽‍♀️

Actually that was the trigger when younger, now who knows - just hormones and exhaustion??

I am grateful I don't get them often.

Forgot to add if I get to the vomiting stage I usually need to completely by bowels too so it's like a sickness bug put with that specific head pain.

Sounds like a migraine to me, horrible aren't they. I was getting them most months, in desperate I got my daith pierced and haven't had one since. Hope you feel better soon

I've had migraines triggered by pressure changes. Also, low blood sugar, hormone changes, dehydration...

They're utterly shit.

Oh you poor thing. I've suffered from migraine all my adult life. I know I have a high pain threshold as have had 3 big babies naturally with no pain relief and only felt discomfort when I broke my leg (complex break needing surgery)

That isn't a boast on my toughness but just to show how debilitating migraines are - they completely floor me. I also have the excruciating pain in my head, puking and feeling like my whole body is malfunctioning and shutting down. I'm a mess with them.

I now find the cocktail of 2 cocodamol, sumatriptan, slathering my head and neck in the strongest tiger balm I can find and trying to sleep - usually makes it short lived. Strangely I tend to get them in the middle of the night and it wakes me up.

The next day, I just feel a bit "off" but able to function normally.

Dreadful things I’ve had them that last hours but luckily now not so much Propanol helps with that now.

I definitely have a hangover the day after mine - maybe it's all the drugs I'm not sure!

On reflection I can usually see that I was 'off' the day before too, though didn't realise what it was at the time.

I get migraines with aura but they seem to be hormone related. I took them a lot as I entered puberty.

Then I had them in the weeks following the birth of my kids.

I lose the feeling in my hands and face and then my vision halfs . It’s pretty terrifying tbh but they’re rare so I just hope they don’t happen when I’m out by myself or when I’m driving.

I have never been able to take any pill with oestrogen either as it can trigger it apparently

I’m quite good about catching a migraine before it gets to the point of no return - seriously until I was diagnosed at about 30 (because like my mum I always just thought it was ‘headaches’) I didn’t realise that migraines actually shut your stomach down, hence the vomiting and painkillers not helping after a certain time.

Anyway - if I don’t catch it with painkillers then I absolutely have a hangover the next day. Sometimes for longer than a day. Foggy head, craving fatty salty sugary foods. Doc said it’s normal and also considered an aura.

I get them OP, sorry youve been feeling crappy. They have been horrendous with all of this stormy weather this past week, like other posters I’ve had five in as many days. It’s not the pain so much as all the other debilitating symptoms that really ruin me. Today I got nausea, fuzzy eyes, vertigo and fatigue on top of head pain, eye pain, neck pain. I’m at my wits end today and have just been crying to my husband about it. I think the migraines make me more weepy and emotional than normal as well, seem to remember my neurologist mentioning that as a symptom. If these are new symptoms you should go to your doctor about them regardless.

My migraines don’t always present with pain, but my neurologist had an ‘ah-ha’ moment when he realised all the other weird symptoms coincided with bad weather. It’s to do with barometric pressure. It’s the same reason animals act differently before a storm! Our bodies feel more than we realise.

I can only speak from y own experiences in that I hope they help someone. I have had pre menstrual migraines since I was about 21 and they have always been dismissed as 'just' hormonal and something I would have to get used to.

Recently (at the age of 44) I have started supplementing with wild yam cream and despite reports that it does bugger all, it has really helped. I post this because many believe that we have to put up or take HRT (when it is unsuitable for some of us to do so) but other things are available. I also take many supplements and my advice is to have private medical tests to check whether anything else is wrong and go from there. And I'm sorry to say, don't expect your GP to be helpful. They often won't be.

It does sound like it could have been a migraine. I've had migraines since my early 20s, am 40 now. Got progressively worse, then much worse after I had DD & I currently can't work due to them. For occasional migraines, I'd suggest experimenting with heat pack, cool packs, & whatever pain relief medication you feel is helpful. Be aware that some medication can cause "bounceback headaches", especially if you use it regularly. The only medications I find useful during an attack are aspirin or codeine, occasionally pink migraleve because it has an anti emetic in. If I'm having an attack & vomiting I generally don't eat though, just drink plenty as it's less unpleasant with just liquids.

Yes, sounds like migraine. My triggers are sudden changes in pressure (weather or plane or even a roller coaster!), sinusitis, dehydration, too much screen work/lack of sleep.

I need to be lying down in the dark, and movement or light is unbearable. Cold packs help, and Migraleve. Vomiting also helps ease the pain for a few minutes. I have to sleep - usually the pain stops me sleeping for a while, but sleep is the only real cure. When I wake up I have a sensation that I've slept for like 12 hours, but typically it is only an hour or two. Then I'm much better. The migraine hangover just leaves you feeling wrung out for a day or so. Unpleasant.

I will add that the last several days have been especially difficult.

I've been trying to find out as much as possible about natural methods of reducing migraines - I'm on a fairly restrictive diet (low tyramine) to control them & it does seem to be improving them, but I'm still in the stage of testing individual foods to see exactly what I can tolerate, how much, & at what point in my monthly cycle & also how long after my botox treatment (every few months). I've found out also that some foods supposedly help migraines, beetroot & rosemary are supposed to be beneficial for this. There are absolutely loads of foods that can trigger migraines if you're really sensitive though.

Migraines are the worst and it does sound like you had one. Keep an eye out for any patterns of when you feel you may get one, such as weather changes, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, lack of water, etc. Also check symptoms under vestibular migraines if you had dizziness/vertigo.

Sounds like migraine yes.
The next day is awful- it's like a hangover without the fun of a night out the day before. Every time I bend over to pick something up my head throbs.
Sometimes I feel rough even the next day after that.

I tend to get aura and then the migraine pain starts about 20-30 minutes later. As soon as the aura comes on I need to get into a dark room with painkillers and try to sleep through it.
I can get really awful pain down the side of my face and numbness. It's quite scary sometimes.
My mum is like you- she vomits although she says that often she starts to improve after she has been sick.

Sorry to hear you are suffering too. I wouldn't wish migraines on anyone. It's definitely work speaking to your doctor about different medications. Thankfully I only have one every few months so I just try to manage it, although I often wish I could find a painkiller that helps when one hits.

3 day migraines followed by 2 hangover days or ghost days as I call them. Really shit as I'm starting to get them monthly with my period. Yay, such fun.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply and tips for helping if it happens again.

I'm sorry so many of you have these bloody things regularly

Feeling a bit better today then i was yesterday but still a bit off kilter. Baby had me up most of the night so I'm extra tired. Hoping for a good night sleep now.

Upon reflection it has happened a handful of times in the past couple of years I just never realised what It was and always put it down to the TMD. The vomiting is a bit of a giveaway though isn't it?

I'm booked in for non cosmetic botox tomorrow morning for the TMD and I've read that botox can be a helpful migraine preventative so hopefully it'll be a 2 birds 1 stone thing. Fingers crossed.

@Dinosaurs1991

Thank you all for taking the time to reply and tips for helping if it happens again.

I'm sorry so many of you have these bloody things regularly

Feeling a bit better today then i was yesterday but still a bit off kilter. Baby had me up most of the night so I'm extra tired. Hoping for a good night sleep now.

Upon reflection it has happened a handful of times in the past couple of years I just never realised what It was and always put it down to the TMD. The vomiting is a bit of a giveaway though isn't it?

I'm booked in for non cosmetic botox tomorrow morning for the TMD and I've read that botox can be a helpful migraine preventative so hopefully it'll be a 2 birds 1 stone thing. Fingers crossed.

Good luck OP, hope it works well for you! x