Help- migraine

[watermeloncrush]

Currently having the most horrific migraine imaginable.

I’ve been to the GP already for my headaches and been diagnosed with migraine.

This one started this afternoon and has progressively worsened. I just want to sleep and wake up with it gone, but I can’t do that because lying down makes it so much worse. It feels like my head is going to blow up with the pain. It’s on one side of my head and a sickeningly throbbing pain. All I can do is just sit and wait for it to pass. And my leg and arm are both numb from the pain of the migraine.

Does anyone have any tips for getting through this until the pain eases off? I’ve tried water, pain killers, ice packs and heat. If anyone has any tips or ideas they use to relieve their own migraine I would be hugely appreciative.

@Lougle

I take one capsule of the 'together health' brand magnesium a day. (188mg)

If I have a day, like yesterday, when I felt a migraine starting - I take two. I find two can have an unwanted side effect though - a mild laxative effect. 😐

Apparently magnesium is known that? But I'll take an extra bathroom visit over a 2/3 day migraine every time!

A bit late for you but I find it's easier I head then off with co-codamol at the first time. I'm on a number of blood pressure tablets and I know one of them is prescribed for migraines. I've not had a really bad one for years but I still get milder ones. At Christmas though I had a migraine type headache as part of my flu and my daughter brought me son boots migraine tablets, ibuprofen plus something else. They worked surprisingly well .

Agreed - Boots will sell you two tablets of Sumitriptan if you fill out a form. I’m prescribed 12 per month and you can get double strength ones ( 100mg, not 50) or ones that you take nasally, which can be good if you’re prone to vomiting.

Things that work for me at the start of/ during an attack: ice packs, hot water bottles, cold flannel on forehead, full sugar Coke with ice, sipped, Jamie Dodgers or Rich Tea biscuits, toast and marmalade and sleep. My anti-emetic tablets help me sleep when I have a ‘restless’ presentation. I also need pitch dark, no noise and no cooking smells in the house or I’m sick. Also, daily beta blockers and HRT. These don’t stop them but the intensity and length have dialled right back.
I avoid caffeine day to day but it can help if an attack is underway - I’d have black tea and not coffee, though.

Afterwards: Big Mac meal, toast, crisps ( pref ready salted) or oat cakes. Sports massages really help my neck too.

Things that haven’t worked or make me really sick: acupuncture, a daith piercing, milky coffee, milk and too much liquid.

Best of luck - I’ve had them all my life and they are horrible. There are different triptans to try now and newer medicines so do go to your GP to try something else.

Yes to triptans and anti-sickness meds, an ice-pack eye mask thing and one on your neck while using a heated wheat bag on your hands/feet. Salty food, caffeine and sugar all help if you time it right. If I can get a triptan at the right time and go to sleep I can often get over the worst. I find mint essential oil on my temples, under my nose and on my pulse points helps, and also randomly the smell of broken orange peel.

I find Sumatriptan and Anadin extra really help with my hormonal migraines. Normal paracetamol doesn't cut it. Also buccastem, for the nausea.

Sumatriptan is the magic cure for mine. Nothing else works.

Sympathy from
Me. I've had one all weekend and had to miss work. Felt crap and my headache hasn't been that bad.

Red sinus relief Sudafed- I swear by them! I get to the point I can’t lay down and throw up from the pain and if I can keep this down long enough and ok within 20-30 mins x

I’m another aspirin, full fat coke person. I have zolmitriptan prescribed though my GP - sumatriptan didn’t work for me. I take dextrose tablets as well at the first sign - GP recommended to raise my sugar levels and DD’s GP (different GP) says the same. I also find yawning and stretching my jaw helps as does brushing my hair. I put radio 4 or a podcast on and dark room. Once the edge has gone, all the salty carbs - it’s like having a hangover!

Feel for you OP, migraines are evil....
Took me years to get on top of mine but whats worked for me:
Propanolol and amitriplytine daily. Amitriplytine is a brilliant migraine preventative.
Magnesium and b2 supplement daily (recommended by migraine specialist)
Finding out my triggers, for me they were
Artificial sweeteners
Citrus
Caffeine
I know the above wont help you with your migraine right now, but one trick that has worked for me sometimes (but sometimes hasnt) get icecream, icelolly or ice, and with your tongue stick it to the roof of your mouth for as long as poss or until is melted, and repeat until you have finished, I was told it can help reduce blood flow and bring on a brain freeze reaction that disrupts the migraine. Its helped me maybe 40% of the times, but worth a try.

Cocodamol and caffiene tea or coffee. The caffiene restricts the blood vessels my doc told me to trybit

I was going to mention acupuncture, it helped me massively when I was getting a lot of migraines. It reduced both the frequency and the severity of them.

Identifying the triggers can help reduce the frequency, if they're things that are easy to avoid. Fluorescent lighting was one of mine, and certain smells (some paints, petrol, paraffin and Estee Lauder's Youth Dew perfume), also getting very hungry.

The other thing that made a huge difference was going through the menopause. I still get them occasionally, but the pain and vomitting are nowhere near as bad.

I tried a fair few medications and in the end it was Solpadeine plus that worked
for me. Also eating carbs seemed to help. Toast and crisps mainly! That’s not helpful though if you feel
sick.

Hope you feel better soon @watermeloncrush

If sumatripton doesn't work try naratripton, in the meantime try massaging between your thumb and first finger, the fleshy bit.
Also my GP said co codemol can cause migraines so avoid it, it's in migraleve too.
I take paracetamol and ibuprofen and my sumatripton.
Also invest in peppermint migrastick, Holland and Barratt

I've not had any migraines since taking super complex vitamin B daily. Approx 2.5 years. Was recommended by my GP.
I buy Linden's on eBay. White & green packet.

I've suffered from migraines for many years. Often being sick for 3 days before doctors will give me a jab to stop that and also IV painkillers. It was very stressful because I couldn't keep any sort of tablet down, not even anti nausea pills, and couldn't even keep a swallow of water down.
I think different things help different people, unfortunately it's a matter of experimenting. Some of the things mentioned above don't touch the sides for me.

I do find that resting in a reclining chair, or as comfortably as possible propped up with plenty of pillows helps. Keeps my head up.
I now dissolve a Buccal tablet between my cheek and gum (tastes vile but I can't swallow without throwing up) - that's to stop the sickness. Then I can take paracetamol and codeine for the pain.

I think you need to return to the doctor and get some help with this. You may find that they need to try more than one drug to find out what relieves it for you.

Dark room. Sleep.

When I have a migraine I will literally sleep for 24 hours right through.

The thing is, I can't just sleep through a migraine. I'm often in solo charge of DC and I am a freelancer with client work to do.

I take triptans and eat salty foods and struggle through until I can go to bed. I've tried all the preventative meds and now waiting to see a neurologist.

I get up to 20 a month, life is pretty shit.

You can it's 3 for £10

What brand do you take? I'll try anything!

Oops that'll teach me to read.

The first thing the neurologist is likely to do is say that you have medication over use headache and you need to cut your triptans below 10 per month.

I was going to suggest this! I remember managing to get rid of a migraine by massaging the pressure point between thumb and forefinger. I had a McDonald's afterwards and it was bloody amazing!

I've had migraines since I was a child. I remember once being so green with nausea from one that the teacher walked me over to meet my mum at the end of the school day.

I used to dip my head in a sink full of freezing water and then lay on my bed in a darkened room. These days if I get one I tend to go for the same things- dark room, cold water on my head, pressure. I also have a strong slightly sweet cup of breakfast tea with paracetamol and ibuprofen.

I take candersartan (lowers blood pressure and relaxes blood vessels) to help prevent migraines and it really helps. Naproxen (anti inflammatory) is far more effective than ibuprofen/ cocodamol. You can buy Naproxen over the counter in pharmacies but only for period pain and not headaches.

@ThinWomansBrain such a helpful response to someone so obviously in pain. Did that make you feel better?