Worst migraine ever

[migratethemigraine]

Been having excruciating headaches for the last few months. Been trying different drugs from the doctors and nothing has helped. He said it’s migraines and I have to find my own way to deal with it and it’s individual. But nothing is helping and it’s been the worst few months of my life. No pain relief helps when it starts. I just have to bear it until it eases off but it can be anything from hours to days. Sometimes it’s tolerable but other times I’m almost smacking my head off the wall with the pain. I just want relief but I can’t get it. I feel like I want to drill a hole into my brain to let out some pressure (obviously I’m not going to do that, but I feel like my head is like a shaken up can of pop and there’s so much pressure in it and it needs a way out.

its so sore tonight and I can’t even lie down to sleep because lying down makes it much, much worse. It feels like my head is going to burst. It’s one sided but feels like a LOT of pain and if I lie down it feels like that side of my brain is going to burst open, it’s too sore to lie down.

please, other migraine sufferers, does it get better over time? Do you have any advice of things I could try both long term and short term to stop this bloody migraine tonight? Im so miserable with this!

I was getting migraines every couple of weeks, and it looks like a main contributor was my posture at work resulting in a very stiff neck. I had a few physio sessions where she loosened my neck a bit, and now I only get migraines every few months.

Magnesium deficiency can also cause migraines I think?

Get your eyes tested with a CT scan - loads of high street opticians offer OTC scans now in case that flags anything up.
If they’re getting worse I would also see a GP after you get an OTC scan.

I the short term - sudofed decongestant (the one WITHOUT paracetamol. Cocodamol as often as you can take it. High caffeine drinks and salty/carby foods. Cool gel pads for your head - they are much cooler for longer than a cold flannel. Stay in the dark. Eyes closed. Make sure your pillows are still OK and not squashing your neck and making it worse. Neck and head rubs.

If they have changed it maybe worth asking for investigations as the medication isn't helping. They can do a CT scan to rule out other problems.

Sorry OP, you have my utmost sympathy.

I used to get them a lot when younger, mainly because of hormones. I mostly know my triggers now but occasionally I get one unexpectedly. Usually my triggers are lack of sleep, water, food etc, and sometimes emotional upset. I think it is all possible that brain chemistry plays a huge role too, hence why antidepressants can help with balancing out serotonin. If I remember correctly, migraines can correspond with low serotonin and other neurotransmitters too.

When mine come on, I can't do anything apart from lying down and feeling crap. I try and drink lots of lemon and ginger tea, ginger snap biscuits, and even things like full fat Coke can help too. It's important to keep blood sugar levels even, and stay hydrated too.

I had them really bad until my doctor prescribed me a preventative which 100% works, haven't had one in years.

Being on a screen won't when you have a migraine, you need to be in a quiet dark room, I could barely open my eyes when I got them

Weirdly being on a screen doesn’t make mine worse, it’s lying down that’s the problem, I absolutely can’t do it it hurts too much. But being on my phone doesn’t actually make it worse surprisingly

Oh, you poor thing! I've been there many times. You need to go back to the doctor and get Sumatriptan on prescription. Take one as soon as you get the first hint of a symptom. Ask about preventives as well, and about a referral to a headache clinic or https://www.nationalmigrainecentre.org.uk/

I now take pregabalin and nortriptyline daily and have a monthly erenumab injection, and the latter in particular has made a huge difference.

This needs investigating. There are many different headache types not just migraine. See a different doctor at the practice - ask if there is one with an interest in migraine/headache/neurology/pain management and book in with them.

I’m like a broken record on this, but acupuncture. It really does work. I was getting 20+ migraines a month and now I only get 2 or 3. I rarely get a daily headache. My pain specialist suggested it but I was really sceptical, but I tried it and was really surprised. We moved house, so i let it lapse, and they came back. I’m much better since I started it up again.

I am on preventatives but I’m not sure they work, tbh. I take Sumatriptan when I get one, or 3 soluble aspirin and 2 soluble paracetamol in a glass of coke. I, also, take a supplement called Dolovent which was recommended by the National Migraine Centre.

My daughter suffers with migraines. She goes every 3 months to neurology clinic for nerve blocking injections. She couldn't take usual GP prescribed meds due to other health condition. So referral to neurologist and this is what he prescribed. The injections are magical for her. She used to get really bad migraines and now rarely gets one. Very occasionally she might, but less severe. They are called Greater Occipital Nerve block.

Interesting about the posture. I'm a bugger for watching TV on the tablet rather than the telly and I sense when doing that my posture is wrong, because I'm looking down instead of across. It's often after doing that that a migraine will start. It used to be hormonal but after menopause and plus sumatriptan it's definitely better.

You've got it in one. Totally agree with this, great advice and spot on.

I have sumitriptan as nothing works anymore.
Though I also suffer hemiplegic migraines and it is like I have had a stroke.
if I have run out I get Migratain over the counter from the pharmacy

I used to be driven mad with them from being a young teen, every month a day or so before my period started I would get a terrible migraine, complete with flashing and vomiting.
To be fair, once I'd vomited, the posing started reducing. However, while vomiting the pain used to make me feel like my skull was going to explode with each heave.
I went through a whole pharmacy of migraine relief, including prescription ones and nothing worked.
Until I accidentally discovered that taking two ibuprofen with two extra strength paracetamol worked. Actually worked where others had failed, so that was my go to after that.
I discovered this by accident due to being driven half mad with a severe migraine, and that being the only pain relief I had in the house at the time.
The last severe one I had led me to have a TIA ( mini stroke ) due to it elevating my already dangerously high blood pressure.
Try that op. Nothing ventured, nothing gained but it may work for you too.
Mine just stopped once I hit the menopause around fifteen years ago. I very rarely even get a light headache nowadays.

Posing? Pain, not posing!

My trigger was hormonal so this is something to look at. When I feel one starting I normally:

• Eat something heavy in carbs
• Drink large glass of water
• Drink some caffeine (or have painkillers with caffeine in). Try coke, tea or an energy drink.
• Painkillers of choice (aspirin and then either paracetamol or cocodamol). I only use cocodamol if desperate as it can cause rebound headaches.
• An ice pack placed on forehead or back of the neck

Normally the combination of these will ward it off or at least dial it back to being manageable. However, it is a lot of trial and error to see what works for you.

Mine cleared up with HRT but before that I would pop a regular OTC migraine pill and as long as I got up and moved it would usually go away. I'd vomit sometimes and I'd feel off for the rest of the day bay but the migraine would improve.
Mine were never that bad. I feel so sorry for people that have them badly.

When I am first aware they are coming, but before the pain kicks in, I take 2x paracetamol and 2x ibuprofen. I then alternate these taking paracetamol 4 hourly and ibuprofen 6 hourly. If it's still really bad, I switch the paracetamol for co-codamol.

For me, sitting upright with my head resting on my left ear and my eyes closed helps, I find I can sleep in this position which helps, whereas laying down makes me feel my heads being beaten with hammers.

You poor thing OP.

I take amitrypitaline every evening as a preventative drug, and sumatriptan when they happen. I've also found ibuprofen lysine rather than the standard ibuprofen is helpful if nothing else is working. Staying very hydrated with plain water helps, getting good sleep, definitely no alcohol or cigarettes. I have a couple per week with the above lifestyle/drugs. They really, really suck.

My routine was nasal sumatriptan as soon as I felt it coming on. Coupled with 2 Co-codamol, 3 asprins and I omprazole(for the aspirin). Plus buccal anti sickness tablets to keep everything down, as my migraines came with sickness and nausea. Followed by 1/2 hour lie down to give drugs chance to work. Luckily with the passage of age although I still get them but not often and not severe. My wonderful GP now retired helped me so much with managing them, and this was his suggested solution. The trick was to catch them when you can feel it coming on and not wait till it's full blown.
If that happened I'd loose one to three days. Good luck and hope you find a method which works for you.

Working out your triggers can definitely help. I have migraines and like you lying down doesn't help at all.
Mostly mine are caused by menstrual cycle and being perimenopausal has made them more frequent. Also I have a lot of stiffness in my shoulders/neck due to another condition I have.
If you haven't already try keeping a diary of activity and food intake - it might help work out your triggers - then you can possibly avoid them.
Medication wise I take 900mg aspirin (3 tablets) Almotriptan, 2 paracetemol and an anti sickness tablet all at once as soon as I feel a migraine coming on. (this is on Dr's advice) If I catch it early enough it can stop it developing.

If your Dr hasn't help so far - go back and speak to a different Dr - or go to a pharmacist to ask for help - they can be really helpful. You can also get the almotriptan in a nasal spray form which is supposed to work quicker. I personally didn't get on with it - but it might work for some.

Good Luck - migraines suck!

might the high pollen count be inflaming your sinuses, making your headaches worse.

sorry you are so ill, migraines are absolutely horrid. In the past I’ve been to a and E a few times they were so bad I thought I’d had a brain bleed. Mine used to last three days and I’d have a few a month. My triggers were empty stomach, feeling too cold, relief of stress.
if it helps I’m now only suffering occasionally as I’m sure they were hormone related.
I used to do the following to minimise
. eat white toast to get something in my stomach before too sick
naramig plus 2 co codamol plus anti sick tablet ( stemetil)
hot wheat bag on back of neck and lie still for an hour
sometimes this was enough to limit it to a couple of hours
I didn’t find that the daily preventative medication worked
Hope you find a way to minimise them as much as possible