Migraine sufferers....what age did you start getting them?

[KierkegaardGroupie]

So I have never suffered with headaches. But now at the age of 41 I find every couple of months I get what I can only descrivbe as migraines......headaches that last two to four days accompanied by nausea and loss of appetite. They never last just a day so when they come on I know that is it for the next two days at least. They often come on if I have lost sleep...so my son has been in hospital this last week and I have had many nights of lost sleep and now I have a migraine.

I can face light though which I thought migraine suffered can not. I am in bed now and this is day three.
I will go to the doctor. My paternal aunt suffered with migraines so wondering if there is a genetic link. Just really surprised....as I have never had headaches much in life. When did you start to get them? What helps you when you have them? Any meds you recommend. Just want to keep going with a 2 and4 year old to look after, husband has had to use two sick days to look after me and our sick son this week. Unable to look after my kids in this state.
Thanks for any help.

I started with them in my early teens. They stopped, or atleast became much less frequent when I took cerazette.
Now I am off the pill (and all hormonal contraception) they are back with a vengeance.

Mine are definitely hormonal (atleast once a month) but also triggered if I don't eat enough, drink enough or have enough sleep.
I get optical disturbance, can't stand light or noise, feel sick (but ravenously hungry) and lightheaded.

Panadol original (blue booklet pack) used to take the edge off so they were "just" a headache. Nothing works any more apart from sleep and staying as cool as possible.
Or actually throwing up can reduce the pressure in my head. Or a nosebleed. Both of which I avoid!

Exactly a year before my periods started. 11 then. Settled down as an adult (unless under horrific stress) and are flaring back up now during menopause

Yes to Cerazette too. Stopped the problem as an adult. I took Cerazette all of my fertile life, apart from ttc.

Mine started at 13. They only got under control when I went on the pill, and I never got them when I was pregnant or breastfeeding. They came back with a vengeance after I stopped. Now I'm 50 they seem to have disappeared again, so it looks like for me they are linked to hormones.

I feel your pain - mine used to last for two or three days & I was miserable. It's very hard to look after DC with a migraine. as I know all too well. I found if I took simple painkillers the minute I felt I was going to get one, I could stop it in its tracks, but it's not always easy to notice the funny signs if you are busy. Once it got hold, the headache would hang around & nothing would budge it except Imigran, which I got on prescription from the doctor. It would knock me out though, & I'd have to go to sleep, which is not exactly ideal when you have small DC. Over the years I found being alert for the signs of it starting & treating it then was the best approach for me.

Mine would be triggered if I didn't have enough sleep, didn't eat regularly or was stressed. It sounds like you are going through a stressful time at the moment.

Definitely go to the doctor as there are lots of things you can try. Before you go, keep a headache diary listing what you have done each day, what you have eaten etc. This will help the doctor to work out the best treatment for you.

Best of luck & hope you feel better soon.

I had migraine with aura from 12. Just get the aura now (occasionally)

I also had migraine without aura off and on all my adult life (headache that just gets worse, brain feels loose, sick) and it has taken me all that time to find it was due to oestrogen withdrawal in my off-pill week. It is triggered by being thirsty. The only way to stop it was to drink frequently during the time that I knew it might happen to prevent it, then if that failed take strong painkillers as soon as I felt it coming on. Once it got going, it had to run its course.

It got worse in my late 40s, and I thought it would be a constant problem after I stopped the pill, but it has gone

Mine only started with the menopause and appear to be hormone related. I cannot abide noise/light/food or smells. It seems to last a few days like yours and builds to a peak where the nausea turns into vomiting and once that passes (several hours), the migraine tends to diminish in it's severity. Visual disturbance and also loss of balance. I can't walk in straight line or judge distance. Very much like being on a boat in high seas ! Doctor prescribed Paramax which is paracetamol and metoclopramide (used for travel sickness), it works to a degree. Avoid all codine and ibuprofen as makes it far worse.

I remember being at the docs st age 7 as calpol wouldn't shift them.

I still remember my first one aged 6, my Mum collected me from school and took me to the GP, I had double vision, severe light phobia, dizziness, sickness the works.

Had them regularly since then don't have a definite trigger , not hormonal food etc sometimes lack of sleep, emotions will trigger one but I can't be walking around a shop and start getting flashing lights at the side of my vision on ons side.

Rizatriptan is my wonder drug, before then it was a cocodamol/ ibuprofen cocktail

I've had them since I was about 3 years old. All my maternal relatives have them as well as my 3 dd 's. I have Sumatriptan that means I no longer have to go to bed for 3 days like I used to in my twenties. I take it with Ibruprofen and paracetamol and it currently works for me. Mine are mainly hormonal but sometimes have them and can't work out the trigger, except I have realised over the last couple of years that caffeine gives me headaches. Since changing to de-caff coffee I am loads better. No more daily headaches that wear you down after a while. Please do go to your GP and get treatments as it's hard enough looking after yourself never mind to young children as well.

About 9.

I have been on Propranalol as a daily preventative for about 5 years and have Sumatriptan to take on top if I do get a headache.

Do go to the doctors. I suffered for 30 years with 3-4 migraines a month. My life has been transformed!