Migraine Sufferers

[Flame]

What do you do when it hits on a weekday and you are in charge of small children?

I desperately want to sob down the phone to DH for him to come home from work.

Is there some way to get through it?? Various medications don't work for me, sleep is the only thing that does but I have to attempt to get DD to school, look after DS etc.

The only thing that has helped me are the beta blockers i take to control them.

I do still occasionally get the odd mild one but they have pretty much gone away since taking the meds.

I was suffering migraine with aura, left side goes numb, cant talk, vision goes on one side and have to say that the beta blockers have totally improved my life.

Sorry to say this but the only thing I can do is take to bed in a dark room. i take prescribed medication - although have to be honest and say I have only had 1 migraine in the past 6 years!.
I used to get them frequently and had to call DH to come home there was nothing for it

Know how you feel Flame

Zomig...only drug ever worked for me!

Tried the beta blockers but in my case they didn't help prevent.

I get 'menstrual migraines'

So i guess it helps that i know when they're coming!

I rely on the triptan medicines - Sumatriptan (Imitrex/Imigran), naratriptan (naramig), etc.

I'm interested to know more about your experience with beta blockers, Pucca. My GP has sugested them, but I have refused because I have quite low blood pressure to start with, and beta blockers tend to lower it more.

Flame, get DH home. You cant look after the little one with a migraine.

Take care and sleep it off.

I only get them occasionlly - every 5-6 months or so

Have told DD that I can't get her to preschool, and DH is trying to get home by lunchtime.

Eleusis, fire away

I was put on them 2 yrs ago, i am on the slow release propananol, take one every day and they have helped me so much, i was getting very severe attacks....between 2-4 per week, very frightening.

Had around a year of them being really severe (tingling and numbness in left arm, hand, side of face, tongue, unable to speak, slurring my words, and left side of vision disappeared *plus the regular symptoms).

I have suffered the regular type (just bad head pain, unable to lift head) for about 12 years (being aged 15).

I was referred to a neurologist and it was thought i had a narrowed carotid artery (that is how severe the syptoms were) and even showed up to be a 50 % narrowing on a ultrasound of my neck) but then i had a angiogram and was told it wasn't that and it was put down to migraine with aura.

I also think it is definately a hormonal thing as both times i have been pg i havent suffered any migraines at all (came off my betablockers 2nd time around).

Hope he gets there soon.
And you can sleep it off.

take care x

Poor you Flame. It's impossible to look after little ones when this happens. I suffered from them especially when I was pregnant, and was prescribed paramax, a mix of paracetamol and codeine, but have to take it when I feel an attack coming. It's too late if I wait until it's upon me. Then the only thing that works is trying to lie down in a dark cool room. I put migraine relief pads on my forehead to try and cool myself down.

Is there anyone else you can call on, a neighbour or friend to help until DH can get home? Could someone else take DD to school?

And what is your blood pressure like?

Mine is around 100/60, which isn't terribly low. But I am always freezing and if it goes lower I will becolder, and I just can't bear that.

Do you find that being physically active helps?

I find that in time where I am a good dedicated runner that I get fewer migraines. If I go running at the onset of one, that makes it worse. But if I run regularly, say 3 miles 3 or 4 times a week, then I tend not to get them as often. I must admit my migraine are not anywhere near as severe as yours, but they are frequent -- every week or two. I still find them very annoying.

Hope you are ok, Flame. Sorry, I didn't mean to fo on and on about myself when you are the one suffering today.

call in favours - get dd dropped home from school by someone else and shove ds in front of the TV and lie on the couch with the curtains closed and a flannel on your head - poor you

Eleusis, I find regular exercise helps a bit. But what has undoubtedly helped me the most is eating regularly throughout the day. I didn't realise it but one of my triggers (along with my period) was letting myself go too long between eating something or eating stuff that was too sugary and getting a sugar crash. Both those things triggered horrible migraines for me and now, as long as I snack throughout the day, those sort of migraines are held at bay.

My mum took DD to school in the end, DS has slept all morning (as have I) and DH is on his way home. Feeling slightly more with it, but will try and get a few more hours sleep.

Thank you all of you - you made me feel less like I was being irrational to want DH home.

Impossible to function with full blown migraine

glad you feel a liitle better

Is it gone today?

MY DS (8) is now on piziofen (or something like that). It has stopped his migraines instantly. We have no idea what is casuing them which is a pain as we can then avoid triggering them off. No pain relief worked with him, just sleep. He vomits bad and goes all clamy and distant, its so horrible isn't it. He was getting them one every fortnight roughly.

Hope you feel better.x

Oh no, your 8 year old gets migraines?

But glad you've found a way to control them.

i have suffered them for years, since about age 7 or 8 used to get them everyweek in my teens and had a long list of things to avoid
and tried loads of medication
I find now if i can detect them early enough i can avoid a full blown migraine also i find once i have been sick it tends to go more quickly
hope you are feeling better flame

My 14 year old DD used to get them too from the age of 5. Never as bad as DS though, but sleep again was the only thing. It looks like she has grown out of them for now, but i think when you have suffered from the at an early age things can trigger them off again, someone told me they can happen in 7 year cycles too, don;t know whether that is true or not.

It's definatley an hereditory thing. My mum and my 4 sisters suffered/s badly from them, me and my dad have never had 1.

I am hoping DS will outgrow them and waiting to see if any of my other little ones are going to suffere from them too, fingers crossed they don't.

Oh you poor thing!
Definitely get dh to come home - there's no way you can look after the little ones when you've got a migraine.
I used to get them frequently, but now not so much. My GP told me to try and avoid chocolate, oranges, cheese and red wine as they are all classic triggers. x

My DP gets migraines. He is already on beta-blockers as one of his medicines for congenital heart disease and was prescribed a particular drug once to treat the migraine but they left him feeling lousy. One of my friends mentioned in passing one day that if she starts to get a migraine she drinks a can of coke. He tried it at the next onset and the migraine went within about 30 minutes. We always keep coke in the house nowadays incase he gets a migraine.

I realise it is not helpful now, and it doesn;t work for every one, but might be worth a try in future.

Hope you feel better soon

AAAaaargh.

I STILL haven't changed my posting name. Apologies

Oh, further to tigerlily's post a big trigger for migraines is tomatoes. Tomato juice = instant migraine round here.

I use a combination of things Painkillers are a problem for me.Zomig knocks me out and I'm allergic to codeine so have to use alternates.I use 4head roll on when I feel it coming and then something to dull the pain(although can no longer take only thing that used to make pain almost disappear)I then use these cooling pads on both my forehead and neck.This at least makes me able to function but as everyone says there is no way to completely get rid of them.