Migraine sufferers ...

[harrisey]

I've sufered from migraine since I was 16. Its always been related to my hormones, coming more often than not around ovulation time, though sometime with my periods as well. Also a bit stress related - tend to get one when I 'come down' from a stressful time, and I avoid coffee, red wine and chocolate as much as possible as they have been triggers in the past.

I didnt have them at all when I was pregnant, and not so much when breastfeeding. They were much less when I had a mirena, but for other health reasons I am loathe to have one again (we think it might have exacerbated a kidney problem I have which was also hormonal).

Recently they have got more severe, lasting 1-2 days, not responding well to the imigran nasal spray I use, and coming much more often, and randomly. I have had 3 in this cycle, which has been 6 days in all. Looking after children or tying to study when all I want to do is lie down ina dark room and volmit ocasionally is not funny.

I have made an appointment to see the doc next week to discuss it, but wondered if anyone had any tips.

I have maxalt melts to take as soon as I feel one starting and they are brilliant.Work very quickly but only problem is if I wake up with one it doesn't clear it the same. My Gp wants to put me onbeta-blockers? as mine are getting worse but can't have them because I have asthma?

DH suffered badly from migraine before we got married. I did some research as well as keeping an eye on what preceded his attacks and we found the following:

He needed to keep his blood sugar stable - never getting too hungry or missing a meal or snack.

He could eat some foods at certain times of the day but not others - chocolate before 4.00 pm was OK after that it would trigger an attack the next day. I think it must be something to do with it being processed and cleared from the system before sleep. Strangely enough DD suffered v badly with abdominal migraine and we discovered the same thing with her - chocolate or ham early in the day OK, at teatime or later, disaster! She also suffered if her blood sugar fell too much during any day.

DH rarely has an attack now (apart from sometimes at work!) and can often head off an attack if he immediately has a cup of sweet tea.

Hope you get some suggestions to help reduce the number and severity of attacks.

I suffer from two types of migraine - the headaches/vomit type and then the pins & needles/numbness/slurred speech type.

Maxalt melt are the wonder drug for me. I take one as soon as I am getting a migraine - the start of migraine head with visual disturbance etc. They do tend to knock me out - I am susceptible to anything that "may cause drowsiness" but after a couple of hours I feel fine - a bit tired and drained but all other symptoms have gone.

My neurologist gave me beta blockers (before Maxalt was around) and they caused me a few problems - the worst of which was the bad blood circulation in hands and feet which became unbearable. I would do for Maxalt melt over beta blockers every time.

I now drink hardly any caffeine - no tea or coffee though am a bit of a chocoholic. I know if we go for dinner and I have cheese and port I am tempting fate (but it does not always come true) but I do not seem to have any specific triggers.

Hope that helps.

Glad you said that about the 2 types cos I have just started with the second one! I have pins and needles/numbness in my face and hands (make opening the melts really hard) and an aura type thing , also get buzzing in my ears. I used to just get the pain/vomit/can't stand bright lighs thing.

When I had my 2nd baby, my epidural went wrong and I ended up with a KILLER headache. I was treated twice in hospital in the first week after the birth, and one of the things they mentioned was the potential of treating the headaches with caffeine! So the idea of drinking coffee or coke at the onset of a migraine certainly has some medical history! However, I have suffered from migraines for some years and the BEST treatment by far is an osteopath. Really against drug use unless it's a last resort - but my migraines have reduced in intensity and frequency since I started seeing an osteopath.

ritchie- what do you mean by killer migraine? cos my sister who is 33 weeks pregnant had an inutero blood transfusion last week and had morphine and other drugs, then 2 days later was hospitalised again with severe headache and vomitting. She was in for a week and no drugs could touch it- she is out now but still has a risidual headache, She has never had a migraine before. Any ideas why she would have got this one? can stress/tiredness cause a headache that bad?

Your poor sister! What happened to me was different, and a recognised complication of epidurals (if only I'd known!) but it was the worst headache imaginable. I did get more migraines after it and the only thing that's really worked is an osteopath. If you can afford a session (and if you have any kind of HSA healthcare that will reimburse you) I think your sister would also find it helpful. Especially as she is at 33 weeks and you want to take as little drugs as possible at that point. If no drugs work, it would imply that her headache is musculo-skeletal, and an osteopath during pregancy can be marvellously helpful for all kinds of birth-related issues. And, yes, stress and tiredness can certainly induce headaches (and babies, I gather!). Good luck to your sister - isn't she lucky having a sister like you!

Thanks folks.

I really dont want to go down the taking something every day route. THe Maxalt thing sound good - if you dont mind, what is the active ingredient in them?

Hadn't heard about the blood sugar thing and treating migraine with coke! Will try next time!

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