Migraine...what will help any ideas?

[meandmycoffeecup]

I have been suffering with migraines for almost 2 decades now. It feels like it’s not getting better and everyday is a struggle.

Eating healthy helps a bit but i still get severe attacks on a regular basis and it’s really affecting the quality of my life. Plus i have this constant fear of nausea, visual disturbances and passing out in public.

I have been to the doctors and they all tell the same thing ... sounds like it’s migraine and there is no cure, just take pain reliever and learn to manage it. Been prescribed various medication including prophylactic medicine but everything is short term.

I have made lifestyle changes but does not seem to help a lot.

Will appreciate hearing any ideas of what worked for other people!

[faelavie]

I haven't read the whole thread. But amitriptyline has changed my life. I've been on it for around 3 years or so and I don't ever plan on coming off it.

[OvalCanvas]

I've been prescribed many options to deal with my migraines but they all just had unpleasant side effects. Didn't stop the migraine either. I've stopped asking the gp for help now.

I had a bit of luck recently as I tried boots ibuprofen lysene tablets , they only bloody worked! They're like £3 for 16 tabs. Absolute bargain. I take those tablets and use those gel cooling strips over my right eye.

[Girlinglasses]

@meandmycoffeecup 400mg per day and it can take a couple of months before you feel the effects, just FYI! Good luck

[meandmycoffeecup]

@triballeader i will look at the headache hospital and speak to my gp. I get about 2 a week that lasts 2 to 3 days! I don’t get a break from migraine!

[meandmycoffeecup]

@Hollywhiskey i have tried various medications from regular pain relievers to triptans and beta blockers (can’t remember the name). They will work for a time then stop working. I have been also on continuous medication but once i try to stop the headache comes back

@Girlinglasses I haven’t tried vit B2, i will try it hopefully will give me relief

[meandmycoffeecup]

@Jackthelovely I’m currently on sumatriptans but unfortunately not making a huge difference

@Geoffreythecat i take multivitamins and magnesium also not seeing a huge difference

[Girlinglasses]

Have you tried vitamin B2 (riboflavin)? There is some limited evidence, but they are continuing to study it, that taking like 4 times the recommended daily dose daily can cut frequency and length of migraines in half! My GP prescribed to me last year to see if it made any difference- I have to say I get them much less frequently as I get older any way but I do feel like it has made a difference. Warning though- it makes your pee luminous yellow!

[Bananaman123]

Can remember having them as far back as primary school, bothmsides of family suffer with them too. Over the years i suffered and took various meds that didnt work.

Last few years migrines increased, stress is a huge factor for me. Amytriptaline helps and sumatripitan works most times, although i get awful side effets even after headache pain gone. Being in bed, dark room and having fan on helps me, think the fan just numbs me a bit.

If at work i take sumatripitan as soon as i feel it coming on but end up feeling shit untilmi can get home to bed

[vitaminC]

I took amitriptyline for a couple of years and went from 2-3 migraines a month to 2 a year. I weaned off it very slowly and they haven't come back (it's been 2 years now).

My migraines were so bad I ended up hospitalised on a few occasions as they mimic strokes - visual disturbances and problems speaking, in addition to the regular pain, nausea etc. Sometimes the pain would last 2-3 days and I ended up needing pain killing injections.

The amitriptyline course was life-changing for me!

[Hollywhiskey]

What medication have you tried? There are loads of preventers and it normally takes a few goes to find one that works and you can tolerate. Topirimate changed my life but it took a good few goes to get there. If it hadn't worked the consultant was talking about Botox
I had to stop the topirimate for pregnancy and found that if I took my HG meds at the same time as paracetamol it works better. As others have said, Coke, something sugary and something salty all together works well. Ice pack on head or heat (bath, shower or heat pack) on neck or shoulders. Voltarol gel on shoulders. I've heard of people getting good results from TENS machine but it never worked for me.

[loveyoutothemoon]

I carry tablets around with me all the time. 2 paracetamol, 3 baby aspirin and a strong coffee as soon as it starts nips mine in the bud very quickly and prevents the post fatigue too. The best thing for me.

[triballeader]

As a chronic migraine plus cluster headaches the biggest difference has been from the hospital headache clinic and their specilaist headache nurses. GP's no longer have oversight as I am classed as too complex for GP management using British Association for the Study of Headache's Guidelines.

It really is worth pushing to be seen by a specilaist in headache disorders if after two decades you have not got any control of migraine. A specialist headache clinic has access to greater info on the newest types of management and treatment options. Most only need to be seen a couple of times to have their drugs reviewed before moving back to GP care. They can offer some 'off-label' drugs that might help that a GP is not able to.

My hospital clinic can give access to regional nerve blocks, gammacore, ultra high flow oxygen and similar that GP's cannot. They have also provided me with autoinjectors and similar drugs with an urgent self refer option to the weekly hospital clinics so I no longer end up in A&E when its very bad. Migraine truly sucks and a decent headache clinic can help to make the wrold a slightly nicer place to be in.

[SouthWestmom]

I went from lying on the office floor wondering how to get home once a month to now having migraine that never quite develops and usually lingers for two to three days. Can manage with eg nurofen express or pink migraleve

Over the last 18m:
Daith piercing - may be a placebo but it works (heavy piercing)
No coffee ever
No still wine ever
Began a mainly vegan diet
Stopped eating quorn after several d and v episodes

[viktoria]

Sumatriptan for me too. I take it as soon as I feel the migraine is coming on. If possible I lie down for 30 minutes and then I can usually cope well.
I used to have severe vomiting with my migraine and - initially reluctantly - stopped drinking coffee. Since then I haven't thrown up with a migraine - total life changer.
Only exception, when I do have a migraine now, I'll have a Coca Cola and it helps.
My migraines are hormonal, so I try to be extra careful when I know a migraine might be coming - eating regularly, having an early night etc

[Geoffreythecat]

Oh you poor thing. Do you take any supplements? The Migraine Trust has a list of useful ones to take. They have made a big difference to me; might be worth trying?

[Jackthelovely]

Sumatriptan was the only thing that has worked for me and been an absolute lifesaver. Have you tried those?

[Sunmoonearth]

Rizatriptan, buccastem and nurofen plus. Taken all at the same time. This helps me against mega migraine attacks. Without this they could last for days.

The caffeine and aspirin is great. However it only works for me at the very outset. Ie first sign of mild headache. So I don't always get to it in time.

The heavy duty solution is close to flawless (30 years with migraine).

I'm rarely bed ridden or get to the stage of vomiting these days.

[meandmycoffeecup]

Ice cold coke helps me too!

I’ve completely eliminated most of the common triggers - alcohol, cheese etc.

I still drink coffee but in moderation so maybe i should cut back as well. I do work full time with a toddler so i badly need caffeine!

There are things i could not completely avoid for example bright lights and screen lights as i work full time in an office based job. It is always a struggle to get through the day though.

[Mummoomoocow]

For me I surprised myself with a low carb diet that has seen me have one migraine since November whereas I was having them every 2/3 days. I don't know why it worked. I started eating less carbs about two weeks after a hysterical trip to a&e believing it must be carbon monoxide poisoning since it became so frequent after we moved house.

[Mummoomoocow]

What did your food diary look like? Did you cut out each typical trigger food and how long for?

[managedmis]

Also, low carbing. Odd but true

[managedmis]

Ice cold Coke

Cold and flu pills

[HannaYeah]

Daily stretching helps prevent mine.

[meandmycoffeecup]

@Mummoomoocow i have been to a neurologist a couple of times after begging to my GP to refer me.

Scans thankfully came back normal. I have been given medication to manage the pain and i have tried continuous medication also but with little result.

Thanks to everyone’s suggestions so far!

[Tortoiser]

The Drs you’ve seen sound a bit crap tbh.
Over the years I’ve been on beta blockers as a preventative - worked wonders for about 8 years; with a triptan on the odd occasion I did get a migraine. Then when the BBs stopped working I got referred (through my private health care, thankfully) to a pain specialist and he recommended anti-epilepsy drugs, which are also known to work as preventing migraines. I’m on Topiramate. Again, works a treat.
So definitely go back to your GP in the first instance and push for more.
Look here too:
www.migrainetrust.org/
I’ve found them helpful in the past.