Migraine relief tips

[helloits]

Struggling to write this but feeling desperate. Day 2 of migraine, yesterday was awful vomit, diarrhoea, and unbearable headache. Today I'm feeling slightly better but only because the sickness has stopped. I've managed to keep a paracetamol down this morning and just tried for another one as the pain in ranking up again. Any other tips? This is my first proper attack. Regularly have bad headaches but none that have had my sick or put me in bed for 2 days before.

Ice packs to head and neck
Sunglasses indoors
Cool air in your dark bedroom
Ibuprofen generally better than paracetamol and if you have something similar to feminax, take that too
Water water water
Small nutritious meals
No screens
If bored and lonely try audiobooks

HTH xxx

Do you have any migraine medication prescribed? Sounds like this won’t get better without proper medication, but I’m guessing as it’s your first you won’t have a prescription.

But here are a few things you can try. Lie in the dark with a cold flannel on your head, or a migraine gel pad (you can get these at boots).

heat can also help, lie in a hot bath and make sure your scalp is in the hot water.

Caffine helps some people. Stay off your phone. Sleep, carbs, more sleep.

take migraleve pink tablets (pharmacy)
ice pack
stay in bed try not to get up too much as the blood flow will make it feel your heart is beating on your head.
did you change something in your diet? like stopped drinking caffeine or something similar (this is my trigger)
if you can order the headache ice pack from amazon its brilliant as it covers the whole head.
I find showers help running water over my head in the shower helps.
try and sleep as much of it as possible
stay in complete darkness

It's so individual so you'll need to play around with what works for you...but for me, regular coke and some aspirin is the very first thing to try. Plus something sweet to eat. I lie with my head on a hot water bottle and/or use a hot wheat bag draped across my head. Plus lots of water and lots of sleep.

It's miserable, I feel for you so much. Feel better soon

Migraines are horrible.

I have prescribed sumatriptan from GP as painkillers don’t work for me on their own. Alongside the migraine medication anadin extra or paracetamol with caffeine work for me.

other things that help after the medication:
drink cold drink such as chilled water, squash, lemonade or Pepsi max, whatever I can tolerate.
once pain reduces try and eat if I haven’t eaten - toast or similar.
try and have a sleep or if not possible lie head down even if on a desk.
experiment with whether heat or cold helps. I like a warm pillow (normally I don’t!) and keeping my feet warm with a hot water bottle if necessary.
I try and ‘clear’ the next few hours for example make sure all necessary urgent tasks are done or delegated such as childcare or food for the children so you can rest as much as possible.
go a bit slower when recovering from a migraine.
Avoid alcohol, late nights etc.

get well soon x

2 Annadin Extra and a sugary coke on an empty stomach.
1 Sumatriptan at the same time.

Always do both the sumatriptan and annadin. Sympathies. Migraines are horrible.

Ibuprofen lysine (sold as nurofen migraine relief or supermarket own brand migraine relief) work for me although less reliably recently. I am following with interest as I've had a lot of bad headaches recently. For me they are triggered by heat, stress, caffeine withdrawal, alcohol and change in sleep patterns.

Another fan of Sumitriptan.
The only thing that's ever worked for me.

Is available in packs of 2 from pharmacies (assuming UK) but works out much cheaper on prescription

Echo above.after this is over, get some form of triptan medication from you GP and keep some with you always so you can take at first sign. Rizatriptan, sumatriptan, zolmatripan - I’ve had all three and they work on me well. If they don’t work for you, you can now access private cannabis prescriptions for migraines - it will help with pain and make you sleep. Awful, awful things. Feel better soon.

Cocodomol and caffeine are the only things that help me 🫤

also, try and tie something really tight and soft around your head across your forehead like dressing gown cord. Weird but did it kind of on autopilot one horrible night and it somehow helped.

Ds has awful migraine. He takes topiramate and ibuprofen. He’s currently trying a mouth guard while sleeping to see if that helps as he grinds his teeth at night.
Horrible. Hope you feel better soon.

3 x dispersible aspirin
if you can as soon as you feel an attack coming on

i feel your pain
they are awful

get well soon!

Oh yes - coffee weirdly helps me too

I think coffee helps me if I have not had my usual 2-3 cups as a migraine can be triggered if I start to withdraw from my usual caffeine level.
otoh if I have had more coffee than usual then this can also be a trigger!

migraine is often about balance particularly for me making sure I have enough sleep (too little or too much can be a trigger)
same with alcohol - 2-3 units is usually ok and relaxes me. Any more is risky in terms of migraine trigger.

You have my deepest sympathies - migraines are the absolute pits. Once this one passes get yourself an appointment with the GP - they'll probably prescribe sumatriptans or similar. You can also get some anti-nausea tablets that dissolve underneath your gum which are good.

^
This!

Thank you so much everyone!!

I read the first few comments an hour or so after posting through my hands (quite literally because the light was hurting my eyes so much!) and then called my Mum and asked her to go to boots and buy me the pink tablets someone mentioned and the forehead coolers. I do think the migraine was on the way out at this point (I'd already had it over 24 hours!) but she got them straight away for me bless her and I put a forehead cooler on my head and the back of my neck, took a tablet, fell asleep and amazingly woke up an hour or so later to nearly no pain!!!

I will definitely get an appt at GP I never ever want to experience anything like that again. There were honestly points in the day on Friday that I thought I had a brain tumour and needed an ambulance I was so poorly. I consider myself someone who has regular migraines but now I know they were just headaches (bad all the same) but nothing as awful as Friday/Saturday. Scary experience and I'm worried they could become more regular now.

Hello

i am a long term migrane sufferer and have been advised by my specialist to try a monthly injection called Emgality or CGRP

i’ll pay privately and looking to find someone who is already using it for their opinion on whether it has helped.

I suffer with 17 migrane a month and this is my last option and I’m desperate!

thanks in advance Mandy

I cant even imagine, just horrific. I hope the injection works for you.