Migraines

[KarateSchnitzel]

Just wondering how other people deal with migraines. Only had a couple in my lifetime but in the last few months I've had a few more than usual.

This weekend I started with one on Sunday, worst one I've ever had and for the first time it made me vomit. Then had another yesterday again with vomitting again. This is the first time I've had two in such a short space of time.

I know triggers vary person to person but has anyone ever figured out their cause/triggers. Is this the start of them becoming more frequent?

I feel absolutely dreadful today, like I'm hungover. And I'm so scared I get another, I don't think I could handle another one today.

Can anyone share their stories of how they deal with theirs?

I take a full sugar ice cold coke and a migraleve with sumitripan as soon as I get any migraine signs. If I can, I also go straight to bed. This can mean they don't last more than 2-3 hours. I do get the hungover feeling afterwards too and a huge appetite.

You can get them more often due to stress or hormones, that's what triggers most of mine. Sometimes there is no trigger.

Mine are hormone related and have reduced to almost nil since menopause. One big thing i learnt was to treat a headache immediately - no waiting to see if it got worse. Another vote for a can of coke. I only take paracetamol now, as migraleve/co-codamol made me vomit without reducing the pain.
I also don't eat wheat any more, and I would not be at all surprised if it exacerbated the headaches.
There are arguments now that the things we think trigger migraines are actually the body wanting to self medicate. I crave crisps and coke usually.

I get migraines frequently. Primarily caused by hormones ( i get a migraine 2 days before my period) This has gradually worsened as I go through perimenopause. I also get whats called breakthrough headaches due to an ongoing shoulder issue which causes back/neck muscle pain.

What I've learned is you need to treat them as soon as you get a whiff of symptoms. Don't leave it thinking it will go away on its own.

I have a prescription for Almotriptan from my GP which I take with 3 aspirin and also 2 paracetamol. This regime has built up over the years so I wouldn't imagine you'd have to start with this high dose - and obvs I'm doing this on GP advice. You may find that just the 3 aspirin does the trick but speak to a pharmacist.

Lots of people find lying down in a dark room helps - but for me personally that makes it so much worse - so just goes to show you have to find out some relief that works for you,

Thanks all, this is really useful. I hadn't thought about a sugary drink, I thought that might make it worse but I'll give it a try next time. I'm going to ring my GP to see if I can get something prescribed for my next one. The paracetamol and ibuprofen just didn't do anything.

I got them really badly to start with (completely incapacitated) then they eased off to just utter agony.

I discovered one trigger was driving into the sun so invested in some really good sunglasses. Hormones are another - avoid alcohol 5-7 days before due on.

to treat them you have to be quick - use a fizzy drink to wash down about 4 aspirin. Stick a damp towel in the freezer and then stick in your head. It helps even if just by numbing everything.

Identify your triggers and learn to spot the tell-take signs of migraine onset. Then take pills and drink caffeine!

Prevention is better than cure so once you
know you are setting off your triggers - do something!

i use Migraleve - I literally carry it everywhere so I’m never caught without it. I keep cold packs which I use on my forehead - the cold constricts blood flow to brain and helps a lot. Caffeine does help - I used to think it made things worse.

Once I get symptoms the best way to manage them is sleep, in a dark place, with absolute silence. If I get to the vomiting stage then I will need about 3 hours sleep to recover and then exactly that hangover feeling - horrible but at least I can function again.

A migraine diary can help. Mine worsened due I suspect to changing hormones as I got older. But my other triggers are a combo of poor sleep/screenwork without adequate breaks/low blood sugar. And separately sinusitis can trigger my migraines so I try and beware this if I’m at the tail end of a virus.

It's funny you should mention that because on at least two occasions they have happened when driving, and I seem to recall the sun hitting my eyes right before I started seeing spots. Then an hour or so later the migraine started. Definitely going to keep my sunglasses handy now in the car for all journeys

It's tension for me that triggers on most ocassions. Sometimes it's lack of hydration or grinding teeth in sleep. Something that cured my migraines for 18 month was a little botox on forehead and between brows. If you can't tense these muscles you don't get the trigger, at least that was my experience. Avoiding carb rushes helps and getting the lightest tint in my glasses is a big change too.

Long time sufferer here. Highly recommend anadin extra. Try not to take it for too long as it irritates my stomach

poor you it’s awful. I started suffering from regular migraines in the last 4 years or so. At one stage I was getting them weekly but usually now get them once a month around my period. But it’s awful. Usually lasts 2-3 days.

the only thing that really helps once it sets in is tripan meditation from the dr.

To manage though and reduce frequency I found taking magnesium supplement was a game changer. Really helped to reduce the frequency and severity.

I also kept a record to work out triggers. Migrane buddy is a good app the doctor suggested. my other triggers (aside from
hormones) stress, Parmesan, cured meats. Need to limit chocolate and alcohol too. and managing stress by exercising and eating well helps

good luck with the gp! X

Stress and upset are a trigger for me. For particularly bad periods, I take propanalol daily to prevent migraines but if I do get an attack then I use triptans which also come with their own side effects but better than a long migraine. Botox also helps mine too.

I used to use that, and it did work, but i can no longer take it (or ibuprofen) because it irritated my stomach lining.

I take sumatriptan as soon as possible and straight to bed (if I'm not already there!). I find the drug itself makes me feel queasy on top of the migraine so I like to lie down anyway to limit the chance of me vomiting it up again. I might also take aspirin and have a coffee (for the caffeine). Usually pain then gone after 1-2 hours. Will have that "hungover" feeling for a bit after.

Mine are usually to do with hormones (ovulation and just before period), but also dehydration, illness, tiredness and too much sun can bring one on, so I just make sure I'm careful on hot days or if I'm drinking alcohol.

They have completely settled down now. I used to have ones lasting days from puberty, sometimes several times a week and the drugs would often do nothing (I tried a whole bunch of different prescription ones). Then I got pregnant late twenties and whatever hormonal changes happened have completely changed the frequency and severity of my migraines now. Just one sumatriptan will sort me out almost every time. I quite often won't even get one when I get my period now. Praying it stays like this!

Another really interesting comment that I hadn't thought about. The last couple of months I've been taking magnesium supplements but I was away this weekend and forgot to take them with me. Seems a possibility that having not taken my supplements for a couple of days might have increased the trigger? Definitely something to think about.

Thanks again, these are all really useful responses!

My main trigger is lack of sleep, I get frequent migraines. Daytime I take Ibuprofen Lysine (the same as the nurofen migraine relief but half the price) and then sumatriptan in the evening. If I take sumatriptan without sleeping afterwards they can make me feel really sick.
And plenty of strong coffee.

I do full fat Coke too!

Plus a plenty of water- with electrolytes (I keep tablets). If I need to go out I do Migraleve, dissolvable aspirin and ibuprofen. If not, sumatriptan (it knocks me out).

Worst, worst case scenario- if it's an evening and I've had it all day- I'll have some weed. (No DC). NOTHING kicks a migraine like weed, unfortunately 😭 (genuinely, they going 10-15mins from having a joint, but I actually hate smoking!).

Oh, and Botox. That's been life changing.

See the GP and find a medication that works for you. There’s no need to suffer through them. I reduced mine from twice a week to once a year just by taking the medication before the headache kicks in.