Don’t scare me please! Migraine misery!

[Cupofteaandbiscuits]

I have had on and off migraine for about 7 weeks. I was told the first bout was at the time of my period as always but it then didn’t go. Went to the doctor who suggested it was medication overuse at this point and I went cold turkey. Then it went for a bit ( a week or so) and has now started up again. I had a brief non migraine day yesterday but it’s back today and I am so so miserable!

my sumatriptan does make it go but it’s back by the evening.

it’s very frontal. Probably more so than normal with most of the pain down the side of my nose and along my sinus.

I have of course googled and scared myself!

what else could this be? I’m going to pester for another GP appointment. What else should I ask them to check?

Things that have given me migraine type pain but were not migraines and also are not especially scary:

Sinus infection
Wisdom tooth impaction
Neck/shoulder pain
Eyestrain

So - are your widsom teeth through? Are you up to date with opticians appointments? If you have a desk-based job have you had a proper DSE assessment? If you have a manual job could that be causing any strain or injuries to your upper back? Any particularly nasty colds this winter that could have left a sinus infection behind?

Thank you! If it is a migraine has anyone successfully got rid of one this long? Arghh!

Definitely go back to the GP and ask about preventatives as well. There are other triptans that might be more effective for you. Also do you have any idea of your triggers? It's very hard to get out of a migraine cycle sometimes and I find I have to really focus on avoiding any possible triggers, look on google at migraine threshold. It's a bit of trial and error to see what works unfortunately! There is help out there though so don't give up and keep pestering the GP, don't just put up with the pain!

I had this and it got so bad I tried everything.. I was given Pregabalin which helped but completely spaced me out..
Eventually I saw an osteopath who worked really really hard on my shoulder and neck muscles... expensive but did the trick..

Oh you poor thing! I know how horrendous and debilitating migraines are and I've not had it anywhere near as bad as you.
My cousin however has had them all her life, since pre-teen, lasting days in some cases. They discovered her trigger was chocolate though obviously it didn't get rid of them completely; However she got some semblance of a life back.
Do you get vision issues before/during? Nausea?

I really do feel for you and hope you find some relief.

Ask about Topmirate. Daily prevention

Sorry I can't help re meds, but I was surprised to read migraines can be linked to salt levels. I found mine respond surprisingly well to salty chips- and if it doesn't work, at least there was an excuse to eat chips. Just in case that helps with the misery. Though I think too much salt or changes in salt levels can be triggers too sometimes.

A lot of it seems to be down to identifying what works for you specifically - a lot of people find that caffeine causes migraines but for me it's a good early treatment. If I can catch a migraine early enough with sweet strong coffee or original recipe coke sometimes I can get rid of it before the worst of it arrives.

I have multiple triggers and try to avoid them as much as I can but basically I think I need a combination of them to trigger it thankfully:

Low blood sugar
dehydration
Being over heated
alcohol
caffeine
having a cold
little sleep
stress
hormones

I also had a 2-4 week period of near constant migraines which was actually pressure in my neck from bad posture (saw a chiropractor) along with stress and the triggers above. However, I did then go a whole year without a migraine so they can improve!

There are loads of neurological symptoms possible like facial twitching and pain, pins and needles etc…

I've been struggling with almost daily migraines and I believe it's sinus problems.
I've tried facial massage, nasal rinses & decongestants. Sleeping with a few pillows on a slant helped too. I know from experience it's just something I have to endure as I do suffer with sinus issues. I don't mean to sound like a martyr! Yes it's miserable but there is an end.

Have you tried 900mg aspirin? Especially taken with full fat coke and salty crisps!