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Original poster

Migraines/headaches

89 replies

RubySlippers · 24/06/2008 20:13

have had 2 migraines in the past week

today, i have had a headache that i cannot shift

i also feel sickly

i wouldn't usually post about health stuff, but DH is away tonight, and i just feel uneasy about not feeling well, if that makes sense

any tips?

OP posts:

Buda · 25/06/2008 11:53

lol Bucharest!

AtheneNoctua · 25/06/2008 12:18

ginger, he might want to pick two medicines with and try that so he doesn't get the side effects of either one too strongly.

The hunger and the weight gain are supposed to be a bit better on pizotifen if you take it when you go to bed (which presumably means you sleep through the side effects).

You might also try Coenzyme Q10 but it is very expensive.

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 12:44

Ruby I really sympathise with your worry about how to get home if taken ill at work. This happened to me once (pre dc) and my husband had to come and fetch me.

Athene you are right about the Pizotifen being better at night - in fact if I took it in the day I would sleep all day. I was still very hungry the following day though, but I do have a tremendous appetite usually, and this just enhanced that significantly!

I am nodding in agreement/sympathy at most of these posts. My migraines starting around age 10/11 (clear hormonal link for me) and have continued. One GP I had said I would be ok on the pill, errr no that triggered real visual effects for me. (awful zig zag lines)

99.5% of the time they are on the right side. I once had one on the left and it felt wrong iyswim. (think it was when pg) I only ever had 2 or 3 in total when pg - have been pg twice, but they were severe.

Also to whoever said about those cooling strips - yes they do help a little. I was skeptical initially. Sometimes I feel very chilly (esp feet) with a migraine so always have a hot water bottle even in Summer if I go to bed with a migraine.

kiddiz · 25/06/2008 15:19

AtheneNoctua..Sorry been out today. I have Imigran Radis 100mg. Sometimes one is enough especially if I take painkillers too. But sometimes it returns after 2-3 hours.
You have reminded me about Coenzyme Q10. I read about that somewhere else and was going to try it. How much do they cost?
I am also going to try magnesium.
This thread has been very useful. If only to talk to others who know a migraine isn't "a bit of a headache". But also for all the useful advice. So thanks all

Remotew · 25/06/2008 15:31

I get a prescription for Naramig (naratriptan) it is my saviour and is the only thing that shifts my 3 day one sided migraines.

AtheneNoctua · 25/06/2008 16:26

Kiddiz, have you tried Naramig? I prefer it to sumatriptan because it last longer and side effects are milder. If your GP was willing to give you the same number of pills it might carry you further.

Next time he says "Do you know how much it costs?" say "Do you know how much my head hurts?"

Oh, and you can get sumatriptan over the counter. Imigran rescue or recovery or something. It's expensive, but certainly beats a migraine.

kiddiz · 25/06/2008 17:04

I have just ordered a repeat precription for imigran, but when I go to collect it I will make an appointment and discuss it. I have to pick and choose which gp I see. Some are much more obliging than others. When I saw one gp about being sterilised you'd think I'd asked her to pay for the surgery personally. I got sent away to "consider a Mirena", which I already had! The next time I saw a different gp who said "oh I wouldn't recommend a mirena, not with your migraines" and refered me with no problems.
Thank you for your suggestions. They are much appreciated.

AtheneNoctua · 25/06/2008 17:07

I'm lucky with my GP. She is actually pretty willing to give me whatever drugs I ask for. She gives me 12 naramigs a month. I have asked for the propranolol because I feel 12 is a lot to be popping every month.

I must say for all my complaining about the NHS, I do get value for money in my prescriptions.

AtheneNoctua · 25/06/2008 17:09

Or here is another trick if you are prepared to pay for the medicine privately. Contact this online GP and he'll have the prescription mailed to you.

e-med.co.uk/home.html

PInkyminkyohnooo · 25/06/2008 17:24

Ruby flourescent lights do it for me, too. When I was doing my MA I got a migraine every week and it was because the main room we were in had really dodgy flourescent lighting. I used to keel over every week by 3pm and struggle to get home.

Bucharest · 25/06/2008 17:27

What side effects does everyone have with sumatriptan/imigran?
I don't really get any as such, just a buzzing sensation between my brows as it starts to kick in. Bit like having a chili pepper up your nose. (I imagine!)
I spend half the year working in the UK and half in Italy and my UK GP is really quite snotty about the prescription, but my Italian one hands me out 4 packs of 4 imigrans whenever I ring her- and prescription costs are cheaper here....(at least something is)

PInkyminkyohnooo · 25/06/2008 18:38

I tried imigran no big 'side effects' as such but it made me feel very spaced out and I didn't like it very much.

ElfOnTheTopShelf · 25/06/2008 18:45

I used to suffer migraines regularly, but they quietened down after I had dd (somebody told me this is quite common)
However, I now suffer from hemipligic migraines, which caused me to lose function of the right hand side of my body and I spent most of December/Jan signed off work, in and out of hospital, emergency doctors and sobbing. I was prescribed co-codomal and then codeine.
I find that migreleve can help if I take one soon enough, very keen not to have to suffer another one of those attacks again.
Am off to read the thread to see whether I can find another cure!

kiddiz · 25/06/2008 18:47

They make me fuzzy headed in the short term and then make my teeth hurt...can't think why though! Side effects are short lived and miles better than migraines for me.

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 19:52

That is interesting Elf (about them quietening down after you had your dd). I also heard that if you had v painful periods prior to having dc then this may lessen after having dc. This was my experience although I still have the odd bad month.

Ditto what kiddiz and others have said; what an informative (and supportive) thread. Shame that it came out of Ruby's suffering with a terrible episode of migraines. Hope you are feeling better this evening Ruby?

ElfOnTheTopShelf · 25/06/2008 19:54

A friend of mine is a doctor, and his wife has just had a child, and he said that her migraines have died down too, its supposed to be common but I'd never heard of it until after I had dd - I might have had one sooner if I knew it would solve the migraines

PInkyminkyohnooo · 25/06/2008 22:18

Liking all this stuff about better periods and fewer migraines after babies! I've been pg and bfeeding pretty much for the last 3.5 years so I'm not sure what things are going to be like for me. I hope I have no more menorrhagia and fewer migraines!

kiddiz · 25/06/2008 23:33

I'm . My migraines have got worse as I have got older and I never had them at all before I had children.

AtheneNoctua · 26/06/2008 07:48

The side effects I get are increased heart rate when the medicine starts to kick in, then muscle weakness, then tiredness. None of this is as bad as a migraine. These side effects are much lower with naratriptan. Naratriptan works for a longer time, but it also takes longer to kick in. If I take a sumatriptan it is about 3-40 minute until the headache starts to get better. With naramig, it's more like an hour or two. But then the headache comes back faster with the sumaptiptan.

What about exercise? Does anyone here run/work out? Do you find that exercise helps or makes it worse?

Rosylily · 26/06/2008 08:43

I find yogalates helps. Excercise is a good stress reliever.
Of course I didn't get them while pregnant..but it's a slightly extreme course of preventative action

I've had the visual disturbances on their own and went to the dr and she said it was a migrainey thing. It is a weird and scarey thing.

Have added magnesium to my list and will check out the link after school drop.

Brilliantly usefull thread!

Bucharest · 26/06/2008 09:15

Agreed re usefulness of thread!
MIne have definitely got worse (as in more frequent) since having dd. My Aunt was the same and said hers only went after the menopause. I'm 43 so maybe not long to go then.......eek.
People (like my Mum) drive me nuts when I'm at the lying in a darkened room moaning stage. "Why don't you get up and have a bit of fresh air?" Like I could go anywhere except the bathroom, and even then, only to throw up.....
Are you feeling better Ruby?

AtheneNoctua · 26/06/2008 11:54

I like to remind DH from time to time that the worst migraine I ever had (bed ridden and puking my guts out) was just after I married him.

I'm sure he was wondering what the Hell he'd gotten himself into.

kiddiz · 26/06/2008 11:59

I used to go to aerbobics classes but I found they were often triggering a migraine attack. At first I thought it may be dehydration but despite my being really careful to drink plenty before during and after I was still getting them.I now go swimming instead and I'm ok with that.
Rosylily yogalates? Is that a sort of combination of yoga and pilates? There is a class locally I think. I would like to give that a go...do you need to be super fit and flexible? Or could a not as fit as she would like to be 46 year old have a go?

AtheneNoctua · 26/06/2008 12:17

Do you think it could have been the lighting in the aerobic studio?

kiddiz · 26/06/2008 12:34

Possibly ..they were coloured flashing disco type things in the ceiling.

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