Help - my first ever migraine.

[pamelat]

For the last 24 hours (16 of which I hae been in bed) I have had an intense headache. I am starting to think it might be a migraine.

Yesterday the pain was on the right hand side of my head and today (despite alternating nurofen and paracetamol) it is on the left side and the base of my spine aches and I can hear my heart beat in my head.

I have put my 13 month old DD to bed early as DH had to pop out for 2 hours to play sport and I genuinely dont feel able to look after her.

To be fair, I would say the pain is less so today than before my 14 hours in bed last night (I went at 630pm)

I have never had a headache like this in my life and it really is not nice. I was hoping for ideas to cure it?

Or advice as to when it might go away?

I am drinking water and camomile tea. Last night it hurt so much that I could not eat but today I have my appetite back, so it must be on its way out?

I have had heart burn (for the first time ever also) in this last week so am wondering whether it could be connected?

hi there, you poor thing. i get terrible migraines but really only in pregnancy. is there a chance you could be pregnant? there is a very strong hormonal link.
I am not a doctor but i'm a bit surprised about the pain at the base of your spine - it's not something i've heard of with migraines. however the headache at one side of your head is a very typical feature. nausea is also very common with migraines.
i find nurofen is pretty effective (paracetamol doesn't do anything for me at all). you can also get something called 4head which is non medicinal (if you don't like taking pills) and does help a bit - you rub it on your forehead and it makes it feel cool, but that's best when you first feel the migraine coming on, not when it's in full swing. it's quite normal for them to last 24 hours or more - i once had one that went on two days. and you get a kind of hangover from them afterwards, so don't be surprised if you feel pretty strange even when the actual pain has gone.
I can honestly say i'd rather go through childbirth again (and i had a dreadful labour!) than have a migraine so i really sympathise with you. it is the most incredible agony.
oh yes, one more thing - make sure you're not dehydrated. my migraines come on if i don't eat enough, or get dehydrated. you need to watch blood sugar levels. hope that's not information overload!

Like kissmummy, I only suffered from migraines during pregnancy, and I would't wish them on my worst enemy.

In my case, it was hormonally linked. If you're not pregnant, other things that can trigger them are cheese, chocolate and red wine, as well as not eating.

The key thing is to take any remedies at the very first sign of a migrain - your system will shut down and therefore won't absorb the drugs. For this reason it is also best to take soluble painkillers, as your body will begin to digest them as soon as they are in your mouth, rather than waiting until they get to your stomach. A strong soluble painkiller like Solpadeine would be a good one to try.

I would, though, suggest that you visit your GP, just to get this checked out.

I sympathise! I get awful migraines on a fairly regular basis. For me Migralieve tablets work really well. Send your DH to the chemist and get a pack. They come in two types, pink tablets to start and then yellow tablets to take if the pain continues. You can buy a dual pack of both pink and yellow tablets.
Hope this helps.

Pamelat, I get a migraine every month which is linked to my period, hormonal migraines they're called. It can start from the day before I come on up to the day I finish and the severity changes from month to month.

One month it can just be a nagging dull headache centred around my right temple with nausea thrown in that lasts a day or two or it can be a right humdinger where someone is drilling into the right side of my head and where all I can do is go to bed and lie down/sleep through it. I don't get the visual disturbances and have only been sick once. It's only in the last couple of years that I've been getting them but the GP says it's normal. I manage mine with highest strength ibupfrofen, solpadeine or Migralieve for the humdingers.

BecauseImWorthIt is absolutely right though. You must take any medication as soon as you get the first hint that an attack is starting or it won't be at all effective.

If you are worried though, I would recommend a visit to your GP. Unexplained, severe headaches should always be investigated.

Like Technofairy i get hormonal migranes every period, it is a nitemare and i have to take a day off work every month with it. The only thing that even touchs mine (well dulls the pain a bit) is strong codene, but you have to get this on perscription x sympathies x i will have mine next week urrrrrrrrrgh

Imigran recovery.
Magic medicine sent down from heaven to change my life.......

For not so bad humdingers, but humdingers nevertheless, syndol or paramol.

And lucozade tablets.....mine are hormonal and I'm sure blood sugar triggered.

Tic tacs for the nausea....

And one of those cold patchy things for the head.

I get migraine very occasisonally as does my mother. It can be a genetic link.

I know this sounds a bit pathetic but I find that squeezing and massaging the big toes on each foot really hard and especially around the base of the toe where it joins the foot really helps if you keep at it. It wil not make it go away instantly but after few hours it eases it.

The big toe represents the head in reflexology.

Migraine is also linked to the stomach and can be triggered by certain foods - I certainly feel like vomiting when I get it.

Feverfew works better than anything else for me.
The worst thing is you can feel very wiped out for a good few days afterwards. Fingers crossed you feel better soon.

Pharacist said that short of imigran (which you have to go and see the pharamcist to get and fill out a form etc which you may not feelk up to), then the next best thing is soluble paracetomal and codeine. These can be sold over the counter so DH could get them for you, and the soluble bit is better for your stomach and gets to work straight away. Make sure you eat and drink something even if you don't feel like it, because having your blood sugar yo-yoing does not help. Cold compress and quiet darkened room all help me as well.

Thank you all. I felt terrible so went back to bed and got up Sunday morning. I was only out of bed for 2 hours on Saturday.

DH was great with taking care of DD.

It seems to have gone now (except for some tension above my left eye) but I am arranging an eye test this week (just in case).

I'm not pregnant, 99% sure of that. I am taking the pill, which may even be a contributing factor? Am taking Mercilon.

My spine pain could have been because i had an epidural 13 months ago and it always hurts a little if I feel unwell.

Thanks everyone.

I offer lots and lots of sympathy to those of you that get this frequently , it really was awful.