migraine and pregnancy

[shauna72]

Hi. I am in the early stages of my second pregnancy and sure enough the migraines have worsened. I was allowed to have co codamol in my last pregnancy and I think there is an american formulary of what you can take safely.Does anyone know the data on imigran? really struggling, despite acupuncture.Thanks

Funnily enough just been speaking to my gp about imigran today and for me it was a big no no!

Same here. I wasn't allowed Imigran either. I think that is mostly because there hasn't been enough research done. Still, not worth the risk. I found my migraines completely vanished during pregnancy only to come back straight away once DD was born.

You have my sympathy. I have suffered with severe and frequent migraine for years and have had one attack since becoming pregnant. I tried EVERY therapy over the years, I'm a reflexologist but even this has never helped. I have been seeing a cranio sacral therapist every 2 weeks and I have had no more migraines. She managed to get rid of a monster 5 day attack that left me wanting to hack off my own head. She has shown me how to avoid an attack and what to do if one descends in the night. It has been a complete revelation. This therapy is AMAZING for migraine and for pregnancy too. If you can spare the cash, I can't recommend it highly enough, it has changed my life and the way I think about my body. Try to stay away from anything with codeine in as it tends to make things worse after initial pain relief. Imigran is a big no no whilst pregnant, just paracetamol plus hot or cold on the head with a bit of tiger balm can distract you for a while. I really hope you recover soon.

I am in exactly the same boat, totally FED up with not being able to take Imigran. I've found that if I drink a strong cup of coffee as I feel one coming on it can sometimes get rid of it. Something about the caffiene dialating blood vessels, which I think is what Imigran does anyway.

Thanks so much for your lovely messages. Was in bed with one last night wanting to chop my head off. Better today, had been cutting down on caffeine once discovered little one on the way so might have to slow that down a bit.Will try the cranio sacral therapy if the acu doesn't work and might start my beta blockers again which I think are ok too from last pregnancy. What unlucky girls we all are!

I had lots of migraines in the first 8 weeks of both my pregnancies, but then had none for the rest of the pregnancies, followed by several after the birth (normal frequency for me is 1 every month of so). So hopefully you might find that they settle down soon.

i found just very cold water with lemon and ice cubes worked for some reason co codamol and sleep did just stop something to do with hormones

but not nice when having them i used to get really sick maybe thats why the lemon and water helped

It truly is the pits isn't it, I had an attack last week and having two toddlers as well I couldn't take to my bed, paracetamol doesn't even touch it. I must admit I had 2 Migraleve which are paracetamol and codeine (low dose) cleared it right up.

Mine are stress related though, if I'm upset or I cry or have no sleep it will trigger one.

I'm 9 weeks pregnant and have had a migraine 3 weekends in a row now. I usually only have them 2-3 times a week. My gp said I couldn't take anything except paracetamol and that he wanted to monitor my blood pressure regularly. Feels rather useless when you're in pain and can't do anything but lie in a bed for a whole day =/ I'm really hoping it will ease off after the first trimester. In my first pregnancy I didn't have migraines at all, they just died off.

Obviously check with your GP, but I'm fairly sure you can take low doses of codeine during pregnancy (just not with ibuprofen or asprin)

Coming to this thread a bit late, but just wanted to second the suggestion of cranial osteopathy.

I got dreadful migraines up until about 25 weeks, like lots of you I usually use immigrain, nothing else will touch them.

Cranial oestepath was recommended by an acupuncturist, I was quite sceptical about the idea, but it completely sorted them out. I only had 3 sessions, and I haven't had a migraine since. (I am 34 weeks now.)

Can't recommend it enough!

How expensive is cranial oestapathy usually? As my migraines are now getting increasingly frequent I need to look into getting something done but I can't afford anything expensive.

How do I find a cranial osteopath? Can't find one in the yellow pages, any bright ideas??

PS sorry to hear how bad your migraines are sassafrass, sounds like me! It's the pits

Cranio sacral therapy and cranial osteopathy are slightly different. I have had both therapies several times and have found that the former is a lot more effective for migraine than the latter. Osteo can stir things up intolerably and doesn't offer much self help wheras a good cranio sacral therapist will teach you how to avoid an attack which for me, has been the key. Have a look on the net, mine is a teacher at the College of Cranio Sacral therapy in North West London, they will have a list of accredited therapists. Most will take your financial situation into account, I pay 40 a session but get 6 for the price of 5 and I see her every 2 weeks, it's changed my life!!