Migraine anyone ?

[tigler]

Does anyone here suffer from Migraines ?
I only get them infrequently but they wipe me out when they strike. Just got back from a trip to Nottingham which was laced with stressful incidents, just sat down at the laptop to read emails and bingo ! I think they are stress triggered with me.
Only thing that has any effect is those pink and yellow Migraleve, they just take the edge off.
Sat here with the usual light show in my eyes, moving from one side to the other The sledgehammer pain will follow.

 

[Wozzaaah]

My wife gets them very bad, she suffered for years until finally going to her GP who recommended Migralieve.
She's ok as long as she catches it early but if not.......

 

[Drains]

My mum used to get them, and suffered. I had one once when I was still at school - if I recall, blinding pain behind the eyes and I couldn't see straight. A bit like concussion but with extra pain.
I've no suggestions for remedies but you do have my sympathy!

 

[W4yne]

I to used to suffer from bad migraine attacks vomiting etc, and was prescribed migralieve when it first came on the market, I was always left with one half of the coloured pills. I always thought my attacks were brought on by bright sunlight and usually found relief by laying in the dark and quite in a hot bath with the back of my head submerged in the water. Strangely "touch wood" I havent had an attack in years now.

 

[mike os]

very rarely.... but odly enough this weekend... spent fri. sat & most of sun in bed, in the dark stuffed with tabs

mine are 90% stress related..... but happen rarely enough to make the trigger difficlt to nail down

 

[bs85]

Got one driving home on Saturday blurred vision could only just make out the cars on the road.

Got home and went to bed for the rest of the day and most of Sunday.

Still feeling a bit rough.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I used to suffer terribly. Virtually every Friday night and lasting until Monday. Work medical scheme paid for to see specialist and one thing that turend out to be a trigger is alcohol. I've now been 100% tee total for 23 years !
An accident meant I had to take "jump or be pushed" early retirement on health grounds and since then the migraines have virtually completley dissapeared.
Now, however, I have constant headaches with no relief as the after effect of a minor stroke. Consulatant says I'll probably suffer the same for the rest of my life.

Paul H

 

[the snooper]

My wife gets them very bad, she suffered for years until finally going to her GP who recommended Migralieve.
She's ok as long as she catches it early but if not.......

you get the back lash

 

[CRS51]

Does anyone here suffer from Migraines ?
I only get them infrequently but they wipe me out when they strike. Just got back from a trip to Nottingham which was laced with stressful incidents, just sat down at the laptop to read emails and bingo ! I think they are stress triggered with me.
Only thing that has any effect is those pink and yellow Migraleve, they just take the edge off.
Sat here with the usual light show in my eyes, moving from one side to the other The sledgehammer pain will follow.

Tigler, I too suffer with migraines, they are currently averaging at about 10 a month. I have been to see many specialists and have changed my diet many times.
At present I take "propranolol" 80mg a day and this has helped although when I get the pain behind my left eye which is a sign one is imminent I take "Maxalt Melt - rizatriptan wafer" and they usually cure them within a few hours although they do have some nasty side effects.
Migraines truly are the pits and for the past seven years have been the bain of my life, sometimes makes work impossible and have spent many a day in bed. I find complete darkness and silence helps a lot and anything brighter than a cloudy day has me wearing shades.
I still can't pinpoint what brought them on and have tried many different prescription drugs to no avail, hopefully one day they will find a cure.
I don't smoke, drink or do drugs and yet still get them. Loud noises can also set one off like someone using a chop saw or stihl saw in work. I have attached a copy of "one" of my diary sheets that I keep as a record, each entry is a migrain and the "M" after is when I have had to take a Maxalt tablet.
Not much help I know but may be of interest,
Chris.

 

[justin]

+1 on the maxalt you can also buy imigran from a pharmacy but you have to fill in a questionare first. they are a bit pricey though nearly £8 for 2
i read on the net last week about the nhs planning on using botox to treat migraine apparently it can be very effective for some people

 

[pedrobedro]

Nottingham would give anyone a migraine if you were driving.

 

[snowcat]

I suffer with them sickness is the first stage followed by a complete inability to do anything, thumping head continued nausea achenes etc, they would almost mimic the symptoms of severe flu, but would only last a couple of hrs.

I found they were mostly related and could be avoid by eating properly at mealtimes (especially lunchtime) and drinking plenty of fluids, They now only catch me out a couple of times a year, where they could be several times a week.

Worth looking at changes in lifestyle before going down the drug route.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i know a girl who used to suffer with annorexia, and she suffered bad migranes too, untill she started to stick to a decent diet and build herself up. very rarely gets them now

 

[chunkolini]

Mr Tigler
Sympathy from this quarter.
I developed these linked to stress, just as you describe, weird visual disturbances, feeling not quite right then followed by a king sized headache.
I did find that I could sometimes nip it in the bud at the start of the visuals by diverting my thoughts (vague statement or what) eg re occupy my mind with something else. Difficult as they usually happened at work.
I was a mega stressed bunny, bullying boss, bullying colleagues and a bunch of people with behavioural problems as well.
Reached the point when I was on the brink of cracking up, had been to my doctor worried about all these symptoms.
Luckily he was a proper Dr and did not fill me with drugs.
A week later I resigned and was almost instantly cured.
Try to find things that trigger it and avoid them or look for ways of dealing with them.
For me this would have involved a massacre so I had to get out.
I hope you manage with what is an unpleasant set of symptoms.
Yet again this thread shows what a decent bunch of people inhabit this website.
?, does wearing a welding bucket add to the problem? I occasionally get a head ache from mine, but in a whole different league.

 

[Angusdog]

There can be lots of causes, so finding what the trigger is will be key. In my case, I occasionally suffered from nausea which often built up into headaches. The cause? hyperventilating through anxiety, diagnosed by my brilliant GP. Took me completely out of the blue since I never saw myself as a nervy person, but he's bang on the money. Now I know what it is and what causes it, I almost never get them because I know where they come from. For example, chest pains that resemble heart attacks can be caused by panic attacks.

All the above advice is good. Maybe try avoiding alcohol for a while (I drink a six pack a year, perhaps) or other foods (My mum was allergic to chocolate for that reason), but remain open minded as to the cause. Finding the cause is exponentially better than having to rely on meds. Coming off meds is often harder than the original complaint.

Good luck.

 

[julianthegypsy]

I get occasional migraines but still don't really know what causes them. Typically they start with the kaleidoscope effect in little arcs across the eyes, sometimes with a feeling of nausea. If I stop what I'm doing (typically concentrating on something) and sit down for a bit they pass, otherwise I get the thumping head too, in which case its darkened room time for a couple of hours, but that's rare these days. Curiously, a few years ago, I started getting the same heart attack type symptoms too, and I still get them from time to time though less often. Doc told me they were panic attacks too, which I didn't get at all, since I have no sense of panic when they hit, just a pile driver through the chest, whereas I am capable of having a complete panic in a supermarket queue when I suddenly realise there are too many people in my body space. This would be the only time I feel panicy and I don't get claustrophobia (I used repair combines!).
I wish I had a cure for it, but stress does seem to be a trigger, though not an immediate one. I also haven't found a dietary link, and I gave up drink completely over six years ago. It's a Mysteron!

 

[scotb]

used to get severe migraines,had to go into a very dark room until i was violently sick,then i was ok.doctor gave me a weeks course of tablets that banished the migraines for about 7 yrs,just got another does after that,migraine free for 20yrs

 

[Paul.]

I get ocular migraine, probably 5 or 6 times a year, Have never really figured exactly what triggers it but being tired and going from a darkish room into bright sunlight are probably factors, the attacks normally last no more than 30 mins or so and rarely develop into a headache, but they do stop you from doing whatever it is your up to at the time.
This video is the most accurate picture of it I have seen, except it moves right across the field of vision,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=ZrrviW0Od-w

 

[500e]

Seems to be a lot of us that suffer.
I used to get an attack at least once a week took at least a day & a half out of it, started with feeling hot & yawning then headache that progressed to where I could not do anything any movement was like some one hitting your head with a hammer, then non focused vision & colored lights like those old disco oil film projector thingys.
Climbed into bed on numerous occasions with overalls & boots still on, to painful to take them off or move, tried lots of diet things (cheese, chocolate, coffee etc) no effect, A hot water bottle on back of head was the best thing I found, it did not go away until I was sick, felt like S**t the next day.
Got real down about it thinking all the bad things that it could be, had tests & scans nothing, doc said you will have to live with it take the pills before it gets bad, that will help.
A friend suggested an osteopath!! WTF would have tried a witch doctor if it helped, had 2 half hour sessions after the first week no migraine, second week third week, not had a attack for 30 years, I go every 8 10 weeks for a osteo session, the man said he did not know if he could help but my neck was in a real bad way (felt alright to me) he turned me into a good impression of an owl the first time with nasty cracking noises, BUT no further attacks I put it down to crash helmets & forest rallys.
The £28 pounds for the first visit was well worth the money

 

[Drains]

I am capable of having a complete panic in a supermarket queue when I suddenly realise there are too many people in my body space. This would be the only time I feel panicy and I don't get claustrophobia (I used repair combines!).

On a side note - that's more like agoraphobia, which isn't fear of open spaces as many think,, but literally, "fear of the market place" - or busy places. However take yourself into the old Bull Ring meat market in Brum and you could add claustrophobia to the mix.