Anyone know about migraines?

jowleywowley · 13-11-2007, 16:42

I had one yesterday (apparently)

. I only hear certain people complain about them all the time and then others never do. Is it that some get them and others don't?
I don't want one EVER again!

Waltheof · 13-11-2007, 16:46

You can get on prescription tablets called Naramig (or naratriptan) which help prevent a migraine if you feel one coming on. Might be worth asking your pharmacist about such things.

Ginger_Kitty · 13-11-2007, 17:20

Its true, some people get them and others just don't. Women are more likely to suffer than men.
I have suffered for many years (though I don't get all that many) but my other half has never had one (and i honestly hope he never does!)

If you start getting a few of them its worth finding out if there is something triggering them, I have two triggers, one is too much sun, the other is hormonal...

If you get tablets to deal with future ones, its worth taking them the moment you feel one coming on. I tend to only have migralieve, basically cocodamol with an antisickness extra, and they do take a tiny bit of the edge off the pain and shorten it a little... though I still take to bed for a few hours! I also find a very strong coffee helps... some others find the same, some the opposite!

I hope you never have another one... they are hell

laughalot01 · 13-11-2007, 17:23

i have suffered with them for many years get them alot the worst 1 i have ever had lasted 6days they are horrd you can tell a migraine to a head ache my god you know when you hve 1 i find choc an dairy products bring mine on i get floats in front of my eyes vomit alot an cant stand the light so i have to go in a dark room which is hard if your alone with the kids

mojo1 · 13-11-2007, 17:30

I get them in the Autumn and Spring and I put it down to how low the sun is in the sky affecting my eyes.
I used to get really painfull Migraines but now it's just my vision that goes weird. I find lying down in a darkened room is the best way to get through it.
So many things can cause them, lighting, food, stress, allergies unfortunately they are just a sad fact of life for sufferers unless you can find out what triggers them.

Ginger_Kitty · 13-11-2007, 17:36

They are most entertaining when you realise you are going blind whilst driving.....

I've done that, fortunately had another driver in the car so we swapped, but have nightmares about what would happen if I was on a motorway or something

I go 90% blind within a minute or two, its my first migraine symptom and the scariest!!!

JoeP · 13-11-2007, 17:42

I used to get them regularly, but now they're pretty rare forme,thank goodness.

Mine were quite debillitating - intense pain, sickness, weakness,then I'd sleep for a day and be fine. Sometimes it was almost worth getting the migraine for the intense feeling of well being I got afterwards.

There are numerous triggers, although soem just start by themselves. I was told to avoid the '4 cs' - Cheese, Chocolate, Caffeine, Claret (Red Wine) - and that worked well. I also found that getting hot triggered mine off, as did getting dehydrated. Alcohol is another trigger for many people.

There are a few drugs around now that you can be given. Typically they come with two distinct types of tablets. One is taken when the migraine is coming on,and the other when it's in progress.

Many people get warnings of their migraines starting - it can be a smell, feeling tired, flashing lights, a funny taste in your mouth, even hearing things. This is called the 'aura'. Not everyone gets one, but they do give you a warning if you do.

And not everyone gets repaeted migraines - somepeople have one and that's that. Others (like me) had several a year for several years, then they just slackened off.

cherryice · 13-11-2007, 17:56

i get them a lot awful things.i was prescribed migraleve mixed box of pink and yellow tablets but my new doctor just gives me the pink ones now and cocodamol.
he told me to run my wrists under warm water or have a bath to help get rid of the pain.i lie in a dark room which i think is best.
the last one i had was when i was out i could not see anything for about 15 minutes and ended up walking in to someone.

Plain Talker · 13-11-2007, 18:06

I have suffered Migraines for over thirty-five years, since the age of eight or nine.

The main way they appeared was, I'd wake up with the migraine, intense pain on one side of my head, visual disturbances (flashing lights, distortions), nausea, the whole shebang... I'd have to lie down in a darkened room. Then, around tea-time, I'd finally start throwing up, and the migraine would then subside.

lately, (last two or three years) they've taken a slightly different form, I don't get the headaches so much. which is something of a relief, but I get strange visual disturbances, pieces of my vision missing, and a halo of lights around my visual field (which aren't so reassuring!).

I wonder what the family link is, with migraine?

I know that at least three of my mother's family of four siblings suffer/ed from Migraine, mu mother, her brother, and at least one of the other two girls, possibly both. Of my generation , their children, there are seven children, of whom I, and both of my female cousins, of the five of us girls, certainly suffer, (I don't know about the two male cousins, whether they suffer).

like so many other sufferers, I avoid coffee as much as possible, 'cos that's certainly a trigger, red wine and, sadly, chocolate are, too. Certain cheeses do, and believe it or not, when I ate meat, tinned meats used to, also, - spam-y type meats, hot dogs and Luncheon meat were particular culprits, (I think it was the nitrates in them that triggered my migraine)

JoeP · 13-11-2007, 19:17

PT - I'd forgotten about the nitrites - yes, the nitrates /nitrites in processed meats and smoked cheeses are particularly bad.

I seem to remember that they're caused by changes in the blood flow to the surface of the brain.

Plain Talker · 13-11-2007, 20:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeP

PT - I'd forgotten about the nitrites - yes, the nitrates /nitrites in processed meats and smoked cheeses are particularly bad.

I seem to remember that they're caused by changes in the blood flow to the surface of the brain.

it's just struck me, that the cheeses that affect me are mainly the smoked ones! I didn't link those before, I only linked the meats like Luncheon meat.

fyy123 · 13-11-2007, 21:40

I have suffered from regular Migraines from the age of 6. I have tried just about everything they had on offer from the drs and herbal remedies. The only thing I found that worked was injecting myself with a volterol injection deep into a muscle, it didn't stop the migraine but numbed it a little. I used this form of treatement for almost 3 years, then one night after taking an injection I suffered an allergic reaction. Came out in a itchy rash and found it hard to breath and so a visit to the Hallamshire was needed. After that I wasn't allowed volterol anymore. So back to the drs trying new drugs again none of which worked. I have found that if you catch a migraine early enough that reflexology does work but some of my migraines went on for 2 or 3 days none stop. I eventually came across Atenolol which is a beta blocker and taken everynight before bed usually prevents me waking up with one. I have been on them now for just over a year and rarely get a migraine these days. I read in a medical journal somewhere that people who suffer regularly from migraines usually have a small hole in their heart. This can be closed using keyhole surgery and they have found that in most cases the migraine completely disappears. Something I might look into doing one day if I ever find out that I can no longer take beta blockers.

pattricia · 13-11-2007, 21:46

I saw an ad for an over the counter Migraine drug in the paper. Dont know wether its the one Waltheof was talking about earlier on.

pt cru · 13-11-2007, 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by em3978

They are most entertaining when you realise you are going blind whilst driving.....

I've done that, fortunately had another driver in the car so we swapped, but have nightmares about what would happen if I was on a motorway or something

I go 90% blind within a minute or two, its my first migraine symptom and the scariest!!!

I have the exact same fear. I worry a lot about what I would do if I was on a long journey, miles away from home doing 70 down the motorway and I lost most of my sight within seconds, not to mention a suden lack of co-ordination. It happened once when I was driving from Coal Aston to Sheffield & I still don't know how I made it home. I take Pizotifen as a preventive drug but have only had minimal success. Taking anything orally is often pointless as my digestive system slows right down during a migraine making it difficult to absorb anything. I am always amazed to hear people complaining about having a migraine when they are walking and talking. I can't see, speak and my left arm feels weak during a migraine & once I'm asleep, noone can raise me. Even when I'm not having a migraine, I'm dreading when the next one will come. Mine are linked to my Menstual cycle - I must be the only person in the world whose looking forward to the Menopause!! One of my children once asked me what was the difference between a migraine & a headache. My friend's uncle who had regular Migraines eventually jumped out of an upstairs window as he couldn't stand it any longer. That's the difference!

DIVA · 13-11-2007, 23:23

I suffered from migraines terribly and heard of a friend of a friend who swore that aspartame was his trigger. As soon as I cut aspartame back very dramatically (I'm afraid it's almost impossible to avoid, as it's in virtually all processed foods and drinks, especially diet alternatives as it's a type of artificial sweetener) I saw an amazing difference.

Nigel Womersle · 14-11-2007, 00:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by laughalot01

i have suffered with them for many years get them alot the worst 1 i have ever had lasted 6days they are horrd you can tell a migraine to a head ache my god you know when you hve 1 i find choc an dairy products bring mine on i get floats in front of my eyes vomit alot an cant stand the light so i have to go in a dark room which is hard if your alone with the kids

It's the same for me too. I also can not sit or go to bed until I have vomitted. I have had migraines from being a child. My Doctor told me it was only intelligent people who suffered from them (Why am I a sufferer then?). I was also told that the reason for the non-stop pain is because the brain swells and pushes on the skull. I don't know if that is true. What I do know is that the pain is excruciating. I still retch my stomach for quite a long time after vomitting. Not a nice thing to write about, but it has to be stated in order to give people some idea of what a migraine attack entails. Every tablet I have taken for migraine has been useless for me. The late Princess Margaret was a sufferer, and was Patron of The Migraine Trust.

Ginger_Kitty · 14-11-2007, 07:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by pt cru

I have the exact same fear. I worry a lot about what I would do if I was on a long journey, miles away from home doing 70 down the motorway and I lost most of my sight within seconds, not to mention a suden lack of co-ordination. It happened once when I was driving from Coal Aston to Sheffield & I still don't know how I made it home. I take Pizotifen as a preventive drug but have only had minimal success. Taking anything orally is often pointless as my digestive system slows right down during a migraine making it difficult to absorb anything. I am always amazed to hear people complaining about having a migraine when they are walking and talking. I can't see, speak and my left arm feels weak during a migraine & once I'm asleep, noone can raise me. Even when I'm not having a migraine, I'm dreading when the next one will come. Mine are linked to my Menstual cycle - I must be the only person in the world whose looking forward to the Menopause!! One of my children once asked me what was the difference between a migraine & a headache. My friend's uncle who had regular Migraines eventually jumped out of an upstairs window as he couldn't stand it any longer. That's the difference!

Nope, trust me, you aren't the only one! I don't get them linked to my cycle, but I do have them linked to the pill (combined and POP), pregnancy (I'm dreading giving birth in some ways cos I'm expecting them to reappear when the hormone level changes again!)

My mum has also had a few though since she stopped her HRT

My dad has/had regular migraines, for him associated with fresh cream and cheese - though the cheese problem is solved now that most cheese is vegetarian, when animal rennet was used he couldn't eat it at all!

I can walk and talk with a migraine as its setting in, I don't get the headache til after the blindness and flashy lights has gone... then my speech goes slurred and I just don't want to move as every movement hurts my head!

Waking up with one isn't pleasant... in that state before you are fully conscious all you can think is 'what the hell is that 10ton weight on my head!?!?!' Then you realise

jowleywowley · 14-11-2007, 10:49

Well luckily i'm a veggie so don't have to worry about the nitrites in processed meats! I had my migraine whilst I was delivery driving. Not nice! I reached for the anit-freeze instead of my water about 3 times and even got as far as opening it (oops!).
Thanks for all the advice anyway guys!

Whats the worst/weirdest thing thats happened to you whilst having one?

Daven · 14-11-2007, 10:58

My last migraine happened at work. I was writing and looked at my hand ,which I coudn't see very well because of the vision disturbances , but I thought it was someone elses hand ! I lose all perception sometimes and get muddled and confused as well as going numb down one side. If I didn't know that I was having a migraine I would worry that I was having a stroke.
I haven't found out what triggers them for me yet although since they often happen at work I guess it is probably stress !

HappyHoosier · 14-11-2007, 11:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by jowleywowley

Whats the worst/weirdest thing thats happened to you whilst having one?

I fell into a rack of greeting cards at a store, and vomited in a parking lot. (Two different migraines.)

Like many on here, mine are linked to my menstrual cycle and to nitrate-laden foods. I usually "know" I'm going to have a migraine about 4 hours before it hits. Then I get the intense pain, nausea, visual problems and sensitivity to light and noise. Only way I can get them to go away is by lying in the dark/sleeping. Sometimes they continue over two days, though.