Migraine Misery

**christa** · 12-01-2005, 08:00 PM

Anyone else suffer with migraines?

I just recently started having them and when I do, I feel like I could die!

I'm on a med called Amerge, but I only take it during the period of time that I have them, and believe me, my migraines are like clock work, so I know EXACTLY when they'll strike! Wierd, huh?

But the meds aren't working. The migraine breaks through after about 4 days.

I HATE having these!

**Corinna** · 12-01-2005, 08:06 PM

I used to have them regularly too. But thanks to mother nature and menopause not any more just sproradic. as with the freind.

**.sarah** · 12-01-2005, 08:29 PM

I have had them for 4-5 years now. Earlier this year we *finally* found a medication that works for me. I take Elivil (might be spelled wrong, sorry) in the evening and it works so well! I also take Zyrtec for them but only because I also get sinus-related migraines.

They are so painful it's unreal. I hope you can find something that works for you. Have you seen a neurologist? That's where I've been going for 5 years now I guess. It took a lot of trial and error, but we finally have something that works for me.

**catnapper** · 12-01-2005, 08:31 PM

I'm sorry Christa. I get them too, though not like clockwork. The only thing that works is Zomig, and I haven't been able to refill my prescription lately because of finances. I have taken Vicidon for times the migraine was completely untouchable. Boy, it sends me to la-la -land, but when I wake the next day I feel a bit groogy, but not at all migrainy (if that makes sense) and within a few hours, the grogginess wears off and I feel as if I never had a migraine. Due to its known tendency to become addictive, I only use it as a last resort, maybe twice a year.

**cyber-sibes** · 12-01-2005, 08:41 PM

Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. They are miserable! I used to get them alot too. Something that did help was a yoga position that my yoga-teaching friend showed me, but I don't think I can explain it very well. It was kind of like leaning back arched over bolsters and resting there. It also helped to wrap my head pretty tightly with an ace bandage and rest in the dark. Fortunatley they have gone away as I got older. Hope you find someting that works.

**kuhio98** · 12-01-2005, 08:43 PM

I started having migraines about 15 years ago. At the beginning, I just wanted to die. No medication has ever seemed to help. I have discovered that if I stay away from certain foods and drink a lot water regularly, my migraines have significantly decreased.

I no longer drink wine or champaigne, eat cheese or strawberries. If I get dehydrated, I tend to get a migraine. I also have to fly every week for work. I noticed that I would get a headache the day after getting off a plane. Drinking water has helped a lot and so has my "rice sock". (I cut a long piece of flannel fabric and sewed it together like a scarf and put grains of rice in it. Then I heat the "sock" up in the microwave for a minute or 2.) By applying the heated sock to my face, my sinuses let loose and the pressure in my head eventually eases. It's funny, but all the doctors have suggested using cold for a migraine, but heat works best for me.

I hope you find relief soon. I remember it sometimes (like an ice pick stabbing me in my right eye over and over) that I seriously thought about decapitation.

**poofy** · 12-01-2005, 08:44 PM

I had them so bad when i was younger they blinded me..I had to be led my children and couldnt stand even to talk or hear anyone talk, or any noise at all..oh so awfull, thank the lord i havent had them for years..but i hope you find something to help you..

**.sarah** · 12-01-2005, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by poofy

I had them so bad when i was younger they blinded me..I had to be led my children and couldnt stand even to talk or hear anyone talk, or any noise at all..oh so awfull, thank the lord i havent had them for years..but i hope you find something to help you..

That's how they are for me. But with the medicine I'm on now I rarely get them.

**Laura's Babies** · 12-01-2005, 09:51 PM

I use to get them years ago and mother nature and age took care of them... that was back in the old days before they had extra strength anything for pain and medicines for migrains were unheard of. I'd just have to go to bed, cover my head, warn the kids they BETTER be quiet and ride it out until I would throw up... Once I threw up, it was gone...

I recently had one month before last but it was brought on by a IV I was given for a medical test I was having.. I don't yet know what was in that IV.

**cyber-sibes** · 12-01-2005, 10:42 PM

If you have a time you are feeling up to it, you should really check out this link that anyone whose ever had a migraine and loves a dog will get a chuckle out of.

the "writer" is Meeshka, a very articulate and self assured husky!
http://meeshkaworld.blogspot.com/200...e-meeshka.html

**king2005** · 12-01-2005, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by cyber-sibes

If you have a time you are feeling up to it, you should really check out this link that anyone whose ever had a migraine and loves a dog will get a chuckle out of.

the "writer" is Meeshka, a very articulate and self assured husky!
http://meeshkaworld.blogspot.com/200...e-meeshka.html

Thats too cute

I thought I had migrains, but I really didn't. Turned out to be really bad sinus issues. Whenever I get them I take Flonase & it takes a day or 2 to go away (but its not really painful just annoying) & then I don't have ones for several more months! I went to a specialist & he told me I was allergic to Mould, ragweed, all his family members & slightly allergic to trees & grass' (thats why I don't cut the lawn, it burnes the skin on my legs). Sometimes I'll take a regular pain killer to help me sleep if I cannot sleep with the pain. Both meds together seem to work grat on me. I no longer want to rip my eyes out or hide in the cold, dark basement.

**sandragonfly** · 12-02-2005, 04:06 AM

christa, have you tried zym... oha crap, forgot how to spell it, just had the refill ordered and will find it for you. but I know if you've tried it..means yours are worse than mine, mine is just a beginning.

I think it's a really good if you find your local neurologist and have the questions answered. I've had migraines for almost three years (with zigzaggs I get, or sometimes aura ones..ugh) and my primary doctor suggested me seeing a neurologist.

the cat scan & dye contrast ..found I've had a slight aneurysm..

the bigger it is, the higher chance I can die. so they gave me some pills to thin the clots - forgot what it was but it wasn't for stopping my dogam migraines...

and now, I take zym- when needed. it sometimes helps, sometimes I am too late.. (and threw up).

have anyone of you walked around because it helps better than laying down? I had to do that with eyes closed, one hand on wall so I'd not bump into something, it's so painful if I lay down!

in fact, I'll be having another neuro-appointment next week, another MRI follow up (3rd one in six months)

to check if my aneursym hasn't gotten any worse. go and get yourself checked if you haven't christa!

**christa** · 12-02-2005, 07:38 AM

Sounds like I'm not alone. I've only begun to try different meds. So far the Amerge is my second try. I took Zomig the first round and it didn't even touch the pain.

I know that migraines are sometimes brought on by triggers, like foods & environmental factors . . . mine are brought on my hormones, or lack of. That's why they're like clockwork. I can tell when they're coming by my birth control pack. They come during the last week of the month, while I'm taking my placebos.

Actually last month, I cut my pill pack short and started a new one 3 days early, just becuase my migraine had broken through and I knew that starting a new pack would stop the migraine. Within 1 hour, it was completely gone. So that just goes to show you that they're due to hormones, or a lack thereof, on the week that I'm taking the placebos.

Today will be day four . . . It keeps peeking through . . . letting me know it's there. I do go back to my doctor this month. We will probably try something different. There are so many medications out there, something has to work!

**Rie Rie** · 12-02-2005, 08:01 AM

I've had them off and on for about 5 years and they use to pop up whenever and now it's only once a month. My mom says she thinks they are hormone related. I see a nuerologists evey six months and he at first said I had a pniched nerve in my neck, and that may be the case, but why is it now I only get them at that time of the month. I take Maxalt for mine and they cost me $50.00 for 9 pills, so I take them sparingly. I will get a migraine if I drink too much, so I don't do that very often anymore. Mine aren't like the ones other people talk about, where they can't stand light or noise, none of that bothers me. I get like this knot in the back of my head on the right side, that throbs and sometimes they get a bad enough that they make me sick to my stomach. Not that I'm looking forward to menopase, but if that helps get rid of them then bring it on!!!! Thanks mom for the inheritance!!!!!LOL

**sirrahbed** · 12-02-2005, 08:21 AM

Oh Christa - your migraines sound so much like mine!! Maybe you could ask the doctor about taking the birth control continually - with a placebo week only about 4 times a year. You can read about it on the internet too. It is becoming pretty common and they even have a new bcp called "Seasonale" that is the same concept. It helped me VERY much!!

When I do have the migraines - I climb into bed in a dark room and put frozen peas on my head and neck. (leave them in the bag