Migranes, anyone?

Wow.. I'm going to have to try some of the suggestions.

My doctor thinks my migraines are triggered by stress/lack of sleep. During finals, I couldn't read a darn thing! I literally had the exam just a few inches away from my eyes. When they get really bad, they seem to last for weeks (the pain comes and goes) but I sometimes get lucky and get them for a few days.

My doctor suggested taking 4 advils/tylenols when I feel it starting. She said it was better to stop it then with 4 pills than to take even more pills during the week. (I get away with taking 2 though.. luckily my migraines aren't that bad).

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Originally posted by binka_nugget

My doctor thinks my migraines are triggered by stress/lack of sleep.

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This is STRESSFUL to hear! I had my first migraine at age 13 and I am now 49. Hormone change time is a very common time to have a first migraine I have learned. I agree that having migraines IS very stressful but feel it is a copout to blame a medical condition on stress. Some headaches ARE stress headaches, but migraines are NOT. They are vascular (caused by a change in blood flow of the arteries) After LOTS of stress, I got my diagnosis at age 30. Yes, lack of sleep does cause migraine - probably because you get stressed when you can't sleep or because it is hard to sleep when you don't feel well. I hope you keep talking to your doctor and don't stop trying to get help when they use the word "stress". Just about every problem we have is made *worse* by stress but that does not mean it is *caused* by stress. Having a change in your vision signals something more serious than a stress headache so please keep trying to find good help OK?? ((((HUGS)))

I think she (the doctor) meant stress causing me to get less sleep. :) I find that it happens at "the time of the month" or when I get VERY little sleep (I got 3-4 hours of sleep everyday for a little over a week during finals). They haven't been too bad since school ended though.

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Originally posted by binka_nugget
I think she (the doctor) meant stress causing me to get less sleep. :) I find that it happens at "the time of the month" or when I get VERY little sleep (I got 3-4 hours of sleep everyday for a little over a week during finals). They haven't been too bad since school ended though.

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I do not mean to bash your doctor - she may well be exactly right about what is going on with you:) I just get aggravated too easily when *some* doctors are too quick to smack a stress label on headaches without being careful. Stress does cause some headaches. NOT nasty migraine though:mad: Hormone (pre-menstrual) related headaches can often be migraine :( Hope yours continue to be mild and infrequent and controlable with Tylenol:)

I started getting migranes when I was 17. I used to get them horrible! I'd get the lines in my eyes, severve pain of course, lose my vision in one eye(always the right) and even throw up. Over the years I stopped getting them so bad now I just gets some lines, maybe a little nausea, and a mild headache. The rest of the day my head feels sore.I feel for people who have them bad as I just wanted to die when I had them!

Got Accupressure?

I don't know how good THIS is but you can try it...

You massage the web in between your thumb and forefinger

http://www.alcanseek.com/articles/migraines.htm

Here is a site you may try....but remember when people start to laugh at you for rubbing all these places in one sitting....I didn't tell you ANYTHING.....

1. The indentation where the bridge of the nose meets the ridge of the eyebrows.

2. The indentation directly between the eyebrows where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead.

3. The bottom of the cheek line below the pupils of the eye.

4. The center of the back of the head in the large hollow at the base of the skull.

5. Below the base of the skull in the hollow between two neck muscles.

6. One half inch below the line of the skull on the ropy muscles, ½ inch outward from either side of the spine.

7. Top of the foot in the valley between the big toe and the second toe.

8. On top of the foot, 1 inch above the webbing of the 4th and 5th toes in the grove between the bones.

9. Webbing between the thumb and the index finger, at the highest spot of the muscle that protrudes when the thumb and index finger are brought close together.

;)

I started having my migraines around the time i was 13 .I would get them once a month. I had to have codine to cope with them. I discovered about 13 yrears ago that they were coming about the time I was ovaulating, I started taking more soy at those times and they started going away.
Now that I'm on the other end of the scale (menopause Yes!!!!!!!!!) I only seem to get them from work. I can head them off by taking an extra black chosho and soy. I didn't have them during pregnacy ,but I think its hormonal changes in some cases.
Good luck lots of good advice for living with them.

Debbie, I get migraines from 3 things: 1) food related allergies (or intolerances as some might say) ;) 2) lack of sleep and 3) stress. Stress is a big one for me since I can easily avoid the other two. I KNOW by now to get myself to bed at a certin time or ELSE! :D

I was on Prozac for many years to alleviate my stress in order to help my migraines and it REALLY REALLY helped - big time! When I stress, I am basically a basketcase... maybe it raises my bloodpressure, which causes a migraine? I don't know what happens to me when I stress to cause the migraines, but everytime I stress over something, I get very bad migraines. Don't ask me why, but I also get them when I have anxiety attacks too. You might thnk that my sleep is disturbed by stress, but a lot of stressful situations for me can be something I encounter during the day after a restful night's sleep. When I come across something stressful (say for instance an accident happens) a migraine will be instantaneous with the stressful event. Does that make sense? Luckily, since I'm not working with a bunch of morons anymore I don't get any stress migraines anymore! :D

I'll tell you exactly when my migrane started. While I was out of town, the buying realtor called me and asked if her clients could stop buy to measure for curtains. I said yes. Then, I called my husband and asked if they made it. My husband said "Yes, and their realtor came to, she had me sign some papers."

"Uhhh, what papers, honey."

"I dunno, she said it was something we forgot to sign."

"Uhhh, honey our realtor says that their realtor isn't supposed to deal with us. You aren't supposed to sign anything...what did you sign?"

"OH, something about us being out of the house in one day....we don't need time do we?"

"Yes! We do need time, our loan won't go through for the new house until we get the money from this house. We need seven days!"

So, my realtor calls their realtor who denies even having Mike sign anything. Yet Mike says he signed two papers. :rolleyes:

So, THAT is where my migrane came from.

So, anyways, all your advice was great, thank you. I tried it all. It eased the pain, but none of it took it away. I just got off the phone with the doctor, she says if I never had migranes before, this could indicate a problem, so she wants me to come in to ER. She confirmed that Vicodin is safe and that the only thing I can do while pregnant is mask the pain. There aren't any safe migrane meds. But she didn't want me to mask the pain in case it's something serious. I don't want to go tonight, so I'm just going to wait until tomorrow. I took a Vicodin to make it through the night, hopefully it is gone by the morning.

Whheee.. you get to be loopy for the evening! LOL. My dentist gave me those for my last absessed tooth and I have a few left over. I took one last time I had a migraine and no migraine pills. I have to say it was my happiest migraine ever! :D

I get migraines, too.

Dehydration, flashing lights and that time of the month can bring them on.

I used to have Ergodryl to stop them at the start of an attack, but I've run out and can't be bothered going back to the doctor. Now I take a couple of aspirin at the very start, every two hours, and try to reduce the inflammation in the blood vessels that way.

I reach for the bag of frozen peas too! My heads feels really hot and the ice is such a relief! I don't know if it does anything for me, but it feels like the right thing to do.

Hope you're feeling better :)

Cool! After some kicking and screaming, the doctor prescribed me a migrane medication that is safe when pregnant. I'm going to get it right now. :D

Uuuck! I hate them! I've been getting them lately. But do you know what works for me? I take an extra strength motrin. I don't know if it would work for you but its just an idea.

good luck

Jennah:)

~* bump *~

I have been reading research that caffeine can help alleviate the symptoms of migraine at onset.

I woke up in the middle of the night with the start of a migraine so had two aspirin and one of those caffeine energy drinks after breakfast. It seems to have slowed down the progression of this migraine for now - fingers crossed.

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Originally posted by Miss Meow
~* bump *~

I have been reading research that caffeine can help alleviate the symptoms of migraine at onset.

I woke up in the middle of the night with the start of a migraine so had two aspirin and one of those caffeine energy drinks after breakfast. It seems to have slowed down the progression of this migraine for now - fingers crossed.

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That is right! I've gotten quite a few migranes since I originally posted this. Caffeine has helped me quite a bit. In fact, I went to bed last night with a migrane. When I woke up this morning, it was still there, so I had a cup of coffee and before I knew it, it was gone. :D

I hope your migrane stays away for good!