Migraine Misery

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

[color=purple]maya & inka, are you taking stadol nasal spray? I've tried that, the strongest medicine for migraine but it didn't work for me!

No, my sprays are called "IMITREX NASAL SPRAY"
My migraines are also hormonal! As I am 49, my hormones are "at war" , which causes heavy attacks!

[christa]

Well, I'm just waiting for mine to break through. Usually it does after the 4th day and today is day four. I went to the gym earlier and lifted weights. It did help. It usually does. You'd think it would make them worse. I don't understand that at all.

Do you all find that having these migraines runs your entire body down? I don't know if it's the medicine I'm on or what, but I feel like my entire body is run down. It may just be because mine last so long. My OB/GYN told me it's common for women to get them during their periods, like I do, but she also said that it's quite uncommon that they last for the entire 6 or 7 days.

I've already got my new BC pill pack so if it does break through, I am going to start it early. It stops the migraines in about 30 minutes to an hour. I'm anxious to see if my doctor is upset with me for doing that 2 months straight. When you're in that much pain, you'll do anything!

[SemaviLady]

Do you all find that having these migraines runs your entire body down?

Definitely.

As a child (preteen), when I would get them, they would last as long as 5 days or so. I would be disoriented and sleep was just about all I could do. I would be unable to keep anything down. The headaches seemed to be triggered by stress and some types of food (although the same food didn't always trigger me, unless I were stressed).

As an adult, in college and through my working career, I used to get them like clockwork (monthly) and also sometimes got them toward the end of nearly every week due to a fatiguing schedule (back then). I really could not function once the negative scotomas faded and the pain settled in. I had to get in a dark place and put my head down. Fiorinal is what I would take to help ease the cycle -- with Fiorinal, pain would last for a day or so, rather than several days.

When I would finally start to feel better, I'd have a odd feeling of spacial disorientation for another day or so. No problem with technical work, just a strange spacial disorientation, difficult to describe. (driving 1.5 hours to work at 5:30AM during a thunderstorm would be surreal with this after-aura!)

Oddly, once I got into WAP (Weston A Price) and Low Carb, I essentially quit eating anything but whole foods (only fresh produce and animal foods -- nothing in a box, can or jar), less sugar. Headaches disappeared for over a year. Completely! Drawback is all the frequent shopping and the time to prepare fresh foods every day.

When I began introducing 'normal' processed and packaged store foods again, migraines began to happen during my cycles again.

I find now, as long as I keep the level of processed or junk foods low (I'm much better at this now), the headaches just don't hit me so hard any more. ...but sigh, it's Holiday time again and we all know what that means!

Oy, I wrote a book!

[carole]

Oh yes those little hormones are responsible for a lot of things, coming up to the menopause i have been bothered with lots of headaches, that I put down to those mean hormones, never had so many as I do now, but luckily they are not migraines, Panadol does not work for a migraine, if it does then you probably just have a bad headache, you need stronger medication to do the trick.

[christa]

Oddly, once I got into WAP (Weston A Price) and Low Carb, I essentially quit eating anything but whole foods (only fresh produce and animal foods -- nothing in a box, can or jar), less sugar. Headaches disappeared for over a year. Completely! Drawback is all the frequent shopping and the time to prepare fresh foods every day.

When I began introducing 'normal' processed and packaged store foods again, migraines began to happen during my cycles again.

I find now, as long as I keep the level of processed or junk foods low (I'm much better at this now), the headaches just don't hit me so hard any more. ...but sigh, it's Holiday time again and we all know what that means!

I can see how quiting junk & processed foods would help. I wish it were that easy for me. I already eat super healthy, so I know that's not the link.

[christa]

Well, my migraine broke through last night. Big time! Worse than ever. I've never thrown up before from a migraine . . . last night I *almost* did . . . I finally went to sleep with cold rags on my eyes. I was miserable. Slept for 13 hours straight . . . got up, still had it.

I ended up taking 3 Excedrin Migraine (you're only supposed to take 2 in 24 hours) . . . sure it made me feel drunk and nauscious, but it helped. Made it bearable.

Right now, it's just low grade. I'm hoping I'm near the end.

Shew, I hate this!

[shais_mom]

I sometimes get them so bad my eyes water.
I usually have functional ones - not the kind that I can't get out of bed with. I did have one of those last year and stayed home from work for 2 days.
What helps me the most is benedryl and ibprofen. I also have a migraine pillow that has a flap that you slide a frozen gel pack in and it works wonders.