And I say suffer because the pain is pure torture.
I've been getting headaches/migraines since I was about 6yrs old. I've had all sorts of testing and medications. I've altered my diet, though back when I was younger I ate better than I do now! Lol
I've always had them and have been really good at "pushing" through but as I get older, I'm starting to get fed-up. They're a lot harder to work through and the pain lasts longer. Sleep always helps but now more frequently I wake up with the same one. I saw a neurologist a few weeks ago because I hadnt been to one in a while and left feeling pretty hopeless. She prescribed me three new medicines and pretty much said that they probably won't work immediately and there's a chance they won't work at all. ;-( She said hopefully they'll just stop on their own the closer I get to metapause. Gee, thanks lady!
I recently think I've found one of my new "triggers". So I think my drinking days are over. No matter how much or how I little I drink, the next day a migraine is sure to follow.
I hear my coworkers say they've never even had a headache before?!?! I guess I thought everyone got them. I wonder how life would be like without them. It really effects me. At least three times a week I'm fully functioning with a headache. It makes me short tempered, not as focused, and rushy. It's so bad I do tell dates right away that I get them so they don't think I'm a hot head or crazy.
Anything work for anybody? I do feel a little alone in this shit.
20. "yeah for me they have diminished in frequency with age" In response to Reply # 7
in fact i don't even really remember the last time i got one
two years ago maybe
for me, nothing helps. No meds, no "dark room, no lights," the pain is on regardless. my only strategy is to try to sleep through it, which i've been able to do to varying degrees of success. the pain is severely intense
the only thing that ever had an impact was IF i was able to smoke weed during the 15-minute or so pre-pain aura, i could mostly abort the headache. true story. shit worked for real. i was as surprised as anybody, seemed like too cute a solution. Tricky though, because the window really is that tight. if the pain hits, it's too late
3. "Not since I was a teen" In response to Reply # 0
I use to get them pretty frequently back then. I remember having to bury my head between two pillows to help alleviate the throbbing. Glad them shits stopped.
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They're bureaucrats! I don't respect them.(c)Rick Sanchez
22. "Let me describe the glories of modern medicine. " In response to Reply # 10
I take amitryptoline and propranolol prophylactically, meaning they supposedly mitigate the frequency and intensity of migraines.
Google them.
Amitryptoline is an antidepressant used specifically for migraine pain management.
Propranolol is a beta blocker used for blood pressure... and migraines.
I can't abruptly just STOP taking them because I go through withdrawal symptoms for amitryptoline (has happened and it is brutal). I apparently risk heart attack if I suddenly stop taking the propranolol.
Meanwhile, when I first started taking them, I was like a fucking narcoleptic -- I'd nod off mid-sentence and shit. It was HORRIBLE.
My body is used to it now, I suppose, but I feel like a fucking dope fiend every time I get that surge of panic when the pills get low.
In addition, look up treximet. It's what I take when the headaches come down hard. It basically feels like you've got fire in your blood. It does work, though. Most of the time.
When I was younger I ran track, I don't remember how frequent they were back then but I've never not gotten them. Body changes, maybe I could start to run again.
13. "I get maybe 1 or 2 a year, depending." In response to Reply # 0
I've never been officially diagnosed, but most of the symptoms are there and I feel comfortable self-diagnosing.
I never try to push through anymore. It's just not worth it. My old man gets the same ones as me, and I've learned from both his and our experience that any "pushing through" is just going to prolong the misery and make it much worse.
I just find the darkest quietest room I can find and completely shut it down. Maybe even cover my face.
If I remove sound and light from the equation, the pain is alleviated relatively quickly, and it's usually just a matter of time and maybe a nap before it passes.
That's not a very good treatment plan for more frequent occurrences though, because I am admittedly completely useless during this time.
17. "i have stages of remedies" In response to Reply # 0
preventative: daily magnesium supplements
mild migraine: working out at the onset. getting the blood moving through the constricted veins helps me
average migraine: prescription pills & sleep
super duper, pass out/throw up migraine: trigger point injections. INSTANT relief, but hard to get when you need them for obvious reasons. helps that one of our clients is a doc who gives 'em and i can call him crying and he'll give me one lol
18. "Damn. It's not my eyes tho " In response to Reply # 17
Yea I have stages too. Most times eating helps, and coffee sometimes too.
Tougher headaches I rotate pain relievers. I ALWAYS have something on me! Excedrin, Aleeve, or Extra Strength something. I massage or sit covering my eyes.
Saturday tho I couldn't do anything but lay down with my head on my left side only! I spent the entire day like that.
but I get them sometimes they last for days. I had to stop taking birth control because the extra hormones were making them worse.
I only get them on the last day of my cycle...they don't come as frequently as they did when I was a teenager; I probably get them 2-3 times a quarter as opposed to every month. The pain has intensified though so I guess that was the trade off-- more pain less frequency
"Holier than thou never sits well with me."(c)janey
"OKP spends way too much time looking for ways to be offended." ~legsdiamond
23. "3-4 in a light month up to 10+ in a bad month.." In response to Reply # 0
I have a medical marijuana card.. It helps some. Imitrex is the only prescription that works for me.
Mine tend to start in my neck and are often tension-related. About 15-20% of the time I have an auric predome. Moderate ones I can work through but if I let it slide too long I'm inevitably puking and wanting to shot myself.
especially if you get them when drinking. the alcohol is dehydrating you. water helps, but so do the electrolytes in Gatorade. if you don't like that....try Pedialite. but on heavy drinking nights, i try and drink one right before i go to bed, and then another as soon as i wake up. that helps me. --------------------------------------- it's true what they say...people are strange, when you're strangers.
26. "I was getting them monthly, and they seem to have subsided." In response to Reply # 0
Usually, I wake up with one. Like the second I open my eyes, BAM. If I can take excedrin fast enough, I can nip it in the bud, but if I wait too long, I get nauseous, and can't keep the pills down. Then I just have to lie down in the dark and puke until it goes away. Haven't had one in awhile, hope I'm not due.
28. "Baking soda + water, cayenne pepper + water" In response to Reply # 0
Those worked for me just fine.
I'm amazed at how much people are willing to put up with the scam of modern medicine's expensive toxic drugs. Simple home remedies often work as good or better for a fraction of the cost. If people would do the slightest bit of research and give them a shot instead of thinking it's quackery just because it doesn't come from a pharmaceutical company, a lot of people would suffer a lot less.
30. "I get them usually if I work out" In response to Reply # 0
or play ball too much. mine aren't bad tho. I never even realized they were considered migraines until last year or so.
basically, I'll feel it coming and it affects my vision just before the headache. soon after, I'll get the headache and my vision will go back to normal. no nausea, don't have to stop doing anything. it just passes. I usually don't take anything for it either.
32. "i have variant migraines, since i was about 15" In response to Reply # 0
i find that avoiding triggers in any large number is important (for me red wine, peanuts, coffee, etc), that sleep is extremely importantant, lighting in your house should be soft and adequate but not too ample, etc.
limiting stress and exposure to crappy air is important, too. if you smoke herb, smoke some sativa at the onset. products like butterbur, feverfew and excederin migraine work at various stages (first for prevention, second for early onset, third for intervention) but if you've got a severe one, you might be in trouble anyway.
i find that a little bit of ginger covered in dark chocolate at the very onset is a good way to avoid taking any drugs or vitamins sometimes.
overall i have controlled mine pretty well, they went from a constant interruption in life to a rather intermittent one. i get maybe one a year that really drops me now.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
35. "get a bottle of trace minerals liquid" In response to Reply # 0
if you have a vitamin shoppe near you they sell some in smaller bottles for $7 a pop. its worth a try. theres a lack of minerals in the water we drink and the soil we grow our food in these days.
36. "Mine were directly connected to my menstrual cycle. #hooraywomanhood" In response to Reply # 0
Your symptoms sound a lot like mine.
I'd be highly susceptible to them two weeks of my cycle. One of those weeks, I'd be completely alcohol intolerant. Even a sip or two of booze would make me feel incredibly miserable. Once I realized my primary trigger is hormonal, I went on birth control pills to alleviate them. Working in restaurants, not being able to drink ANY booze half the time just wasn't practical for me. But not all pills work with everyone's body chemistry the same way.
Also, magnesium pills help to lessen or completely eliminate symptoms if you take them daily as a preventative step.
And staying properly hydrated also helps. And ginger helps too. I keep crystallized ginger around just in case.
When I would get them, I'd have to take a mix of Advil liquigels and Aleve as *soon* as it started. If that didn't work, I'd take my prescription meds - I found Zomig or Maxalt disintegrating tablets worked best for me. Also a lil caffeine tended to help. But I generally avoid it otherwise because it's also a trigger.
And for some reason, last winter they were triggered by changes in barometric pressure. I could tell you when it was gonna snow cuz I'd get a hellafied headache right beforehand. And given the shitty winter we had last year, that new trigger was the absolute worst. I really hope that bullshit doesn't come back this year, idk if I can deal with that again.
But thankfully I've mostly gotten them under control aside from the external issue of the barometric pressure trigger.
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Just tryna do the best that I can with what it is I have...
41. "I've started to get sick again" In response to Reply # 36
due to the falling barometric pressure. thankfully no heavy-duty migraines yet but I'm getting morning sickness-level nausea soon after I wake up. Normally I'd just toke but I can't be at work fucked up. Making sure I have a full stomach helps but very hard to achieve as nausea obviously robs me of any appetite. Right now I'm sticking to hot tea with honey, lime and ginger and oatmeal with water.
And I've been celibate for a while now plus took a preggo test at the doctor so no, I'm not pregnant lol
38. "RE: Any Okps suffer from migraines?? " In response to Reply # 0
Funny. The air pressure and rain gave me one today. I used to get them pretty bad when I wasn't eating clean. Now, I get them every once in a while. Usually it's a PMS symptom.
Stress was also a factor.
I am no longer on prescribed meds for them. I'm at the point where I can take over the counter meds and be alright after a day.
"We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents" - Bob Ross
"I'm wearing a MSU Tshirt because I went to MSU, you are wearing a UM Tshirt because you went to Walmart!" -unknown.
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