Disabling migraines/headaches

katalina

katalina

Member
how many of you have them? i have chronic migraines, but they were usually not too bad until today.

i lose all of my peripheral vision and it turns into almost like a vibrating/wave where i can't see anything unless i'm looking directly at it. then the pain comes... i haven't had one for a month or so until today.

do you NSers have any suggestions on how to deal with these? i know different things work for different people. but i'm willing to try ANYTHING at this point... i've already been to a neurologist many times (not super recently) and i hear the same stuff every time.

what do you do?!
 
migraine eh? well the same method works for hangovers. Breakfest egg mcmuffin. homemade or a mc d's and a coke. works every time for me. migraines and hangovers
 
a neurologist will probably know more than the people of NS... so if the neurologists couldn't help, im not sure who can. sorry.
 
medicine, water, food, rest. thats all i have to say, i used to get them from dehydration + exaustion but i know my teacher gets them everyday by looking into the projector for the lessons he shows. so some people get it from bright lights and maybe you could aviod the things that might tigger them.

any questions pm me

 
that sucks so badly. i had terrible headaches for the subsequent weeks of my concussion a few months ago. i would usually pop 3 tylenol and drink a couple glasses of water and i would feel better for a bit, but it doesn't get rid of the pain 100 percent. the headaches finally went away though, i couldn't imagine having them all the time
 
very true. he could probably help more but i'm not sure if i still have health insurance as of right now because i'm not in school... so i'm trying to at least help the situation until i can work on fixing it
 
i used to get them for no apparent reason, and they weren't disabling just super annoying. until today i literally could not work for a good 2 hours because of it, came home and slept.. woke up feeling better for about an hour and then the vision thing started again.
 
I get frequent headaches, sometimes from stress, lack of sleep, etc. but mostly just at random. I'm on medication (I believe it's called propranolol..?) and it kinda helps, but advil and sleep almost always works for me. my sister has chronic migraines and whatever she takes for them is super powerful and works for her. let me know if you want the name of it.
 
what is the name of it? i take relpax and this other that i have no idea how to spell. but they barely work. what is the name of your sisters though? i would like to mention that to my neuro next time i get to see him.
 
What you should actually do:
Note: This technique involves a calm place where you can relax and lay your head on something soft. Maybe your bed or a nice spot outside in the shade where you can bring a pillow.

1. Attempt to take a step back from your headache...this is difficult and requires practice, but will result in your being able to visualize your headache as an object...try to see it as a shape your used to... maybe a basketball.. Your headache will most likely appear in your mind as something jagged and rough...usually something unsymmetrical. Note its size compared to a control object like a cat or something.
2. Once you can see your headache as an object...whatever that shape may be... you can begin to get rid of it. Without losing site of your object, imagine your hands being made of sandpaper. Now take those sandpaper hands and start to sand down your object...your headache. Sand back and forth side to side.. keep filing away. Keep sanding for a while and then take another step back and note the size of your headache. Then continue your sanding process.
3. Your object will lose its roughness and become symmetrical as your sand away at it. Note its size now...smaller. Keep sanding
Now you have relieved the debilitating pain of your headache/migraine. Go grab a glass of water room temp and drink it slowly. its not beer dont chug... take some time to relax for a bit..nothing else just relax.
There you go. Try it out. Remember it takes time...be patient.
 
i have never EVER heard of doing this at all. i can definitely see it helping though and i'm going to try it. after all your mind can control so much... thank you if it works!
 
I am 15 and have or HAD migraines, really bad like 1 every 2 weeks and then headaches like 4 times a week. .Does your jaw ever hurt? because I went to a dentist that specialized in tmj. He did things with my jaw that fixed it up. You should look into a doctor that does that around you or her. that helped a little with the normal headaches, and the intensity. Also i found out later that my neck was out of alignment, but not like a normal chiropractor. it got out sometime when i was little and there are these doctors called NUUCA doctors, he said that everybody is probably out of alignment by like 1 mm or even less, and to most people, it does not make a difference. But for people with other problems, like tmj, it can make a huge difference. Your should look for one around you to see if that could be the problem. There are not many of them. I have gotten treated for tmj and that is gone now. I just got my treatment for my neck and it is going great, no migraines and only 1 headache in one month. It can be frustrating because you have to hold your alignment for one month, then it is sturdy to stay in place. so you have to be careful. look for NUCCA doctor/chiropractors around you, i don't know where you live but i live in wisconsin and there is one in tomah wi. He is great and people from norway come to him so it wouldnt be weird if you did either. But pm if you still have more things you wanna talk about :D.
 
Just a thought... I've seriously reduced the number of migraines I get by taking gluten out of my diet... Used to get them all the time. Not so much anymore.
 
i rarely get headaches and migraines are even more rare, but the chiropractor normally straightens me out and life is better
 
All I know is to just make sure you don't lay down when you have a migraine, it makes it worse.

And generally once you puke the worst is over.

I don't know this from having them, my boyfriend's family is prone to them so that's what I've heard from them.

Also, MSG and Aspartame trigger the migraines for them. Just thought I'd point that out.
 
thank you! i will do some research into this. +k very helpful.

my neuro has never mentioned anything like that and we've paid him out the ass (or my insurance has)

his first conclusion was basically that i have a brain tumor and was going to die. which i don't, and i'm still alive. ha

and to everyone else! thank you for all the help
 
I had one last night out of nowhere. Ive had 2 CT cans and an MRI, nothing out of the ordinary why I get them, but they occur one every 3 months. I lose all my vision, start vommitting, get really cold and really hot, and lose feeling in my left arm from the elbow down. Ive been in the ER while I had one and they said I had Symptoms of a Stroke. Theres nothing I can do about it other than ride it out. It's usually a 6-9 hour thing and the next day i feel hungover and have no memory of the day before
 
just from deheydration, always the crazy peripheral vision stuff then pain and sometimes nausea, i just take some tylenol, drink water and lay down, but it sounds like you have it much worse
 
if ur getting serous migraines then they will sometimes need opiates. but since the headaches are less common addiction isnt as much a problem. i get vicoden to end my migraines and it works
 
This is going to sound incredibly stuipid because I know you're not in "the mood" but I used to date a girl who had CRIPPLING migranes. We tried everything, as she was getting them several times a week.

Try smoking pot and then having an orgasm or two. I know, it sounds incredibly douchey but it's the only thing we found that did anything, honest to God. Rx meds just made her feel anxious and weird like she was suffocating and really didn't do much to stop or relieve them. The weed sort of relaxes you, and coming a few times really seems to do something to relax the veins in your head or something, as literally it worked almost every time. Maybe it was just a ploy to get me to go downtown, I don't know... But try it anyways. Good luck, migranes suck. :/
 
yeah my dad was worried i was having a stroke, because i've never had the other symptoms previously to that extent. i've had 2 cts as well and nothing... this is so frustrating.
 
My mom takes these pills that have codeine, some kinda barbituate, and tylenol in them. The controlled substances are in such a low dose that they don't mess you up, so you shouldn't worry about them. Apparently these drugs are good for relieving headaches, and even though I don't get migranes, I assume they would also mellow you out for a little bit to get over them.
Migranes run deep in my family, and these seem to work well for my mom, so it's an option worth considering.
 
i used to get a migrane almost every month. mostly stress and hormone induced, they sucked really bad and are the same as what the op gets. my right eye would completely loose sight because it could not focus. one thing that helped me was to keep the lights on and try to look at something. its quite a strain but i found i got more nausious when it was dark and all i could see was the swirling in my eyes. im starting to grow out of them, for a while i would get the eyes but never get a headace and now i dont really get eyes even anymore. i never got to go to a neurologist unfortunately and never got any medication for it.
 
I don't normally get migrains but when i do its usually like snorlax is sitting on my face...but i usually sit in the dark and take extra strength medicine.
 
honestly there really is nothing except for sleeping it off you can use medication but they all require to lye down while using them i've had three for the first time this year it might just be stress or growing but they are very disabling and it can cause many problems in life hopefully the just go away like mine have i havent had one in a few months (knock on wood)
 
No pressure to get into something you don't want to get into... but if your open to it, marijuana can be a cure for a lot of things, and it may be worth a try.
 
yay one came on during a baseball game today, but i caught it early and drank 3 liters so it was all good purty quick
 
I went to a doctor in grade two about the bad head aches I was getting and she told my mom to feed me peanut butter and sent me home. Unsurprisingly I still have a problem with headaches.
I seem to get them whenever I'm hungry, dehydrated, stressed or overtired. Or at least those seem to be the root causes, my mom still maintains that I need to eat peanut butter. The overtired is the worst because being in college they are pretty well unavoidable. Want to go out with your friends one night? You'll be paying for it later (even if you don't end up hungover). Want to study for exams? Not a chance, you'll be getting headaches every night this week instead!
Once they fully set in there doesn't seem to be a whole lot I can do to get rid of them. The best I can seem to do is take a combo of ibuprofin + tylenol, wait for the pain to lessen a bit and fall asleep.
Is it just your vision that gets messed up? Or your senses in general? For mine, I know the slightest scent can be super painful.
 
my vision just does that weird thing and then i KNOW i'm getting a migraine. sometimes the vision thing won't go away for awhile and it's disabling because i can't do anything, it happened at work today and it sucks i'm getting them in a cluster.

 
already do, but there are places i just can't be high, like work. i've also noticed if i smoke too much i wake up the next day feeling exhausted... almost like a "weed" hangover. and the only cure is to smoke more weed. i work at least 5 days a week so i can't really use weed to help with this.
 
i get something similar, it starts with a wave of light in my peripherals then grows making it difficult to see, then i get a really bad headache for about three hours along with some numbness in my face and hand. i used to get them often, once or twice a month, usually after exercise or once when i had a sinus infection. for the past year i have been taking two exedrin and a sudafed before i do any serious exercise. since taking the exedrin sudafed combo i have not had a migrane. you could try something like this, but what was really helped my was figuring out what the causes of my migraines were (strenuous excerise and sinus issues) and to treat those. it might also help to go talk to your doctor or a migrane specialist (although the migrane specialist didn't help me, just wanted to put me on anti-depressants, fucker) oh also i take zomig for when i do get migraines, it helps a little but i have found the best solution is to try and prevent migraines. oh and another thing that has helped is to really focus on something if i think im going to get a migrane, i think i've stopped some migraines because i was driving in bad weather in the mountains and really had to focus on the road and other times because i was playing video games right after exercising
 
Mine always start as if I've just seen a camera flash (little light spots) and then it grows until it's all I see. Usually my neck/shoulders tense up like crazy. Then the pain hits. I go try to sleep. Usually I puke and then it starts getting better. First few stages happen within about a half hour or so. Tylenol or Advil and sleep are pretty much the only things that have worked. Wipes me out though and I'm pretty much done for the day.
 
could be a sinus thing, i had something that sounds very similar and it ended up being diagnosed as sinus disease, but i never followed up and it all went away pretty quickly.
 
Towards the beginning of the school year I starte to come down with these headache attacks so bad they would turn into migraines. The medicine from the doctor usually doesn't help but you know what does cleanig up your diet. I've recently become vegetarian and the headache have subsided a lot. I guess a lot of food is just straight up bad for you and all those processed chemicals can really mess with you.
 
Migraines i believe are genetic, they have triggers. Try and find out what the trigger is for you. I am unfortunate enough to suffer from migraines, but i know it is triggered by stress and caffeine helps ease the pain.

I have had a migraine almost everyday for the last month, but i know how to deal with them. So instead of having it for like 6 or 7 hours it only lasts about an hour or two. They still are terrible and debilitating, but i know how to deal with them. Just try and figure out whats the trigger, go to the doctor and he/she can definitely help out
 
So I have a lot to add (and in a sense you're lucky cause im procrastinating and never go on NS anymore).

I've had migraines since middle school (Im between undergrad and grad school now). While in high school, they increased in severity and frequency. For a while, I essentially had a migraine that lasted 4 months. The pain fluctuated, so sometimes it was barely there, but still there (typical, one sided throbbing migraine symptoms) and other times the pain was super bad, along with nauseau and everything else.

They continued where there were more days that I had migraines in a week than when I didnt. It really sucked. I see zig zagging flashing lights toward the left side of my vision that slowly moves toward the center. Its is def. neurological as it doesn't change if I close either eye. Eventually it goes to the center, where I can read or see well enough to drive. I also see a somewhat translucent tv static, commonly referred to snowy vision, so when I look at a blank wall, a sort of tv static appears.

My actual diagnosis was chronic migraine with persistent aura. I saw 3 different neurologists. I tried every preventative medication and acute treatment out there.

(sorry for the long back story, but towards my advice)...

Find a good neurologist.

After many years of having short appointments with neurologists that would just listen to what nurses told them and would just prescribe a different drug every time, I finally found a good doctor. She sat down with me to explore every trigger for my migraines and any possibilities to cure them.

(this one is not usual)

BOTOX

I've taken botox for migraines and it reduced my migraines from almost everyday to once a week or every 2 weeks. At the time I started taking it, it was approved by the FDA for treating seizures, but not migraines. I had heard that 70% of people that took it had a 50% decrease in migraines. I enrolled in a drug study and once I had the injections, they started subsiding. You recieve almost 30 injections on your forehead, above your ears, behind your ears down to your neck, and along your shoulders. They are like pin pricks, and are def not painless, but not too horrible. Youre face also does not raise or freeze up like people think it does(either due to the location and amount injected or the fact that Im younger).

The FDA has now approved botox for migraines, and its not the typical drug, but has been the only one to actually help.

Other things:

Now, my acute treatment is either aleve or excedrin migraine, but I take either no more than 2-3 times a month. If you use medications like these too oftern, youll get rebound migraines. I had a tough time and almost became dependent on them as I kept getting migraines everyday. I quit and didnt take any medication for an entire summer. Since then, its been fairly manageable.

Drugs with codiene or pain killers will dull the pain, but they dont stop migraines. They dont really help solve the problem, they just make it more easy to deal with.

Get this book. Its super helpful. $2.77 on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-Program-Taking/dp/0761125663/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307503851&sr=8-1

Thats all I can think of. Migraines suck. I get them every time I have a beer or two.

Oh, you can also make mad cash on those drug studies. Typically its nothing harmful, just a different method to take the drug (like a nasal inhaler), or like when I was in high school, they were adult medication being tested on adolescents.
 
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