Migraine headaches

[Rusty Shackleford]

Anyone here get them? What do you take for them?

I get about 8-10 a year. They generally knock me out for about half a day, since I almost always get them at about 3 or 4 a.m. and after a long nap, I'm usually OK by mid-afternoon. I'm going to a doctor Thursday to ask about some kind of prescription I can take to help with the pain when I get one, because Excedrin just doesn't do enough.

 

[forever_town]

Re: Migrainie headaches

If this were 15 to 20 years ago, I might have a better answer. My mother used to get terrible migraine headaches. They were so bad she'd have to lie down in her bedroom with the blinds closed and the lights off. That's how much pain she was in.

The only thing I do remember from that era is my grandmother suggesting she do away with the caffeinated sodas. Mom switched to caffeine free and her headaches became much less severe.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

If this were 15 to 20 years ago, I might have a better answer. My mother used to get terrible migraine headaches. They were so bad she'd have to lie down in her bedroom with the blinds closed and the lights off. That's how much pain she was in.

The only thing I do remember from that era is my grandmother suggesting she do away with the caffeinated sodas. Mom switched to caffeine free and her headaches became much less severe.

That's how mine are. Heck, I think that's all migraines -- light hurts, usually with nausea. When I get them, I lie in bed in a pitch-black room eating saltines or toast, until the pain subsides enough that I fall asleep. It sucks. That's why I'm going to the doctor. And I'm not one of those people who go to doctors for every sniffle or cough, either. This is my first doctor's visit on my company's insurance, and I've been here three years.

 

[spup1122]

My migraines were so bad, the doctor put me on Topimirate. Doctalk can probably describe it better, but it's anti-epileptic medication that doctors discovered reduces migraines, too.

It's an intense medication. I had to take 25mg for a week, then 50 for a week and so on until I was up to 100mg. I could have gone higher, but I think 100 is taking care of the problem. I have to take it every day and there are side effects. Something called parathesia (sp). It's basically numbness of limbs on occasion. When I type a lot, my fingertips go numb. But the migraines are gone. Absolutely gone. It's fantastic.

You could try an emergent medication like immitrex but it wasn't working for me so the doctor tried this. Instead of being reactive to the migraines, it's proactive to keep me from even getting the headaches.

 

[doubledown68]

Always wondered if migraines affect a certain part of the head. I get a few headaches a year that I unsensitively call JFK headaches, because the back of my head throbs so much I can feel every heartbeat. Luckily, they don't happen too often.

 

[User 1019]

I don't get them, thank God, and feel for the folks who do.

Good luck.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Always wondered if migraines affect a certain part of the head. I get a few headaches a year that I unsensitively call JFK headaches, because the back of my head throbs so much I can feel every heartbeat. Luckily, they don't happen too often.

JFK headaches. That's so wrong, but I laughed so hard.

Yeah, mine always happen behind my left eye. I feel like I've got a little demon in the back of my eye plucking my optic nerves like guitar strings.

 

[Chef]

 

[shockey]

imitrex does wonders for me. works best if you pop one as soon as you feel it coming on. mine are 50 mg. on occasion, i have to pop a second after an hour or so 'cause i can tell one isn't doing the job. the second ALWAYS does the job.

my deep sympathies for fellow migraine sufferers. but imitrex has saved me from having to deal with lights out, covers over the head, bullet-to-the-brain thoughts for several years now. good luck!

 

[shockey]

not even funny. i throw up just thinking about trying a shot of j.d. with a migraine. you clearly are not a sufferer.

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

My wife and I have both had major problems due to migraines in the last 13 months, so here's my take:
I was taking Midrin and loved it, but it is no longer distributed in most parts of the country, so Maxalt is the new big drug that just came out and it being prescribed a lot. On the onset of any above-average headache, you pop one in your mouth and it dissolves right away and into your bloodstream. Voila, no migraine.
A 10 mg table will pretty much take care of your problems, and while you're not going to be driving or (probably) working right after you take it, it's better than being in a ****-ton of pain. Only problem with them is that most doctors won't allow you to get more than 4-6 tablets at a time. We've yet to need more than two in a week, even when the migraines are just god-awful.

 

[DocTalk]

Migraine headaches can be miserable, associated with significant pain, light sensitivity and vomiting.The goal for migraine headache treatment is to allow the patient to have some control over the disease and have the tools to make the pain better.

Philosophically, there are three treatment approaches: prevention, abortion and rescue.

If the headaches occur frequently (try to keep a headache diary to get a sense of how often they interfere with your life) then preventive medications may be useful. A variety of options are available and should be tailored to the specific patient and their needs. For example, you wouldn't want to prescribe beta blockers in an athletic person, since that drug would limit the ability to generate an increased heart rate during training and competition.

If the headaches occur rarely, then a medication may be used to abort the episode. Medications like Maxalt or Imitrex may be used, but for teh best effectiveness, they must be taken early in the ocurse of headache, idelaly in the aura phase. In many migraine sufferers, there may be an aura or warning phase where vision may become wavy, there might be sprakling lights, unuisal smells or sounds that precede onset of the headache.

If the headache is well established and doesn't resolve with rest, a dark room and anti-inflammatories, other mediations may be used to rescue the patient. Intravenous medications like reglan or compazine are helpful.

Please note that narcotics are not recommended for migraine treatment and if used, may cause a rebound phenomenom, where as the narcotic wears off, the headache returns.

 

[Kato]

When I was 11 or 12, I got them so bad that I would end up in tears on the bathroom floor with my head on a wet washcloth or towel. That's where I'd eventually fall asleep. They were horrible. They went away for awhile but they've crept back into my life (I'm 36 now). I hate the aura that comes with them, the sense of impending doom as it starts slowly and builds until you're almost unable to do anything else. I now get them behind my eyeballs, sometimes left, sometimes right, and sleep seems to be the only real cure.

I started getting them after playing tennis in the heat, too. I thought they might have been from dehydration, but I'd drink a lot of water before, during and after and that didn't help. However, when I switched to Gatorade, that seemed to make a difference.

Funny thing about the caffeine, though, is that it's one of the main drugs in Excedrin migraine. Actually, the only difference between Excedrin migraine and extra-strength Excedrin is the color of the label and the doctor's warning. The migraine version is red and says, if headaches persist, see a doctor.

One more thing, the New York Times has an interesting blog about migraines: http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/ I've read the one by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, who suffers from them. It's a good read. What I find most interesting is that he suffered anxiety attacks when he felt the migraine starting. I can understand that.

Best of luck to all of you migraine sufferers. They're no fun, and people who don't get them have no idea what they're missing.

 

[21]

I get the aura first....a little sparkly spot that grows for about fifteen minutes until I'm reasonably blinded by it....like looking through shattered glass. If I can grab a Maxalt during that time, it eradicates the headache, altho it can also knock me out for an hour or two.

Also tried butalbital (a caffeine/aspirin ) but it really didn't work for me.

I know certain things are going to increase the chances of a migraine...incoming bad weather (rain), red wine and other fermented foods, nitrates. A bright flash of light terrifies me, almost always triggers a migraine.

The scary part for me is suddenly seeing that little spot, and knowing I'm going to be seriously messed up for the next few hours.

 

[Jones]

This will make me sound like a quack, but please trust me on this:

I used to suffer from what I would call "classic" migraines. I'd be walking around, fine and normal, and they would start with a kind of greenish light flashing in one of my eyes. I'd have that for about 15 or 20 minutes, and then it would subside before whammo, I'd be in my room, in the dark, throwing up in a bucket. ****ing sucked. The warning shot was almost the worst part. I remember being out for a nice dinner and looking at the menu, and losing the words in the light and being like, Goddammit. As 21 said, the dread was awful.

The weird thing was, I didn't have them as a child. They just came out of nowhere. I wouldn't have them often -- six times a year maybe -- but when I did, my day was shot, and possibly the next day, too.

So, I went to my doctor, who was an excellent doctor, very holistic in her approach. She knew I had gut problems, and she ordered a blood test. She found that I was low in B12, which is absorbed in the part of the intestine where I've had hiccups. I don't know the exact science behind it, but long story short, B12 somehow helps carry oxygen through the brain. Doc put me on a course of B12 injections, and not only did I have more energy -- B12 builds red blood cells -- but my migraines disappeared, just like that. Haven't had one in years.

That's the good news. The bad news is, whenever I had a migraine, apparently that was my brain cramping for lack of oxygen, like a muscle pushed too far. So, that might explain why I'm sometimes slow about things.

Anyway, all that to say: Ask for a blood test, see if your B12 is off, and if it is, maybe try that as a fix before filling yourself up with medication.

Besides, a blood test is never a bad idea. My hemo count was, back then, 90. Today I'm at 156. I need less sleep, I have more energy... Hell, I feel like I could run a marathon when I used to get puffed climbing a flight of stairs. Blood isn't there just to make cuts look cool. It's gas in your tank.

 

[SoCalDude]

Wife has had some luck with Imitrex. They have a snortable version she uses.
There's a guy on the news desk who has injectable Imitrex. Kinda funny to see this guy have to shoot up to get through a shift.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

My Dad had the 12-hours-in-a-darkened room kind. It was one of the prevailing dynamics in our house. NOBODY could make a sound, not even walking. Then he'd be spacy and groggy for about three hours afterwards. He could always feel them coming -- the "aura" -- and sometimes he'd go to bed in advance. Chocolate, as I recall, seemed to help.
And not to be completely gloomy but severe migraines occasionally are a precursor phenomenon of Alzheimer's.

 

[dooley_womack1]

To avoid a migraine, stay away from this thread:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/55304/

 

[DocTalk]

Jones,

Low B12 causing anemia, is called pernicious anemia and may be due to a couple of physiologic problems: either your body doesn't have a compound called Intrinsic Factor, you lack the receptor sites in your terminal ileum (the part of the small intestine near the colon) or you were malnourished and didn't get enough in your diet, a rarity in North America with vitamin enriched food.

B12 and folic acid are the building blocks for red blood cell membranes, so not enough of either of these will lead to anemia. Iron deficiency leads to less hemoglobin production, the oxygen carrying part of the red blood cell.

Anyway, the brain "cramps" from migraines are thought to be due to spasm of some of the arteries in the brain, so you're almost right when it comes to etiology, but it isn't necessarily because of low blood cell counts.

The treatments menitoned like imitrex and maxalt work to decrease the vascular spasm in the brain to alleviate the headache.

 

[spup1122]

I see little flashes of light right before I get them. It's almost like a patch of flying insects in a field or the woods. I see several flashing lights right in the same area and within an hour, I'm out.

I had about 30 migraines in 35 days when the doctor did a CT scan and then put me on the topimirate (topamax) and said it should take care of 'em. Thank God for that. I'm like Jones. If I have a migraine, I have to be in a pitch black room, I can't eat, and I'm still puking. It's miserable.