Migraines

[telecom_goddess]

I wake up with migraines, fairly frequently. There is no rhyme or reason to them. Today I have a killer and I am out of my headache meds :(. They are at walgreens up the road from me waiting to be picked up when they open. But walking up there seems like too much to handle at the moment.

Whyyyyyy do I have to put up with these.

[AdminAssistant]

I've been dealing with migraines for about 18 months now... :/ Been going to the doctor, and they've tried Midrin (nothing), Imitrex (made it worse), and some hopped up version of ibuprofen (nothing). I give up.

[telecom_goddess]

My meds are good (can't think of the name right now cause it's generic and my head is swimming) ...I just need to go up there and get them........ugh.

[MaggieTheCat]

Oh, migraines. How I am familiar with them. I've gotten them at least once a month for the past couple of years, and many times more frequently than once a month. Sometimes I'd get them bad enough that I couldn't go into work. I'd be curled in a fetal position in a dark, silent room, crying and praying for it to end. This all after I'd thrown up everything I tried to take for it.

Anyway, here's my regime.

Excederin Migraine. Sometimes helps, sometimes doesn't. It does seem to be more effective than Advil, at least.

Tiger Balm Liniment. (http://www.amazon.com/TIGER-BALM-LINIMENT-Pack-2/dp/B00266PFI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1270916955&sr=8-1) It's basically like regular Tiger Balm, but in an oily liquid form. It penetrates the skin and muscles faster and is more effective. Most (something like 90%) of headaches originate from the neck/shoulders, and when I get a migraine, it's almost always in my neck/shoulders as well as my head, so rubbing that stuff in helps with the neck/shoulder ache. It's also good for general aches and pains (I used to use it a lot on my lower back before I had my gall bladder out.)

Ice. I keep an ice pack in the freezer for just when I start to get a migraine. I should actually get another one, really, because if the ache in my neck/shoulders is bad enough, I sometimes fill up a plastic zip-loc baggie with ice cubes and put that on my head and the ice pack on my neck.

Feverfew tablets. Now, I don't really know how effective this is, to be honest. But for several months last summer, I was taking a supplement called MigraGard that was all natural and the main ingredient was feverfew. I think it also had a little calcium and maybe iron or something else in it. Anyway, I took one a day and my migraines seemed less frequent and less severe when I did get them. Unfortunately, I seem to have found MigraGard right when the company (Solar Ray) stopped making it, because I can't find it anywhere anymore, including calling the manufacturer directly. I haven't tried taking plain feverfew tablets but I keep thinking I should to see if they'd help at all.

Last but certainly not least, my chiropractor. I've preached about chiropractors before, so I'll just say here that my chiropractor has helped me loads with my migraines and headaches, and I'd recommend for anyone who has migraines or any neck/shoulder/back pains to see one.

[telecom_goddess]

Good tips...I may try the ice even though right now I'm freezing from my completely useless walk to the pharmacy. I went up there and found out they don't have a pharmacist and have to call in a floater or something, and they don't know when he will be in ...:(:(:(:(

Right now I'm doing caffeine to help some and peppermint to keep from barfing.

I'm big on herbal supplements so I will look into the feverfew and see what I find out.

[AdminAssistant]

Last but certainly not least, my chiropractor. I've preached about chiropractors before, so I'll just say here that my chiropractor has helped me loads with my migraines and headaches, and I'd recommend for anyone who has migraines or any neck/shoulder/back pains to see one.

For whatever reason, I feel iffy about chiropractors. Maybe I've watched too much Penn and Teller's Bullshit, plus I'd have to pay, and I just can't afford to. My lovely SO did e-mail me a gift certificate for a massage. I'm going tomorrow - hopefully she can loosen up all the tension in my neck and upper back.

[muses_nightmare]

I hate migraines. When I get them I can't see, I get the gross auras and such. An extra strength advil liquid gels, and an ice pack on the back of my neck seems to help a bit. None of the prescription meds seem to help at all, they just make me feel nauseous, well more nauseous than I am already.

Caffiene makes things worse for me, and it is actually quite a common trigger for migraines (I can't even have cola or coffee anymore). So are cheeses, red wine, and citrus. Also people can get "weekend" migraines, which are caused by a sudden lack of stress (which sounds weird, but I think that's what I get), they can also be cause by stress. In any case they suck!

[Lachrymose]

I take Maxalt when I feel a migraine coming on, and also Propanolol daily for long term.

I think they're both working very well.

[Plaidman]

They may have found it. Its a nerve that's like, at the tip of your spinal cord in your neck. Just tiny area.

[telecom_goddess]

Well the med I take is fioricet...old school but effective. And I finally got them in my possession and took some...so things should mellow out in about half an hour.....

and I am the type that gets mainly "weekend" migraines.....glad i'm not the only one....I guess.

ahhhhhhhhhhh relief is coming.

[Parrothead]

Excedrin has the same components as Excedrin Migraine.

Lavender as an aromatherapy thing works some, and (talk to your doctor first) I find that taking Feverfew daily helps decrease the frequency and intensity of my migraines.

Just some advice.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I've been having migraines since school, and can't prevent them cuz what provokes them is humidity and hormones. -.- I find codine is the only thing that kicks them into touch; I can't drink tons of water, as someone once suggested to me cuz when I'm having one, I'd just vomit it back up. -.-

[BlaqueKatt]

relpax (http://www.relpax.com/) is my savior-granted without insurance its like $200 for 6 tablets-$40 with insurance-but by the Gods it makes them go away-used to take imitrex nasal spray which worked within 15 minutes-but I'd also pass out-imitrex pills did nothing, but the spray worked.....

[blas87]

I used to get migranes alot, but they were stress induced. Transferring departments made them go away.

I get a lot of tension headaches and headaches right between my eyebrows.

I have to take Excedrine or Aleve every day because of them. It's a pain in the butt and they don't always work.

I also have to find a different doctor if they ever get worse and I consider prescription meds, because my doctor won't listen about them. I have headaches because I smoke, I tan, I have sex, and occasionally drink alcohol she says.

[Talon]

For me, weather changes set off my migranes. Though there was one time I somehow got one for exercising too heavily, caused me to fail a driving test :p

The last time I got was again on the day of a test, so I couldn't just stay home. Painkillers were no help, but interestingly I found a shower eased the pain. Start with hot water, gradually turn it down to cold. Left me fit enough to drive, even if I did botch the test, again :(

[blas87]

You can easily get a headache from working out if you don't drink enough water while doing so, or afterwards.

Actually, people who don't drink enough water in general tend to get a lot of heaches.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I drink plenty of liquids, but I hate water. I always have done. However, I don't get that many headaches, cept round the time of my period. It also helps that where I work I can keep a drink next to me.

[MadMike]

I've been getting them since I was about 28. My son's been getting them since he was 10. If I get one, I usually wake up with it, but there's been a few times where I'm fine at first, but then it just hits me.

Most of the time, it happens for no apparent reason, but sometimes it happens because of stress. I got it really bad after my car accident, and then another one when I went back to what was left of my car to retrieve my belongings.

They vary in severity, the worst being where I have the extreme sensitivity to sunlight and I can't get any food down. Taking some pills, getting some in me if possible, and taking a nap in a dark, quiet room will make it go away eventually. About the only thing I've found that helps right away is these pills my one friend takes for them. I don't know what they are, but she says they aren't cheap.