[~*max*~]

Hello Migraine Suffering Mamas. I thought I'd start a new thread just to check in & see how everyone is doing, and if anyone has found anything new & helpful (always the optimist!).

I am pretty much status quo. I tried chiropractic, but w/o success. It was too time consuming, expensive & uncomfortable to continue. Plus, I had no improvement over several months.

Now that the weather is turning warm/hot, I am having more migraines. Hot humid days are my demise! Wish I had something better to report.

How are the rest of you?

And of course new members to this tribe are always welcome.

 

[CharliesMom2]

Hi! I am happy to find this thread after doing a little browsing. I'm a new member and I have suffered from migraines forever. I have a 1.5 yo active son and thank goodness a very understanding husband. I am currently in chiro treatment and it has been a success... he is mainly using pressure point therapy and deep tissue massage, no cracking, only moving my neck "into place" which doesn't feel like cracking. Anyhow, my insurance benefits are over now (after 30 visits) and now I can't rely on the chiro treatment. I'd love to know how you all deal with these episodes when no one is around to help you. I have never used meds as I don't believe in them, only thing I do use is caffiene which sometimes helps. Starbucks Frappucinos sometimes help believe it or not. I think the cold and the caffiene work together. But sometimes I can't get out to get one because I'm feeling so bad. Anyhow I am glad to find this thread and I hope to keep following it to support and be supported. Good luck and I hope you're all headache free today.

Amy

 

[Peppamint]

Just wanted to subscribe... I've tried a lot of things, I'll go back to the old thread and try to compile it all and post it here.

 

[aprildawn]

subscribing.

my migraines went away while i was pregnant this last time. but, they're back. so far they haven't been quite as painful and debilitating, but they are frequent (2-3/month).

will write more later when i have time.

 

[Saundra]

Hi everyone. I've been doing very well the last couple of months--only mild migraines. Everytime I feel one coming on, I drink loads of water and take a couple of magnesium capsules. Usually, it goes away within 3-4 hours. Just before and during my period, I take daily doses of magnesium as a prophylactic and stay well hydrated. I can't believe how effective this simple therapy has been. I haven't had to use Lortab or Imitrex in ages. Hurray! (Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I started my period today.)
Someone on the last thread mentioned that migraine pain is a result of the brain not being adequately hydrated. I always think of a migraine in terms of a car engine overheating; the cooling system (radiator) isn't working properly. You need to add more water to keep the pressure high enough to cool the brain which is more difficult because it is so much higher than the rest of the body. I wonder if four-legged animals get migraine?

 

[Peppamint]

Okay, I'm going to try to shorten this and include only important info. I did go back through the old thread and

: all the things I had written and when so I have a small migraine dairy sort-of anyway!

My history:

First migraine at age 11... scared me a lot! They were pretty rare until I was 15. At age 16 I was having daily migraines for some reason... probably eating out every day at work. Last year at age 23 I even went for two months without a single migraine. Right now I'm averaging one per month which I think is menstrual related.

Drugs/Remedies I've tried:

Amerge (quit working after awhile)
Imitrex (pill and nasal spray- I really didn't like it)
Maxalt (worked the best, I used the dissolvable 10mg tablet)
Bryonia Alba (homeopathic remedy- works for some of my migraines, but depends on what triggered it)
Advil (I use this now as a last resort)
--I prefer to use no drugs because the migraine hangover seems worse when I do

I've reacted to narcotics and antibiotics so I just do not do well with allopathic medicine.

Ways I work at preventing migraines:

*Eating: I limit consumption of food additives such as preservatives, MSG, artificial colors and flavors, nitrates and nitrites, etc and aim for a balanced diet (ha!)... eating out is bad for this!
*Limit stress (lol)
*Limit consumption of soft drinks (I've given up pop but did have a root beer float last night)
*Increase consumption of water
*Regular exercise
*Cook from scratch at home
*I've switched to raw goat's milk (I get within a few hours of milking from my mom's house) and free-range eggs.
*I'm planning to switch to Kosher meat for the little bit of meat I do consume
*I don't wear perfume anymore and I only use handmade soaps (usually with essential oil scents) and "natural" shampoo
*I don't burn candles very often anymore, only two brands and a couple of scents when I do
*I only use vinegar, baking soda and Bon Ami for cleaning around the house. I do have some Melalueca cleaner for tough jobs but the smell of it is bad so it's a last resort.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but those are the things that have worked for me!!

 

[Peppamint]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saundra Hi everyone. I've been doing very well the last couple of months--only mild migraines. Everytime I feel one coming on, I drink loads of water and take a couple of magnesium capsules. Usually, it goes away within 3-4 hours. Just before and during my period, I take daily doses of magnesium as a prophylactic and stay well hydrated. I can't believe how effective this simple therapy has been. I haven't had to use Lortab or Imitrex in ages. Hurray! (Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I started my period today.) Someone on the last thread mentioned that migraine pain is a result of the brain not being adequately hydrated. I always think of a migraine in terms of a car engine overheating; the cooling system (radiator) isn't working properly. You need to add more water to keep the pressure high enough to cool the brain which is more difficult because it is so much higher than the rest of the body. I wonder if four-legged animals get migraine?

Saundra- I agree... I think a biggie for me has been water consumption. Many of my migraines are accompanied by extreme thirst (something Bryonia Alba is indicated for with a migraine) and I've been known to drink almost a full gallon of water overnight with a migraine.

 

[PikkuMyy]

I also agree about hydration. I definitely get migraines when I'm dehydrated.

I'm trying to get into prevention because at the end of this semester, I was getting about 2 a week and taking WAY too much Zomig (the only thing that really works that I've tried so far.)

I looked into preventative drugs, and posted about them here, but I really want to avoid that if possible.

I don't eat most of the trigger foods or preservatives. So I'm also trying to drink a lot of water and also take Magnesium every day. The last few weeks have been relatively migraine-free (where's that "knock on wood" smilie!) and it may be working.

We also use only natural cleansers, nothing with perfumes or artificial fragrances, etc.

 

[PikkuMyy]

Bumpety-bump!

I just had a 3-day migraine that's still not 100% gone. I took my Zomig nasal spray THREE TIMES and it didn't work. I called up the neuro in desperation this morning and she just told me to go to the ER and get a shot of Taradol. I really didn't want to go to the ER so I just tried to get better without it. I did feel a bit better after getting ready to go anyway, and so I had DH press those spots on the back of your neck that are related to migraines, I tried to induce a Niacin flush (I took 50 mg but nothing happened! I guess I needed more but it was my first time trying it so I didn't want to take more.) and took a very hot shower and then turned the water to freezing cold.

Do you all go to the ER when it gets that bad or do you try things like I did instead?

 

[Peppamint]

I've never gone to the ER. There's been a couple times I would have liked to be knocked out, but a lot of times the hangover is worse when I use the meds. However, I've only had a couple of migraines that lasted more than a day or two.

 

[pickleboot]

it's been awhile since i did an update, so here goes.

i had botox towards the end of may. i wanted so badly for it to work. but- i think like so many other things i have tried it's not really helping. but- my forehead is wrinkle free and i don't get as many auras.

now for the bad part. (like this can get much worse) after 67 years of almost daily headaches my neuro finally admitted that i have chronic daily headaches. um, duh? i have what feels like a migraine every flipping day of my life. i go blind. i bleed. and, to top it all off, i might have ms. great.

i've gone off of all the preventative meds. i am now taking pretty regular doses of meds to control pain. it's not fun. the next step is methadone.

i know a lot of you do the natural thing. i calculated all the money we have spent in the past 6 years on alternative meds, and concluded we could have bought a porsche. at least now something is keeping my pain to a minimum. it might be another 3 month window, but, i'm not ever going to be pain free. i realize this now.

i can reccomend a great book that might change outlooks. all in my head by paula kamen. it really is helping me accept what is going on. i know my limits now better than i ever did, and i am able to say no when i can't do it.

i have had to give up driving, largely because i lose vision in one eye frequently....

ok- this was longer than i intended!

 

[PikkuMyy]

DH yesterday suggested the idea of medicinal marijuana. I looked it up and in my state, where medicinal marijuana is legal, migraines are one of the accepted diseases/health conditions.

Has anyone else looked into this?

 

[pickleboot]

i can say that it works.

yeah. it undoes the constriction or dialation of the blood vessels that help to cause the pain.

but- for me, like everything else that works i am a useless mom during it.

blah.

 

[Peppamint]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PikkuMyy DH yesterday suggested the idea of medicinal marijuana. I looked it up and in my state, where medicinal marijuana is legal, migraines are one of the accepted diseases/health conditions. Has anyone else looked into this?

I'm such a "good girl" that it actually never occurred to me. If nothing else had worked and I didn't need to worry about being thrown in jail I would try it.

 

[~*max*~]

Well, I started the "not so crunchy husbands tribe" and I gotta say, my dh would burst an artery if he caught wind of my using medical mj (pun intended

).

 

[storeimy]

SO glad to find you all again!

Since I've given birth to Emma (almost 7 mos ago) the migraines have decreased. However, when they do occur now they are very intense. My migraines tend to last a couple days so it gets very tough to deal with my three children. I have to whole-heartedly agree with dehydration being a factor. I chug water daily to keep hydrated. I also do whole grains and loads of veggies and a daily vitamin. I always know when they are coming on. I don't get the aura as much as just a change in vision. There is always one spot that I can't see, a blind spot that increases as the migraine intensifies. I also would rather not do meds, but there are times I have to fall back on fiorcet or vicodin but the rebounds are awful-moreso with the vicodin. I have been to the chiro several times but haven't seen much of a change. I think I'll try the magnesium. Is that something you take daily? I'm always interested in alternative remedies so I'll keep watching this thread...

 

[PikkuMyy]

When I had this horrendous migraine this weekend, DH did some researching for me on the internet.

One place he looked was migraines.org - a foundation dedicated to figuring those suckers out!

One aspect they examine is precursors that help you catch migraines and treat them before they actually set in. This is a bit issue for me since once they start, they are often hard to treat.

One precursor they mentioned is depression. That really struck me, because from time to time I get these really deep depressions for a few hours or a day that aren't related to anything happening in my life, hormones, emotions, etc. They come totally out of the blue and I've been unable to explain them. I had one of these on Thursday evening, and that night, my migraine started.

So now I'm going to pay close attention and see what happens the next time I get one of those. I wonder what other things I get that are connected. I know that when the weather pressure changes dramatically, I get headaches.

Anyone else have connections that aren't dietary?

 

[Peppamint]

I should check out that website again, it's been forever. I've noticed occasionally being a bit down, but it seems to be related to sugar crash.

It seems like exercise and getting outdoors regularly has helped.

 

[pickleboot]

someone asked about non food related triggers.

one of the biggest for me is pressure changes outside. if it is going to storm i can be sure that i will get one nasty headache that will go on for days. scents can also set me off- perfume in general. and sometimes i get funny from burning leaves.

i had a brief respite from the headache cause i was in the hospital for abdominal pain. and, of course, on a pain killer that seemed to knock it out for the better part of a week. being sick though, i didn't get to take advantage of it.

has anyone tried peppermint and lavender oil mixed together? rub it on your temples and forehead- it does seem to at least take my mind off the pain.

 

[2rubies]

Hi! I just found this thread. I've been getting migraines for almost as long as I can remember. For me, there are times when I am so grateful they've actually invented pills for these headaches-relpax is my current med. I think it has less of a "hangover" than imitrex. I've also been to an allergist because they were coming so frequently, and she said she believes a lot of migraines are food allergies that are undetected. I've had great luck with eliminating sugars and "white stuff" (incl dairy), but when the barometric pressure drops suddenly, I'm pretty helpless. I had great luck with chiro for a while, but the last two times I went, I wound up with a rebound-type headache that was just awful.
I'm wondering if any of you have children dealing with migraine too. My 3yr-old has had episodes of unexplained vomiting over the last 4mos that lasts for a day or two. We wind up taking him in for an IV because he gets so dehydrated. And now his pedi thinks it may be migraines! He suggested a beta blocker for him, but I just can't do that for my little one. I won't even take them myself. I did take him to the chiro yesterday. I hope that works.

Kristin