migraine help needed

M

midwestchick

Cathlete
Good evening everyone...

Has anyone here had any positive results from migraine meds? I've been really plagued with them over the years, and they seem to be worsening. They do appear to be hormonal -- really bad a few days prior to starting my period. I'm on BCP which I think helps the hormonal swings to a certain degree. I'm eating much cleaner and also have stopped all artificial sweeteners/no diet cokes, etc.

I really hate to start another medication on top of bcp, wellbutrin, vitamins, etc...

Any advice?

Thanks,
Heidi
 
Migraine sufferer here too!! I do have to say that really eating cleaner and cutting out the aspartame (Diet Coke) has helped me tremendously. I still do get them also hormonally and a big trigger for me is MSG.

I take Imitrex when I feel a bad one coming on. But you have to take it as soon as you feel it coming on (for me, it starts with that lovely feeling like an ice pick hitting the back of your eye.. :eek: ) and it works pretty well. I haven't had to take one in a while though. I used to take a preventative medicine but decided the side effects weren't worth it for me.

My Mom has migraines much worse than I do and she takes Topomax preventatively and Relpax when she feels one coming on.

Talk to your Dr. and find out the risks and see what might work for you. HTH, I feel your pain!
 
I also suffer from headaches. They may be more like severe tension headaches, but my doctor thinks they are migraines because I respond to migraine meds.
Like the poster above, the key is to take the meds at the first sign of the pain.
I have suffered for years and have been to 6 different doctors and have taken ALOT of different meds including preventatives. Some caused unpleasant side effects. One doc had me taking anti-depressants which did not agree with me at all.
I will typically have 2 a week. Getting off the BCP helped. Cafergot is what I take now and I have found to be the best for me. It is an old med and therefore less $.

Not sure I helped you.
Good luck.
Gin:)

ETA: I also had acupuncture (didn't help), and was tested for food allergies ( no allergies).
 
I get them too and if I don't tget the painkillers into me at the right moment I'm doomed as the ladies above said.
I have tried everything and I believe I mean over the years EVERYTHING.

I have just started applying "Rescue Oil Concentrate" made by an Australian company at Eleusian, Just google "Eleusian" and tell them I sent you. (its an essential oil) So far, I swear by this product for pain relief. (I still have to medicate but no-where near as frequently or as heavy) Sometimes a soak in the bath with the oil diluted in it works on its own. It depends on the severity of the headache.

It is not only good for headaches but for lots of other aches and pains too. Its a fairly new product to the Eleusian range which is why I havn't been using it too long.

For me, the preventative meds worked, but I am trying to keep off them nowadays. But everything the two ladies said above is me too!

Hormones cause mine, stress or chocolate and even sometimes areobics. I've also just starting taking Vitex (chaste tree berry) for hormonal balance. Friends have taken it with AMAZING results and swear by them.

I've only just started on Vitex so too soon to call, I am hoping!

Andrea
 
I'm another hormonal migraine sufferer, and like Cathy I haven't done prescriptions for them. I take Excedrin Migraine when I first sense the aura of a migraine coming on (for me it's actually a weird phantom smell). It's not always 100% help, but better than nothing.

Also, I'm on a 3-month cycle BCP so I only have a period every 3 months and so I have fewer migraines as well.

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I suffered from migraine for years. When I get it, it will stay for a few days. It seemed to get worse and worse until sometimes i feel faint with it. Then I read about Dr Dádamo's Eat Right For your blood type. I am an AB blood type and in it it said that chicken and corn are the red flag food I must avoid. I have been eating chicken all my life and is my favourite meat. Imagine giving it up. Anyway my migraine was so bad that I decided to give it a try. I eliminated those two stuff for a few months. Migraine did go down. Not believing that eliminating them really works, I did a few experiments by abstaining and then taking them again. Did these for a year in the beginning. Everytime I take chicken depending on the amount, the pain will come back. If I do not take too much, the pain will start at the base of the head but not so severe. However, if I continue to take chicken for a few days in a row, full blown migraine will come back. As long as I dont eat chicken and corn, I don't get migraine attack. Just a few days ago, I took some chicken and guess what? It came back.

Maybe you should have a look what is the red flag food you should avoid. There are many food we have to avoid for our blood type but it is the red flag food that matters. Itg seems far fetched but it works for me.

Shelly
 
I'm not sure if I have true migraines. Maybe 'atypical' migraines or tension headaches, I'm not sure. but this week was a killer for me!

I tried maxalt before, it did nothing. So I was very leary of trying a new perscription my doctor gave me a few weeks ago: Midrin.

OMG..this stuff was a MIRACLE for me.

i guess it's all going to be trial and error. and individual too.

~Chris
 
I really hope you find a solution. I played around with a lot of meds, was on topamax for awhile and that really helped but I felt really out of it all the time so had to go off. Imitrex works but my insurance got greedy with it so I had to switch to maxalt, which works just as well for me. I tend to get them around my period, but there was a time when I was getting them every day. The one thing that really worked for me was eliminating aspartame and caffeine from my diet. Now I only drink water and decaf coffee with an occasional diet soda sweetened with splenda.
 
I get them too!x( I take Imitrex for mine. Mine tend to be when rain and heavy clouds are around which make me think more sinus related issues, but dear ole' doc said migraines. Imitrex was a miracle for me....however it can't be taken on a daily basis for any extended period of time as it can eventually lead to tingling in the toes and fingers and you'll start losing blood circulation. At least that is what my pharmacist said. I feel for all who gets these:(
Take care everybody!
 
I have had migraines for 25+ years. I use Imitrex nasal for quick relief along with Excedrin migraine - I'm not sure when I started with Imitrex, but maybe 10 years ago and it changed my life. The Imitrex pills didn't work well for me and you have to take them immediately at onset...but the nasal will still work at any time (though occasionally it doesn't work at all). I have tried Maxalt and it didn't work for me at all.

My triggers are hormones, aspartamine, sugar, and the big one for me is rapid barometric changes (oh and alcohol). As I used to have about 12 a month, my Dr was concerned about taking too much Imitrex (and besides the Insurance companies will only let you have so much a month) so about three years ago my Dr put me on a very low dose high blood pressure medicine which acts on the veins. It took a few months, but my migraines have gone down to about two a month (sometimes more). I have no side affects from this medicine. I was initially concerned because I have very low blood pressure, but as I said, no side affects. So this has also limited my use of Imitrex.

Lifestyle wise, I find it is important I limit sugar so I eat almost none, try to make sure I have good sleeping habits - staying up until 3 in the morning can trigger a migraine and eat very healthy and no alcohol. Though I hate taking these medicines, when I have a headache I'll do anything to get rid of it. Before these more powerful drugs were available, I would sometimes be in bed for up to 5 days unable to function. This was very frustrating as I'm otherwise a very healthy person and rarely sick.

I wouldn't wish these on my worst enemy. I hope you find relief.

Jo
 
Boy can I ever relate to all of you with migraines. Normally, I have them every week, and sometimes (like the past 2 weeks), I have them every day. Barametric pressure going up/down is my major trigger, though sodium nitrate will trigger (I NEVER eat this), would trigger a migraine in just a few minutes. Nothing will get rid of my migraines except varying Maxalt/Imitrex/Axert/or Relpax. And yes, I am very very concerned of taking so many pills...( and why are the dang things so expensive?) for my heart, liver, etc. But the pain is unbearable. I have to vary the medication because I take so many that I become immune and need more for relief.
I'm the odd person out because I have SLE lupus and I now have lupus migraines. When my "on" switch for the migraine is happening (when 2 maxalt in 3 hours does not ease the pain that goes on for days), I go to my chiropractor who does low-dose electrical adjustments to release what is blocking the energy flow in the nerve pathways. That gives me relief for awhile. I probably should see the doctor more often...
So in answer to your question, when food, allergy, over exertion and weather is ruled out, when ice packs, all the medications mentioned here doesn't work, you might check to see if there is an alignment problem, or an energy blockage, or some inflammation that is causing the migraine.
Again, I can totally feel your pain.;(
 
I'm going to chime in here because I use something that hasn't been mentioned before. When I get those "weather" headaches, I find taking Excedrin Migraine AND using HeadOn on my forehead really helps it not to blow up into a bigger headache. Sometimes on a bad weather day I may have to do this a few times, but a lot of the time it takes care of it.

It does seem for me though that those "hormonal" headaches (thankfully I don't get them every month) will only respond to Relpax and sometimes for 3 days at a stretch.

You just need to find what works for you (or at least helps lessen the pain). I'm extremely thankful that I found something that works, because I had bad headaches for a while. In fact I had headaches for days at a time (6 days a week easily) for at least a month and I found out that the allergy medicine I was using at the time was triggering the headaches!
 
Wow, thanks for all the insight and advice. Gives me a lot to think about. I had to laugh, though, about the Head-On because I despise those stupid commercials...are you the one saying "Head on, I hate your commercials, BUT I love your product because it works!!";-)

I agree about the pain. It's relentless, frustrating, throbbing and a pain that I wouldn't wish on anybody. When I am dealing with those headaches, it sure makes me feel for those people that live in pain every day either due to chronic back pain or fibromyalgia. I can't imagine how hard that must be.

I'll consider the meds and decreasing sugar the best I can, but I don't know if I can do with my morning coffee - that is actually something that can halt an early am headache when I wake up with one along with some advil. And don't think I can give up my occasional beer - like one poster said, though, I guess if you have them frequently enough, you learn to live without those things to live without the pain.

Thanks everyone - I appreciate the help!

Heidi
 
I agree with Wanda that there may be a nerve/alignment trigger. My migraines had decreased in frequency to the point where I only had about 2-3 per year until last June when I was involved in a minor fender bender. I had some neck and back pain so I began seeing a chiropractor. After the accident, I noticed my migraines were back, but I did not make the connection between them and the accident until I had a chiro adjustment that triggered a migraine within 15 minutes. When I spoke to the chiro about it, she said she might have been too aggressive. After that, it never happened again. Now last month, I was really busy with work and skipped my regular adjustments for about 6 weeks. I had two migraines during that time period. It may not be the answer for everyone, but for me, chiropractic treatment seems to help keep them at bay. Perhaps it's another preventive measure worth looking into.

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Oh, if I give up my morning coffee that's a migraine waiting to happen!!! It is a pain you wouldn't wish on anyone when you're dealing with it.

Reading everyone's posts reminded me that I'm really sensitive to changes in weather too, that can cause a migraine for me too.

((HUGS)) to everyone dealing with migraines, I *feel* your pain!
 
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