Preventing Migraines?

[etali]

Does anyone here suffer from migraines?

I seem to go through a few months of getting them really badly, then they go away for a while, then I get them again.

It's really driving me crazy - I don't want to go on beta blockers, they have so many side effects it's scary. I'd rather not chug ibuprofen and anti-sickness tablets several times a day for months on end either.

My doctors have tried to help me figure out what's causing them, but I just can't work it out.

Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing, or easing, migraines without taking medication?

[elaine130]

I was having a lot of headaches, some of them migraines, when I was very stressed out and depressed last year. I was skipping meals and not getting enough sleep, which added to the problem. My doctor said that I could take up to three advil in the morning - that seemed to work. Other triggers included cigarette smoke, dampness, change in barometric pressure and back and neck spasms.

[britjojo]

Yes, I get them. First thing I would tell you is to keep a headache diary. You need to record when you have the headaches, what you ate each day so that you can maybe track a pattern according to your eating and so on.

Record especially things like your monthly cycle, missed meals and bad nights sleep, as well as caffeine, chocolate and tomato consumption. These are all common triggers.

[angelthelson]

i do suffer from migraines once in a while... it happens from lack of sleep, sometimes hunger, monthly periods (very seldom it happens) sudden change in your hormones... i do take aspirin or any pain relievers. sometimes, just sleeping helps ease out the pain, but it helps a little for me.. i must take a pain reliever

[etali]

Thanks for your responses.

I hadn't considered weather as a trigger - I think it might be though, because I can go months without having any, then get them several days a week for a few months - I kept a diary for a while, but nothing conclusive showed up there.

I think there's more to it than missed meals / lack of sleep, since when I do get them they drag on for a couple of days, and sometimes it feels like one migraine can run on into another, and another...

I'll pay more attention to food though, just in case.

[elaine130]

Etali - if you have a migraine now, it may be from the stress of not knowing where your passport is!!! Also, if you wake up with a headache, look into the possibility that grinding your teeth might be causing headaches. I went to my dentist and he did see that my teeth were wearing down in areas where I might grind, plus I had broken a tooth, which also indicated the possibility of grinding. So he fitted me with a night guard. It's been working well.

[etali]

Well, I've found my passport now *bounce* I'll see if the migraines stop - I have been getting them, but I thought it might be weather related - the weather here has been going from crazy hot to 'hide under the duvet with a cup-a-soup' cold in a matter of hours.

I used to grind my teeth when I was little, but I think I've stopped. I'll ask about it next time I brave the dentists. (My old dentist was a great guy, the new one is very rough and careless by comparison).

[elaine130]

...come to think of it... it was my dental hygienist who suggested that i might be grinding my teeth! she was really sweet and when she saw that i was also going to have my broken molar looked at by the dentist, that's when she mentioned that it looked like i was grinding. i had no idea, nor did my dh! the dentist confirmed it. so ask the hygienist next time you're there : )

[britjojo]

That's a really interesting thought. The other thing for waking with a headache is dehydration. Just the same as with a hangover, if you become dehydrated over night (from sweating for instance, or in my case from nursing all night), then you can get very bad headaches.

[DianneMK]

Originally Posted by elaine130

I was having a lot of headaches, some of them migraines, when I was very stressed out and depressed last year. I was skipping meals and not getting enough sleep, which added to the problem. My doctor said that I could take up to three advil in the morning - that seemed to work. Other triggers included cigarette smoke, dampness, change in barometric pressure and back and neck spasms.

Yep...that is what cause my migraines.Stress especially will make my migraines come more than I want them to.I take 3 Advil and go and lay down and it seems to help.

[Fizz]

Now is my time to vent. I was diagnosed with migraines when I was in my teens. I loved my former doctor, because my migraines were treated with little fuss, but I moved and had to change doctors. My new doctor wanted me to get an MRI, but based on the diagnosis my insurance wouldn't cover it, so he sent me to a neurologist that not only wants me to have the MRI, but also an EKG and some MORE labs. Plus the neurologist prescribed Imitrex to me AFTER I told him that I had already been put on them and that they didn't work for me. This is very frustrating, enough to give someone a migraine!

[Fizz]

I actually meant EEG, not EKG, all these medical terms and procedures flying at me got me a little turned around. I had the MRI this morning, NOT PLEASANT! The noise and being inside that tube left me feeling sick by the time I got out of there.

[britjojo]

Yes, I think that I would have a big problem with being stuck inside that tube for any length of time. Frightening, it seems.

I am sorry that your doc is treating you like that. Some docs really do think that they know everything and you know nothing, and therefore you have no right to an opinion. But you do-and you don't have to undergo tests or treatment that you don't want to-you have a right to say no.

[Fizz]

I have made an appointment with my regular doctor to discuss the neuroligist, I am going to tell him that I do not want to be treated by the neuroligist and that he either needs to develop a working treatment plan for me or I will seek a doctor that can and will. The whole thing has me really frustrated and to stressed. I've had migraines since I was a teen and I know the best treatment for me. I know they have new preventive medicines, but the fact is I feel I am to young to be strapped to a daily medication.

[DianneMK]

Fizz I am surprised that the doctor that ordered your MRI didn't offer you a Valium to calm your nerves.He can do that if you suffer from a fear of closed spaces like I do.I am glad that my regular doctor ordered an MRI .I too have had migraines since I was 22 and there are DAYS when I have a migraine so bad that certain smells will instantly cause me to throw up(I know...tmi..sorry)and I end up in bed for a day.
So I depend on Imitrex for my headaches.I cannot take a lot of heavy duty drugs such as codeine,demerol,darvocet because I am allergic to it.
Let me know what your doctor says about what options you have for those god awful migraines.Take care.
Dianne

[Fizz]

Have you noticed that your migraines have changed over the years? Mine have, when I was a teenager they started with numbness on my right side, I was alone at the time and thought I was having a stroke! Years later I started getting the aura in my vision with them. Now I get the numbness, the aura and slight nausa. My doctor says that I have complex migraines as if I care I just want the pain to stop, lol. I can actually go for years without getting one, but they do go in cycles. Not so long ago I was have them daily for almost a month. And does it get on your nerves when people call all manner of headache a migraine. Some people have no clue what a migraine headache actually is, but still call their little minor stress headaches, migraines. It really annoys me, or am I just a big ole meany?

[DianneMK]

Oh my god!!!There are times when I feel as I am having a stroke.And yes,I get a little numbness too.People have different types of headaches,but if they had to walk in the shoes of you and I fizz when an honest migraine starts...they would understand what headache they have is nothing to what we go through.

[KeLLi]

I'm not sure you can prevent them without seeing a doctor. My mom gets them atleast once every 3 years. If you see your doctor, he/she might prescribe you a medication to help you with them.

[Fizz]

You cannot completely prevent them. They can be treated, but that's pretty much it. There are new medications that you can take daily that help prevent them, but unfortunately as of now they aren't 100% effective.

[britjojo]

Fizz, I am so glad for you that you've made the decision to take control of your care and treatment! You are right-you know what works because YOU feel the effects, not the doctor. Let him know that.

Mine have not hugely changed through my life. They got a little less frequent as I figured out triggers, but they are always just about the same experience.

[Fizz]

Just wanted to update everybody about my issues. Saw my doctor and explained to him that I did not want the neurologist treating me because I didn't want on daily medication and I didn't feel that he was actually listening to my concerns. It really seemed to irritate my Doctor, but oh well, I'm now on a treatment plan that I think will work for me. And no more of the neurologist. WAHOO!!

[etali]

I'm glad your doctor listened in the end, well done for standing up to him.

I'm glad to know there are others out there who have migraines (well, not glad really, but you know what I mean). It seems migraine sufferers have a really bad rep with some people, as if a migraine is just a headache, nothing more. I really wish I could let certain people (like my ex employer) experience my 'little headache' for a day....

[Fizz]

I totally understand what you mean etali, they just have no clue. I was very lucky with a former manager at the place I used to work for because his mother used to suffer from migraines and he understood how they could wreck you.

[etali]

You were very lucky there! I hope none of your co-workers took advantage. I used to know a girl who would cry migraine every now and then, and got caught out once when she pulled a sicky to go shopping and one of her co-workers bumped into her in Fenwicks. That really didn't help the genuine sufferers at her office...

[Fizz]

That is really rotten! I would have been so mad. I knew this one girl that I worked with that pulled the same kind of stuff. She had one glass eye, so if it rained she'd call in saying she could see to drive to work. Funny it didn't effect her getting to the mall, I was so happy when she got busted.

[britjojo]

Fizz-I am glad that things worked out for you. It is not uncommon for Drs to get mad when you stand up for your own health care. They like to be in control and too often have the 'god' complex, so when someone questions them, it does not settle well at all. But you did it!

[shainee]

I have migraines also. I think the best way is know what actually triggers the attack. Mine happens when I dont get enough sleep or due to stress at work. Sometimes food high in salt or those with preservatives can also be a culprit. Probably it's best if you find out what it is that's triggering it.

[KeLLi]

I get migraines once in a blue moon and I can just sleep mine off

[Fizz]

Originally Posted by britjojo

Fizz-I am glad that things worked out for you. It is not uncommon for Drs to get mad when you stand up for your own health care. They like to be in control and too often have the 'god' complex, so when someone questions them, it does not settle well at all. But you did it!

Things worked out better then I thought. I was getting several migraines a week, but I haven't had one in about a month. Hope it stays that way for a while.

[dreamr802]

massages to help you relax and take bubble baths at night or when you feel stressed. That might help a bit.

[Gilipsie]

I get complex migraines which for me means I have partial paralysis. You cannot take Imitrex with it so my doctor has me take 800 mg of iboprofen when they start. Doesn't seem to do much.

However, I am on a daily dose of both Topomax and Lamictal....both proven to decrease migraines. They work for me.

[Lila42]

Yes, doctors act as if they are God sometimes, my mother asked for her records from a surgeon who would not return her calls, and didn't have any record of her as a patient. Finally they 'said' they found her records. My mother asked about side effects to a medication and they told her to call the manufacturer! Unbelievable! She asked for her records and they said they couldn't release them to the patient only another doctor. NEver fall for that! they are your records. We had to file a comlaint and the court made him give them to my mother. I am glad you have taken matteres into your own hands and are not intimated by a doctor.

[Fizz]

My migraines are also considered complex migraines. I get the full range of symptoms. I'm very glad for the migraine break I'm having now, hope it last awhile.