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First migraine in 60s?

(24 Posts)
Grannyjacq1 Sun 05-Jun-16 22:01:17

Woke up one day last week with a blinding headache and unable to keep down any food - or even water. Lay in bed all day (most unusual for me!) and felt better by the next morning, having taken a couple of migraine tablets. I'm not a 'headachey' person at all - and a small packet of paracetamol usually lasts me for a year. Was this a migraine? I have never had one before.

etheltbags1 Sun 05-Jun-16 22:11:53

Please get it checked out you may have just a simple bug causing the sickness but it could be more serious, an appointment with the doctor is all you need to do and will probably put your mind at ease. It is not normal to have sudden migraines at any age. Good luck.flowers

Tegan Sun 05-Jun-16 22:12:32

Orange juice used to give me migraines; took me years to realise what caused them. And sleeping later than usual.I only ever got them on days when I wasn't working.

NoStrayGrey Sun 05-Jun-16 22:24:45

I've never heard of anyone having a migraine for the first time in their life, in their 60's. But, who knows!
However, I'd get an appointment, or at least speak, to the GP and see what they think about it, and if it's worth getting checked-out for something more serious. Better safe, than sorry.

Yogadatti Sun 05-Jun-16 22:48:23

Please check it out especially if you had any stiffness or pain in your neck.. Stiffness/pain in neck is an indication of a brain haemorrhage...I know....because it happened to me.

f77ms Mon 06-Jun-16 07:27:46

I am a huge migraine sufferer and it does sound like it . I often wake with them and also feel very sick . If you get another I would just get it checked with the GP . There are fantastic meds for migraine now( thank God ) as normal painkillers don`t touch real migraine . I take Sumatriptan and within an hour it has gone , when I think of the years I have suffered these debilitating headaches I am so grateful for something that works .

vampirequeen Mon 06-Jun-16 08:12:22

Sounds like a migraine but get checked out by the doctor. It's very strange to have your first in your 60s

Grannyjacq1 Mon 06-Jun-16 08:37:39

Thanks for all your responses. I think it may have been a version of a particularly nasty virus which seems to be doing the rounds in the family at the moment, but will get checked out just to be on the safe side.

Jenty61 Mon 06-Jun-16 08:49:38

dehydration can cause really bad headaches similar to migraine...

Luckygirl Mon 06-Jun-16 09:41:11

yes - do get it checked because of your age (sorry!) and it being the first time.

Having said that, my migraines did not start till my late 50s.

crun Mon 06-Jun-16 10:16:36

I had my first ocular migraine at 45.

shysal Mon 06-Jun-16 11:08:54

Me too, crun, but at age 69. Had one this morning funnily enough. I don't get the headache so am thankful for that.

I hope you will have no recurrence, Grannyjaqu1. flowers

appygran Mon 06-Jun-16 11:36:08

Yes I got my first ocular migraine with headache and sickness at 66 so not unusual. Doctor and eye clinic found no underlying cause but about a month ago a family member who was aware of my recent migraines caught me playing a game on my ipad and asked when I had started playing. Hey presto after deleting the game I have had no further problems, and am not wasting as much time. Still early days but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Lona Mon 06-Jun-16 11:40:58

The dd of a friend, in her twenties, had her first ocular migraine in Australia and she was advised by doc to take an aspirin if she had another one.
As it's caused by the disruption of the blood flow to the brain, I can see some logic there.

Greyduster Mon 06-Jun-16 12:06:22

I had my first migraine about five months ago - the sort that disturbs your vision and then you get a slight headache. I am seventy this year. DH gets them all the time, but I've never had one before or since ( touch wood!).

hildajenniJ Mon 06-Jun-16 12:11:41

I used to suffer from migraine around the time of my period. Nausea, disturbed balance etc. They stopped as soon as I hit the menopause. They were very debilitating, and I lost many days due to them. My DH used to suffer too, but we discovered that eating oranges was the cause. I think Oran GTes and tomatoes are big triggers for migraine, chocolate also! sad

Katek Mon 06-Jun-16 12:14:29

I get aura without headache...,sparkling pinpricks and shards of light along with blurred vision that makes me feel I'm looking through water. Usually passes in 30 minutes or so.

crun Mon 06-Jun-16 13:29:08

Crumbs, there's a lot of ocular migraines on here, I gather they're quite rare, accounting for about 1% of all migraines.

How often do people get them? Mine are very irregular, I can go for two years without or I can have two in a day.

Maggiemaybe Mon 06-Jun-16 13:53:12

Yes, another here who started with ocular migraines in my fifties. No pain, just circles of flashing lights that gradually decrease over an hour till they disappear. Then I feel washed out for an hour or two. I've only had six or seven in as many years and I think my trigger is bright light (having to look towards a window on a sunny day at a presentation sparked off the first one).

Auntieflo Mon 06-Jun-16 13:57:03

I had my first one when I was working, and was walking from the main building to our office. I suddenly realised that I couldn't see a colleague's full face, just half of it. I had a halo of coloured spikes around my viaion, but at the time didn't know that it was a migraine, as it hadn't happened before and I had no headache. Since then it has happened a few times, with the lights , funny vision, but no headache. I find that if I can, I lie down and it goes away .

Maggiemaybe Mon 06-Jun-16 13:57:04

Yes, hildajenniJ, my daughter used to have terrible, full-blown migraines and her trigger turned out to be citrus - even a little lemon juice in a salad dressing would do it. Fortunately after about 10 years she grew out of it as suddenly as it had started, and now she can eat anything.

Auntieflo Mon 06-Jun-16 13:57:53

Forgot to say that it started in my 50's

shysal Mon 06-Jun-16 16:35:40

visual aura in later life
I had a few episodes of 'scintillating scotoma'for the first time a few months ago (age 69), then nothing until a few days ago since when I have had two. They are sometimes associated with driving or walking in bright sunlight, and also following an aerobics class. I mentioned this to my GP when seeing her for something else, and she wasn't at all concerned.

Genevieve489 Wed 08-Jun-16 17:15:37

I began with ocular migraines - no pain, just aura - about 10 years ago. I've had a few since, but they're very irregular. They seem to occur when I'm very tired. When I was in my teens and twenties I used to get bad, one-sided headaches, but I never saw a doctor about them. I have read that getting aura in later life is more common in people who had migraines in their youth.