Migraine misery

I take the pink migraleve when i feel one coming on which helps but it i catching it before it starts which i often miss signals for

do you know your triggers?

I think thundery weather/low pressure is a factor. It’s fairly random though.

I feel so sorry for you Grandyma.

My dear friend suffers horribly from migraines which make her so poorly and constantly disrupt her life and work. Having tried everything from drugs to a piercing in her ear to acupuncture to botox her GP has just recommended a preventative three-monthly injection. She is just about to start it and will have to go privately at first but will then go on a waiting list to have it on the NHS if it works. It's pricey (£300 a go), but her life is often made miserable at the moment so any cost is worth it.

If you can't find any information on this or your GP can't help do please private message me and I will get more details from her for you.

Grandyma

I think thundery weather/low pressure is a factor. It’s fairly random though.

mine can be caused by light/atmospheric pressure too. I have had one today, triggered I think by yesterdays b=very hot weather (it is very muggy here today too) They are horrible, you have my sympathy

I always have sumatriptan with me, side affects not great, but better than the excruciating pain of a migraine.

I do feel for you Grandyma. My son suffers terribly. He had an ear piercing too which seems to help but not always. He just has to lie in bed until it passes.
I do hope you find something that helps more.

I had awful ones from puberty to menopause - and after childbirth too (so hormones certainly played a part) then they changed, drastically, to visual, brief and painless ones, thankfully. I suspect that some food items may trigger them as well - but I'm not about to give up citrus fruits, coffee or chocolate now!

I’ve also suffered migraines for over 50 years. I thought we were supposed to grow out of them in our 60s. My sister and I haven’t! I always have sumatriptan with me but over the last couple of weeks I’ve tried to grin and bear it. For years I’ve only suffered from the aura part so once that started I would take a tablet. Half an hour later or so my vision would recover. Until my 40s I had the full excruciating headache, numbness down one side, nausea and difficulty speaking. I just used to go to bed. As I’ve got older I’ve coped better but the d….d things are still there.

I get migraines with numbness down one side arm and leg difficutly finding words and with eye focusing......had to have brain scan as was thought I had a tia (mini stroke) but all clear...... I have full strength in limbs ..the numbness is a feeling not affecting strength.......

I always get sickness with migraines. Nothing helps really, just have to wait it out.

Like others on here, I can sometimes nip them in the bud if I catch them early enough. But even that sometimes doesn't work and I vomit up the pills.

IF I can fall asleep, sometimes that will stop the vomit/repressurising the headache (from the force of vomiting) cycle and reduce it down to just a bad headache. But sometimes it's too bad to fall asleep.

Boots migraine pills with lysine are amazing and only 3 BP.

I would go to a neurologist to get preventive treatment

Bags of sympathy, Grandyma. I was told when I started migraines at the age of 11 that I’d grow out of them. Fifty five years later, I’m still waiting.

Have you tried any of the triptan drugs? They almost always work for me, although I try not to take them too often.

There are some preventative drugs, too, although they can have side effects.

Other things which have helped me have been two Solpadeine tablets dissolved in a glass of ‘full fat’ Coke. Also sometimes a light, sugary snack such as rich tea biscuits can curtail a migraine, although I’m fortunate in that I don’t often get nausea so I can eat.

If your GP isn’t very helpful, ask to be referred to a migraine or neurology clinic.

I hope you feel better soon.

Iwas told by a homeopathy practitioner thet when the aura starts drink a small measure of brandy straight down in one ,He said it opened the blood vessels that were narrowed during the migraine .If I;m t home when it hits thats what I do and it has never failed to work .
I know a lot on here think homeopathy is hocus pocus but it has always worked for me .Worth a try?

Oh you poor thing they are horrible. I take buccastem you can buy them from the chemist now they used to be prescription only. you put one or two under your top lip and leave to dissolve. They help me, especially if your sick and can’t keep the cyclizine
down. Hope they help .

Ladyleftfieldlover

I’ve also suffered migraines for over 50 years. I thought we were supposed to grow out of them in our 60s. My sister and I haven’t! I always have sumatriptan with me but over the last couple of weeks I’ve tried to grin and bear it. For years I’ve only suffered from the aura part so once that started I would take a tablet. Half an hour later or so my vision would recover. Until my 40s I had the full excruciating headache, numbness down one side, nausea and difficulty speaking. I just used to go to bed. As I’ve got older I’ve coped better but the d….d things are still there.

I'm the same with just getting the aura these days and once that's passed, after about 30 minutes, I'm almost back to normal except for feeling a bit tired. Don't need to take any medication for it.
I used to dread the migraines that stopped me from speaking properly.

Vitamin B2 400 mg was recommended by a neurologist. It has really helped my migraines. I don't get them as frequently and if I do they are not as severe. It makes your urine a bit fluorescent but nothing to worry about. I would definitely recommend trying it, but make sure you take 400 mg which you can buy on Amazon as a single capsule. Helps my daughter as well.

Thank you everyone for your good wishes and very helpful suggestions. I will contact my GP tomorrow and also look at some of the otc remedies you have mentioned. I’m starting to get anxious about an upcoming family holiday abroad. I honestly don’t know how I will cope with the travelling if I get one of these attacks. It’s helped so much hearing from you all, I don’t feel quite so alone.

I first had Migraines when I was pregnant with my 2nd son. I wasn't able to take anything because of the pregnancy, and I used to be ill for 5 days at a time. These days, I seldom get them, but find that IMIGRAN tablets are the only ones that help.

Grandyma this really is a long shot but felt I had to mention it . I suffered from migraines from the age of 19 all through my adult life. I developed high blood pressure in my sixties and was prescribed Amlodipine. After a couple of weeks on this drug I realised I hadn't had a migraine. I have never had one since and that is many years ago. Apparently it is a known benefit for some people but obviously you cannot take this unless prescribed for HBP. I had normal blood pressure before my 60s so HBP was not the cause of the migraines. This will only be helpful if you are on BP medication as you could ask to try this particular drug . It's a long shot but I thought it worth mentioning. I used to get awful migraines after journeys , when stressed , after certain foods etc but could never pin point triggers precisely as it didn't alway happen. I wish you luck. Migraine is horrible. My daughter suffers too and has been on every drug possible. She is now on a newish one so fingers crossed.

I was prescribed beta blockers for migraine. They certainly worked.

* Grandmajean* thanks for the info. I don’t take blood pressure tablets. I monitor my blood pressure regularly at home and it’s always normal.

Good that your BP is normal Grandyma so clearly Amlodipine is not an option for you . It was like a wonder drug for me so just wanted to put the possibility out there. It might help someone else too. My daughter can't have it prescribed for migraine either as she has low BP. The next step for her is something new that involves monthly injections. She has been assessed as a possible candidate by the Walton Neurological Centre in Liverpool but there is one more drug before that to try ( no doubt cheaper ! )

^ Grandmajean^ I do hope your daughter gets some relief very soon ?

I had regular nauseous migraines for more than thirty years, and eventually discovered, by sheer chance, that I had an intolerance of any foods, or drinks, flavoured with orange, and of course the fruit itself. Since omitting this completely from my diet, I haven't had any migraines, so it would be well worth keeping a note of what you're eating, and see if there is a connection.
You have my full sympathy, as I know only too well, how debilitating migraines are.