Migraine misery

I have never seen a doctor about my migraine, even though I have had it since childhood.

It runs in the family and was just seen as some thing you get and deal with.

The majority of my migraines have no recogniseable cause. Sometimes stress is a cause, and in the days when lots of people smoked, cigarette smoke triggered them, but the majority come out of the blue for no discernable cause

Ladywee Sorry to disagree but having suffered since childhood and eventually a referral in my 50s to a neurologist before I saw any respite in migraine. Then yes sometimes it is necessary.

DH is 76 tomorrow and has had migraines since he was a child. Not quite the crippling 3 day ones of his 30s but nevertheless painful and disruptive. Sadly he finds he now cannot tolerate alcohol at all but can enjoy some 0% beers occasionally.

It never rains but it pours, Grandyma. . I hope you’ll feel better by tomorrow.

Just an update. Spoke to GP today. I explained about the migraines nausea etc. he prescribed a triptan tablet. To make matters worse I’ve now got a urine infection and the antibiotic he’s given me has caused nausea and vomiting. I’ll be going back tomorrow. This is sheer misery. The triptan has got rid of the headache but now on top of the nausea I’m vomiting. Sorry for the rant.

Before I was put on propranolol I found the only thing that took the edge off was nurofen plus. I never found migraleve very helpful.
The other thing which brought a bit of temporary relief was an ice pack on the back of my neck, but apparently you shouldn’t do this for too long.

I get awful nausea Monica. I have tried taking just co-codamol but I need the initial pink migraleve tablets to take off the nausea

You don’t need to see a neurologist normally and there is a long wait generally. Neurology is reserved for severe refractory to treatment headache. GPs are well
Placed to manage migraine. Lots of preventative methods to try and lots of symptomatic relief.
Go with a headache diary, try and list any triggers and avoid these. Look at things like nutrition, sleep, device use, exercise as these can play a role.
Patient.co.uk and the migraine trust have some useful leaflets.
Good luck!

When you get the warning signs, try taking a couple of anti inflammatory pills, and remember to stay hydrated so always have water or some juice near you. A cool and quiet, dark room if available.
And your usual medication - but please check you can use anti inflammatory pills with your usual meds!

My life was ruled by migraines, I spent about three days in every three weeks in bed almost unable to move my head.
I missed several Christmas’s my sons twenty first, many school events, several holidays were ruined.
I lived in fear of them striking when we were due to fly back from a holiday because I knew I couldn’t have done it.
I tried homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, every combination of drugs imaginable.
Eventually I was put on propranolol, these tablets changed my life, migraines literally stopped.
I was taken off them a few years ago with the reassurance that if they came back, I could resume taking them, so far so good, no more migraines.

mayisay

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.

My DD1 had an intolerance of all citrus fruits, mayisay, and suffered migraines and vomiting if she had even the smallest amount of juice, or a slice of lemon in a drink. She was lucky in that she realised early what it was causing her problems, and then she grew out of it altogether in her 30s.

I have had migraine since childhood, So i sympathise and at the same time am thankful mine were relatively infrequent, even though they knocked me out for several days.

Since the menopause they have become erratic in occurrence and unpredictable in form. I have had vestibular migraine, which I hadn't even heard about before I had an attack, a recurrence of classic migrane where sight goes and then returns with the pain, a migraine where I spent 15 hours vomiting and then runs when I have migraine every few days for 3 or 4 weeks, but only very mild attacks.

JaneJudge, I used to take migraleve, but I was commenting to a pharmacist about how expensive it was and she told me it was only paracetamol and codeine with an anti nauseant. Since nausea has never played a large part in my migraine, I stopped buying migaleve and now use straight paracetetamol and codeine, which is much cheaper.

I take Amitriptyline daily (low dose) and this has certainly decreased the number of attacks and the severity. I then use Almogran if I do get an attack and it works fairly quickly.

GrandyMa I feel your pain, I get migraines too, sometimes what’s known as ‘suicide migraines’ that last weeks or months at a time where I have to sign off sick (thankfully now self employed so it’s more flexible).

I tried the nerve block, which actually made it worse, but apparently that’s a rare reaction and many people find it life changing, sumatriptan which was effective up until the pandemic, then I switched to the migraine nasal spray ‘zomig’, that one I found the best.
Like JaneJudge I find Coke when I can first sense them coming on very helpful.

I find full fat coke helps too! though the blue pepsi is even better

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.

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

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

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.