Nasty migraines

Off Topic
1

I’ve been suffering from nasty, debilitating migraines for the past ten years. If you’ve never had a headache of this dimension, you can’t begin to imagine how much a headache can hurt. Imagine the worst headache you’ve ever had and multiply the pain a minimum of ten times. That’s only the beginning.

During this time I’ve pretty much run the gamut of both conventional and alternative treatments trying to get rid of them.

On the conventional side I’ve had a CAT scan, an MRI and an EEG. None of these tests revealed any abnormalities or organic problems. I’ve tried all the migraine medications such as Fiorinal, Ergomar, Imitrex, Amerge and Zomig. I’ve used Corgard as a preventative for two separate trials. None of these medications have ever helped.

I’ve seen two chiropractors, two acupuncturists, a massage therapist, and an osteopath. I’ve also tried magnetic therapy. Reiki, which I’ve been doing for three years, is the only thing that has helped me.

But, I still suffer from debilitating headaches, albeit less often now.

These migraines are tied to my hormonal cycle. It’s guaranteed I will get several headaches during the week of my period. I sometimes get them in the middle of my cycle. If I let myself get stressed out I get them more often.

I almost always wake up with these headaches and they sometimes last for days on end. Depending on the intensity, I am sometimes debilitated and can barely even lift my head off the pillow. I sometimes get nausea. I don’t have aura.

These headaches interfere with every aspect of my life and sometimes make me wonder why I’m living. Yes, I know that sounds grim but it’s the truth.

Are there any others out there like me? What have you done to alleviate your headaches and how do you deal with them? Maybe one of you can offer me some new insight despite the fact I feel I’ve tried everything.

2

2 of my friends(Girls) also get really bad migraines. =(

3

MD,

Ask your doctor about Topamax.

I take 100 milligrams, twice a day as a preventitive.

I still get the headaches, and they are still debilitating, however, they are much less common.

Hope this helps.

4

MD, wow it sounds like you have been going through this for quite some time. I would bet that you have more knowledge in this area than I do, but maybe I can suggest something that you haven’t tried.

Along the same lines of Topamax, Depakote is now being prescribed for migraine prophylaxis. There are plenty of other drugs that are out there, so maybe it’s just a matter of finding the one that works for you. Your doctor can go over that with you.

I know some people who have had success with feverfew for prevention. Also, Excedrin ES seems to help with acute headaches, but I’m sure you’ve already tried that.

Again, I’m sure you’ve been asked this many times before, but how much water do you drink on a daily basis? Have you ever tried drinking a gallon or more in a day? If so, did you notice any decrease in the intensity or frequency of your headaches?

What has your diet been like for the past 10 years? Do you take any supplements/meds on a regular basis?

Is the pain focused to one area of your head? I’m assuming it’s the entire frontal region. Does light or sound bother you? Do you notice tearing? Do you need to lay down in a dark room in order to alleviate the pain? And do you have a family history of migraines/vascular headaches?

PM me if you wish. Hopefully things will get better for you.

5

do you consume caffiene? I find that a few people I know that drink a lot of caffiene get REALLY bad migraines.

6

MD, I feel your pain. I suffer from migraines as well.

When I was a wee girl, I would get a mirgraine as often as once a week. Once I got my jaw operation at 18, I didn’t have a migraine for several years, until well into my 20’s. Now? I get 'em once or twice a month.

I have to watch certain things: stress, asthma meds, and food. This is why I train, the more consistent I am with my training, the less issues (migraines and asthma) I have. I also make sure my water intake is consistent and I try not to eat too much crap - when my diet is crappy, I have problems.

I also find that many times, hormonal cycle triggers a migraine. I do know that more women suffer from migraines than men; so it wouldn’t surprise me if the hormonal cycle is to blame in many of these cases.

I would suggest yoga, Tai Chi, or just some stretching. I spend time stretching for the exact reason that it helps me relax. Also the same with heavy bag training, believe it or not. Find something that relaxes you; calms the nerves. Bird watching? Listening to Yanni while sipping decaffeinated tea? If it works, try it. Er…something like that. ;-))

You may want to get a allergy test, too. Find out what you are allergic to and you may be allergic to somethings; and these things can be triggers. It’s not uncommon for migraine sufferers to be also allergy sufferers.

7

My son takes both depakote and inderal as preventives. If there is a muscle tension component, think about botox. It can really make a difference.

8

MD,
I feel your pain…literally.
I get “classic migraines” (not cluster or any of the other many types), and I doubt that I’ve learned anything that you haven’t. But the best thing I heard once was on NPR in CT, a show on migraines where the expert said (paraphrasing here):

“What people need to understand is that they are NOT people who get migraines; they are a migraine waiting for the opportunity to happen.”

She then discussed a more-comprehensive list of triggers than I had heard before, including dehydration, lack of sleep, allergies, stress, chocolate, caffeine, aged cheeses, and probably more that I don’t remember because they lacked significance for my environment.

I started thinking more about what I did that might CAUSE migraines, and started cutting down on chocolate, caffeine, staying up late. I started drinking more water (this was years before TMag, and I never drank water for its own sake). I loved caesar salads, and couldn’t understand why I’d get a migraine the day after I’d eaten so healthfully; NOW I knew to ask the restaurant to put only HALF the grated cheese on.

Also, if I had a rich chocolate dessert, or felt “off” and thought I’d had several triggers going (stayed up late and hadn’t drunk much water, for instance), I’d take an antihistamine and some ibuprofen right before going to sleep. The plan was to prevent neck/scalp muscles from tightening, and to fight the histamine response from certain foods.

On evenings when I felt on the edge of something, and did NOT get up to have this med combo, I often spent the next day in pain, in bed, questioning my ability to ever accomplish anything I ever set out to do. On evenings when I forced myself up from half-sleep to take the meds and drink some water, I was up pain-free. Anecdotal, but I came to believe in my own therapy.

My wife had never had a serious headache, and couldn’t understand how debilitated I was. Until one day: she started feeling something coming on while driving a vanload of school kids, and couldn’t wait to get home and go to bed. She lay there, sensitive to light, pressing a hand to her forehead, thinking she had a tumor, wondering if she was going to die, totally in despair about ever being pain-free. All i could do was sit with her and keep noise and light levels down. It was only the next day, when she was better (and she has never felt it since), that she found herself shaking her head and saying to me “I had no idea what you were going through.” I could almost handle the pain; the emotional hit is the worst, even when you know it’s only the migraine causing it.

Long post; sorry folks; it’s a big topic for those of us who are there.

I also praise the people why decided to mix aspirin and caffeine in one handy pill. A few of those IF I CAN CATCH IT AS IT’S STARTING can help–but not always, dammit.

9

That list of triggers (caffeine, stress, aged cheeses, etc.) reminds me awfully of yeast no-nos (Candida Albicans).

Wonder if there’s a link…

10

Ever try Feverfew?

From www.naturaldatabase.com
(they are very conservative):

Effectiveness:
POSSIBLY EFFECTIVE …when used orally for preventing migraine headaches. Taken prophylactically, feverfew can significantly reduce the frequency of migraine headaches. Migraine headaches that do occur tend to have less severe symptoms of pain, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and noise (6959,6960,6961,6965,6711). The US Headache Consortium 2000 guidelines for preventing migraine headaches suggest feverfew as a second-line preventive treatment (5080). Although most studies have used feverfew products standardized to contain 0.2-0.35% of the parthenolide constituent, this standardization does not seem necessary for effectiveness (726,6935,6938).
POSSIBLY INEFFECTIVE …when used orally to treat or abort acute migraine headache (6940). .

6959 Johnson ES, Kadam NP, Hylands DM, Hylands PJ. Efficacy of feverfew as prophylactic treatment of migraine. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985;291:569-73.

6960 Murphy JJ, Heptinstall S, Mitchell JR. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of feverfew in migraine prevention. Lancet 1988;2:189-92.

6961 Palevitch D, Earon G, Carasso R. Feverfew (tanacetum parthenium) as a prophylactic treatment for migraine- a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Phytotherapy Res 1997;11:508-11.

6965 Vogler BK, Pittler MH, Ernst E. Feverfew as a preventive treatment for migraine: a systematic review. Cephalalgia 1998;18:704-8.

6711 Pittler MH, Vogler BK, Ernst E. Feverfew for preventing migraine. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2000;(3):CD002286.

5080 McCrory DC, Matchar DB, Gray RN, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for migraine headache: overview of program description and methodology. US Headache Consortium, Apr 2000. www.aan.com/cgi-bin/whatsnewlink.pl?loc=/public/practiceguidelines (Accessed 3 May 2000).

11

My massage therapist says some of her patients squeeze their sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles and that helps their migraines.

I read once that one form of migraine was believed to be caused by a form of virus that attacks nerves cells. L-lysine and other natural anti-virals, like certain essential oils, were believed to help. Has this theory been disproved?

Just my 2 cents, and not worth even that much.

12

MD:

Lots of good suggestions so far. As for migraines the pain is incredible…but it’s not so much the pain as…this may sound weird but the type of pain. It’s just really annoying! Not to mention I get pain in my ear, behind my eye, down my neck, side of head etc. Then you also feel sick to your stomach and light headed. You basically want to just sit there and do nothing…or die. Preferably die. My main cause was diet. Caffine in my case. So many things have it…chocolate, colas, it also has other names such as garunna(if I could spell it) in certain supplements. As others said watch out for cheese, wine, another one is msg so dump the oriental dishes. Go to bed at the sametime everynight. Lots of sleep etc etc. Also when you have the migraine don’t lay on the side that has the pain that makes it worse. I find sticking tissue in my ear helps…as it hurts. Another big cause is weather. Low pressure or high pressure…any major change. Maybe you want to do alot of travelling and see where you are best…and possibly relocate. I know that sound huge…but not really when you have these things destroying your life. Unfortuantly…(and no I’m not using the spell checker you should all have the joy of my bad spelling)…I would bet that your problem is most certainly hormonal. As well you know. This maybe of help. I’ve heard…I think…of women taking birth control pills to help their migrains. Not sure of the mechnism…I’m thinking suppression of endogenous E but I’m probably wrong. PM me if you want. Also JimM probably could be of more help than me. I think you should keep this thread going. Someone on here just may point you in the right direction. Goodluck. :wink:

AC

13

Thank you all for your replies and support. I’ll have to get back to you in more detail another day. I have a nasty migraine right now.

Later.

14

Arcane,
Just an FYI: it’s spelled “guarana.” Years ago, my naturopath friends tried to turn me on to it because it “isn’t as bad for you as caffeine.”

Then I found out that its major stimulating ingredient is caffeine. D’oh!

15

TShaw: Thanks for the spelling. I’m sure I’ll spell it wrong in the future sometime. :wink:

MD: I was also thinking…maybe a special pillow would help if neck strain is an issue? A foam pillow that keeps it’s shape. Just brainstorming. By the way beat the shit out of your migraine for me. Thanks. :wink:

AC

16

I just read that you wake up with these headaches so the pillow may be of help. Also I find if there is any pressure on my temples when I sleep I can get a headache. So I either sleep on my back or if I sleep on my side I cup my hand so that it(temple) doesn’t touch the pillow. Yeah I know ridiculous but I’m trying to think of every possible thing. Ciao. :slight_smile:

AC

17

Arcane has a good point.

A chiropractor years ago pointed out to me that most people have just their head on the pillow, bending their neck at an angle. I always try to make sure my shoulders are on the pillow(s) so that my spine from shoulder blades to cranium is in a straight line. I think the elevation of the whole head and shoulders also helps keep sinuses clear.

18

Thank you Scrub and AC for the invitations to PM you. However, I’m going to make this post public. I think it’s important that those who suffer from chronic pain of any kind know they’re not alone.

To my fellow migraineurs, Scott1010220, Patricia, TShaw and AC: Let’s all join cyberhands, take a deep breath and think peaceful thoughts. Man, does that sound mushy. Please forgive that flagrant display of estrogen.

Now, I will answer your questions.

Feverfew: Yes, I did several lengthy trial runs with it quite a few years ago. It didn’t help.

Caffeine: I drink two or three cups a day. I also experimented with drinking only decaf several times. It didn’t help.

Other classic triggers: Except for MSG, the classics do not act as triggers in my case.

Diet: I’ve been following the Berardi plan since last February. I stick with foods that make you look good nekkid. Saturday is my cheat day. I eat what I want then. Prior to adopting Berardi eatin’ I was following a general health-promoting diet. I nixed junk food long before the migraines started.

Supps and meds: I’m not taking any prescription meds at the moment. I use a wide variety of supps, including ZMA. I originally started taking ZMA because I read that people who suffer from migraines might be deficient in magnesium. It’s helped ease the severity a bit.

Water intake: I drink 2 to 3 litres of water per day.

Location of headaches: Yes, they are frontal but not unilateral. Sometimes I feel the pain more on one side than the other, though.

Family history: To my knowledge migraines do not run in the family.

Sleep and pillow: Admittedly, I don’t always get enough sleep. I suffer from slight insomnia sometimes as well, so that doesn’t help either. I sleep on a magnetic, neck-supporting pillow.

I will look into the meds Scrub, Scott1010220 and Jim mentioned. yorik, aromatherapy might be worth a try too. At the very least my apartment will smell good.

Thank you all once again for your support. I wish there were more threads like this around here.

19

“Caffeine: I drink two or three cups a day. I also experimented with drinking only decaf several times. It didn’t help.”

Ummmmm…but it could be caffine that’s causing the problem. I know you said you tried decaf but to my knowledge it also has some caffine…it’s just not fair is it?! Ditch all caffine for 3 weeks and see what happens. Cause the absense of caffine could also cause it…so you will have to wait it out and see.

Again you said you wake up with them…you sure it ain’t how you’re sleeping? :slight_smile:

AC

20

AC: I sleep on my back. Unless I’m twisting around like a pretzel while I’m sleeping I doubt that’s the problem.

Maybe cutting down on caffeine wouldn’t hurt, though.