Migraine Sufferers Club

[AngelAmidala]

You know that pain....in your head....there's nothing else like it in the world.

It's...dun dun dun....A MIGRAINE!!!

This is the club for all us migraine sufferers to post for prayers when we have one, help in combating them, or discussing whatever we want to about them...and to be a great supportive team for each other. 

 

[Lynn]

Count me in! migraines have been a pain in the butt (so to speak!!! ) for me for years. My father used to have them so bad he would literally pass out. Fortunately, Imitrex was invented somedays, I don't know what I'd do without it.

do you know what triggers yours? Bright lights, especially strobing ones, will get me everytime.

lynn

 

[VOW]

Triggers: not enough sleep, too MUCH sleep, red wine, flying, spearmint

Thank GOD for Imitrex! And thank GOD for insurance companies now paying for Imitrex! When Imitrex first became available, it was in injection form, and there were two syringes in each box. The insurance company didn't pay for it, and the ENTIRE seventy bucks came out of my pocket.

Here's a goodie: too much caffeine can cause a headache, caffeine is often used to RELIEVE a headache, and withdrawal from caffeine can give you the worst headache of your life!

We need to nominate club officers.


Peace and analgesia,
~VOW

 

[Caedmon]

I don't know if what I have are migraines, but sometimes I can have a lot of just plain ol' headaches. I can have them 3 or 4 times a week sometimes. They only get excruciating if I can't get access to some medicine. But, buddy... lemme tell ya. When I get a killer, you had just better lay me down, tuck me in, and kiss me night-night, because I ain't goin' NOwhere till it goes away.

 

[VOW]

To Joe:

See your doctor. If you DO have migraines, there is a lot of help available to you. We've discussed Imitrex here, that is one of the new medications. It is NOT a painkiller, it is a neurotransmitter chemical that works ONLY on migraines. And I for one, would proclaim it a miracle drug.

If you DON'T have migraines, you need to find out what is causing your pain. You could have severe muscle strain, an infection, or any number of causes. Get it FIXED. Each day you suffer, is a day that you lose forever. That time is gone, never to be retrieved again. Don't let pain do that to you.

Please. See your doctor.



Peace,
~VOW

 

[Caedmon]

I think it's muscle strain, stress, and just plain ol' being tense. I tend to be a very paranoid person, and sometimes I can lock up just about every muscle in my body, and not even be aware of it.

 

[VOW]

To Joe:

That's very well possible. However, you don't have to suffer all by yourself. See your doctor. You can request a referral to a physical therapist. If I were rich, I'd see a physical therapist at LEAST once a day for a glorious neck and shoulder massage!

Headaches are NO FUN and they deprive you of quality of life. See your doctor!


Peace,
~VOW

 

[Lynn]

Before Imitrex became available, I had an ER doc suggest Benadryl of all things. It really does work for a mild migraine. 75 mg and I'd sleep for a few of hours, then it would usually be gone. Amazing! Of course, with 75 mg the only thing you can do is sleep.

Imitrex is soooo expensive. $7 a pill. But it sure beats the hell out of a migraine.

lynn

 

[VOW]

To Lynn:

$7 a pill beats $35 a shot!

The one thing to remember with Imitrex is that even though the PAIN may be gone, you are still SICK. The commercials make it look like you swallow an Imitrex, then POW, it's off to the disco to dance the night away!

You MAY be able to function, but the whole reason behind the headache is that your body is trying to tell you to take it easy. Don't push yourself, don't get overtired, don't skimp on meals, don't head back to the computer to twist yourself up like a pretzel again!

We really need to work on translating what our bodies are trying to tell us!!



Peace,
~VOW

 

[Lynn]

Originally posted by VOW
To Lynn:

$7 a pill beats $35 a shot!

The one thing to remember with Imitrex is that even though the PAIN may be gone, you are still SICK. The commercials make it look like you swallow an Imitrex, then POW, it's off to the disco to dance the night away!

You MAY be able to function, but the whole reason behind the headache is that your body is trying to tell you to take it easy. Don't push yourself, don't get overtired, don't skimp on meals, don't head back to the computer to twist yourself up like a pretzel again!

We really need to work on translating what our bodies are trying to tell us!!



Peace,
~VOW

You are absolutely right....a $7 pill is a bargain compared to a $35 shot. And to be honest, its a bargain compared to a migraine.

I wish that I was able to just take time off and go to bed when I have a migraine. Unfortunately, my job is such that I can't. But I agree, pain is the body's way of trying to tell us something is wrong. But I think I need a universal translater...my body doesn't speak English!

lynn

 

[VOW]

To Lynn:

I was once referred to a neurologist who looked down his nose at people who suffered migraines. (He should have been a deep sea fisherman or something!) My visit to him was basically just to get scolded.

His solution? I was supposed to stand up at work, announce to everyone, "I have a headache," and then go home and go to bed.

Uh-huh.

I worked 45 miles away from home. I had a husband who was on active-duty in the military, and two toddlers. I was half a continent away from friends and family.

The guy was a jerk....


Peace and prescriptions,
~VOW

 

[wvmtnkid]

Great thread, AA! lol!

"Hi my name is wvmtnkid and I am a migraine sufferer!"

I have had them for years. The neurologist that I am seeing now tells me they run in cycles. I am surely waiting for my cycle to be over.

What triggers mine? Lack of sleep, eating off schedule, rapid changes in weather, strong perfumes or other odors, certain food triggers like garlic, onions, real spicy food. But the food triggers do not happen all the time. So I never know when something will set me off.

I have went through all of the "triptan" drugs and now they are like sugar pills to me. Imitrex was about the only one that did any good until my body became immune to it. Now I take ketoprophen which is a anti-inflammatory drug. It works pretty good although it takes several hours to take effect.

Two years ago I went to a headache clinic in Greensboro, NC. It was one of the best things I ever did. For six weeks, they took me off of known food triggers and then I gradually added them back into my diet. If I got a headache after eating them, I knew that was a trigger. They also took me totally off of caffeine (had to have drugs to help with that!) and birth control pills. Stopping those two things drastically reduced my headaches.

Sounds like we can surely sympathize with each other and offer support!

 

[AngelAmidala]

And now that I've started the club...I shall now post my story.

Wow...this thread really took off!

Anyway...before mine were caused by a combination of things, mostly my misaligned back.

Now that I've been seeing a chiropractor, my once every week problem has become a once, maybe twice a month problem.

The migraine I can't beat is my monthly one. Since this isn't the women's forum I'll spare you the details.

My other migraine can be from lack of sleep or lack of food.

The only thing that gets rid of them for me is Excedrin, migraine ice, and a nap. And sometimes even that doesn't work. I've had migraines that I've gotten to go away while eating McD's fries or taken a walk outside. And like VOW, leaving work to go home isn't always an option for me. I don't live as far or have a family to bring money home to. But if I don't have coverage for my shift, I can't leave. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to sit through work feeling totally nausious and just wanting to take a nap...but I can't because there's no one to watch the consoles for me.

 

[VOW]

Has anyone tried feverfew?

I've heard many things about it, and even bought some capsules at a health food store several years ago. When I started taking it then, I really didn't notice any difference, except I seemed to "burp parsley."

I tried it again, and have even grown feverfew in my herb garden this year. I'm just going to keep taking it on a regular basis, and see if the LONG TERM effects show any improvement.

(oh, and if you take it with food, you don't "burp parsley," LOL!)



Peace,
~VOW

 

[Caedmon]

I love herbal/natural medicines. I'm a very natural person. Does that make sense? Oh well, hehe...

 

[AngelAmidala]

I got some liquid feverfew and put a few drops in a glass of water and drank it. Kinda tasted weird....but no biggie.

Until the next day when I woke up with a terrible migraine.

So I haven't touched the stuff since.

 

[paulewog]

/me gets them every now and then....

Mostly related to eye strain though. That and hypoglycemia, I think both times they happened after church (once I started getting it right as I had to play the offertory, so I played the piano half blind... when I got back to play trumpet in the orchestra, I couldnt' even read the music ).

It only happens once in a blue moon. In fact, I've only had two or three

 

[wvmtnkid]

Vow-I have tried feverfew and didn't notice any real relief. But I never did take it long term either. You will have to let us know how it works!

AA-I too used to take Excedrine Migraine for migraines but that is one of the things the dr. took me off. She said that it caused rebound headaches. And it is full of caffeine.

paulewog-How in the world could you play music with a pounding headache??? You are a much better person than I!

 

[Caedmon]

Excedrin QuickTabs do the trick for me most of the time... but they're full of caffeine(makes my kidneys hurt if I have too much), and they make me feel "high", which I don't like. But hey, if you're about to go crazy with a headache, they're darn good.

 

[AngelAmidala]

Originally posted by wvmtnkid
AA-I too used to take Excedrine Migraine for migraines but that is one of the things the dr. took me off. She said that it caused rebound headaches. And it is full of caffeine.

I used to take that....until I realized that the same stuff was in regular Excedrin.  So why take the migraine stuff if the same stuff was in the regular?

I'll have to keep some of those Excedrin quick tabs at work.  That's the place I need to get rid of them fast.  At home it's not such a huge deal because I can sleep there and lay around with migraine ice on my head.  But I can't do that at work.