Migraine sufferers.. What works for you? Describe your headaches.

[Beausoir]

*I've been worked up by a neurologist so I am not seeking medical advice.*



Imitrex doesn't work for me.


I take 1/2 tab of Vicoden every hour until the excruciating pain stops. That's my only "cure". Un fortunately, Vicoden makes me sick to my stomach, so I'll spend all weekend being miserable.

I understand that some folks go to the ER for their migraines. I have never worked up the courage to do that. What do they offer there?

[REP]

1. I've Never Gone to The ER; Too Hard To Drive With a Migraine

Plus, it's "just" a migraine; it hurts but I know it isn't fatal.

Topamax, 75mg daily and Elavil 75 mg daily, has stopped the chronic migraines. When I was having chronic migraines (left sided pain, partial blindness, aura, etc), I took in this order: Excerdrin when I saw the first aura (for me, they look like floaters); then Fiorinal; then Maxalt; then a shot of Imitrex (I have my own injections). If that didn't work, I took more Imitrex and caffeine. Vicodin never helped mine, but everyone is different.

Topamax is EXPENSIVE if you don't have prescription coverage, but if you do and have chronic/severe migraine, ask yor neurologist if it may be appropriate. Not having the migraine in the first place is better than treating it!

[femmocrat]

6. Plus, can you imagine sitting around for hours in the "emergency" room

with a migraine? All those bright lights and the noise... that would be miserable. I would rather be home in bed until it subsides.

[REP]

22. It's Bad Enough With a Real Energency

By real emergency, I mean something life-threatening; it's gotten to the point where I won't go. I figure if I'm going to die, I'd rather do it at home anyway (and considering some of the treatment I've received in the ER - including nearly being given a drug that's very dangerous to me - I figure I'm just safer at home!).

[mzteris]

2. at the very first inkling

- I take ibuprofen and acetomeniphen combined along with some caffeine - usually that keeps it from progressing to a full blown migraine.

If I wake up with one - or can't catch it in time, I just suffer through. I don't get them often enough (thank god) to go get meds for them. The last time I took any meds - I passed out at work

(the owner's son just happened to be walking by and caught me as I was falling. He half carried half dragged me to his dad's office and put me on the couch. I woke up surrounded by the owner, the President, the bosses son and a couple of other people all gathered around trying to decide whether to call an ambulance. I was soooooooo embarassed!!)

The med dropped my BP VERY low. The doctor "didn't realize" I had LOW BP to begin with or he never would have prescribed it. So I just never messed with the meds anymore.

[Crazy Dave]

3. Head On - Apply directly to the forehead, Head On....

....apply directly to the forehead, Head On - Apply directly to the forehead.

[NewWaveChick1981]

4. Imitrex inhalers used to work well for me. But these days, I don't

have migraines any more. I'd had them since I was about seven years old, and it seemed to get worse and more frequent as I got older. My doctor and I were treating the symptoms, and it seemed that migraines for me usually occurred around the time of my period. I thought maybe they were related to hormones. After one of my visits, my GP sent me to a neurologist, and lo and behold, I had a slight hormonal imbalance that was also the culprit for a couple of other problems I was having. We treated the hormonal imbalance, and I have not had a migraine in almost four years. :) That's not to say all migraines are hormonal, but mine were. My other issues are also gone, and although I still have occasional headaches, they are not migraines.

I feel your pain. :hug: I hope you and all other migraine sufferers can get some permanent relief soon. :)

[femmocrat]

5. Imitrex at the first indication one is coming.

I have also tried Relpax, which seems a little stronger. I save those in case I have a strong migraine that I tried to "ignore."

TG for imitrex... I would not be able to go to work without it. (I take the pill, not the injection.) I get a really painful headache always on the left side of my head, above the eyebrow. Sometimes it hurts into my ear and jaw. No aura, but usually sick in the stomach. Before imitrex, I would spend 24-36 miserable hours in a dark, quiet room with an ice pack on my head. It was torture, especially when the kids were home. They really didn't understand that the tiniest noise would sound like someone banging on a huge bass drum.

I went to a neurologist, had a full battery of tests, tried lots of different meds before imitrex came out. It has literally saved my life!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

7. I have to go to sleep before it really sets in.

It's the only way to get rid of it.
And a good friend of mine swears by Excedrine Migraine taken with a regular Dr. Pepper. Her doctor told her to do it, and it apparently works. Of course she takes three of the pills and chugs the Dr. Pepper.
I've also heard there are doctors who have prescribed the eye drops that dialate your eyes. Apparently it opens up the constricted veins that cause the pain? Something like that.
Duckie

[ThomCat]

8. Relpax is the only one that works for me.

Imitrex does very little. Some of the others work, but caused huge side effects.

I take a narcotic pain killer for chronic pain, and that does nothing for my migraines. I get a blinding band of pain down one entire side of my face and my eye feels like it has been stabbed. I get so sensitive to light and sound that I have to go into a dark quiet room and do nothing.

I have never gone to the ER for a migraine. I'm not sure it would do any good. And ERs tend to be so bright and so loud that is the LAST place I would want to go.

[livetohike]

9. I've had migraines for 40 years and always went to the ER

before my miracle drug (Imitrex) appeared in 1995.

In the ER, they would give me a shot of Tuinal (spelling?) and a shot of Phenergan (for the nausea). Then let me rest in the examining room for about 1/2 hour.

Prior to Imitrex, I never found anything else that worked. 95% of the time, I would wake up in the morning with a full blown migraine. Nausea so severe, I would dehydrate myself. There is no way I could go to work, or drive, or even lift my head off the pillow.

I give myself an Imitrex injection. Thank God it is still working for me.

Good luck with your treatments.

[anarch]

10. cool rag over eyes...darkness and quiet. and usually an analgesic

combined with an antihistimine, and I just try to keep still until it's over. I don't suffer from them very frequently, and I can always tell when one's coming on ("auras" in my vision before the pain hits, etc.), so I tend to take some pills and sit quietly in the dark as a pre-emptive strike.

Anyway, the pain is nothing compared to the cluster headaches. That shit just hurts so bad you want to die.

[MasonJar]

11. I use Amerge

I have had migraines for about 12 years. They are always on the right side of my head. The intensity varies from annoying pounding or pulsating, to severe pain with photophobia and nausea. Luckily the worst ones only happen a couple of times a year, but they are debilitating. I've never identified a specific precipitating factor, although I've tried changing diet and sleep patterns to no avail. I don't get them too often, but I tend to get them in clusters, that is several times a month when I am getting them, then nothing at all for weeks or even months.

After over 10 years of trying a bunch of other meds, including fiorcet, inderal and imitrex (which makes me deathly ill), I finally went to the Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia. I had seen several neurologists before, but the headache specialist was the first doctor to take the time to analyze the pattern of my headaches and give me the right medication.

Amerge is a mircale drug for me. It actually totally eliminates my headaches within a few hours. If your neurologist was not a headache specialist, see if you can find one at a headache center.

[Ramsey]

13. This is my message

I was logged in as my mom somehow!

I wanted to add that you don't necessarily have to go to the ER. Before I started using Amerge, I would call the on-call line for my neurologist. Usually a neuro fellow would call back and would often agree to call in some meds to the pharmacy. Probably though they'd just give you pain meds and some anti-emetics. I don't think you'd get anything different in the ER unless they gave the drugs IV, but I doubt that would be much better.

One neurologist suggested steroids, but I never tried them.

[Akoto]

12. I've had them for my entire life.

My grandfather did, too. I've never gone to the emergency room, as much as I've been tempted at times.

When I have them, it sometimes starts out in the eyes, but generally feels like there's a massive pressure in my head trying to push its way out. The pain is incredible. There have been times when I could only talk at a low whisper, because speaking any louder actually increased the pain.

Usually, either one of two things will happen:

1) I'll go in the darkest room I can. Separate myself from anything bright. Cover my eyes, and eventually fall asleep/pass out. If I'm lucky, the headache will be gone when I wake up.

2) If the above doesn't happen, I usually vomit after a few hours of the pain. This seems to relieve the tension, and I gradually improve over the next few hours.

They have become less common as I've gotten older. I just learn to tolerate them.

[Deja Q]

14. Amputation works for me!

:rofl:

[Roon]

15. I have painless migraines

I get the aura and it's very annoying, but no pain.

[REP]

21. I Get That Type Too

The first time I had an ophthalmic migraine, which for me (and at least the past two generations of my family) involves a particular aura (like a neon sawblade) and then becoming completely, 100% blind in one eye I thought I was having a stroke. Which would be odd, since my blood pressure is bizzarely low. I now know they're not strokes, but I still have to get my retinas checked after every one - same symptoms as a detached retina, plus having both types of migraine (and being very, very nearsighted) puts me at super high risk for detached retina.

[graywarrior]

16. Tiger Balm around the eye.

[Ramsey]

17. That stuff is good

It never eliminated my headaches, but it did soothe my head.

[catzies]

18. Prevention works for me -- avoiding my triggers: chocolate, red wine

and taking my essential fatty acids and B vitamins.

If I don't take my EFAs I'll get a nasty premenstrual migraine.

If I eat chocolate I get a migraine that won't go away until the chocolate metabolizes out of my system.

[cobalt1999]

19. my preventative is exercise.

Obviously, not during one though!

I find if I'm not running and/or biking 3-4 times a week, they start coming on. So, I make sure I get my runs in during the week and add in a 10-12 mile long run each Sunday.

As long as I do that, no migraines.

I couldn't live without chocolate or red wine though! That's almost worth the pain.

[MrCoffee]

20. A truckload of Excedrin migraine, a pitch black room, and a bucket.

[Sanity Claws]

23. Acupuncture

Acupuncture works but like the ER problem, sometimes you can't get to see someone when you need it most.
My acupuncturist also gives me Chinese herbs that help. They don't make me feel anxious like regular meds do.

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. At the ER, they usually give me an IV with a low grade painkiller

I can't think of the name of it right now. I suffer from migraines that are not affected (cured) by the triptan meds (i.e. Imitrex, Maxalt etc.)

When I get the migrain it feels as if the back of my head is swollen and then the throbbing begins. I usually find that an ice pack (thanks PassingFair) helps a lot. Feel better.

[flamingyouth]

25. I take Maxalt or Vicodin or Percocet or Frova

(Depending on the headache). I've never been to the ER with a migraine, I hate hospitals, and can't imagine sitting there for hours with all the bright lights while my head is killing me like that.

Usually it feels like my head is going to explode, but sometimes it feels like it's being crushed. They have gone on for days at a time, sometimes just melting into one another.

I'm taking Topamax every day as a preventive and that seems to help somewhat. I've gone from 15-20 migraines a month to only 5-8 or so.

Good luck, I feel for you. :(

[Haole Girl]

26. Biofeedback and meditation

I learned some tricks from the Shakespeare Players, when they visited our drama class in high school. It has proven invaluable in my life...as well as some tips from Tai Chi.

Thankfully, I have only had two in my lifetime (and I pray I never see another migraine). And I was able to get both headaches under control pretty quickly, by going into a completely dark room, and meditating (using the various teachings of my past).

[Shell Beau]

27. I had them terribly when I was younger. Luckily, I

kind of have grown out of them. I only get them on occasion. But it feels like someone is stabbing me above my eye. Sooo painful!!! But when you wake up (if you are lucky enough to be able to sleep it off) and the headache is gone, that must be what heaven feels like because that is the BEST feeling in the world!!!

[VeggieTart]

28. My migraines became less of a problem

When I went veg. I still get them, but usually, not as bad. I hate taking conventional medicine, always have, so Imitrex is not for me because I tend to wait until I can't stand the pain anymore. Sleep usually works, and just giving it time.

Also, when I get my premenstrual migraine, I tend to wake up feeling crappy, so I don't have the auras typical migraine sufferers say they get. I just have a stabbing, throbbing pain in my temple.

[NMMNG]

29. I take Topamax as a prophylactic medication

It has reduced the number of migraines I get by about 50%.

When I get a migraine I take either Imitrex or Maxalt with Ibuprofen. If that doesn't work I'll take a second dose with Vicodin.


If the Imitrex doesn't work for you you may have better results with another Triptan med such as Amerge, Maxalt, Zomig, Relpax, etc. Each one works on different serotonin receptors in the brain which is why they work differently, and one may work better than others for a particular person.

[Generic Brad]

30. A combination of specific foods and massage helps

If it based on the front of the head, a light massage on the pressure points of the face coupled with a light carbohydrate snack like crackers helps. If it is based on the back of the head it is probably hormonal. In that case ingest a touch of chocolate, and get a gentle massage on the back of the neck and shoulders followed by a tender massage on the pressure points located between the thumb and index finger.


I'm a Scorpio. We're into all these weird unscientific cures. If it works, thank me. If it doesn't, take some Tylenol and sit in a dark room.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. If I feel it coming on and I'm not near some Tylenol Sinus, I

either eat some very spicy food or drink strong coffee.

Once the headache is raging, I have to take Tylenol Sinus, wash my hair in very hot water, and lie down in a darkened room. Sometimes even that doesn't work till I (pardon the gross detail) throw up. Then I'm fine.