Migraine sufferers: How do you treat your headaches?

[Liberal Veteran]

I had migraine two days in a row and nothing seems to work well. Excedrin, Naproxen, alternating heat and cold packs, sleep, all seem to have been insufficient.

What do you do for your migraines?

[Nlighten1]

1. Well

I suffered for 4 years with unexplainable migranes. Come to find out I am allergic to chocolate. However, during the time I was trying to find out what was wrong with me the doctor gave me these really cool pills to take that get rid of a migrane in about 10-15 minutes.

[nuxvomica]

2. I had a homeopath cure me of them

At least I think I'm cured. I used to have them once or twice a month. They stopped 2 years ago when I was given a remedy determined by all my symptoms. After taking the remedy, I had the mother of all migraines but none since.
Prior to that, I had used caffergot and then somatryptan. Both worked but less so each time I used them. No OTC analgesic had ever worked for me.
Are you sure it's a migraine? Did you have "aura" before the pain? Many times folks think they have migraines when they actually have severe sinus headaches.

[Liberal Veteran]

3. It's never been officially diagnosed....

The pain on one side, sensitivity to light, and the nausea are tend to make me think they are migraines. Tried treating them many times with sinus headache remedies and it never worked.

[nuxvomica]

4. Do you have a visual disturbance that precedes the headache?

Usually that occurs on the side opposite the headache and could be like pixelation or zig zags. Can you identify a trigger? The following are trigger foods: chocolate, raisins, nuts, herring and others I can't remember. (These are the same triggers for TMJ, too.)

[Liberal Veteran]

9. Not usually....

My understanding is that only around 20 percent of people with migraines experience them though. I probably should talk to my doctor about them.

[MuseRider]

I very rarely got

visual disturbances but I got olfactory hallucinations. For a few hours to a day before I was always checking the bottom of my shoes, it smelled like I had stepped in something.

[MuseRider]

23. I very rarely got

visual disturbances but I got olfactory hallucinations. For a few hours to a day before I was always checking the bottom of my shoes, it smelled like I had stepped in something.

[LuLu550]

5. That's a migraine, alright!

When I start "seeing lights" I go home, take off most of my clothes, make the room dark and cool, cold compress on the head, take codine if I have any or Excederan if I don't, and go to sleep for five or six hours. If I am lucky, it is gone when I wake up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I have had them for years and years and I am self-medicating. I think there are new drugs that work much better. You should really see a doctor. (So should I.)
LuLu

[radwriter0555]

6. BOTOX. I never thought I'd get relief AND get rid of lil wrinkle

too!

Made such a HUGE difference.

[GregW]

7. Caffeine

Also, I fight these bastards. I REFUSE to give in to them and lie down in a dark room with a cold compress - which is what my body is screaming for.

I fight to stay upright and fill myself with coffee and Excedrin (now there's a good mixture for your stomach) - and it seems to go away faster.

[LuLu550]

11. Hey

I LIKE having an excuse to run home, take off most of my clothes and get in bed! :evilgrin:
LuLu

[nuxvomica]

8. I just remembered a remedy I used to take

It's combination remedy called "Migraide." This was the first homeopathic remedy I ever took. It didn't cure the migraine but made it like an ordinary headache. It reduced the pain and got rid of the nausea and photophobia. I was able to work the rest of the day instead of going home and lying on may back in a cold, dark room.
It contains gelsemium and iris versicolor, two remedies that are commonly used to treat migraines. If this has an effect, you might find a cure among the constituant remedies.

Here's a link so you can see a picture. You'll probably find it in most large health-food stores.

http://www.mothernature.com/shop/detail.cfm/sku/54691

P.S. If you drink a lot of coffee, cutting down could possibly eliminate your migraines.

[rabid_nerd]

10. I have headaches but not Migraines

I have cluster headaches:
http://www.clusterheadaches.com/

I have one right now

On Edit: I can dull them with Excedrin, but I'm still going through the ol' gauntlet of finding the right drug.

I have headaches every day for about a month or two and then they go away for a few months. They come on without much warning and the pain escalates quickly, but when they go away, they go away just as quickly. I have a burning sensation in the base of my skull when the worst ones disappear abruptly. (Just had an MRI - normal. Blood Pressure - Normal. EKG - normal)

I'd had them for a couple years before being diagnosed, but when I found the website above, I sooo identified with the symptoms.

[chefgirl]

12. Excedrine Migraine....

Seems to work better for me than the Fiorinal prescription I was given years ago.
I've had migraines for years......tried a million different things, and what I seem to have learned is that something that might work one time may not work the next.
Seems Excedrin Migraine works more often for me than anything else.
A dark, quiet room is excellent too, but who really has the luxury of time that that requires?? Not me, thats for sure.
In any case, I truly do sympathize. I've experienced my share of health problems, (surgeries, etc...{even childbirth})and I still say there is nothing worse than a migraine.

-chef-

[mcar]

13. Mine last 3 days

and are usually connected to my menstrual cycle or a low-pressure system. Mine are also only on one side of my head and end up causing a lot of muscle tightness and cramping in my neck and back. Mineral ice or Biofreeze helps with the muscle cramping, at least temporarily.

The problem with Rx medications is that you can usually only take 2 per event. That helps me for 2 days but I still have day 3 to cope with. Plus, the Rx can be very expensive. Excedrin migraine helps to dull the pain a bit.

I've just started taking feverfew, which I got from the local health food store. They say if you take it every day, in a month or so it works to prevent migraines. I figure it's worth a try.

Good luck to you!

[radwriter0555]

15. Keep in mind that MOST headaches are NECK RELATED....

Those nerves in the neck can get pinched, which is a whole chain reaction thing. Before the botox I got a LOT of relief from having my neck crunched, the true migrains stopped. The botox took away the tension headache portion of the program.

So before going and getting all those brain scans and crap, try a good chiropractor, especially one using the Activator method. Massive difference.

[ender]

14. mass quantities of barbituates.

i've got "complicated" migraines (i.e. it looks an awful lot like a stroke when i get one - loss of coordination and slurred words)

went through all the standard tests, i'm not getting TIA's, theres no physical defects, etc etc...

so, i can not use the standard drugs, such as Imitrex (which worked wonderfully, when i was allowed to take it), so i get much stronger plain old pain killers.

Here is my suggestion to you: GO TO THE DOCTOR, THEY GOT GOOD STUFF TO TAKE CARE OF THIS.

[alfredo]

16. Mine last 3-4 days

I use Duradrin and sometimes Imitrex, but it scares me. Hard work seems to help, so does sex and hot showers. (Or a combination of all the above)

Taking the medication as soon as symptoms appears seems to work best.

[mike_c]

17. maxalt (rizatriptan benzoate)

10 mg pills. I've had crippling migraines for years-- started taking Maxalt about a year ago and haven't had a single headache since. Not one. I take the Maxalt as soon as I feel the headache beginning, and it simply goes away. If you have migraines, get thee to a doctor and get a prescription for Maxalt.

[demigoddess]

18. cold packs not hot, that will just set it up again. And aspirin,not tyleno

etc. I have tried every thing in the world. The blood vessel are swollen, cold will shrink them, also caffeine. but if you are a caffeine addict it could be a withdrawal headache. Also to really get rid of migraines, do a three week or more pain reliever diet, nothing to rrelieve pain because that causes rebound headaches. Aspirin will reduce inflammation and thin blood so when you go back on pain relievers do ONLY aspirin. and use ONLY cold packs for pain relieff. I used to have them 5 or 6 days running now I can get rid of one in half an hour with only cold pack and I only have them about one every month or two.

[TrogL]

19. orgasm and hot bath

Failing that, it might NOT be a migraine.

What are exact symptoms? Could it be a sinus problem? I get those often.

[geniph]

20. Avoidance

Once I've got a full-blown migraine, nothing short of a .45 is an adequate treatment. Dark rooms and icepacks help. But the best strategy is to figure out your migraine triggers and avoid them. Glare is a big one for me, as are several foods (red wine, MSG, some nuts, some cheeses, etc.). I can mostly stay clear of migraines by paying attention to my triggers.

Migraines are not like garden-variety sinus or tension headaches. Home remedies don't cut it with serious migraines. Migraine sufferers should always consult a physician.

My mother had fairly good luck with biofeedback with her utterly crippling cluster headaches, so long as she stuck with it.

[graywarrior]

21. I use self hypnosis and relaxation

I've been getting them a lot lately.

[MuseRider]

22. Biofeedback

I used to get menstrual migrains and they would last for 5 - 7 days. I was incapable of doing much of anything during that time. I got into a study program at Menningers and learned biofeedback and it has been almost 12 years since I had a really bad one. The moment my body even senses one coming on my hands get warm and I am on autopilot. The last one I had started on my way to a Rolling Stones concert. That was the last straw! If you can get ahold of a book or info on biofeedback and some of those little thermometers (or maybe a digital one would work) you could teach yourself. It is really wonderful.

[geniph]

26. Biofeedback worked well for my mother, too

and she had the worst migraines imaginable. At one point, she had a headache continuously for 13 months. I am not kidding. We took away all her downers and her shotgun, we were really afraid she wouldn't be able to stand it. Biofeedback was finally the only thing that worked.

[Threaderizer]

24. I take medication

for high blood pressure. It also has the benefit of preventing migraines - for years now. It's old as time itself - a beta blocker. $6.78 per month for 100 pills.

[spinbaby]

28. Didn't work for me

Calcium channel blocker worked for me though.

[everdene]

25. Have you tried Zomig or Imitrex yet?

5 mg. of Zomig or 100 mg. of Imitrex works wonders for me because I've had migraines for over 30 years. You can't mix them but one or the other (whichever one I can get samples of from the doctor).

These drugs are super expensive, so please do ask your primary care physician for samples.

Back in the day all you could use was something to constrict your blood vessels and then something for the nausea.

I don't exactly know how these new ones work, BUT THEY WORK FOR ME! As a backup (if I really need it)Darvocet N-100 which contains a form of codeine.

Good wishes to you as you search for the perfect combination.

Another thought....ask your doctor if he/she knows of any study you can get in on. I was in the study group for Imitrex before it was released in the U.S.

No need to say it, but DRUGS IN THE U.S. ARE A BIG $$$$$$ RIPOFF!!

[spinbaby]

27. Try a calcium channel blocker

Get your doctor to prescribe a calcium channel blocker like Norvasc. These are commonly used for blood pressure but also prevent migraines. I've had migraines since childhood but haven't had a one since starting on Norvasc. When you first start on it, it will give you a crashing migraine but then you never get another one. Ask your doctor about it; if you've got true migraines, it might work for you. The only downside is that it costs about $85 a month. Fortunately I've got a only a $5 co-pay with my HMO.

[ScreamingMeemie]

29. I cry.....alot...then I throw up...then I take some Vicodin...repeat...

Seriously, I have tried Maxalt, Imitrex, and Zoloft with no help... A couple of months ago my doctor told me they are not effective in treating basalar(sp) migraines. I am currently trying sodium magnesium and black kohash. The only thing that helps to ease is yoga. I am also on hormone therapy in the hopes that dipping progesterone levels are causing the trouble.

P.S. A good friend takes inderal and co advil/sinus and has been migraine free for quite some time.

Good Luck, I feel your pain.

On the positive sign, migraines are a common complaint of higher IQ'd people.;-)