5 replies to this topic

[LauraL]

I'm looking for advice on how to get relief from migraines. I had my first migraine about a year ago, right around the time the intense EDS started. Up until now, they've been infrequent (like, once every 2-3 months), but I've had two in the last two weeks, and they seem to take forever to go away-- 4-5 day range. I'm on day 4 with one. I saw my doctor yesterday. She ordered an MRI, and gave me some Rx samples for relpax (I've previously tried frova with no effect). She told me to take relpax at the first sign of a migraine (i.e., when I see the aura) along with my painkiller of choice (am trying aleve these days). So I tried that medication regime yesterday, even though I was on day three of migraine--took both drugs, slept for a few hours, and woke up feeling much better. But the pain came back a few hours later.

This isn't a super severe headache--I've had a couple of migraines that brought me to tears--the pain is bearable, but I'm just getting anxious to get this one over with so I can get back to my regular life.

While we're on the subject, can you all share what some of your migraine triggers are? I've started keeping a headache diary, and hopefully that'll help me figure things out, but I'm so new to this, I feel like I could use some ideas.

[Enginerd]

I'm looking for advice on how to get relief from migraines. I had my first migraine about a year ago, right around the time the intense EDS started. Up until now, they've been infrequent (like, once every 2-3 months), but I've had two in the last two weeks, and they seem to take forever to go away-- 4-5 day range. I'm on day 4 with one. I saw my doctor yesterday. She ordered an MRI, and gave me some Rx samples for relpax (I've previously tried frova with no effect). She told me to take relpax at the first sign of a migraine (i.e., when I see the aura) along with my painkiller of choice (am trying aleve these days). So I tried that medication regime yesterday, even though I was on day three of migraine--took both drugs, slept for a few hours, and woke up feeling much better. But the pain came back a few hours later.

This isn't a super severe headache--I've had a couple of migraines that brought me to tears--the pain is bearable, but I'm just getting anxious to get this one over with so I can get back to my regular life.

While we're on the subject, can you all share what some of your migraine triggers are? I've started keeping a headache diary, and hopefully that'll help me figure things out, but I'm so new to this, I feel like I could use some ideas.

I'm sorry to hear this; I know first-hand how awful migraines can be. I used to get them every day, having several TERRIBLE migraines per month. I tried Propranolol (a beta-blocker) and while that worked, I was...asleep...all of the time. Ironically, I hadn't been diagnosed with narcolepsy at the time, so there was that.

Now, I take 50mg of Topamax daily as a preventative measure, and it does a decent job of staving off most of my daily headaches, which varied in intensity and my neurologist claimed were all "on the migraine spectrum". I also rarely have a truly bad headache these days, which used to come with unbearable pain levels. When I did, my only option was to sleep it off, since any kind of movement resulted in a world of additional pain. Now, I take Fioricet (a mild dose of barbiturate combined with higher doses of aspirin and caffeine) as an abortive and it does a great job. My neurologist said I shouldn't have a headache so bad that my only option is to "sleep" to get rid of the pain...but that's what I dealt with in the past. Fortunately, things are much better. I would definitely recommend seeing a neurologist who specializes in headaches, or a general neurologist, if you haven't already.

I know MRIs aren't typical for migraine sufferers; do you know what the reasoning behind yours is? Do you have transient double-vision or anything like that?

My biggest triggers are strong perfume/cologne smells, fatigue (from a lack of sleep), and heat. For example, walking through the perfume section in a department store is rough, as is laying on the beach in direct sunlight for more than 5 minutes.

[2tired]

I have similar headaches...and I find them very frustrating. 4-5 days is just way too long to have a headache. My neurologist gave me a book to read that talks about migraine thresholds. I can now pretty much predict why I am getting them. It's usually a combination of my cycle, the weather and how much caffeine/chocolate I have consumed. The combination of these three things creates the perfect storm for me as far as migraines are concerned. The book was called 'Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain' by David Buchholz.
HTH

[tabster1]

I hated Topamax. It destroyed my memory. I would forget what day it was, go to the wrong classes, skip classes entirely. . .it was torture. I take Esgic now. I think it is technically for tension headaches but it really helps me.

The headache diary is a good idea. I never could find a pattern to mine, but www.medhelp.org is a good place to go for tracking things. They also have a sleep tracker as well. I also read the book the above poster mentioned. The author recommends a really intense strict diet and I never could follow through with it. He makes you cut out really odd things too, like tomatoes.

[deoir]

I'm sorry you're having migraine trouble. They suck!

I've had infrequent migraines for a few years but it increased to once a week a few months back. Trigger used to be er... "Aunt Flo," but I think it now includes stress.

Doc prescribed oral Sumatriptan (brand name Imitrex but I take generic) but based on what he said and on experience, it only works for me if I take it when I first have aura. If I take it just 2 hours after aura starts, the migraine won't go away. He prescribed a Sumatriptan injection (brand name Sumavel) to use if I'm past the time for oral dose. The jab works in 30 minutes!

He suggested that 400mg magnesium oxide supplements once daily as a preventative measure might help. It's just a vitamin, so maybe you can try it?

[Enginerd]

I hated Topamax. It destroyed my memory. I would forget what day it was, go to the wrong classes, skip classes entirely. . .it was torture. I take Esgic now. I think it is technically for tension headaches but it really helps me.

The headache diary is a good idea. I never could find a pattern to mine, but www.medhelp.org is a good place to go for tracking things. They also have a sleep tracker as well. I also read the book the above poster mentioned. The author recommends a really intense strict diet and I never could follow through with it. He makes you cut out really odd things too, like tomatoes.

Topamax does cause memory issues for me, but I got sick of trying new pills and having to wait months (or years) as the dosage was adjusted to learn whether or not they worked, so I eventually ended up going back to Topamax because it worked (the memory issues/feeling stupid are what stopped me from continuing it initially).

I also use MedHelp and I have to agree--it's a great site for tracking anything and everything!