i have been getting migraines since i was around 18. I'm 25 now and as i get older they seem to get more frequent and stronger. i get them on almost a weekly basis. I got them from my mom and uncle. I just got medical and have to make an appointment soon but does anyone have any advice on what has worked for them? I used to get them all the time. Firstly drink a lot of water. I found that helped a bit. Other than that there wasn't much that worked for me.
Just do and see the doctor as soon as you can. I know there's a medicine you can get that's helps.
Hope that helps
Oh there is also these types of painkillers that aren't pills. There like theses cold strips you put on your head and they apparently work quite well. I am a migraine sufferer and have tried many different ways to help them, nothing will get rid of them completely but i find that the best way to control them is...
to monitor my stress levels, it is a myth that food and drink triggers migraine although when things build up one final stressor on your body can push you over the edge and you will get a migraine.
i take magnesium daily, after a few months this starts to help
i also take zomig at the start of the migraine pain, this is a triptan and takes the pain away completely within about an hour, it makes you sleep but is definately worth it. there are many alternative triptans all doing similar things.
massage on the neck can also help migraine although this will probably be very painful and sometimes brings on an attack. There is a medicine called BC powder that works for me. It is basically like taking a pill in powdered form, but it seems to work faster. For me it is key to take medicine at the very first sign of the headache. If I let it go at all nothing really works well and I just try to take something that will knock me out.
Rx medications may be much more effective, but without Rx insurance, they are all too expensive for me to use frequently. well i used to get them because i actually needed glasses and once i got my glasses it went away yes. I drink coffee. I'm a caffeine addict and painkillers don't work for me. Although I'm trying to cut down. For the most part, when you get a migraine, it's triggered by...something. It can be a trigger food that is specific to migraines. It can be other types of triggers.
Just as each person is different, each migraine is, too, so your triggers are bound to be different from mine. But there are common triggers (possibilities) you might want to look out for... Not every one of these may have an effect on you. SOME of them may only affect you in combination. There are primary triggers (things that, all by themselves, will set you off), and then there are triggers that build up (things that combine with other things to trip you into a migraine state). Some things you can avoid...some you can't.
While the following are common triggers, they are by no means all of the triggers that are around:
Aged cheese
Eggs
Tomatoes
Citrus fruits
Wheat products
Alcohol
MSG
Chocolate
Caffeine
Nitrites (hot dogs, bacon, lunch meat, etc.)
Sulfites
Avocado
Fermented or pickled foods
Yeast, protein extracts, freshly baked yeast products
Onions
Nuts, peanut butter
Dairy products, yogurt, sour cream
Aspartame
Mold/mildew
Bright lights/loud noises
Perfumes and strong scents
Skipping or delaying meals
Dehydration
Missing sleep
Hormonal Changes (period/menopause)
Oral contraceptives/hormone replacement therapy
Weather conditions, barometric changes, cold and/or dry weather
High altitude
Time or time zone changes/jet lag
Stress is not a trigger exactly, but in the same way that stress won't =cause= a cold, if you're stressed, it can often be a contributing factor.
Keep a migraine journal (to record what you've eaten or done that could be a trigger). Maybe do an elimination diet (same principle). This may help you to identify some of the things that can trigger your migraines so that you can avoid them (obviously, not all of them are avoidable).
There are a lot of different medications that will help to prevent migraines. You and your doctor can work together to find the right single medication or combination of meds that will help. Or, unfortunately, there may not be anything that will prevent your migraines totally (this happens to be how it works with me).
There are also "abortive" drugs called triptans - seven in all. Imitrex, which is all over the television, is one of them. There's a new variation on the triptans out now called Treximet. It's Imitrex with the addition of prescription strength naproxen sodium. Different triptans will often work for different people (just as migraines are different for everyone, how they respond to medication and which they respond to differ). If they work for you, they'll kick in BEST at the beginning of a migraine, like magic, and like the commercials say, pretty much stop a migraine in its tracks. They work better for some than for others. They are NOT for some types of migraines (I can NOT use them myself, darnitall!) There are other types of abortive drugs that work well for other people. Not all abortives work for everyone, but, again, they're worth talking with your doctor about.
As a last effort, there are pain meds, what I call my "rescue" meds or my "big guns". Mine are narcotic. Not all pain medications are. If you absolutely need them, they are a lifesaver - and as true migraine sufferers, we know that there are definitely times that Excedrin Migraine and the like just do not cut it! <rueful grin> Talk to your doctor to find the proper pain medication that will work for you.
(As a quick aside, while we're talking about meds - and only because so many of us learn about this one the hard way: some of these meds - the abortives (triptans, cafergots) pain meds, AND the over the counter stuff, will cause rebound headaches - also called medication overuse headaches. This can happen when using them as infrequently as 5-10 times a month. Talk to your doctor as long as you're in there - no sense helping one problem, only to have another problem crop up!)
Healthy habits that can help you: Exercise (the kind that suits you - not going out and going nuts...and not while you have the migraine), yoga, stress management and relaxation, getting plenty of sleep (form good sleeping habits), avoid missing meals, keeping well hydrated (lots of water!), and (this is a big one!) discontinue smoking - will all help. Basically all those thing people talk about as healthy measures...as taking care of YOU!
If you'd like to try vitamin supplements, they may well help as preventatives. Many migraineurs (folks who get migraines) take:
Magnesium Oxide
Vitamin B2
Coenzyme Q10
Calcium + Vitamin D
(when taking supplemental magnesium, it's necessary to take extra calcium to keep them balanced)
Other, non-medicinal things that help DURING a migraine: While the migraine is raging, you'll need to try things to see what best works for you. I see a lot of folks talk about cold cloths on their head or neck - I'll kill anyone that brings c |
