How many of you suffer from migraines?

[Mrs. IndyDiver]

I've gotten migraines for years. I've taken both Amerge and Imitrex. Imitrex is my migraine drug of choice. Thankfully, I haven't had one that has sent me to the ER in years.

erparamedic is right on target. I would like to add that if you feel that your doctors aren't taking you seriously find another.

If the ER gave you a shot of Imitrex and it worked, why doesn't your doctor prescribe you them to take as needed (at the first sign of a migraine)?

Your guess is as good as mine. I was given Imetrex to try through the nasel passage and couldn't stand it. It made me voimit and it would drain back down my throat leaving this nasty taste in my mouth that kept making me gag for hours. I had never heard of the pill form and i am not even sure you can get it in shot form to take home w/ you. Even if I could get it in shot form, I couldn't give myself the shot. I hate needles and I know that no amount of pain will make me stab myself w/ on. lol

I don't think its b/c my doc's don't take me serious. It is more than likely my fault. I will ONLY go to the doc when I feel it is really needed. Until recently I wouldn't take anything for the pain and when I would go to the doc I would tell him to not prescribe a bunch of stuff b/c I will more than likely not take it. I am here to make sure I am not contagous, dying, or to see whats wrong. I have been seeing the same general phys for over 10 yrs and obgyn for 5 yrs. My obgyn is the one who first prescribed me migraine meds 2 yrs ago. It was soon after going on birth controll. Up until then I didn't use birth controll medication. Since then my migrains have increased. I told the obgyn (almost a year ago, i am due to see her in Oct.) that the patch was causing a lot of headaches. She switched me last Oct to the nuva ring. I don't have the amount of migraines w/ the ring as I did w/ the patch but they are more debilitating around mensus than they were.

I believe my migraines will lesson if I were to go off BC but the husband doesn't want me to. I am trying to hold out until I see my OBGYN in Oct before stopping it. I don't want to take a pill b/c I won't remember to take it everyday and the less pills I have to swallow the better.

Sorry so long and detailed. I will keep everyone posted.

BTW, I think doctors/researchesr in general don't seem to take this issues as serious as I think it is. There are a lot of ppl I know who have debilitating migraines and there just doesn't seem to be much out there for them/us that works.

Lets find a cure. lol PLEASE!!!!

 

[Hemlon]

I have migraines also so I know where you are coming from.

I've been there...on the bathroom floor, close to the toilet with nausea. With the lights off because of photo-sensitivity.

As already mentioned, ask your doctor about Imitrex if it worked well for you. It's available in injection form and in pill form. For me, it's a must!

Another possible solution for many is the daily use of beta blockers to help prevent migraines.

Migraines are caused by cerebral vasodilation which puts pressure on surrounding nerves. Beta blockers work in migraine therapy by causing slight vasodilation all of the time. This helps the vessels be not quite as reactive.

I cannot stress how important it is to catch your migraine early. For me, I have an aura. I see a yellow-greenish tint around lights about an hour before the headache begins.

Keep us posted on your quest for relief!

 

[Diver Lori]

My mother use to get them frequently. Her previous internist would harp at her to try Imitrex, but she didn't want to....afraid of the side effects. Her new internist recommended the calcium channel blocker preventative route and her headaches have been reduced 75% or better. (Verelan PM)

I get them, but very infrequently and they start just like hers do. We both get jagged jiggly flashing lines in the left side of our vision about an hour before the headache starts.....the lines will creep slowly toward the center of our vision....once there they create a "hole" in the center that we can't see through, but we can see around. Both of us are fortunate, if we take any pain reliever when the jaggy-jigglies start at the far left of our vision, we can usually ward off the migraine and they will actually drift back to the left side of our vision before they disappear (weird!). Sometimes seeing these little demons is difficult until it's too late depending on how lit a room is, daytime, nighttime, etc.

I know some of my triggers, but not all.

Saccharin & Aspartame/Nutrasweet (Splenda doesn't)

Teaching scuba....sux right? If I'm in the pool too long at night, get chilled & tired, chlorine smell...etc. I'll typically get one on my way home triggered by oncoming headlights.

Respiratory allergies

I'm very fortunate that my BF/dive buddy is sensitive to my concerns/needs. Growing up his father had debilitating cluster headaches and silence in his home was mandatory when his father was suffering. His mother would meet him at the back door when he came home from school or play to warn him to be silent. He said his father was in agony. Weird thing for his dad....the headaches disappeared in his mid-50's and never returned. Odd. His dad always felt beer was one of his triggers and would avoid at all costs. So now, if I tell him I'm seeing my jagged-jigglies, he'll drop everything and help me find a pain reliever and get me where I need to be. He's never had a migraine, but he's sympathetic having seen his father suffer for so many years.

 

[Jcsgt]

FWIW, I hadn't had migrains for years, then suddenly a year ago, BAM, I had three in one day, then steadily for the next several months off and on. In June, I had two, one directly after the other with the aura thing in my vision. It was then that I realized I had started using the Ortho Evra birth control patch, just a couple weeks before suffering three in one day.

What I have found out, in talking to my gynocologist is that, simply put, I shouldn't be on the patch if I suffer from migrain auras, that the patch can cause me to have them. I have been off the patch ever since and haven't had a migrain yet. *knocking on wood*