Migraine info needed

[bananiem]

At what age did you start getting migraines?
Are they linked to a cycle? (ex: getting your period)
What are your "auras"?

Dh and I both get them. DD12 seems to get a lot of headaches but just deals with them or takes some Advil or Tylenol. Today she came home from school and described my aura to a "T".

 

[CinderellaIam]

I started my migraines when I was 12 too. Poor kid.

They have many triggers, sometimes it's my cycle, sometimes stress, sometimes the food I eat. Other times it can be a change in the weather. They are horrid. The best thing about them is that as I get older, they hit less often. Not sure if that is an age thing or the fact that I have been able to identify my triggers and avoid them.

 

[ChuckB]

Excedrine has has a good migrane pill out, it is over the counter, takes about 30 min for it to work sometimes though .....

 

[bananiem]

Chuck, my dh uses the Excedrine and says it works well. I've tried it a few times but I've figured out my trigger and can usually head (Ha! I crack myself up! )off the migraine with some Advil and a pop.
CinderellaIAm- Mine have come on as I've gotten older. Glad to hear yours seem to be going away. Mine are hormonal so hopefully in 10 years or so they'll be gone. Or else they'll be here permanently.

 

[bavaria]

Mine ran from about age 6-16 at least once a week. Then they stopped until mid-30's, AFTER I stopped taking Topamax for damaged nerves. (Topamax in small doses is used as a migraine preventative with some success) I think that my recurrence is linked.

Always the same pattern....


*start to see a checkerboard pattern out of my left eye
*stomach starts to feel off
*left eye no vision
*confusion - can't read, spell, or interpret road signs
*piercing pain left side of head
*start vomiting
*usually last about 12 hours, sometimes up to 48 hours
*pain relieved by induced vomiting

I really don't want to go back on Topamax even though the nerve issues continue; the side effects were too great for me.

 

[bavaria]

I also eat very little processed foods; triggers for me seem to be food additives. When I was 17 I went an entire year without eating anything manufactured, and my migraines disappeared along with going into remission for a chronic illness.

I don't eat meat, and read labels very very carefully. A lot of North American food seems to set me off so I tend to buy simple, or natural, or organic foods with few ingredients and do my own cooking when possible.

 

[ChuckB]

mine are from damaged nerves, so sometimes nothing but a dark room, a cold rag, and complete silence for about 12 hrs is the only thing that will make it go away ......

 

[Towncrier]

DW has suffered from migraines since puberty. They seem to be tied to her monthly cycle. She has been taking Imitrex to control them since the drug was introduced and she swears by it.

I have the occasional (rare) migraine and cannot imagine how she or anyone can cope with them on a regular basis. I am just thankful that Imitrex works to stop Sue's migraines.

The problem with migraines is that, once they get started, your digestive system shuts down. You can take fistfulls of pills and they won't get into your bloodstream. If you have any indication that a migraine is about to happen (also called an aura), you should take medicine right away. When Imitrex was first released, it only came in an injectible form. Eventually they also came out with a nosespray and pill form. If Sue waits too long, the pills don't do her any good. She ends up reaching for one of her injectibles in order to get the drug into her bloodstream.

Hope this info helps.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

If I am careful, I can stop my migraines all together. I got my first one at age 14, while studying for a Biology test. I had them for years and years, and only two years ago, I finally figured out what caused them. For me, it has to do with pressure on the right side of my neck, or twisting my neck too far down and/or to the right. Mine are caused by a very physical reason. I always thought it was foods, but nope - it was bad posture! Nowadays I am very careful about the position of my neck, and only had one migraine recently, when I used to get two a week!

I like telling my story, since I am one of the only people on the planet to find the trigger! I feel very fortunate and thankful that I don't have to live in fear of migraines like I used to do.

To answer the aura question - my auras always started as a "dead" spot in my vision. Like there was an area of my eyes that weren't seeing anything. Then I knew. Within minutes, a small squiggly zigzagging spot would appear in my vision. Then this would grow until it was long zigzagging flashing lines all across my eyes. Then these zigzagging glowing lines would slowly float off my field of vision until I couldn't see them anymore. Took about 20-30 minutes. Then the headache would follow, and then my digestive system would fall to pieces, too. I would have pain for the rest of the day - only a long night's sleep would make me feel better again. I lived in fear of seeing those zigzagging lines for so long.

 

[TruBlu]

I don't remember when mine started, but I wish they would stop!!!

I also have very good results from Excedrine. The regular version and the migrane version are the same medication, just different boxes. One thing I noticed was that the one labeled for migranes has a much longer time before you can take more. Sometimes I need 2 or 3 doses before mine gets better, so I buy the regular kind.

This year my OB-Gyn asked me if mine were linked to my cycle. She said that if they were magnesium might help. You should ask your doctor.

Good Luck!!!

 

[bavaria]

I have the occasional (rare) migraine and cannot imagine how she or anyone can cope with them on a regular basis

I absolut4ely can't function with one - only lie down in a cool, dark, quiet room. I can't read, speak, or walk I get such severe mental confusion. If I am driving I have to park as soon as it's safe and figure out how to safely get home....

The problem with migraines is that, once they get started, your digestive system shuts down. You can take fistfulls of pills and they won't get into your bloodstream. If you have any indication that a migraine is about to happen (also called an aura), you should take medicine right away

Very true. The medication I have from Germany has some sort of active ingredient which breaks down very quickly, and tries to 'beat' the shut down of the digestive system.

 

[2bemarried]

My migraines started around the age or 13 or 14. I know that my triggers are stress, msg, weather changes, and hormonal changes. In high school I was prescribed a beta blocker that is normally used for heart patients. That worked wonders for me and I went a year without a migraine. Then the medication wore off and I was prescribed Imitrex when I turned 18.

I would suggest taking your daughter to a pediatric neurologist. My regular doctors didn't take me seriously, but the neurologist did. He/she will be able to run some tests on your daughter and prescribe something for her.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I don't get them, but DH does. For as long as I've known him, there have been times where he's gotten really bad headaches from stress, overexertion,etc.

Then, when DS was about 6 mos old, I came home from work one day to see DH sprawled out on the floor with DS next to him. DH was sweating and he couldn't move because his head hurt too much. I started really freaking out because I didn't know what was wrong. So I called DNeighbor over, who helped DH out to his car and drove him to the hospital. Hospital took some cat-scans and there is a darkened area on his brain, which is the result of a childhood head injury.

Ever since then, when DH is overly tired or just really stressed out, he gets migraines. We keep a supply of Excedrin Migraine on hand and he has a small bottle of it in his glove compartment so if he feels like one is coming on at work, he can take one right away.

I don't know what his 'auras' are (he's never said), but I do know if he's having an attack, it must be very quiet and dark in the room because that makes it even worse. Usually, he goes to sleep because it also makes him very tired.

TOV

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I started getting them when I was about 12 and got them until I was in my very early 20's. Then I started getting them again at about 40yo. I used to get the auras, but when they returned it was without the auras. All of my kids have gotten migraines, starting at about age 12yo. We haven't really tied it to cycles, especially not in my boys. Mine seems hormonal related (yay for peri-menopause ). I'm hoping that menopause brings relief. My auras were spots that "moved" when I read. Very annoying. I have tons of triggers.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I went to my first neurologist for my headaches at age 21. I think I got the headaches when I was even younger b/c looking back now I remember at times seeing this aura thing (I remember the aura being a bunch of colored floaty dots) and not really knowing what it was or how to describe it. My migraines are usually related to my cycle. However, sometimes the heat/humidity will trigger one or if I eat too much chocolate.

My DS 9 has been complaining about bad headaches quite a bit here lately. He describes them as being one sided. Usually a motrin will knock his.

Oh, and about the excedrine, someone told me the ingredients are exactly the same for the Excedrine migraine as for the regular Excedrine? Is that not true?

Ann, I hope your DD feels better! It's bad enough when we as adults have to deal with them, I feel som bad when kids have to experience them.

 

[bavaria]

Most of the OTC migraine medicine is a pain reliever plus caffeine - I was just lookign at them in an American drug store over the weekend. The caffeine is about equal to a cup of coffee.

I will admit that I was tempted to buy Headon Migraine to see if it would help - has anyone tried it? I coulnd't bring myself to buy it due to those annoying TV ads!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Those headon ads are annoying and are a trigger for my headaches!

And hi, Bavaria! Where have you been hiding?

 

[bavaria]

And hi, Bavaria! Where have you been hiding?

um..... Maryland....

(ducks and runs from the room!)

 

[luvwinnie]

I was 19. Definitely worse during period, but otherwise no "pattern". I use relpax now. CoQ10 helped decrease them. No auras.

 

[Aimee K]

Mine didn't start until I was first pregnant with Emma, now 12. I then got them about two weeks before I started my cycle until about a year ago, then they started coming all over the place.

I was just in the hospital for a week with a terrible headache, I had an MRI that showed a couple of abnormalities in my Cerebellum, which is adding to my headaches, as well as some little spots on my brain which show chronic migraine or TIA (stroke) activity

Anywhoo.... my suggestion is to see a neurologist, and get answers. Headaches are not normal, and no one should have to suffer them.

I am currently trying Topomax as a preventative and Replax to fight one off if I get one. I haven't had a migraine since I've been in the hospital, but I have still had this horrendous headache I went in there with. I had a spinal tap, which led to a spinal headache, which was cleared with a blood patch, but the spinal tap worsened the brain abnormality, so we're waiting to see if the spinal tap may have made my chronic headaches worse in the long run.

Good luck to you all! Headaches are no fun!