Migraines

[vergil96]

Do you have any tips about migraines? It seems like mine are getting worse and I'm looking for better ways to cope. Mine are migraines with aura (additional neurological symptoms). What I've been doing so far:
- medication: ibuprofen + strong coffee or solpadeine (paracetamol + codeine +caffeine) when there is aura and the attack isn't full blown yet, triptanes are something counterindicated for me
- avoid trigger foods such as cheese, cured meats, nuts
- stay hydrated, get enough sleep, eat regular meals - all of those factors seem to act as triggers for me
- stress and weather aren't something I can control

 

[Raggamuffin]

My migraines stopped entirely when I stopped drinking alcohol. When I used to get them a few times every month, I'd take a Triptan at the first sign of the aura. It'd nullify about 90% of the pain. But the postdrome would last for a few days after the initial migraine attack. It basically felt like an elongated hangover. Background headache that'd ramp up significantly if I was moving about too much. Also dizziness, nausea and general malaise.

Ed

 

[Neia]

Do you have any tips about migraines? It seems like mine are getting worse and I'm looking for better ways to cope. Mine are migraines with aura (additional neurological symptoms). What I've been doing so far:
- medication: ibuprofen + strong coffee or solpadeine (paracetamol + codeine +caffeine) when there is aura and the attack isn't full blown yet, triptanes are something counterindicated for me
- avoid trigger foods such as cheese, cured meats, nuts
- stay hydrated, get enough sleep, eat regular meals - all of those factors seem to act as triggers for me
- stress and weather aren't something I can control

When I have migraines, the things that help the most are a wet dark cloth over my eyes, silence and my trusty clonix.
None of the over the counter meds work for me when it gets bad.

Plenty of chamomile tea also helps as it gets me sleepy and time passes faster.

 

[vergil96]

None of the over the counter meds work for me when it gets bad.

Yup, it's much worse without the meds, but they don't work enough to mitigate it to a bearable level. The aura is awful by itself too.

 

[Neia]

Mine are more physical than visual, although i do get blurry and sparkly vision. But the nausea and dizziness are even worse.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Do you have any tips about migraines? It seems like mine are getting worse and I'm looking for better ways to cope. Mine are migraines with aura (additional neurological symptoms). What I've been doing so far:
- medication: ibuprofen + strong coffee or solpadeine (paracetamol + codeine +caffeine) when there is aura and the attack isn't full blown yet, triptanes are something counterindicated for me
- avoid trigger foods such as cheese, cured meats, nuts
- stay hydrated, get enough sleep, eat regular meals - all of those factors seem to act as triggers for me
- stress and weather aren't something I can control

There are neurologists that specialize in migraine treatment. We even have an outpatient migraine clinic in town where patients can come in for a few hours, get an IV with fluids and some sort of medication cocktail. My wife has these debilitating migraines, (enough to have damage on her brain per MRI) but finally, finally, after many years of trying this and that, appears to have found a regimen that really seems to minimize these events to just a few a month (versus every 3-4 days).

 

[MildredHubble]

I've had migraine since I was about 3 years old. They seem to have changed somewhat over the last 5-10 years. I get sudden onset ocular migraine with some symptoms that were quite worrying before I figured out what was going on. When I get the sudden onset migraines I get aphasia, just about any visual stimulus becomes horribly overstimulating. I find I'm still affected for days after, struggling to find words or visually focus on things.

I still get the more traditional migraines with the horrendous head pain, nausea and dizziness. Not much fun at all.

I have been prescribed beta blockers, mostly for anxiety, but they seem to help reduce the number of migraine attacks I get. I take ibuprofen and co-codamol to help with the pain. Unfortunately this doesn't help with the neurological symptoms much, but at least the pain isn't as bad.

Staying hydrated helps me and trying not to have too much or too little caffeine (in other words, try to stick to the same number of cups of coffee for example). Caffeine can help pain killers work a bit quicker and it also seems to help with the symptoms in general.

Trying to avoid looking at screens for too long helps, as does not having bright lights turned on. I'm often told off for doing things like reading in dim light, but I seem to not be able to tolerate light levels other people prefer.

Being aware of early symptoms can help me try to prevent being in a lot of pain. I get things like the vision in one eye will have a green hue and the other will seem more blue, or I find one of my ears might feel hot and a bit sore. Another weird one is that randomly objects might seem bigger or smaller, or as strange as it may sound, I might feel smaller that usual. So when these things happen, it's my cue for pain killers, hydration and rest. It doesn't always prevent a bad migraine attack though, but when it does it feels like such a relief.

 

[Outdated]

No idea where I read this, but migraines are often related to dietary issues. My sister used to get bad migraines often, when I told her about that she experimented a lot and discovered I was right, but she was disappointed with what she discovered. For her the headaches are like an allergy to chocolate, but not all chocolate. She can have dark chocolate which she doesn't like, but milk chocolate, white chocolate and chocolate flavoured milk are things she can't have any more.

 

[Kayla55]

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tell-if-you-have-high-blood-sugar-hyperglycemia-2019-6?amp
I can't find it now, but blurry vision headaches are related blood pressure, but my research thread was very very messy.
Different types magnesium,

Magnesium taurate
Research suggests that it may help to reduce blood pressure, regulate blood sugar, lower anxiety, and protect against damage caused by cataracts, heart disease, and TBIs. While magnesium taurate is generally safe, it can cause side effects like diarrhea and stomach cramps.

What form of magnesium is best for migraine? Magnesium oxide is frequently used in pill form to prevent migraine, usually at a dose of 400-600 mg per day. Acutely, it can be dosed in pill form at the same dosage or given intravenously as magnesium sulfate at 1-2 gm

I had to stop for sake of my liver, chronic paracetamol for headaches migraine. Also stress related , big time.

Saccharomyces boulardii (S.boulardii) can assist with celiac,
I ingested it by mistake and having bad reaction, my reason for Candida diet which is also gluten and cassein free.

 

[MildredHubble]

No idea where I read this, but migraines are often related to dietary issues. My sister used to get bad migraines often, when I told her about that she experimented a lot and discovered I was right, but she was disappointed with what she discovered. For her the headaches are like an allergy to chocolate, but not all chocolate. She can have dark chocolate which she doesn't like, but milk chocolate, white chocolate and chocolate flavoured milk are things she can't have any more.

I've heard this too. The weird thing is that, for me, the specific foods that cause an "insta migraine" have changed over time. When I was much younger, chocolate would cause the worst migraine and lots of vomiting. I also suspect that pasta was pressing some migraine buttons, as I posted elsewhere, pasta was something I enjoyed but rather spectacularly regurgitated halfway through a meal.

Now I can eat chocolate all I want, and pasta doesn't cause me to vomit, even though strangely, I'm not particularly keen on pasta any more lol.

These days, anything with artificial orange, blackberry or strawberry flavouring causes migraine for me. Mostly things like that I have to avoid.

 

[Outdated]

The weird thing is that, for me, the specific foods that cause an "insta migraine" have changed over time.

I strongly suspect it won't be the foods themselves but the additives and preservatives that get used. As in my sister's example, she could have dark chocolate but not milk chocolate. I also knew a lawyer that could only drink certain brands of wine depending on which preservatives were used.

 

[Jumpinbare]

Like most everything else I have or do, my migraines are atypical. My neurologist called them silent migraines (he also had a fancier term that I don't remember). His specialties are sleep issues and migraines, so I got a good infodump from him.
I first started seeing him because of a TGA episode I had six years ago. Apparently, a TGA is yet another type of migraine, so I have had two different flavors of migraine.
According to him, caffeine is the worst trigger for migraines, and he keeps trying to get me to give it up entirely. Unfortunately, my narcolepsy daytime alertness medication is somewhat lacking, and I use caffeine to supplement it, so 100% caffeine free is not likely for me as long as I am still driving.

 

[DaisyRose]

Make sure to stay hydrated and have the lights off if you are home. My dad gets really bad migraines. I’ve been having a headache all week. It might be from sinuses.

 

[MNAus]

Like most everything else I have or do, my migraines are atypical. My neurologist called them silent migraines (he also had a fancier term that I don't remember). His specialties are sleep issues and migraines, so I got a good infodump from him.
I first started seeing him because of a TGA episode I had six years ago. Apparently, a TGA is yet another type of migraine, so I have had two different flavors of migraine.
According to him, caffeine is the worst trigger for migraines, and he keeps trying to get me to give it up entirely. Unfortunately, my narcolepsy daytime alertness medication is somewhat lacking, and I use caffeine to supplement it, so 100% caffeine free is not likely for me as long as I am still driving.

Also someone with silent migraines. I feel super lucky they don't progress into full migraines as during spring and autumn they can happen up to 3 times a day.

just about any visual stimulus becomes horribly overstimulating

Yeah, that "looking at a lightbulb" burn-in affect is a strong indicator of oncoming trouble. I've become pretty skilled at spotting it. My vision will get this slightly different feel to it, like things are slightly over-exposing. Then I'll notice a hole in my vision, then come the zig-zags and the rest. Also get aphasia, deja-vu, presque-vu and sometimes followed by jamais-vu. to be clear (because everyone says "oh I get that sometimes") these are quite profound in presentation. deja-vu is EVERYTHING, for an extended period; presque-vu is like being on the edge of an epiphany but you just need to chase the white rabbit down the hole a bit further; jamais-vu is having knowledge that you should recognise what's around you, but it's utterly unfamiliar. No evidence it's a seizure, so I just go along with it. My wife is used to me covering both eyes to find the migraine in my visual field and saying "yepp, there you are".

ETA: Oh yeah, a big trigger for me is polarised light sources. So reflections of the sun are a huge trigger, especially from water or glass which tend to polarise more on reflection. If I get a glancing reflection of the sun off a watch or phone, that's it, I have an immediate hole in my vision and the rest follows. This can also happen with things like phone camera flashes, as the LED light is super bright and gets bounced off a mirror at the back.

 

[Kayla55]

My headaches have eased drastically, I didn't take that dosage as experts say due to its laxative effect, but I eat lots of fresh veg. So in 2 months my headaches gone, didn't take six months or that dosage for me.
I tend to work dosage on body mass.

I never really ate a lot of pasta, (glutton) here and there, now I just can't eat it at all, no pasta or noodles, even Duran wheat makes me ill, my ex cooked it a lot. And not white rice, not basmati, not jasmine, either.
Brown rice or potatoes. I like to have more taco/tortilla made with cornflour, but even so I'm lately feeling to have to cut to whole grains, and thinking to rinse off any excesses before cooking.
(Ironically the pro-biotic I sent was discovered by the Chinese, near impossible to get glutton free Asian food, I had to ask for my prawns grilled as batter everything (Japanese brown bread crumbs just don't help, either. Temperu prawns) and have to be specific like remind them twice for soya sauce with no sulphites. I had to be careful of soup mix, and barley is a wholegrain, but I eaten a bit and not as bad as pasta, even raisins have yeast so it all adds up until bang, one day you so run down. (My years of not really enjoying food, having to really learn to cook took toll on me...craving something nice to eat)
I only drank red wine and no sulphites in my younger years, so hence organic wine has natural level of sulphites....don't drink at all anymore, not even socially.

 

[MildredHubble]

Then I'll notice a hole in my vision, then come the zig-zags and the rest. Also get aphasia, deja-vu, presque-vu and sometimes followed by jamais-vu. to be clear (because everyone says "oh I get that sometimes") these are quite profound in presentation. deja-vu is EVERYTHING, for an extended period; presque-vu is like being on the edge of an epiphany but you just need to chase the white rabbit down the hole a bit further; jamais-vu is having knowledge that you should recognise what's around you, but it's utterly unfamiliar. No evidence it's a seizure, so I just go along with it. My wife is used to me covering both eyes to find the migraine in my visual field and saying "yepp, there you are".

This^^^ It's quite spooky for me as I had to double check I wasn't reading an old post of mine. I'm pretty certain I've posted about the jamais vu and presque vu somewhere on here before. It's very unsettling and that coupled with the void or "hole" in my vision was damned frightening.

I described all of this to a doctor, well a psychiatrist, but they get the same basic medical training, and he behaved like it was the most bizarre load of bilge he'd ever heard. I had even mentioned that I had been diagnosed with migraine as a kid and he began to smirk and snicker at me. I didn't know that what I was experiencing was a type of migraine I hadn't really experienced before and he had every opportunity to put my mind at rest, but he didn't.

It wasn't until I was watching a YouTube channel called Atomic Shrimp that mostly puts out videos on scam baiting, creative projects and cookery (it's quite an eclectic mix) that I discovered it was a migraine known as scintillating scotoma. So totally random that they suffered with them and had randomly posted a video about them. I was just glad I wasn't having some sort of mini stroke!

Losing your vision and not being able to remember that the square textile thing on the floor is called a rug is quite distressing!

 

[Au Naturel]

Imitrex is the way, the truth, and the light. You have to take it as soon as you suspect symptoms for maximum benefit. If you wait, it becomes less effective. I take it as soon as I see an aura. For me, it looks like a shiny snake crawling around in the periphery of my vision.

I used to have self-administered injections because the migraines were so bad. Hit me really hard in my 40s. Probably "male menopause."

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-11571/imitrex-oral/details

 

[vergil96]

ETA: Oh yeah, a big trigger for me is polarised light sources. So reflections of the sun are a huge trigger, especially from water or glass which tend to polarise more on reflection. If I get a glancing reflection of the sun off a watch or phone, that's it, I have an immediate hole in my vision and the rest follows. This can also happen with things like phone camera flashes, as the LED light is super bright and gets bounced off a mirror at the back.

I'm not sure if this is an issue for me in terms of migraines, but I have photophobia and I perceive these bright flashes as painful or nauseating. I wear polarisation sunglasses outside when it's sunny, especially when driving, but it doesn't always work, especially in shopping malls they like to hang those screens with ads that flash and sunglasses won't help any with that. Do you deal with the flashing lights somehow or not quite?

My vision will get this slightly different feel to it, like things are slightly over-exposing.

I have this as visual aura since high school. It's like vision is overexposed and oversaturated. Perhaps that's ovwrsensitivity? Everything starts to feel sharp. I have also light flashes and the zigzags... And ear ringing. It pops loudly and slowly vanishes just like the light flashes or it will persistently ring with varying freuencies over time. I recently started to get feelings or numbness as well, or they were there but not as intense and in different areas that I didn't pay much attention.

According to him, caffeine is the worst trigger for migraines,

I can't see the difference not drinking caffeine. If anything, I get worse headaches without any caffeine consumption and a lot of them are related to stress for me. Like recently I'm nearing graduation and I need that adrenaline to be sharp and nail everything. Right mechanism in the right place and at the right time. Cost - migraine later. Caffeine in moderation seems to stabilise my blood pressure or something that has a similar effect. I'm a choleric and I don't need stimulants to reach a very motivated and alert state, lol, it's not caffeine, it's my emotions and at times it's also an appropriate response.

But the cheese is a major trigger, so is salami, possibly all packaged meats and nuts. Also grapefruit. In lists of popular migrqine triggers there are also artificial sweeteners, MSG, spicy foods and alcohol, none of which I consume.

I never really ate a lot of pasta, (glutton) here and there, now I just can't eat it at all, no pasta or noodles, even Duran wheat makes me ill, my ex cooked it a lot. And not white rice, not basmati, not jasmine, either.

I went gluten free and it has improved my health a lot, but not the migraines tbh. I'm not looking back to feeling like I have a cold all the time and being blaoted from unflammation. And to the aches and pains and acne.

I was given magnisium in larger doses with vitamin D for muscle cramps and it has helped with the cramps, but not the headaches.

It seems like I've used up all the possibilities already. Apart from massage which I'm too lazy to do.

 

[Kayla55]

Seeing bright colours almost like PC monitor went wrong.....I had this on faint spell, younger and had to get off horse and lay down on ground. (Embarassing)
Had lot of low blood pressure issues, faint. I only use Himalayan salts now, which tissue salts, sort like electrolytes, these are also built into my calcium complex, with magnesium potassium zinc (get the drill)
The other day I walked to shop, there was orange peel in ground, looked round and as if it was rolling, this I'm blaming on Alzheimer's.

I find probiotics are a pain, because harder to undo....and one wrong biotic can destroy all hard work. I don't like gas, I'm sorry, but it's side effect that I can't live with. Could be a pre-biotic but like hell, how do I undo this.

This is why pill never agreed with me, causes acne and UTI and havoc all round, same with synthetic testosterone. I keep my skin dry, just exfoliate with soap and use non-greasy lotion. Any face wash doesn't agree. Say oatmeal dries skin. To this day can't find skincare product doesn't upset my skin.

Coffee does cure my headaches, true. But I have to limit this
I spoke about energy drink as quick fix but it's not ideal. It takes time, correct diet and continue with vitamins (higher doses don't always mean better, depends on dosage for many times like)
Ye, something I learnt on farm was harmeish diet, no additives. Cold meats bad, salami has dye to colour pork and cast dried with fungus/ similar to camembert. Fine once or twice until not good.
Nice part of harmeish diet was not even stock cubes in soup, fresh herbs and it's so mellow or Smithies (awesome)

I've being looking at taurine since I saw testing it with coQ10 co-enzymes and being interested in reversing dimentia. Just keep looking, not sure, haven't tried taurine, yet.

Interesting aspect is about bio-rhythms, and could be something to put in diary, there is something vital in meat, so whilst I don't agree with farming methods, so I cut meat eating to slow cruelty but eventually went vegetarian. At times depending on energy needs, the body craves steak. I indulge sometimes.
What was really good was I started with let's only eat meat 3x a week and I'd then afford buy organic chicken. So every other day eating legumes....and this boosted my diet too very good. Eat green leaves (spinach it's also iron so it does what meat doesn't)

 

[vergil96]

Had lot of low blood pressure issues, faint.

Me too, I mean, I have low blood pressure and faint on occasion, e.g. when having stomach flu or food poisoning. And I can see all black for a moment and have racing heartbeat from orthostatic hypotension - it's the dizziness when you get up too fast.

Himalayan salts now, which tissue salts, sort like electrolytes, these are also built into my calcium complex, with magnesium potassium zinc (get the drill)

I'll take a look, because it looks promising for the hypotension.

I have had success with probiotics for IBS. And prebiotics, although diet works as good - lots of vegetables and yoghurt daily. The vegetables also are good from the celiac disease perspective as gluten-free carbs.

Any face wash doesn't agree. Say oatmeal dries skin. To this day can't find skincare product doesn't upset my skin.

I have to use hypoallergic skin products and dermocosmetics as well.

Coffee does cure my headaches, true. But I have to limit this

Yes, in moderation. Too much gives me insomnia and decreases apetite too much. It dehydrates me as well.

Cold meats bad, salami has dye to colour pork and cast dried with fungus/ similar to camembert.

That explains a lot about salami. Aged cheeses give me an instant migraine, so yeah, that makes sense now why salami works the same way for me.

I'm very allergic to taurine. Although it does wonders for some people.

What was really good was I started with let's only eat meat 3x a week and I'd then afford buy organic chicken. So every other day eating legumes....and this boosted my diet too very good.

That's the kind of diet that I have as well, except I rely more on diary and eggs than legumes. Hm, spinach might be a good addition.