[Closed] Migranes: calling all sufferers/doctors/relatives...

Migraleve knocks mine back to "bearable" status. Vigorous exercise relieves it entirely but it returns 60 minutes or so after I stop.

My mother had hers cured after acupuncture - she stopped having treatment and they came back. I'm sceptical, but it happened.

My mother-in-law had hers stop after a hysterectomy - hormonal related. MrsMC won't admit it but the hormonal aspect may be genetic.... 🙄

Mine are stress related, and only mild compared to most - an hour or so of squiggles and a few hours of headaches, dealt with via paracetamol. But they've only come on in the last couple of years.

Doc put my mum on beta blockers after years of trying different meds. Shes not had one since. Can't claim miracle cure just saying it worked in my mums case.

Co-codamol works for me but the best thing is sleep.

Trigger points for me are stress, lack of food, lack of sleep and the olds style fluorescent lights.

I can sometimes kill them with sweet stuff if it's lack of sugar and catch it quick it enough.

I have had migraines for 40 years and have tried just about every prescription med there is--a lot have worked, but the side effects suck.
Finally discovered an over-the-counter product called Lipigesic M
It's a gel (primary ingredients are the herb Feverfew and ginger) that you place under your tongue at the first sign of a migraine and, for me at least, works every bit as good as the prescription meds (and at about 1/10 the cost). It's available on-line and at some of the pharmacies here in the USA, so maybe you can find a UK distributor on the web.
Costs here about $10/12 for a pack of 8 gels (some of the prescription meds I have had prescribed cost $35 a tablet).

The standard migraleve,lay in bed,close curtains turn lights off and wet cold cloth on forehead till the dreaded hard to explain vision problems have ebated is what i do.

Beta blockers can prevent attacks in many cases. Some people can't take them though due to side effects, speak to GP. I am trialling them at the moment with noticeable success (four months on propranolol). I normally suffer from migraines several days a week, different triggers from bright light, driving at night, stress, certain foods and exercising at high intensity.

Sumatriptan works for me,normal painkillers have no effect on my headaches.I don't get auras or feel particularly nauseous, just a horrible headache. Sunatriptan usually clears it within a couple of hours

Stress and certain food sets me off. Usually starts with pins and needles in one side of my tongue, or I go blind in one eye, then the headache and nausea starts.

I've been on a lot of meds for it, but nothing worked. 2 "neurofen migraine pain" and 2 paracetamol can hold it off for a few hours, but only sleep cures it really.

My mom also has them, but she has them every other day at best. I don't know how she functions at all. They wipe me out and then make me feel crap for a few days.

I've heard of acupuncture working from quite a few people though.

grenosteve - Member
My mom also has them, but she has them every other day at best.

I get them very occasionally and can barely function the next day. I can't imagine getting them that frequently!

Girlfriend gets migraines and only thing that works is sumatripran, take as soon as you get the slightest hint of one. Syndol used to be good but you can't seem to get that any more, think there was some sort of antihistamine in it that seemed to do the trick

I had them for 30 years severe but infrequent. Since a severe off at spooky woods which split my helmet and dinted my cheekbone 6 years ago I have not had a proper one had the odd ghost of one that has been seen off by pink migraleve. It makes sense as they started after a sledging accident laid me up with concussion when I was 10 .
Can't say I recommend it as a cure. Pink migraleve eating feverfew and vitimin b all helped me in the past red wine and coke drink were big triggers and I still avoid them.

Syndol used to be good but you can't seem to get that any more, think there was some sort of antihistamine in it that seemed to do the trick

Reckitt bought the rights to manufacture Syndol then just stopped production. If it worked for you then ask at any chemists you're passing as dribs and drabs of stock might still be about. My mum used to swear by it and once the supply dried up her pharmacist looked them up the details and they do seem to basically be a co-codamol and bit of antihistamine

If she is having "chronic" migraines (>15 migraine days per month) she might be able to have botox, which is now licenced.

Doesn't work for everyone (as with anything migraine related), but if you are looking for new things to try, might be worth a go.

Firstly, work out what the triggers are and try to avoid them if possible. Strangely I worked out that mine seem to be mostly physiological (neck strain). I used to get one every couple of games of cricket I played. I was a quick bowler and the jarring and rotational strain on my neck was what did it. I have had a handful bike riding, once when I had to shoulder the bike for a hike up (neck and shoulders again) a couple of times when I've slipped in the garden messing about with the kids and ricked my neck. Hardly any others.

If this is not possible (ie the triggers cannot be avoided or mitigated like I can do neck strengthening and stretching) then I found that sumatriptan is good. It does not act as a pain killer. What I find it does is to actually speed up the symptoms (especially the aura), but I have generally found that the quicker the aura fully comes on and then recedes, the less pain I actually get. I still can't eat, and have to be out of action for a few hours, but the actual pain is not so bad. I am practically blind for the ten or so minutes when the aura is at its peak.

Identify triggers. Avoid or mitigate. Try sumatriptan and a few paracetamol. That would be my first line of attack. Good luck, non sufferers just don't 'get it' sometimes, it is not just a headache, and it does very bad things to the digestive system and really does make you feel very odd.

I've suffered with them for years. Firstly I emphasise with your mother, migraines are truly horrible.
As someone else has said, try to identify the triggers. I have some food intolerance tests done that identified dairy foods (milk, cheese etc), after cutting those out, the frequency reduced, from 1 a week, to 1 a month.
Stress & dehydration are also triggers for me, so have to make sure I drink lots when riding.
Pink migraleve sometimes work if I catch them early enough. If not, then I use a prescription med called Maxalt. They come individually wrapped in a blister pack, in a packet and three packets in a box. Very expensive I believe, so GPs tend not to offer them. They work. Even if I get a severe attack coming on, the. Pop one of these, get my head down for an hour in a dark room, and normally wake up clear - much better than the 24-48 hours of pain & sickness I used to get.
Hope it helps.....

Sympathies to you and your mum.

My girlfriend gets them. Visual disturbances, or alternatively it kicks off increasingly worse vomiting until she is in tears and then thankfully manages to fall asleep. It's seriously not cool.

She has found that Paracetamol as soon as she feels the first effects can help. It doesn't stop them, but makes them less intense.

I'm very lucky in that I only get aural migraines, which are rarely anything other than a bit debilitating; the 'C'-shaped expanding zig-zaggy, flashy visual disturbance gets in the way, and the rather sick headache that follows is crap, but as soon as I notice a patch of blurred vision I take a couple of ibuprofen to knock the edge off the pain.
The thing is, I've never been able to identify a trigger, I thought it might be when I get a bit stressed, but I've actually woken up and had the visual disturbance as I woke, before even opening my eyes. Food doesn't seem to show any links, and it can't be bright light, for reasons stated above.
I can go for several weeks without one, then might get two or three on the trot.
I really feel for those who get the bad ones, a g/f did, and it was miserable not being able to help, I can only just imagine what it's like to suffer them; I wish there was a trigger I could identify that might give clues to help stop them, but I've read about what seems like dozens of triggers, and I've yet to find a consistent one.
Possibly being a bit stressed over stuff is most likely, but really, I don't know.
Good luck to everyone who suffers badly, I honestly hope a means of controlling, and alleviating it is found.

I'm lucky in that I've only ever had the vision squiggles thing and no pain or headache. Always had them now and again from boyhood and like CountZero can wake up with them. Afterwards I feel a bit 'washed out' for the rest of the day but it doesn't stop me from doing what I was doing even while I'm having the squiggles.

The neck strain mentioned by dannyh is interesting as I've not been able to pin point what brings it on. Next time it happens (yesterday was the last time) I'll see if I can figure out if it could be physiological.

16 years of suffering them. Getting my eyes tested and starting to wear glasses cut their frequency down from every week in average to one every few months.
Sumatriptan has worked well for me, with Diazepam held in reserve for the really bad ones.
Last time though, following something on here in the last migraine thread as soon as I got the aura, I banged down the tablets but also a double espresso with a couple of sugars in it. Made a massive difference! Headache was still bad but nowhere near as painful as normal. Rest of symptoms stayed, numb limbs and face, loss of vision etc but seemed so much more manageable without the skull crushing headache. Had another a few hours later and the headache subsided even more.
So I guess that unless caffeine is one of your triggers, it may be worth a try!

Girlfriend suffers from these. She initially cut out caffeine, chocolate, dairy and citrus. Loads better now and back on cheese and chocolate but milk is a no.

Used to get them every week and now infrequently. Maybe every few months. Stress, lack of sleep and caffeine seem to trigger them.

+several for Triptans. There are a few different sorts, I take Naratriptan. I find they stop the pain but some of the other symptoms, nausea and visual disturbances are reduced. They at least leave me able to function. Sleep is the only real cure for mine though.

DougD - I think you mentioned it last time? I'm going to try two anti-hystamines and Co-Codamol next time.

What are the triggers though for your Mum OP?

I seem to find its hydration for me.

I was going to suggest botox too (what with having a botox and dermal fillers clinic as a sideline).

The papers on it look pretty good, and I'm trying to find someone to teach me the protocol so I can offer it in my clinic if she want's to be a guinea pig! 😉

Sumatriptan (not for me) seems to be effective for some people though seems to cause pretty quick drowsiness for around an hour after.

Topirimate worked for me at the prescribed dosage. However, it came with some nasty side-effects. At half-dosage things are manageable.

I get them really badly every month or so, stress and tiredness seem to be the triggers along with dehydration.. I sympathise with every post here.

I get either a headache or unbelievable pain in my eyes oddly though I don't tend to get the aura which a lot of others mention.

I've had the double whammy recently of a big amount of stress and pressure at work and a teething baby.. and today I've got my normal migraine hangover today after a stressful day yesterday.

Syndol used to work for me too until I stopped finding them, I've tried migraleve (sometimes work) but usually try to manage with weapons grade brufen and some paracetamol. It doesn't stop it or take the pain away and I usually resort to a dark room, sleep and an eye mask I nicked during a recent transatlantic flight to ensure no light gets through.

I really can't offer any other cures, but I will be trying the Sumatriptan and feverfew

got a friend who has gone the botox route - It works for her.

I read somewhere that a major factor in aggravating migraines was additives in food. In particular preservatives and some of the stuff that gets put into processed food.

Any evidence of this or is this a load of tree-huggerish claptrap?

I get the occasional migraine, which is probably only a bad headache in reality compared to some of you poor souls, so you all have my sympathy.

I've had 4 of what seem to be called aural migraines, basically a flashing growing blindspot in the right of my vision then a relatively normal headache. Bricked it the first time it happened, though I was going blind, glad I wasn't driving.
Trigger seems to be tiredness/dehydration/coffee/not enough food.

Thanks, has been really interesting reading how it differs for people. I luckily not a sufferer but my mum's are horrific, she's vomiting up any pills immediately and then atleast 24 hours in bed.

Triggers, she eats very healthily and very few processed foods, exercises regularly. Alcohol causes them immediately so she avoids, she is retired so (hopefully) not stress.

She has been taking imigran regularly but thinks they cause rebound headaches. Recently been put on an epilepsy med to take daily but with little improvement.

When one sets in she takes zolmintriptan 2.5mg, she has two brands one works one doesn't, how does that work? Both same dose of ingredients

wearing reading glasses* works for me.

(*when reading, or using a 'screen' - anything that'll have me focussing close for more than a minute or so)

As others have said, try to work out the triggers. Mine were mainly cheese, citrus of all kinds and chocolate, the migraine turning up on the second day. Having this sorted, the remainder were harder to dodge: such as Friday nights on the M25 and walking out into bright sunlight.

Plus I believe there were times when one was going to happen and something, anything, would set it off.

"she's vomiting up any pills immediately"
If any of the above is to go by everyone's migraines are to an extent individual. But once mine set in I could not keep anything down . For me the key to successfully using migraleave was to recognise the precursors and take the drugs then before my stomach shut down . For me this was a sense of not being able to see edges, a feeling of being disconnected from the world, not being able to recall friends names and numbness.
Your mum may have similar which if she learns to identify early in an attack may assist in taking medication as a precaution.

Another last ditch technique I used was to stop breathing fresh air for as long as I could ,so hold breath and shut nostrils with fingers . count as high as you can (20 to 30 for me) breath shallowly until you get breath back and repeat a few times . The theory is the migraine is in part caused by the oxygen co2 balance in your blood by re breathing or whatever you change that and stop the migraine . Please do not hold me responsible for this idea or ask me to justify it I read about it tried it, it occasionally had some impact.

^Crankboy, I forgot about that until you mentioned about names. I've had a few where I've been having a conversation and suddenly I couldn't put a single word together, just like someone had removed English language from my brain. These where than followed by auras and the headache/nausea...

Not had one like that for years and years though.

I think as many have said, the ultimate cure is sleep (in a very dark room).

I've been able to manage mine by changing diet - I mostly eat a high fat ketogenic diet and it has been transformative. I also strictly avoid gluten.

I posted here: http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/tell-me-about-ketosis-please

And got roundly pilloried by STW's armchair experts. But hey, it works and science is on my side

My GP is fully supportive of my approach, so well worth looking into.

Grinding teeth?
Bite guard may help?

Normally I get warning signs of an impending attack but one came on almost instantaneously today and with full spinning lights of doom,which I've never had before.Necked the emergency Nurofen and drank lots of water which usually helps but to no avail.Bent over after dropping something (which I could'nt then see because of the lights of doom!) and as I felt the blood rushing to my head I could feel the migraine subside!!!Very strange indeed.Still got the wooly/hungover after effects to deal with for a few days now 🙁

As many above say, I get the spinning lights of doom, gives me about 15 minutes to take some high power pain killers (any brand, all work for me). I feel a bit washed out for an hour but that's it. Without the pain killers, it's a day in bed, being sick sometimes.
I eat most of the things mentioned as triggers, dark choc, oranges, cheese, so I don't think these are a problem for me. One thing I've noticed is that the attack always coincides with mild constipation. Not sure which one comes first.

The problem with any oral medication is that you need to get it down you sharpish for it to work before stomach stops working or works in reverse. You can get sumatriptan in a single use autoinjector that you just jab yourself in the leg with. Think it's prescription only but worth speaking to GP about.

Mother-in-law suffered for years with multi-day, vomiting, headachey awfulness. A few years ago the doctor prescribed blood pressure tablets and she hasn't had a migraine since. Husband suffers from them too. He's now on beta-blockers, which help, with Sumatriptan as the cavalry when one does appear.

I get aural migraines, so other than the stupid vision disturbance, the headache is generally dealt with just with Ibuprofen.

Noticing the early symptoms is a massive one, it seems that with sumatripran if you catch it early then it's fine, too late and you may as well not bother.

Hora - yeah I was having a look at the ingredients of syndol to see what the active components were and if there was anything similar on the market. I also remember someone saying they suffered both migraines and hayfever and that the migraines died off over summer when they were taking antihistamines for the hayfever. Obviously a lot of variables involved but they seemed to add up.

Triggers important, gf's seem to be hormone related, time of the month basically

Regarding the vomiting everything back up including pills. I am the same. The 'Maxalt' I referred to are a 'wafer' that dissolves under the tongue and adsorbs very quickly into the blood stream without having to drink or swallow anything down. These have really helped in stopping / reducing the effects of bad attacks that I get.
I have tried some of the 'preventative' meds that you can get. But I found some of these had bad side effects including making me really hungry all the time, which caused me to gain quite a bit of weight - not good.

I've not managed to resolve mine yet. I've identified some triggers (low blood sugar, stress, hormones), but not the whole story - l get them for up to 16 days a month and they get me down. I get 6 sumatriptan tablets to last 2 months, so I have to save them for the worst migraines. I don't tolerate any of the prophylactic meds.
Might try eliminating cheese from my diet.

Sumatriptan does it for me. The first sign for me is distorted vision, kinda like the sensation you get when you look at a bright light and then look away and you can still see the light. Then I get the numbness; fingers, lips, tongue. Then comes the headache, and that's a bitch of a headache.
As soon as I have the first hint, i.e. the dodgy vision, I whack it with the Sumatriptan and 9/10 times it doesn't develop further. Gotta be quick though, don't delay. If it gets to the headache stage then it's too late.
Even then I feel pretty rubbish for a couple of hours but recover after that and I don't get to the headache stage.
The only thing I've ever identified as a cause is bright lights. Especially if I'm in a dark place, like a restaurant, and look outside to where it's really bright and sunny. Or working in a darkened office but with the computer monitors all on bright settings.
And maybe dehydration, I have a suspicion that that is a cause too. So chuck down a couple of pints of water with the Sumatriptan.

Hora - yeah I was having a look at the ingredients of syndol to see what the active components were and if there was anything similar on the market. I also remember someone saying they suffered both migraines and hayfever and that the migraines died off over summer when they were taking antihistamines for the hay fever.

The person you can remember saying that was Hora.