Migraines

For those of you that suffer migraines, what things have you found help somewhat?

I've tried:
ice packs (moderately helpful)
vaporub (minor to moderate)
essential oils (not helpful to minor)
motrin (in high doses in conjunction with something else-moderate)
tylenol (only in conjunction with something else - minor)
aspirin (minor)
topiramate (helpful preventative but did kidney damage and had to stop)
sumatriptan (helpful but makes me feel fatigued and "heavy" and "off")
nortriptaline (not helpful preventative and made me sick and hallucinate)
ginkgo biloba (works nearly as well as preventative as topiramate with no side effects)

Preventatives do not prevent all migraines. They simply tend to somewhat reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. So one will still likely get migraines while on such medications but the ones they do have will not be as often or usually as severe as normal.

Draka said:

For those of you that suffer migraines, what things have you found help somewhat?

I've tried:
ice packs (moderately helpful)
vaporub (minor to moderate)
essential oils (not helpful to minor)
motrin (in high doses in conjunction with something else-moderate)
tylenol (only in conjunction with something else - minor)
aspirin (minor)
topiramate (helpful preventative but did kidney damage and had to stop)
sumatriptan (helpful but makes me feel fatigued and "heavy" and "off")
nortriptaline (not helpful preventative and made me sick and hallucinate)
ginkgo biloba (works nearly as well as preventative as topiramate with no side effects)

Preventatives do not prevent all migraines. They simply tend to somewhat reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. So one will still likely get migraines while on such medications but the ones they do have will not be as often or usually as severe as normal.

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Is medicinal cannabis legal where you live? It has been shown to alleviate migraines.

Thankfully, I seem to only get Ocular Migraines. They seem to go away in less than an hour, whether I take meds for them or not. I get a glowy, zig zag image in my left eye, and my sentences are nutty. I am forced to sit patiently until they resolve themselves.

Draka said:

For those of you that suffer migraines, what things have you found help somewhat?

I've tried:
ice packs (moderately helpful)
vaporub (minor to moderate)
essential oils (not helpful to minor)
motrin (in high doses in conjunction with something else-moderate)
tylenol (only in conjunction with something else - minor)
aspirin (minor)
topiramate (helpful preventative but did kidney damage and had to stop)
sumatriptan (helpful but makes me feel fatigued and "heavy" and "off")
nortriptaline (not helpful preventative and made me sick and hallucinate)
ginkgo biloba (works nearly as well as preventative as topiramate with no side effects)

Preventatives do not prevent all migraines. They simply tend to somewhat reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. So one will still likely get migraines while on such medications but the ones they do have will not be as often or usually as severe as normal.

Click to expand...

I can only say this worked for me. If you look for cures, there's dozens of recommendations. Stress reduction, eating too much, eating too little. Taking too much medications, not taking enough. Bright lights, eating hot dogs. Drinking caffeine helps or makes it worse. Getting too much or too little sleep. I imagine the cure depends on the individual.

Quite a while back I read migraines were caused by excess blood flow to the brains. Now I have reason to doubt this, it was something I read and believed a long time ago. So I "willed" myself to decrease the blood flow to my brain while rubbing my temples. I willed myself to relax, take deep breaths, let go of any physical stress I was feeling. It took some time but eventually my migraines went away. It's been many years since I've experienced one.

I get visual cues and then I take 4 ibuprofen and I'm generally good. if I do not catch it in time I go for acupuncture and that generally takes me to that groggy slightly hung over feeling I generally get when the migraine pain leaves

Draka said:

For those of you that suffer migraines, what things have you found help somewhat?

I've tried:
ice packs (moderately helpful)
vaporub (minor to moderate)
essential oils (not helpful to minor)
motrin (in high doses in conjunction with something else-moderate)
tylenol (only in conjunction with something else - minor)
aspirin (minor)
topiramate (helpful preventative but did kidney damage and had to stop)
sumatriptan (helpful but makes me feel fatigued and "heavy" and "off")
nortriptaline (not helpful preventative and made me sick and hallucinate)
ginkgo biloba (works nearly as well as preventative as topiramate with no side effects)

Preventatives do not prevent all migraines. They simply tend to somewhat reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. So one will still likely get migraines while on such medications but the ones they do have will not be as often or usually as severe as normal.

Click to expand...

Its always useful to go back to identifying triggers such as foods, stress, allergens etc. A journal is useful with three columns to record symptoms, diet, and feelings. Migraines can be very difficult to treat for some people. Sensitivities to multiple medications can complicate matters. I see you are a vet so you may be familiar with a number medications for treatment of acute attacks such as rizatriptan and prophylactic medications such as beta-blockers (propranolol), valproate, calcium channel blockers and gabapentin. Seeing a neurologist can be helpful if you feel you're at the end of the road with your GP.

Migraine | Symptoms, Causes and Treatment | Patient

Migraine Management. Common migraine treatment and info | Patient

Deeje said:

Is medicinal cannabis legal where you live? It has been shown to alleviate migraines.

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I wish. I think they are always working on it in the state legislature but never seems to happen. I've never smoked pot but would be more than willing to try it if it helped.

Ellen Brown said:

Thankfully, I seem to only get Ocular Migraines. They seem to go away in less than an hour, whether I take meds for them or not. I get a glowy, zig zag image in my left eye, and my sentences are nutty. I am forced to sit patiently until they resolve themselves.

Click to expand...

Ocular migraines are what I get most for my auras. They are just the forewarning for a full blown attack for me. I have also gotten transient aphasia, one sided numbness and other stroke symptoms (hemiplegic migraines), and full on double vision (basilar migraines) for auras. Normal migraines for me usually run 8-9 hours in the main attack and are usually debilitating enough that I'm in bed, in the dark, with a bucket next to the bed just in case. The postdrome (hangover) lasts about a day to day and a half afterwards. So, for length I'm not as bad as some, it's not chronic at least, but they do tend to take me out of commission.

Nakosis said:

I can only say this worked for me. If you look for cures, there's dozens of recommendations. Stress reduction, eating too much, eating too little. Taking too much medications, not taking enough. Bright lights, eating hot dogs. Drinking caffeine helps or makes it worse. Getting too much or too little sleep. I imagine the cure depends on the individual.

Quite a while back I read migraines were caused by excess blood flow to the brains. Now I have reason to doubt this, it was something I read and believed a long time ago. So I "willed" myself to decrease the blood flow to my brain while rubbing my temples. I willed myself to relax, take deep breaths, let go of any physical stress I was feeling. It took some time but eventually my migraines went away. It's been many years since I've experienced one.

Click to expand...

I've tried about everything I can think of but when the pain is so great that you can't even think straight it becomes quite difficult to concentrate enough to "will" anything anywhere. I've had rare types of migraines that have sent me to the ER more than once. I have presented to the ER as if having a full on stroke and had to have all kinds of scans and tests just for them to finally be able to rule out stroke and aortic dissection and tell me I basically had a really funky migraine. So, whatever is going on in my brain, it's not just blood flow and stress. It's legitimately screwed up and has been for over 20 years now.

Wu Wei said:

I get visual cues and then I take 4 ibuprofen and I'm generally good. if I do not catch it in time I go for acupuncture and that generally takes me to that groggy slightly hung over feeling I generally get when the migraine pain leaves

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Acupuncture is something I've never tried and I don't even know if there is anywhere in this town that does that. Not that I can drive anywhere once one hits full on anyway. It is an interesting concept though. What is it about acupuncture that you think makes it work for you?

adrian009 said:

Its always useful to go back to identifying triggers such as foods, stress, allergens etc. A journal is useful with three columns to record symptoms, diet, and feelings. Migraines can be very difficult to treat for some people. Sensitivities to multiple medications can complicate matters. I see you are a vet so you may be familiar with a number medications for treatment of acute attacks such as rizatriptan and prophylactic medications such as beta-blockers (propranolol), valproate, calcium channel blockers and gabapentin. Seeing a neurologist can be helpful if you feel you're at the end of the road with your GP.

Migraine | Symptoms, Causes and Treatment | Patient

Migraine Management. Common migraine treatment and info | Patient

Click to expand...

Thank you for the extra information. The lists of other meds. I've seen neurologists before, that's how I ended up on the preventatives a few years ago. They kind of gave up on me when I had issues with the preventatives they prescribed me (almost lost a kidney due to one). I've rarely had any doctor take my migraines seriously. My current provider prescribed me the sumatriptan when I told her I was basically at wits end, but I may ask her if I can try some others. I was diagnosed and medicated for my migraines while in the service and when I got out, the very first doctor I went to, with prescription bottle in hand, didn't believe I had migraines, told me it was all in my head and I needed to see a therapist. I went so many years just dealing with it and not seeing a doctor because it was never taken seriously. Now I have symptoms mimicking strokes and have bouts of transient aphasia. I'm, at this point, pretty certain I will eventually have the real deal and face a stroke.

Jogging. Keep jogging until the aches from your body are greater than the pain of the migraine. This is especially true if you jog only traveling away from anyone who gives you a migraine.

Draka said:

Acupuncture is something I've never tried and I don't even know if there is anywhere in this town that does that. Not that I can drive anywhere once one hits full on anyway. It is an interesting concept though. What is it about acupuncture that you think makes it work for you?

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Not exactly sure, it just works. But I have an advantage, my wife is a traditional Chinese medical doctor from China and trained in China

Draka said:

For those of you that suffer migraines, what things have you found help somewhat?

I've tried:
ice packs (moderately helpful)
vaporub (minor to moderate)
essential oils (not helpful to minor)
motrin (in high doses in conjunction with something else-moderate)
tylenol (only in conjunction with something else - minor)
aspirin (minor)
topiramate (helpful preventative but did kidney damage and had to stop)
sumatriptan (helpful but makes me feel fatigued and "heavy" and "off")
nortriptaline (not helpful preventative and made me sick and hallucinate)
ginkgo biloba (works nearly as well as preventative as topiramate with no side effects)

Preventatives do not prevent all migraines. They simply tend to somewhat reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. So one will still likely get migraines while on such medications but the ones they do have will not be as often or usually as severe as normal.

Click to expand...

just for clarity....you are posting about that headache....
that throbs at your temples?
pains the eye and eye socket?
tightens the neck muscles?
fills your sinuses (but no mucus)?

all of these at once?

1000ml grams of aspirin

wait one hour

do so again

lay down

if at work.....you will suffer

Thief said:

just for clarity....you are posting about that headache....
that throbs at your temples?
pains the eye and eye socket?
tightens the neck muscles?
fills your sinuses (but no mucus)?

all of these at once?

1000ml grams of aspirin

wait one hour

do so again

lay down

if at work.....you will suffer

Click to expand...

No, not a sinus headache. A migraine. Sharp dagger-like one-sided head pain often debilitating, extreme light sensitivity causing pain and inability to focus clearly, sound sensitivity, movement even hurts, and nausea and vomiting. Pre-migraine auras involve flashing light visual disturbances that blur out vision over time, sometimes transient aphasia and other stroke-like symptoms. NOT a headache. A neurological disorder.

Draka said:

I wish. I think they are always working on it in the state legislature but never seems to happen. I've never smoked pot but would be more than willing to try it if it helped.

Click to expand...

Medicinal Cannabis has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of so many neurological disorders. Its not smoking it but taking it as a supplement in an oil base (usually MCT oil)
I have an acquaintance (a friend of my daughter's) whose son has Tourette's Syndrome and Cannabis Oil has helped him when nothing else had. It is not legal here but she has obtained some through people who know people....The pharma meds are all so laced with unwanted side effects that the cure is often worse than the complaint. She hated what they did to her son, and so did he. Not to mention that the meds mostly don't work and create other more serious problems. I have completely lost faith in that system. Its about creating customers and making money....not making people well. Sadly, I find that the doctors are as hoodwinked as their patients. They take all their information from the wrong people, which often makes them more like 'pimps' for drug companies than real doctors who are trying to make someone well. So many MD's are now shifting to functional medicine, looking for the cause of disease or malfunction, rather than just prescribing drugs to deal with symptoms. Medicinal cannabis has a big role to play in that I think. They will have to do something about its status as schedule 1 drug, because it clearly does not belong in that category, and more and more people are educating themselves about it.

Ocular migraines are what I get most for my auras. They are just the forewarning for a full blown attack for me. I have also gotten transient aphasia, one sided numbness and other stroke symptoms (hemiplegic migraines), and full on double vision (basilar migraines) for auras. Normal migraines for me usually run 8-9 hours in the main attack and are usually debilitating enough that I'm in bed, in the dark, with a bucket next to the bed just in case. The postdrome (hangover) lasts about a day to day and a half afterwards. So, for length I'm not as bad as some, it's not chronic at least, but they do tend to take me out of commission.

Click to expand...

I get migraines too but thankfully they do not cause me pain, just occasionally some visual disturbance. Yours sound terrible. I have friends who suffer this way and they too would like to try cannabis oil but its been stolen from us by a greedy commercial system who don't want anyone to use a harmless plant that they can grow in their own garden.....you have to take their overpriced medicine that just makes you sicker so you need more of their drugs....its the medical system that is sick IMO.
There is some great cannabis research going on in Israel.

Check it out
A higher calling: How Israeli marijuana research changed the world

I've tried about everything I can think of but when the pain is so great that you can't even think straight it becomes quite difficult to concentrate enough to "will" anything anywhere. I've had rare types of migraines that have sent me to the ER more than once. I have presented to the ER as if having a full on stroke and had to have all kinds of scans and tests just for them to finally be able to rule out stroke and aortic dissection and tell me I basically had a really funky migraine. So, whatever is going on in my brain, it's not just blood flow and stress. It's legitimately screwed up and has been for over 20 years now.

Click to expand...

Wow...that is a long time to suffer. Acupuncture sounds like it might be a good alternative if the Cannabis is not available. You don't have to wait till you have a migraine to have it...you just have to find a good practitioner who may be able to release some blockage somewhere. Ask the people where you live if they know of a good one. Shame you don't live near me...we have a really good one. A traditional Chinese practitioner who knows what he's doing.

All the best....

Deeje said:

Medicinal Cannabis has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of so many neurological disorders. Its not smoking it but taking it as a supplement in an oil base (usually MCT oil)
I have an acquaintance (a friend of my daughter's) whose son has Tourette's Syndrome and Cannabis Oil has helped him when nothing else had. It is not legal here but she has obtained some through people who know people....The pharma meds are all so laced with unwanted side effects that the cure is often worse than the complaint. She hated what they did to her son, and so did he. Not to mention that the meds mostly don't work and create other more serious problems. I have completely lost faith in that system. Its about creating customers and making money....not making people well. Sadly, I find that the doctors are as hoodwinked as their patients. They take all their information from the wrong people, which often makes them more like 'pimps' for drug companies than real doctors who are trying to make someone well. So many MD's are now shifting to functional medicine, looking for the cause of disease or malfunction, rather than just prescribing drugs to deal with symptoms. Medicinal cannabis has a big role to play in that I think. They will have to do something about its status as schedule 1 drug, because it clearly does not belong in that category, and more and more people are educating themselves about it.

Click to expand...

I would love to try the oil. Damn well anything at this point. I spent most of the day in bed today and were it not for several motrin and tylenol on top of my sumatriptan I would not have been able to function enough this afternoon to pick up my daughter from school choir (went back to bed once I got home though). I hate taking pills like that. I do take Ginkgo Biloba and it works well as a preventative actually. I don't tend to have as many as I use to. I use to average 2 a week and now maybe one good one every week or even 2. So it's cut them down by around half. One preventative I was on caused me kidney issues. Ended up with hydronephrosis and my right kidney swelled to about 4x its actual size and could have ruptured if it weren't caught in time. Honestly, when I went to the ER complaining of the pain they tried to right me off as a pulled muscle. They said a kidney issue wouldn't cause pain when pressed upon and it must be muscular. Luckily I threw enough of a fit that they finally took me for scans and found my kidney was like a balloon. I hate when doctors don't believe you know anything about your own body and pain. I still get right kidney pain to this day and it was several years ago now.

I get migraines too but thankfully they do not cause me pain, just occasionally some visual disturbance. Yours sound terrible. I have friends who suffer this way and they too would like to try cannabis oil but its been stolen from us by a greedy commercial system who don't want anyone to use a harmless plant that they can grow in their own garden.....you have to take their overpriced medicine that just makes you sicker so you need more of their drugs....its the medical system that is sick IMO.
There is some great cannabis research going on in Israel.

Click to expand...

The medical system is sick, as what I wrote above can attest to.

Wow...that is a long time to suffer. Acupuncture sounds like it might be a good alternative if the Cannabis is not available. You don't have to wait till you have a migraine to have it...you just have to find a good practitioner who may be able to release some blockage somewhere. Ask the people where you live if they know of a good one. Shame you don't live near me...we have a really good one. A traditional Chinese practitioner who knows what he's doing.

All the best....

Click to expand...

I've been seeking chiropractic care lately. May not be acupuncture but hoping it could provide me some relief. Not sure about the migraines yet, but my neck and back issues sure feel better

Three ibuprofen has sometimes been helpful in alleviating migraines for me and my wife. Sometimes we need to add sumatriptan. Sometimes sumatriptan doesn't work and occasionally it seems to make it worse. My wife also likes to take hot showers, which seems counter-intuitive to me.

Draka said:

No, not a sinus headache. A migraine. Sharp dagger-like one-sided head pain often debilitating, extreme light sensitivity causing pain and inability to focus clearly, sound sensitivity, movement even hurts, and nausea and vomiting. Pre-migraine auras involve flashing light visual disturbances that blur out vision over time, sometimes transient aphasia and other stroke-like symptoms. NOT a headache. A neurological disorder.

Click to expand...

ah....
so intense pain and throbbing....to the point of dizziness
are not sufficient to know your distress

the distraction to the point of dysfunction are not equivalent

ok....I get it

but I have been a black belt
and that car accident bumped my little red needle.....too far

I will concede.....I do not understand your pain

What is migraine?

Migraine is a complex condition with a wide variety of symptoms. For many people the main feature is a painful headache. Other symptoms include disturbed vision, sensitivity to light, sound and smells, feeling sick and vomiting. Migraine attacks can be very frightening and may result in you having to lie still for several hours.
The symptoms will vary from person to person and individuals may have different symptoms during different attacks. Your attacks may differ in length and frequency. Migraine attacks usually last from 4 to 72 hours and most people are free from symptoms between attacks. Migraine can have an enormous impact on your work, family and social lives.
Are there different types of migraine?

There are different types of migraine. In 1988 the International Headache Society produced a classification system for migraine and headache which has been adopted by the World Health Organisation. This has been updated since then and is the established basis for defining types of headaches. The International Classification of Headache Disorders system gives different names to the different types of migraine and headache that involve different symptoms. This helps doctors to diagnose and treat them.
The most common types of migraine fall into two categories:

• 
  
  
  • migraine with aura
  • migraine without aura.

The ‘migraine with aura’ label is also used for some of the rarer forms of migraine, which also have another name. These include migraine with brainstem aura, where symptoms such as loss of balance, double vision, or fainting can occur. Familial hemiplegic migraine, where reversible paralysis occurs, is also classed as ‘migraine with aura’. There are other rare forms of migraine, which are classed separately.
Not everyone will have a ‘typical’ migraine. The experience of the condition will be unique to you.
Headache or migraine?

Distinguishing between different types of headache can be difficult. You can experience different types of headaches at different times of your life for varying reasons. For example, if you have migraine you may also experience other types of headache. Keeping a migraine or headache diary is really useful and can be invaluable in trying to identify a specific headache type.
What is the treatment?

The complex nature of migraine means that the treatments available are varied and differ from person to person. There is currently no cure for migraine.
What causes migraine?

There is no known cause for migraine, although most people with it are genetically predisposed to migraine. If you are susceptible to migraine there are certain triggers which commonly occur. These include stress, lack of food, alcohol, hormonal changes in women, lack of sleep and the environment.

No medication worked for me, i have tried most of those listed above. One a migraine had established itself lying down in a dark room did ease but not cure the migraine.
Forcing myself to vomit often helped ease and occasionally alleviate the maladie.
I was told that dunking my head in cold water may help. When one was beginning, sticking my head in a basin of cold water did prevent the full on migraine which also disappeared much quicker than normal.

Eventually i happened on the trigger, oily fish. Nowhere in any of the documentation can i find oily fish listed as a trigger but cutting it out worked for me.

I have recently begun eating oily fish again without the undesirable effects.

Draka said:

I've tried about everything I can think of but when the pain is so great that you can't even think straight it becomes quite difficult to concentrate enough to "will" anything anywhere. I've had rare types of migraines that have sent me to the ER more than once. I have presented to the ER as if having a full on stroke and had to have all kinds of scans and tests just for them to finally be able to rule out stroke and aortic dissection and tell me I basically had a really funky migraine. So, whatever is going on in my brain, it's not just blood flow and stress. It's legitimately screwed up and has been for over 20 years now.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. As much as I'd like to think otherwise, not all pain can be willed away.