ARGGGHHH! Migraines

[anonymous-user]

Cooky said:

I have no ideas of triggers as I go to bed fine. It's only when I wake up, albeit I have been waking around 4.30am with a full on twister.
[...]
I really am fking sick of these now and may even get twisted tonight... just because I can.

A pathetic statement but only those of us who know how i'm feeling could possibly begin to understand.

I know exactly what you mean. I don't get migranes but I have regular headaches (approx 1 a week for the last 12 years). I've got fairly used to them now, a bit debilitating but nothing serious, but occasionally I'll wake up in the middle of the night with a real corker, as if somebody is drilling into my skull. I can't really describe it, other than to say it's a headache x 1000. The last time I had one, I genuinely considered knocking myself out on the door frame. It's difficult to describe the experience to anybody who hasn't suffered it.

[MentalSarcasm]

My Mum had her first migraine ever a few months ago. And it was a nasty one, nothing would get rid of it.

Turned out it was arthritis of the jaw. She had had toothache shortly before the migraine took over but she assumed that it was the toothache stress giving her the headaches. But it wasn't toothache, it was the jaw bone itself. Few anti-inflammatories later and she was fine.

[bigdavy]

Cooky said:

bigdavy said:

lots of very interesting and possibly relevent stuff.

As you do I know how totally horrendous these can be so I really urge you all to have your necks checked, if only to cross a possible cause off the list.

Cheers, Davy

I do have a long term back problem (degenerative disc disease) and although of late the problems at L4/5 and L5/S1 have been much improved I have been getting aching shoulderblades and a constant 'crick' in my neck preventing me from going to the gym.
maybe there is something here...this is getting interesting...thanks dude

Yep, sounds very familiar, i have badly prolapsed disc L5/S1 and get pain between the shoulders which then leads to neck stiffness/pain followed by...yes you got it! Get yourself to a good osteopath and get sorted!

[Davi]

Cooky said:

bigdavy said:

lots of very interesting and possibly relevent stuff.

As you do I know how totally horrendous these can be so I really urge you all to have your necks checked, if only to cross a possible cause off the list.

Cheers, Davy

I do have a long term back problem (degenerative disc disease) and although of late the problems at L4/5 and L5/S1 have been much improved I have been getting aching shoulderblades and a constant 'crick' in my neck preventing me from going to the gym.
maybe there is something here...this is getting interesting...thanks dude

Blimey - that's interesting, another degenerative disc person here. I've been meaning to try a tempur pillow out as it's been getting considerably worse over the last few months, (started losing use of my left arm as well the long term problems with my right the last few weeks). Might have to put it up the priority list.

Edited by Davi on Tuesday 11th November 21:19

[gary11]

I find first visual impairment 2x migaleve pink, bit later if it hurts still and any sick feeling 2x yellow,Ive never found my trigger,I get them when stressed,when relaxed,when tired,just after a run,all different really dont like the feeling of helplessness with the vision,also feel st the next day brain wont work struggle with figures ect,seems to have eased a bit with age!Ive only gone raw with no pills twice so understand the real pain you get its horrendous, for a period I always had a couple of pills just in case and would forget and panic sometimes bringing on a migrane,also I sometimes "know" Im going to get one really weird.
I think they key is fight it dont go to bed feeling sorry for yourself live with it and you can get through the day.

Edited by gary11 on Tuesday 11th November 21:38

[tonyvid]

Davi said:

Cooky said:

bigdavy said:

lots of very interesting and possibly relevent stuff.

As you do I know how totally horrendous these can be so I really urge you all to have your necks checked, if only to cross a possible cause off the list.

Cheers, Davy

I do have a long term back problem (degenerative disc disease) and although of late the problems at L4/5 and L5/S1 have been much improved I have been getting aching shoulderblades and a constant 'crick' in my neck preventing me from going to the gym.
maybe there is something here...this is getting interesting...thanks dude

Blimey - that's interesting, another degenerative disc person here. I've been meaning to try a tempur pillow out as it's been getting considerably worse over the last few months, (started losing use of my left arm as well the long term problems with my right the last few weeks). Might have to put it up the priority list.

Sheesh, not that I mentioned that ages ago


I found that sitting in a meeting and having to look sideways at a presenter for more than an hour would give me a banging headache - I always sit square on now. When it comes to your pillows, get your other half to put spots on your neck and back, all down the spine, lay as you normally would and get them to take a photo about 15 mins later when you have fully relaxed - you might be in for a shock how much you twist everything up

Some of the symptoms you lot are describing sound truly horrible, best luck to you all.

[V8A*ndy]

Davi said:

V8A*ndy said:

Could some of the guys discribe your flashing lights (no chrimbo lights please ) and if there is a different intensity of the flashes that make you episode worse.

Edited by V8A*ndy on Tuesday 11th November 19:11

two main kinds for me -

1: I get a blank patch appear in the left of centre of my vision, always in the same place. It's not a case of it being blacked out in that area, or any other colour, it just "isn't". It's hard to describe the size it starts at, best way I can describe is that looking at another persons face who is standing about 6 ft away, staring at the tip of their nose, a portion of their left eye will simply not exist. That gives me about 10-20 minutes warning, after which the perimeter of the missing patch looks like an asymmetric kaleidoscope - lots of triangle of shifting and flashing lights, very small in individual size. Most annoyingly you can't actually "look" at the area to really get a good description! Over the course of between 20 minutes and several hours this patch grows until it fills my field of vision - so basically blind with a perimeter of flashing. Eventually the reverse happens, a patch of vision appears and grows till I can see fully again.

2: the blank patch appears bottom right of centre. These are the ones I dread - much, much worse, with far worse accompanying effects. The vision loss, asymmetric flashing perimeter are all the same, only it takes a lot longer to grow and is once the vision starts to repeat, it immediately starts to go again with a second patch & flashing lights.

Interestingly, the perimeter of both types, despite being asymmetric, is always exactly the same shape.

Ohhh crap I had something like this last week. Never ever had the flashing lights before and tonight all the lights in the house and car headlights were a strange hue of blue.

I then several mins later had the pain but it was much different in that I couldn't move, face went numb and I couldn't speak. Wife was about to call an ambulance but it settled to just the pain. An hour later I had a bad nose bleed that i'm putting down to the nasal spray the doc gave me as my blood pressure seemed OK. Then followed by lots of vomiting. Never had that before either. Sore now yet not intense and I can't sleep.

Worried about this. Could this be a problem with the doctors and driving? I mean this came on in a relatively short period of time. What if it was to happen real sudden.

Ho humm!

[parakitaMol.]

Davi said:

V8A*ndy said:

Could some of the guys discribe your flashing lights (no chrimbo lights please ) and if there is a different intensity of the flashes that make you episode worse.

Edited by V8A*ndy on Tuesday 11th November 19:11

two main kinds for me -

1: I get a blank patch appear in the left of centre of my vision, always in the same place. It's not a case of it being blacked out in that area, or any other colour, it just "isn't". It's hard to describe the size it starts at, best way I can describe is that looking at another persons face who is standing about 6 ft away, staring at the tip of their nose, a portion of their left eye will simply not exist. That gives me about 10-20 minutes warning, after which the perimeter of the missing patch looks like an asymmetric kaleidoscope - lots of triangle of shifting and flashing lights, very small in individual size. Most annoyingly you can't actually "look" at the area to really get a good description! Over the course of between 20 minutes and several hours this patch grows until it fills my field of vision - so basically blind with a perimeter of flashing. Eventually the reverse happens, a patch of vision appears and grows till I can see fully again.

That is a really good description. Have you tried Beta-Blockers?

http://www.migraine.org.uk/content.aspx?cid=11

http://www.rbht.nhs.uk/research/overview/migraine/

Might be of interest to those who have migraines (rather than really bad headaches).

[Monki]

Beta blockers are quite dangerous, my girlfriend ended up addicted to them and they didn't really stop the migraines. So caused almost more trouble than they solved.

I've suffered since I was young, and found that the following were triggers for me :-

• strong smells such as detergents,bleach etc in supermarket aisles
• fluorescent lights and energy saving bulbs (I spent 1 day a week at school because they installed these which triggered my migraines). It's something to do with the pulsating light.
• Orange juice / cordial
• Caffeine
• Cheese

I cannot recommend how to stop them coming, however when you do get them, lie down in a dark room with the door shut, and put a warm damp towel on your forhead which I have found eases the headache

[parakitaMol.]

Monki said:

Beta blockers are quite dangerous, my girlfriend ended up addicted to them and they didn't really stop the migraines. So caused almost more trouble than they solved.

Obviously they don't work for everyone.

But they have all but cured mine, which were completely debilatating.

Paralysis of almost entire right hand side of body and face, unable to speak or walk, violent sickness and excruciating pain for around 3 days at a time. Absolutely NO painkillers worked - on several occasions had pethidine injections. Of course Beta-Blockers need to be handled with care and under GP's advice - but in most instances you take them for around 6-9 months.

If they don't work, then clearly you should stop! & keep looking for something that does!!

Thousands of drugs can be 'addictive'.

[Thudd]

I get like a "fizzle" in the centre of vision, like a small sparkler, preceded by a feeling of being slightly spaced out and distant.

The fizzle gradually grows, i'd describe it as being like an acetate cutout of a map of australia, vision is defocussed inside it, and the edges sparkle in rainbow colours.
It gets bigger and bigger until filling the middle two thirds of my vision, accompanied with the mother of all headaches.
Lights really hurt.
A glass of water and some sleep usually helps. Along with migraine pain ibuprofen.
Seems to be triggered by stress, bending over, and sitting looking into a bright light.
Not all at the same time, usually

[Driller]

Christiaan said:

Cooky said:

but why am i waking up every fking day with a migraine?

My two pennies worth is that you are grinding or clenching your teeth while you are asleep.
This may be as a result of stress.

Check out this web address for more info.

http://www.nti-tss.com/

Just seen this thread. Get to a dentist and get him to check you out for bruxism.

[scorp]

Thudd said:

I get like a "fizzle" in the centre of vision, like a small sparkler, preceded by a feeling of being slightly spaced out and distant.

The fizzle gradually grows, i'd describe it as being like an acetate cutout of a map of australia, vision is defocussed inside it, and the edges sparkle in rainbow colours.
It gets bigger and bigger until filling the middle two thirds of my vision, accompanied with the mother of all headaches.
Lights really hurt.
A glass of water and some sleep usually helps. Along with migraine pain ibuprofen.
Seems to be triggered by stress, bending over, and sitting looking into a bright light.
Not all at the same time, usually

Wow, that sounds quite severe. I experienced a couple of migraines earlier this year. Symptoms were quite strange and almost impossible to describe what i was seeing, almost like everything in the middle part of my vision started to lose detail to the point everything blended into some kind of neutral/invisible/inperceptible colour, i could only see using peripheral vision for around 20 minutes. No headaches though.

I would hate to imagine what would happen if i was driving, as the effects were very subtle at first and i only really noticed my vision fading as i was reading at the time and noticed letters disappearing

Edited by scorp on Wednesday 12th November 09:47

[gary11]

parakitaMol. said:

Monki said:

Beta blockers are quite dangerous, my girlfriend ended up addicted to them and they didn't really stop the migraines. So caused almost more trouble than they solved.

Obviously they don't work for everyone.

But they have all but cured mine, which were completely debilatating.

Paralysis of almost entire right hand side of body and face, unable to speak or walk, violent sickness and excruciating pain for around 3 days at a time. Absolutely NO painkillers worked - on several occasions had pethidine injections. Of course Beta-Blockers need to be handled with care and under GP's advice - but in most instances you take them for around 6-9 months.

If they don't work, then clearly you should stop! & keep looking for something that does!!

Thousands of drugs can be 'addictive'.

Thats sounds a more like a mini stroke to me,the symtoms are way over those of a migrane.
VV the symtoms I get ,I find myself looking at some text or a face ect and try to look around an imaginary obstruction then I realise what it is! my stomach flips as I think oh st migrane,take two pink migraleve at that point,sparkle auora starts in middle of my line of vision as a small circular shape though does vary and gradualy expands right through my line of vision exiting on the periphery of vision only in one eye though when I close my eyes I can see it in both ,within 10 mins headache will come, not nice,the worse thing is something happening in your body with its own timeline that you can do nothing about and feel REALLY deppressed the next day HTH
G

Edited by gary11 on Wednesday 12th November 10:20

[Davi]

parakitaMol. said:

That is a really good description. Have you tried Beta-Blockers?

http://www.migraine.org.uk/content.aspx?cid=11

http://www.rbht.nhs.uk/research/overview/migraine/

Might be of interest to those who have migraines (rather than really bad headaches).

I haven't, when I was a lot younger mine were similar in intensity to how yours sound, I was given some pills but they could only prescribe 3 at a time and the list of possible side effects (death, loss of limbs, permanent paralysis...) came with a list of 'common' side effects that frankly sounded worse than the migraines I chucked them.

There are lots of foods that sometimes are a trigger, but more often aren't (I think it might partly be combinations). More importantly though continued exposure to a trigger in small doses over the course of a few days / weeks can cause an almighty arse kicker of a migraine, yet looking at the intake diary you wouldn't immediately associate it. Took me the best part of 5 years to work the worst out, now I have zero intake of anything that has caused suspicion in the past it's manageable.

I think that's one thing a lot of people miss out on - the accumulative triggers, as I call them! (pea's for example?!)

tonyvid said:

Sheesh, not that I mentioned that ages ago

oops - must read posts properly!

V8A*ndy said:

Worried about this. Could this be a problem with the doctors and driving? I mean this came on in a relatively short period of time. What if it was to happen real sudden.

I seriously wouldn't worry about that yet - Of all the people I've met / discussed migraine with I've never come across anyone who was affected so rapidly as to be a danger on the road. It may well be a one off for you caused by a combination of events (not unheard of!) Over my 18 years driving on the road I've had to pull over and have a sleep in the car for a few hours just once, with no more drama than a bit of swearing that I was going to be late.

[parakitaMol.]

gary11 said:

parakitaMol. said:

Monki said:

Beta blockers are quite dangerous, my girlfriend ended up addicted to them and they didn't really stop the migraines. So caused almost more trouble than they solved.

Obviously they don't work for everyone.

But they have all but cured mine, which were completely debilatating.

Paralysis of almost entire right hand side of body and face, unable to speak or walk, violent sickness and excruciating pain for around 3 days at a time. Absolutely NO painkillers worked - on several occasions had pethidine injections. Of course Beta-Blockers need to be handled with care and under GP's advice - but in most instances you take them for around 6-9 months.

If they don't work, then clearly you should stop! & keep looking for something that does!!

Thousands of drugs can be 'addictive'.

Thats sounds a more like a mini stroke to me,the symtoms are way over those of a migrane.
VV the symtoms I get ,I find myself looking at some text or a face ect and try to look around an imaginary obstruction then I realise what it is! my stomach flips as I think oh st migrane,take two pink migraleve at that point,sparkle auora starts in middle of my line of vision as a small circular shape though does vary and gradualy expands right through my line of vision exiting on the periphery of vision only in one eye though when I close my eyes I can see it in both ,within 10 mins headache will come, not nice,the worse thing is something happening in your body with its own timeline that you can do nothing about and feel REALLY deppressed the next day HTH
G

Edited by gary11 on Wednesday 12th November 10:20

Yep. It sounds like it but isn't. It's pretty terrifying the first couple of times.

Migraine Association said:

Other rare forms of migraine

Hemiplegic migraine: this is a very rare condition which has been linked to a genetic abnormality. Symptoms include temporary paralysis down one side of the body, which can last for several days. Other symptoms include vertigo or difficulty walking, double vision or blindness, hearing impairment, numbness around the mouth leading to trouble speaking or swallowing. This form of migraine may be confused with a stroke, but the effects are usually fully reversible.

I have always found this website very good as a starting point.

http://www.migraine.org.uk/content.aspx?cid=1#migr...

[Johnmuzy]

Most headaches are referred pain from one or more muscles of the head and neck (including those that move the mouth. If the teeth due not meet in the "correct" position, the jaw and joint cannot move into the correct position allowing the muscles to relax. These muscles then go into "spasm" and cause the headache/migraine/neck/shoulder pain/tinnitus/visual disturbances/toothache/earache......
The pain "refers" from the site of the spasm (which may be in the neck) to the area where the headache is felt - for example behind the eye. This referred pain is the same as when you have a heart attack - the pain may be felt in the left shoulder and arm, and sometimes in the chin.
80% of such headaches are of dental origin and many may be treated by a one-off treatment giving a permanent cure.
How do I know? - I suffered myself and a few years ago had treatment - I now treat patients like this every working day.
For more information visit www.BSOS.org.uk to find a dentist in your area who specialises in occlusion and it's associated problems.

[funkyboogalooo]

Johnmuzy said:

Most headaches are referred pain from one or more muscles of the head and neck (including those that move the mouth. If the teeth due not meet in the "correct" position, the jaw and joint cannot move into the correct position allowing the muscles to relax. These muscles then go into "spasm" and cause the headache/migraine/neck/shoulder pain/tinnitus/visual disturbances/toothache/earache......
The pain "refers" from the site of the spasm (which may be in the neck) to the area where the headache is felt - for example behind the eye. This referred pain is the same as when you have a heart attack - the pain may be felt in the left shoulder and arm, and sometimes in the chin.
80% of such headaches are of dental origin and many may be treated by a one-off treatment giving a permanent cure.
How do I know? - I suffered myself and a few years ago had treatment - I now treat patients like this every working day.
For more information visit www.BSOS.org.uk to find a dentist in your area who specialises in occlusion and it's associated problems.

Now that looks real interesing. there is a specialist just a few miles from me. I wonder if my Denplan would cover it? Im gonna give them a call tomorrow.

[Zod]

I get one about four or five times a year. The really bad ones are accompanied by aphasia, resulting in my thinking being completely lucid, but my ability to assimilate words that I read or hear or to select the right word in speech being affected. The first time I had one of those, I was terrified.

[squirrel2007]

Davi said:

V8A*ndy said:

Could some of the guys discribe your flashing lights (no chrimbo lights please ) and if there is a different intensity of the flashes that make you episode worse.

Edited by V8A*ndy on Tuesday 11th November 19:11

two main kinds for me -

1: I get a blank patch appear in the left of centre of my vision, always in the same place. It's not a case of it being blacked out in that area, or any other colour, it just "isn't". It's hard to describe the size it starts at, best way I can describe is that looking at another persons face who is standing about 6 ft away, staring at the tip of their nose, a portion of their left eye will simply not exist. That gives me about 10-20 minutes warning, after which the perimeter of the missing patch looks like an asymmetric kaleidoscope - lots of triangle of shifting and flashing lights, very small in individual size. Most annoyingly you can't actually "look" at the area to really get a good description! Over the course of between 20 minutes and several hours this patch grows until it fills my field of vision - so basically blind with a perimeter of flashing. Eventually the reverse happens, a patch of vision appears and grows till I can see fully again.

2: the blank patch appears bottom right of centre. These are the ones I dread - much, much worse, with far worse accompanying effects. The vision loss, asymmetric flashing perimeter are all the same, only it takes a lot longer to grow and is once the vision starts to repeat, it immediately starts to go again with a second patch & flashing lights.

Interestingly, the perimeter of both types, despite being asymmetric, is always exactly the same shape.

Exactly what I get. Couldn't describe it better. After the visual wierdness has gone I get a stinking headache and feeling of nausea for the rest of the day.

I used to get them loads (as regularly as once a week when I was at school) and they seem to have reduced in regularity since. At that time I was told by my doctor that normal tablets were useless because you get gastric shutdown which means anything in your stomach just sits there. He prescribed Naramig wafer tablets but they didn't seem to make any difference.

I also went to a cranial osteopath who rekoned that avoiding malt vinegar amongst the more common trigger foods would help. I did so but I still had just as many migraines as before.

The only thing that I could draw a link to was coffee as on a number of occasions I developed a migraine shortly after drinking strong coffee. So about 3 years ago I started to avoid Coffee. I've still had the odd migraine since but not anywhere near the same frequency as before. Tea has no noticeable affect as I still drink loads of it!!

I actually went for nearly 1 year between migraines in 2007-2008 but this year I had one in the summer and one last Friday morning which effectively wrote off the whole day!

I'm afraid that I can't offer any concrete advice on what to avoid as I still get the occasional random one but I would suggest avoiding coffee for a bit to see if that helps.

Gonna go now because thinkong about migraines actually makes me feel quite ill!!