One of the uglier features of the post-40 landscape is migraine headaches. I know they're hormone-related because of when they occur, but other than that I have had no success in figuring out triggers and preventatives.
If I head them off at the pass with ibuprofen I manage to keep functioning, but if I wait too long the headache is excruciating and I get queasy besides, and pills make the nausea worse.
I'm interested in others' experiences with migraines, what worked, what didn't, when it's time to see a doctor. If you have ideas for me, feel free to leave a suggestion (as opposed to a command).
Thanks.
Quote of the Day:
"Do you run a concession stand?"
--the clerk at Grocery Outlet, to me, last night. I said, "No, I have six children."
I suggest dietary adjustments. Wife had severe migraines during hormonal times till we changed diet. This website has more info.
ReplyDeletewww.hacres.com
Suggestion #1: Coca Cola Classic
ReplyDeleteSuggestion #2: Click my name for a story about a Baptist headache in Gaza.
I sympathise. Am in the same boat for the same reasons. The only thing I have found effective is to take a tablet & sleep it off ~ & I need to do it early or nothing at all helps & that's 3 days wasted in bed! As a Homeschooling mum I can't afford to lose 3 days every month.
ReplyDeleteI personally have found this helpful the wisdom and logistics from a health prospective are in question BUT when I'm in the middle of a migraine wisdom and logistics are of little value! 2 Excedrine migraine, 1 sudafed and LOTS of caffine this along with ice on my head and Jay pushing the pressure points in my hands and feet
ReplyDeleteAnd one more thing, don't do this on an empty stomach
ReplyDeleteAnd one more thing, don't do this on an empty stomach
ReplyDeleteI had frequent migraines for about 10 years, during my early 20s and early 30s, but have been migraine free for more than 10 years for reasons unknown. Back in the day, I took a migraine med called Midrin, which always turned my feet numb but worked with the headaches if I caught them soon enough. There are better drugs now, I'm told, which don't have such an adverse effect on blood pressure and which can even prevent them (of course, you have to take the drug all the time). My wife, whose headaches are not traditional migraines but bad enough anyway, takes the Advil migraine-strength pills, which seem to help.
ReplyDeleteYou've probably heard about all the food triggers -- aged cheese, red wine, etc. Muenster cheese still gets me feeling migrainey if I'm not careful, with the flashing lights and everything. A Hutterite I knew always got a bad migraine from "choke wine" that the colony made from chokecherries. Of course, since choke wine is not vital to continued existence, it can be avoided with relative ease.
Once the headache passes and you can stand light again, you should read Joan Didion's essay about migraines. She suffered from them, and maybe still does, and really thrashes those non-migraine people who in their utter ignorance say things like, "oh, take an aspirin and put a cloth on your head." It was in one of her early books, like The White Album or something. Once you've read it, encourage others around you to read it, too. It can be very enlightening for the non-migraine inclined.
I had headaches and migraines ALOT til I took a natural "pill" to even out my hormones. I am not off of that "pill" and have almost no migraines. When stress does put me into a migraine I pull out the excedrin migraine, take 2 of them, and it usually takes care of it, IF I catch it soon enough.
ReplyDeleteIt at least dulls it so I can function.
But I really hardly have to take those any more.
Another thing I did was drink a lemon/water/maple syrup mixture.. it helps hormone headaches amazingly!
Rachel
wooops I meant to say I AM off of that "pill". I no longer take it and have very few headaches and almost never have a migraine. Rachel
ReplyDeleteI take 120 mg Inderal LA which I take daily for a maintenance dose for migraines and now rarely get one. If I do then I use 800 mg Ibuprofen and cup of coffee as soon as I feel one coming and that usually does the trick, but not before I started taking daily med.
ReplyDeleteDorcas, when Susan has a migraine coming on she takes Ibuprofen and Coke. She will usually still feel rotten, just not as bad.
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to get migraines until he went on blood pressure medication 25 years ago. There is something in his meds that deals with migraines as well.
I empathize with the nausea, dizziness, pounding. I found Aleve (two) to be helpful if I take it right when symptoms start.
ReplyDeleteAbout 10 yr. ago, I would get terrible(!) headaches on weekends & on trips, etc.; anytime I'd sleep late or have my sleep schedule messed up. Painkiller at the 1st hints of a headache or for-get getting relief. Do you sleep later at "certain times"?? PC in VA
ReplyDeleteWhat works for me: sucking on ice cubes, cold washcloth on my forehead, lying completely still in a dark room with no noise, a lot of advil and tylenol, sometimes on top of each other. I have never gone to the doctor for one, but looking back there was one that was so bad I should have. I think they are the WORST!
ReplyDeleteI too have found it almost impossible to nail down my migraine triggers. I used Imitrex (painkiller) until I was having migraines several times a week. Now I take Topamax (preventative) every day. In an ideal world, I would eat, exercise, relax, and sleep properly. Until then, I'm using meds. :)
ReplyDeleteI can vouch for Inderal LA. I have taken it for several years now. I used to get Head-Crashing, sick-to-my-stomach, completely dibilitating migraines two or three times a week. I tried all the remedies, tried to find triggers...the ONLY thing that ever worked was Inderal. Now when I have a "breakthrough" migraine (two or three times a year, not a week), a good high dose of Aleve usually makes a big enough dent in it to function. You have my sympathy. Hope you find the answer!
ReplyDeleteI started drinking lots of water, a good 8 glasses a day or more,which helped me.
ReplyDeleteIt seems sometimes headaches are brought on by not drinking enough water. For that reason, I usually take water or tea along when I go to town for a while. Sometimes drinking water can cure a headache, too.
ReplyDeleteQOTD: No, I don't run a concession stand either. By the looks of my grocery cart, its a full-service restaurant! Pauline
ReplyDelete20 Comments! We do love to give advice, don't we? :) Hope you find relief soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for your thoughts. Some mentioned water and sleep schedules--both of those are regular-headache (but not migraine) triggers. I'll have to think about the other ideas...and maybe I'll even try Coke (blech!)
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest "Woman's Choice" a natural hormonal support (containing Black Cohosh Extract, Red Clover, Calcium, etc.) for woman 40+yrs. As an Herbalife Distributor, I've been excited to help several women ward off the discomforts of peri/menapause by taking 1-2 tablets a day. Contact me for further info if you're interested. You can visit herbalife.com as well
ReplyDeleteI have a xanga site @ mrs_ande
ReplyDeleteHi Dorcus,
ReplyDeleteFirst try Excedrine Migraine. If that doesn't knock it out, the prescription Maxalt disolved on the tongue when you can't keep anything down could be the answer for you. It is for me.
God bless, Kathy
I am doing research for a term paper, where in i found that Botox injections in the forehead and lower back neck remove migrains for up to six months, and they cost around $400 each injection. thought of you when i discovered this. -geneva
ReplyDeleteI take three regular aspirin with a glass of water the minute I know one is coming on.
ReplyDeleteIt has greatly reduced the severity. Sometimes I totally ward them off, sometimes they're just an annoyance, but I can still funcion. The nausea was pretty much a thing of the past once I started that.
I found it on a natural health-type website.
Ibuprofen and Advil did nothing for mine, which got worse over a couple of years, until I would spent half a day vomiting, and could easily use 2.5 days in bed, although forced myself to function when I had to.