Calling All Migraine Sufferers

[Bing & Win Win]

I did a search on migraines and didn't come up with anything.

 

I have been CURSED with migraines since I was a little girl. I get them from everything - food, weather, stress. I have been prescribed different pills and refuse to take them.

 

I am determined to find a more natural approach. Does anyone out there feel the same way I do?? I'd love to hear what do you do to ease the pain?

 

Please share!

[Banana11]

I totally feel your pain! I get about 2/year thank goodness but they are debilitating. Mine are very random and come at the worst times. My vision starts to go in one eye and I know I have about 30-60 minutes before the pain sets in and my vision gets worse. One time I was able to stop it from coming on full force. I took Excedrin Migraine the minute my vision changed and drank a bunch of Pepsi.

[Bing & Win Win]

I'd be happy to only get 2 a year. How sad is that!?

 

Unfortunately I eat advil like they are candy. I will be honest....I have been a closet smoker for a little while (wedding stress)...and I really know it's not helping. So that's my first step - stop smoking...even though it's not alot...my body and mind can't handle it.

[Bing & Win Win]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meg&Shay Unfortunately, I have no words of advice on the natural route but I've suffered from migraines since my early teen years. With the help of my doctor, I finally figured out they were triggered primarily by my cycle (and secondarily by stress). So she put me on Seasonique, the bc pill where you only have your period 4 times a year, and that has almost eliminated my migraines. On the rare occasion I still get one, Imitrex helps tremendously for me when I feel one coming on.

I was on the pill about 10 years ago...a few different ones actually. They didn't help at all. Which kind of makes me a bit nervous of pregnancy!

And, I don't think we have Imitrex in Canada. Or Excedrin Migraine...but I could be wrong?

[*Heather*]

You can get Imitrex in Canada, but it has to be prescribed by your doctor. My dad has it and it works for him when he gets migraines. Someone has also suggested Magnesium, if the migraine is a result of your cycle (mine are). I just bought some this weekend so I'm going to try this when I get my next hormone-related migraine!

[Jess]

magnesium! I told the girls on the shout box this before and it worked for Stacey.

 

My cousin got horrible migraines...now she takes 2 magnesiums and they go away or at least are very faint headaches and not migrains...you can get it over the counter in the vitamin aisle

[Bing & Win Win]

Magnesium huh! So, it's not something you'd take daily? Just when you have a hormone related migraine?

[*Nadine*]

I am going to look into and start the magnesium method like jess suggested. My last migraine landed me in the ER and on an IV b/c it lasted four days and even tylenol 4's wouldnt cure it. I think i might shoot myself if that ever happens again.

[Bing & Win Win]

Please don't shoot yourself ;0)

 

I think I'm going to try it also!

[jk1101]

I've been getting migraines since my early 20s. At their worst I was getting them 2-3 times a week. It was an awful way to live. I missed a lot of important events in my life.

I tried pretty much everything - the more natural ways - chiropractors, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, accupuncture - nothing worked.

Advil, motrin, excedrin is like a joke to me. I could take 10 and nothing would happen.

I tried beta blockers, anti depressants - the pill made it worse for me.

I had nerve blockers injected into my neck - that didn't work either.

I went through 3 neurologists and I now go to one of the top headache specialists in NJ.

Now I take 2 medications every day to prevent them from happening - one is called Topamax and one is called zanaflex. Topamax is pretty well known for migraine prevention - It worked for 2 yrs on it's own (I actually did a speaking engagement for the company to talk about how great it was) but then it stopped and the dr put me on the other one to help me. Now with both of them, I get one every 3-4 months, and I take Relpax (cousin of Imitrex) to get rid of it, or Fiorinal when the Relpax doesn't work.

They are now doing studies of using Botox for Migraine sufferers - I'm not a huge fan of having poison injected into my body, but if I ever go back to getting them 2-3 times a week, i'll pay for it out of pocket in a minute!

 

I'm also really careful about what I eat - I kept track of that for a while - you can sometimes figure out foods/smells etc that cause them - I can't be around most perfumes - the smell of hazelnut gives me one instantly and I have to wear sunglasses whenever I'm outside untill it's almost dark out, even on cloudy days. The sun is a huge trigger for me too. If you can figure out your triggers and avoid them it makes it alot easier to deal with.