Migraine Headache
There are as many causes as there are people ...
As for me, I've had them on and off all my adult life - they would come in cycles, and sometimes I could go a year or more without them.
About a year ago, I noticed I was getting them more frequently. I was getting them in movie theatres which had never bothered me before, and I always felt like I had one "lurking".
I've always been sensitive to aspartame (nutrasweet) so I always avoided that, but suddenly it dawned on me that I was (and had been since my DS) using a lot of other artificial sweeteners in my protein shakes, bars, sugar free items, and even my vitamins.
I decided to go "cold turkey" - no artificial sweeteners whatsoever. That was in July of this year, and my migraines went from 3-4 a month to only one in three months.
Then in September, I was refilling my prescription for Imitrex and the pharmacist asked if I had aura with my migraines. I said I did - I call them "tracers" and it's how I know a migraine is coming. Then she asked if I was still on birth control pills. I said I was ... and she asked if I knew that I shouldn't be taking any hormonal birth control if I had migraine with aura?
Ummm ... no. How come no one had ever mentioned that to me before? I've been on the pill on and off for 20 years. So I quit taking the pill that very night, and I haven't had a migraine since.
Will they stay away? I don't know. I went to the movies on Sunday and no migraine - I've been avoiding the theatre for a year!
Imitrex works well for me, but I've got to catch it early and combine it with aleve or advil and then I'm wiped for the day. Dark, cool room and sleep ... sometimes narcotics that I have leftover from past surgery.
I hope you find something that gives you some relief! Just thought I'd share my experience.
Jerri
As for me, I've had them on and off all my adult life - they would come in cycles, and sometimes I could go a year or more without them.
About a year ago, I noticed I was getting them more frequently. I was getting them in movie theatres which had never bothered me before, and I always felt like I had one "lurking".
I've always been sensitive to aspartame (nutrasweet) so I always avoided that, but suddenly it dawned on me that I was (and had been since my DS) using a lot of other artificial sweeteners in my protein shakes, bars, sugar free items, and even my vitamins.
I decided to go "cold turkey" - no artificial sweeteners whatsoever. That was in July of this year, and my migraines went from 3-4 a month to only one in three months.
Then in September, I was refilling my prescription for Imitrex and the pharmacist asked if I had aura with my migraines. I said I did - I call them "tracers" and it's how I know a migraine is coming. Then she asked if I was still on birth control pills. I said I was ... and she asked if I knew that I shouldn't be taking any hormonal birth control if I had migraine with aura?
Ummm ... no. How come no one had ever mentioned that to me before? I've been on the pill on and off for 20 years. So I quit taking the pill that very night, and I haven't had a migraine since.
Will they stay away? I don't know. I went to the movies on Sunday and no migraine - I've been avoiding the theatre for a year!
Imitrex works well for me, but I've got to catch it early and combine it with aleve or advil and then I'm wiped for the day. Dark, cool room and sleep ... sometimes narcotics that I have leftover from past surgery.
I hope you find something that gives you some relief! Just thought I'd share my experience.
Jerri
I've suffered with migraines since puberty. I've taken just about every pain med and migraine med prescribed for them. I had to increase my Topomax to 150mgs after my DS to have any relief.
The worst migraines I have are menstrual migraines and I recently got significant relief from them after seeing a gyno that realized I was Estrogen dominant and he put me on bio identical progesterone. I have now had the most relief from migraines I have ever had. It is damn near miraculous! So my worst migraines were hormone related.
You need to determine the cause of your migraines. That is the key to relief.
Good luck.
Lia
The worst migraines I have are menstrual migraines and I recently got significant relief from them after seeing a gyno that realized I was Estrogen dominant and he put me on bio identical progesterone. I have now had the most relief from migraines I have ever had. It is damn near miraculous! So my worst migraines were hormone related.
You need to determine the cause of your migraines. That is the key to relief.
Good luck.
Lia
Starting weight & height: 265/5' 8.5; Goal weight: 160; Current weight: 155
Migraines--the absolute suck when they're bad. For a while, mine were so bad I was spewing my guts out regularly. I'm really lucky that mine have improved vastly since my DS.
My surgeon's theory, which I think makes sense, is that the lost weight is also lost inflammation. It's the inflammation response, which is aggravated in obese people, that can trigger migraines in many cases. Hormones can cause or reduce inflammation as well, and they're a huge contributing factor.
When my migraines were awful, I stumbled on a book called Heal Your Headache by the top headache guy at Johns-Hopkins--Buchwald, IIRC. It's great reading if you suffer from migraines.
His basic premise is that migraines are often triggered by things beyond our control, such as hormone fluctuations, weather systems, and stress. (OK, yes you can change your response to stress somewhat, but maybe not enough to make a clinical difference.)
Other things can trigger migraines but are much more within our control, chiefly diet and medications. Narcotics can be a trigger; the rescue drugs like Imitrex, Maxalt, Frova etc. can be triggers if used too often (like more than 2-3 times monthly); caffeine is a frequent dietary trigger, as are aged cheeses, red wine, and tropical fruits (go figure).
Buchwald talks about having a migraine threshhold, which can make it difficult to track your triggers. If your hormones are at a low trigger level, then often you can eat a trigger food without setting off a migraine that day. But two weeks later, when your hormone levels are different, a much smaller amount of the trigger food can send you over your threshhold. Hope that makes sense, it's a really key concept.
Buchwald advocates going cold turkey on all the know triggers you can control, then slowly adding them back in until you figure out your personal triggers. I did a half-assed job of that and just eliminated caffeine over 2 weeks, and voila, my migraine frequency and intensity diminished greatly.
Mind you, since my DS I've added caffeine back in, because I really missed it. I think my surgeon is right about the inflammation levels, because I've had maybe 3 bad migraines since surgery, even with addig caffeine back in.
Hope some of this rambling helps.
My surgeon's theory, which I think makes sense, is that the lost weight is also lost inflammation. It's the inflammation response, which is aggravated in obese people, that can trigger migraines in many cases. Hormones can cause or reduce inflammation as well, and they're a huge contributing factor.
When my migraines were awful, I stumbled on a book called Heal Your Headache by the top headache guy at Johns-Hopkins--Buchwald, IIRC. It's great reading if you suffer from migraines.
His basic premise is that migraines are often triggered by things beyond our control, such as hormone fluctuations, weather systems, and stress. (OK, yes you can change your response to stress somewhat, but maybe not enough to make a clinical difference.)
Other things can trigger migraines but are much more within our control, chiefly diet and medications. Narcotics can be a trigger; the rescue drugs like Imitrex, Maxalt, Frova etc. can be triggers if used too often (like more than 2-3 times monthly); caffeine is a frequent dietary trigger, as are aged cheeses, red wine, and tropical fruits (go figure).
Buchwald talks about having a migraine threshhold, which can make it difficult to track your triggers. If your hormones are at a low trigger level, then often you can eat a trigger food without setting off a migraine that day. But two weeks later, when your hormone levels are different, a much smaller amount of the trigger food can send you over your threshhold. Hope that makes sense, it's a really key concept.
Buchwald advocates going cold turkey on all the know triggers you can control, then slowly adding them back in until you figure out your personal triggers. I did a half-assed job of that and just eliminated caffeine over 2 weeks, and voila, my migraine frequency and intensity diminished greatly.
Mind you, since my DS I've added caffeine back in, because I really missed it. I think my surgeon is right about the inflammation levels, because I've had maybe 3 bad migraines since surgery, even with addig caffeine back in.
Hope some of this rambling helps.
Jenn
Type 1 diabetic, 26 years
With great power (the DS!) comes great responsibility.
I had migraine so frequently, they labeled it "migraine disease". I was having about 15 a month. I read a book called "Heal Your Headache", and I highly recommend it.
ELIMINATE CAFFEINE FROM YOUR LIFE FOREVER!
I take topamax as a preventative. But it has side efffects. It can make your mind very stupid. you can't think of what you want to say next...your just stupid. This can be controlled by dose. Also, Topamax affects birth control pill effectiveness.
I take Imitrex when I have a migraine, and it works well.
You MUST KNOW ABOUR REBOUND HEADACHES. These are also called medication overuse headaches. You should use mes for headache no more than 3 days a week. Otherwise, the meds will start causing you to actually HAVE headaches.
USE ICE PACKS. USE COLD DARK ROOMS.
Yes, hormones are a HUGE culprit. I suggest a neurologist, and one that specializes in headache.
Best of luck!
BTW...I have not had a SINGLE migraine since my DS. AMAZING!
ELIMINATE CAFFEINE FROM YOUR LIFE FOREVER!
I take topamax as a preventative. But it has side efffects. It can make your mind very stupid. you can't think of what you want to say next...your just stupid. This can be controlled by dose. Also, Topamax affects birth control pill effectiveness.
I take Imitrex when I have a migraine, and it works well.
You MUST KNOW ABOUR REBOUND HEADACHES. These are also called medication overuse headaches. You should use mes for headache no more than 3 days a week. Otherwise, the meds will start causing you to actually HAVE headaches.
USE ICE PACKS. USE COLD DARK ROOMS.
Yes, hormones are a HUGE culprit. I suggest a neurologist, and one that specializes in headache.
Best of luck!
BTW...I have not had a SINGLE migraine since my DS. AMAZING!
Shannon
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