Do You Get Migraines?

If you get them with any sort of regularity there is usually a trigger that lets you know one is coming on. I always lose my vision on the left side - it goes all wiggly and fuzzy - and that's when I start popping 3 or 4 Tylenol/Advil (whatever I have handy) and it will "mellow it out" enough that I'm not laid out but at the same time I will still have the dull pain and throbbing.

Good luck.

When I did not realize I was having migraines, the only thing that help was taking a nap.

I tried all sorts of over the counter meds and nothing.

The reason you need to see a doctor is because long term migraines can cause neurological as well as physiological affects on your body.

For instance. I have lost partial feeling in one of my arms. I can no longer make the number 3 with my right hand.

I also now have vertigo.

My migraines progressed so that I was having multiple migraines a week.

I FINALLY went to the doctor and am now on Beta Blockers. It has changed my life.

It took ending up in the emergency room to convince me.
I thought I was suffering with a 3 day migraine.. Instead I was suffering with Spinal meningitis.. That is how much I had gotten used to the awful pain.. I was trying to self diagnosed and put myself and family in danger.

As moms we will dash our children to the doctor, but we put off taking care of ourselves. Problem is, we are not doing our children any favors if we are not at our best.. or worst dead.

You deserve to be pain free.. GO TO THE DOCTOR! Yes, your life is worth it.

I get migraines, sinus infections, and sinus infection triggered migraines.

What you describe sounds like a sinus headache. There are very few medications that will touch them these days, because the decongestant was pulled from other meds and replaced with an antihistamine... Which only works if it's an allergy, and congestion is caused by MANY sources, allergies only being one of about a dozen.

Pseudoephedrine Hcl is what USED to be in all sinus headache meds and combo meds for cold&flu;, DayQuil, Theraflu, tylenol sinus, Triaminic, etc. It's original Sudafed (NOT Sudafed PE).

You can still get it behind the pharmacy counter. You don't need an Rx, you DO need ID.

When you slept, it sounds like the offending sinus drained. I always keep some Sudafed (pseudoephedrine Hcl) on hand, because pharmacies have limited hours. I start with a half dose, 1 pill, and take 2 if it's still bad. As before, you can and should take it with either Tylenol, ibuprofen, or both.

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What makes it sound like a sinus headache:
- only on one side (can be both, but a one side headache is nearly always sinus)
- drippy nose (your sinus trying to drain
- eye swollen (sinuses hurt you eyes and teeth as they fill the surrounding tissues become swollen, and fluid backs up... One reason why diuretics like caffeine often help- excedrin is just Tylenol+caffeine)
- changing position helped (positional drainage)

Sensitivity to light and movement is common with many types of headaches. Migraines for neurological reasons, sinus headaches for inflammation reasons).

I get them! They are miserable. Mine is food related and birth control related. I have cut out most dairy in my diet and got off of birth control. Mine are deplitating. I know about 20 minutes before they hit. My eye sight goes crazy, its like a kalidascope (sp) effect. Then the pain hits! Then the vomiting hits, then I want to die. The last time, I lost partical vision and was throwing up so much my husband was getting scared. I should have gone to the ER but all I wanted to do was vomit and die. I need a dark room and sleep. That is the only way I can get rid of it. I'm super tired for a couple of days afterwards. I'm thankful that I haven't had a major attack in a while. I try real hard to watch my diet. I don't like having them!!!!

I get "regualr" headaches all the time. I figure I'm in HR and I work with crazy people that is the by product of that! :)

I get them and have for most of my life. I almost always get the hormonal ones, but not only those.

After years and years of being told they were just normal headaches, I was nuts, blah blah blah, I finally got a Phys Asst (who just left our practice...waaaahhhh) to say, "Duh, these are major, nasty chronic migraines! And we need to find a preventative treatment along with abortive meds for them!!"

Working with her and a neurologist, I am now on meds to prevent them. I take pills at night to help with the headaches, and chronic insomina (which makes things worse), and have gone form 15-18 headache days a month to about 2 (and those are usually the hormone ones). I also ahve several option to abort them if I do get them. Mine are easily brought on by smells, believe it or not! And when one is raging or I am caught in a cycle (I can get them that last a few days or even weeks at one time), I am not only sensitive to light and some to sound (altho I can use my headphone to control my sound and do better that way..a coping mechanisim I have learned over the years), but I am super sensitive to smells during a migraine time.

I have a friend whose migraines were all but exclusively the hormonal pre-period ones. She has been on the Depo shot for years (9 maybe?) and never ever gets a migraine anymore, just goes in every few months for her shot and BINGO, no more headaches!

It is definatley worth the trouble of seeking medical help if they persist or start to alter your life (such as mine and my friends were)

I hope you find a solution and some relief!

It could be. Migraines can bring on weird symptoms. I get them, and for me I usually have a sensitivity to light or sound (sometimes both), and become nauseated. The pain is unbearable at times. I usually just take a couple extra tylenol and lay down for a while.

Sometimes sleep works, sometimes it make is worse. The worst ones are the ones where it hurts to lie down. :/

You might try consulting a chiro about it. My husband says I am the worst patient ever, because I can not relax enough to let him adjust my neck. But one of the girls i used to work with used to see him for her migraines. The adjustment along with acupuncture worked really well for her.

Migraines are throbbing achy headaches that make you sensitive to light, and sound and everytime you move your head, it hurts and they don't easily go away. Regular heachaches are usually sharp pains that don't last long.
Excedrin is a good over the counter med that will help your migraine. Advil will too. You have a lot of sinus cavities surrounding your whole facial area, so if you are nasaly, runny or stuffy nose, you could have swollen sinuses that will lead to a sinus headache. You can treat that will some advil and sudefed. Swollen eyes in the am isn't all that unusual. I get that too sometimes.
If the excedrin doesn't help, and your head is pounding where you are in such pain from moving your head, or really sensitive to the light, then I would advise you to go see your doc. You may need an Rx to help you. Hope you feel better soon.

Sounds like a migraine, yes. When I feel one coming on, if I catch it early enough, taking a few Excedrin can help. If I don't have Excedrin handy, drinking a cup of coffee or having a Coke can help (caffeine can help get rid of migraines - weird but true!). If hormones are your trigger, there is not a whole lot you can really do to prevent them, except maybe stay away from things that could make the migraines worse (red wine for some people, bright light, loud noise, heat, etc).

The next time you visit the doctor (I know you don't want to, but surely at some point in the future you will have to go for some other reason ;), ask about Zomig. It's a prescription migraine medicine that works wonders for me. If I have a headache that Excedrin can't stave off, Zomig provides relief within 20 minutes, and the headache doesn't come back.

Hang in there - migraines absolutely suck. :(

The only way to know for sure if they are true migraines is to see a doctor.

I've suffered with them for YEARS (for as long as I can remember). The first thing to do is start a migraine journal, write down EVERYTHING you've had to eat or drink for at least 24 hours prior to the migraine coming on, also where you are in your cycle if you're regular.

You can try some of the over the counter meds. sleep in a dark, cool, quiet room (with or without a cool compress) ... this sometimes works for me if I catch it early enough.

I've had migraines that lasted from a day to a week (that one led to a spinal tap for meningitis ... talk about not fun, the morphine was pretty sweet though, damn is that good stuff ... but I digress). The things that work best for me are meds ... I used to get demerol or such in shots for them. Then I took midrin for them (which worked well but made me a little loopy if I fought the mild sedative that was in them), now I'm on Imitrex for them.

Talk to your doctor. It could be migraines, it could be something else. Best to get a checkup for them and know what you're really dealing with so you know best how to treat them.

Your description sounds a lot like a migraine. The allergy-like symptoms are very similar to what I get. I used to think that I had allergies all the time....it is actually the inflammation from the migraine. And they can be hormonal. I also get auras and neurological symptoms (speech slurring and weakness on one side).

If they are not really bad, try Excedrin Migraine. If that does not work, you may need a prescription. I love Maxalt, but my insurance won't cover it. Hope you feel better.

That sounds like a sinus migraine, to me. Light sensitivity is the key. I've gotten them for years.
For me, normal migraine meds never worked - I've been on a TON. Regular anti-inflammatories do the trick - taken at prescription strength (ie: 3 ibuprefen or 3 Aleve).

You should also look into draining your sinuses for relief. Pressure on the spot of your head where your fontanelle was...pressure at the base of your skull, and regular massage of your eustacian tubes will proivide immediate relief (also works wonders when you have a cold!).

I feel your pain. I've dealt with these for years. :(

Well I use to get migraines all sorts of headaches vertigo.. Same problem.. I stopped seeing all of my doctors basically fired all of them.
I asked a friend about her primary.. I saw this amazing doc the first thing he said to me let me feel your stomach. He said i have food allergies.
I am killing myself with what i am putting in my body. He sent me to allergist in same office they did a prick test on my arm.. 40 needles doesn't hurt.. I have environmental allergies and severe food allergies.
I have to carry an epipen now.. She did the food allergies my arm not only swelled in areas but, was the size of a baseball in an area of my arm.
eggs, peanuts and sunflower.. i couldn't believe it.. So i stopped eating that food.. I am free of meds no more neurologists.. not more neuro optomalogists.. lost 15 pounds.. feel great for over a year now.

Sure sounds like migraines. Even though mine were also hormonally related, I found that once I got all the chemicals out of my home, and started taking great vitamins, I got fewer migraines! Caffeine can help; you might want to try Excedrine migraine - I think it has caffeine.

Ice packs help me a lot- plus advil- though becareful how much and on an empty stomach- and then don't take advil for back pain etc- you can cause an ulcer-- excedrine migraine works well -hormones will definitely cause migraines but the low pressure systems, changing weather, and rain cause them too. Goodluck!

I get what you describe, which is a combination of migraine and sinus headache. As Riley mentioned pseudoephedrine (the real, original, buy-it-with-a-license Sudafed) can help with these tremendously. You should also keep a log for a few months of when you get headaches - the connection to your period can be legitimate, but that might also be coincidence and the trigger could be something else like sleep or food or allergies. My trigger is too little sleep.

My doctor has OK'd me to take up to 800 mg of ibuprofen (four 200mg advil) when I feel one of these coming on, and then repeat the dose up to 2 more times in 24 hours as needed. This usually keeps one of these from becoming something that keeps me in bed all day and in her eyes, is way less harmful than trying a real migraine medication. Those can be lifesavers but are really a last resort kind of thing due to all of the potential side effects.

A friend of mine used to suffer from migranes. The only thing that helped him was dark rooms and sleep. Eventually he did go to the doctors to find the cause of his migranes. Potatoes were the culprit. He now doesn't eat them any longer and the migranes are gone. He still does miss McDonald's fries but is better off without the migranes.

I say definitely see a doctor your body is telling you something isn't right. Listen to it and get some professional help even if it's in the form of Eastern medicine.

Hi,
Doesn't sound like these are migraines. But do you stay hydrated? Headaches are very common in folks who don't drink enough water daily.
Also, STRETCHING the spine is SO HELPFUL with headaches! If you
exercise every day, use the big ball, touch your toes, touch your head to the floor, etc., you may find you get fewer headaches. So many headaches
are stress-related, we forget that our bodies react to shortages in its' needs.
As we get older, we need to stretch more. At 65, I have to stretch and exercise 1-2 hours per day just to stay loose and well!

"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA