Seeking Help with Migraines

M.-

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!! I was also in school with my most recent pregnancy (finishing law school & taking the bar exam), and I also have migraines. I have had migraines for years, so they were not pregnancy-induced as you say yours are. I won't lie to you, there is just a miserable amount of pain associated with migraines during pregnancy because you are so limited on what you can take - and it's even worse if you choose to breast feed. And, most of the medications you're allowed to take are pretty much the equivalent of rubbing an aspirin on your forehead. But, here's what I did...

1st - get your eyes checked! I did not know this, but pregnancy can drastically change your eyesight which can induce major headaches and lead to migraines. this is what happened w/ all of my pregnancies, and getting a new prescription really helped take the edge off.

2nd - I get really bad vertigo w/ my migraines, so I took Meclizine for that alone. My Dr changed the dosage, but I still needed it.

3rd - I was allowed to take Butalbatol while pregnant, but not while nursing. This is for the migraines themselves.

4th - find a good chiropractor. I don't know where you're located, but if you're in the NKY area, I highly recommend Dr. Matt Hogue in Crestview Hills. His # is ###-###-####. I think he charges $35/adjustment with therapy now, but you'd need to double check that. I've been seeing him for years, and he helped me throughout my pregnancy.

I hope this helps. I really do feel for you, but it will pass. Good luck.
- A.

1 mom found this helpful

When I get a migraine I go to my chiro and within minutes it is gone. I have also found some foods because of certain ingredients in them. Take Care jo

You poor thing. I didn't have migraines with my other 3 1/2 pregnancies (but did when not pregnant) but this pregnancy I was having them daily. This is difficult anytime, but when you have 3 active boys (one is 1) it was almost impossible to do anything! I have seen a naturapathic dr. and had acupuncture. The acupuncture helped, but the naturapathic dr. has put me on a homeopathic treatment that treats and prevents them. It has worked wonders!!! 2 1/2 weeks since my last one!! And for me, the migraines weren't just for a short time during the pregnancy, as I am more than halfway through, now. Go the homeopathic route. It actually works much better for me than ANYTHING a medical dr. has done for me and it's safer for me and baby!!! Good luck!

I had really bad headaches when I was pregnant with my daughter, I don't really know what classifies a migraine but here are some of the things that helped me......good supportive pillow at bed time, plenty of sleep, vicodin(safe during preg.), protein, and a little caffeine.

Dear M.,
I sympathize. I recommend you try acupuncture. Go in a dark, quiet room and wait it out. Until the pregnancy is over, your options are limited and what you are doing now is very, very dangerous to the development of your baby. Please get a second opinion

Have you tried a Chiropractor or reflexologist? Of course ask your OB first about this, but I've heard of pregnant migraine sufferers utilizing chiro services and it helping. I went to a reflexologist(mainly for pregnancy induced carpel tunnel) but it also helped with headaches.

I use Tahitian Noni Juice to keep my migraines from occuring. I used to get 5-6 of them a month and I haven't had one since I've been on the juice for almost two years now. I love that it is all natural, so it is safe.
-A.

Talk to your doctor about referring you for Physical Therapy. I work for a PT clinic and my husband has bed migraines. He had therapy for a few weeks and went from having headaches everyday to once every other week without medicine.

M., yes I have had awful headaches when I was pregnant...but I just took Tylenol for them and then took a nap. I was afraid to take anything else.

Morphine injections...really? Sounds scary to me!

Hope all goes well, and the migraines go away soon...have a good day! :) D. R.

Headaches in pregnancy are often triggered by low blood sugar, but can also be a result of expanding blood volume that occurs in pregnancy. This causes dilation of blood vessels in your head, causing the headaches. Just to ensure it is not related to dropping blood sugar, make sure you are getting 80-100 g of protein a day, lots of water, and a well balanced diet over all. The way you can break up the protein is to eat 20-30 g at each meal time, and at least 10 g of protein in between each meal. If you feel bad in the mornings, try snacking on something with protein in the middle of the night.

If you do get a migraine, you can do what others have suggested- lay down in a dark, quiet room and rest. You can safely take Tylenol, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with all that morphine either.

Acupressure is even better than acupuncture for headaches/migraine, and chiropractic is good. As others have noted make sure that your blood sugar does not get low--small frequent meals with healthy fat and protein--NO sugar. Do not eat any prepared foods that have MSG(including autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolized protein etc) or aspartame, or artificial flavors, colors. these will trigger headaches. Artificail perfumes will also trigger headaches. I am always sensitive to synthetic stuff--but when I was pregnant my system was highly sensitized. Hope this helps--it will get better as you get further in the pregnancy!

Hi M.! I take an herb called Dong Quai, you can get at GNC. It has helped remove the migraines!!! I will get a regular headache every once in a while but the migraines are gone. I stopped taking the herb once and the migraines came back. It's worth a try!!! There have been a lot of women that I know that have used Dong Quai to regulate their system and to help with getting pregnant. Good Luck!

Be careful with the morphine because if you use it often it can result in rebound headaches. If you are having daily headaches it may be from "rebound " phenomenon from too much pain medicine for headaches. Good luck. I'm assuming you have seen a neurologist who is interested in headaches.

I get migraines and my doctor has prescribed Fioricet. I am not sure if you can take it while you are pregnant, but you can check into it. As soon as i feel a headache coming on i take one tablet and it is gone in about 5 minutes time. I can also suggest to lay down in a dark room and apply ice cold compresses to your head. I religiously keep frozen hand towels in my freezer.

I have had severe migraines since age 10. My situation is the opposite, When pregnant I get bad migraines for the first couple months and then absolutely none till the baby is born. I don't know if it is safe during pregnancy (b/c I didn't need it then, but I take Imitrex injections. I give them to myself when I can no longer stand the pain, it gets really bad after the shot for a few minutes but then w/in 15 the migraine is completely gone. It comes in pills and nasal spray. Something to inquire about

see if you can take topamax while pregnant worked great for me

I have had these. I have migraines (worse during my cycle), and I would get them for the first several months of pregnancy. I had very little that would help them then, but I have done quite a bit of research since my last baby (now 3 1/2). There is a great book called "Gotta Headache" by Carol Foster that explains a lot about migraines. She recommends a very strict diet, but if you find some triggers, you would not have to follow the diet so strictly. I also recommend trying some alternative therapies. Acupuncture is generally very safe and has good research behind it. It can be tremendously beneficial. Hang in there! I know it is terrible. Mine stopped by 4 to 5 mos for all 3 pregnancies. I hope yours let up before that. Don't be afraid to go alternative. I wish I had known more about it. I suffered terribly. Just check to make sure any professionals you see are well qualified and ask specifically if they treat pregnant women. Please be cautious about the medicines (I have had to wonder if the medications prescribed to me had a negative effect on my children -- my kids have severe allergies and one has a high functioning form of autism). Although I can usually reason the minor amount of stuff I took was promised to be safe, it never removes the concern altogether that I could have done something differently and spared my children some pain.

K.