So… every now and then I get a migraine that won't respond to massage, heat rub, cold packs, hot packs, or any drugs including the combination of Tylenol 3 and Gravol…
Usually those are the pains that will last me two or three days.
Anyone have a cure that works for migraine and/or other headaches? Even sinus ones…
Thanks,
cheezie
A major problem affecting 17% of Canadian women and %5 men. What are the main triggers: barometric pressure change, hormonal, foods, stress. Acute care: triptans ex.Imitrex; long term: valproic acid, propanolol, sibellium, etc.
I never could understand the frequency that some people claim get headaches and/or colds.
Like what's the big deal? I wonder if they're exaggerating the pain.
I get a headache or a cold once every year or two. You treat it and move on.
Natives used to swing there arms carelessly to get rid of Pain in the head… I'm not sure if it works, but they used to do it…
Indians swinging their arms? I guess humor works for some.
I myself don't suffer from migraines but I hope I can sympathize, a friend of mine said that when she suffered from migraines, all she could do was lie on the bathroom floor in the dark.
One of the best cures is to hold your breath for 30 seconds; try eating a tablespoon of white sugar; or, if someone suspects you have a problem, they should sneak up behind you and scare you….No, wait, that's all for hiccups. I guess you should just lie on the bathroom floor in the dark and wave your arms around, making sounds like a chicken, and let out an occasional primal scream.
Seriously (!), put an ice cube on the fleshy area of your palms between your thumb and forefinger. It's supposed to work for some people.
Than Native thing wasn't a joke.. I read it in the great big bathroom reader.
Cheezie: hubby gets migraines. Most times it can be attributed to barometric pressure change. He usually goes to bed with a cold compress on his neck and/or forehead. Yesterday, we were at Superstore, 8th St. and they now have half page sheets on herbal drugs. I think it was Feverfew that people use for migraines. If 8th St. has them confed should too, if you wanted to check it out.
Pooga: I think the only thing people miss more than their health when they lose it is their mind. Trust me, people with migraines aren't faking. I don't get sick, ever, but I used to get stress headaches. Imagine slurpee head that won't go away with 8 ASA. Then a pharmasist introduced me to acetiminaphine with codine (generic Tylenol 3). But the best cure I found to the stress headache was get rid of the stress!
After having my brain surgery, I have a small headach 24 hrs. a day, and get a migrain about once evry 2 monthes or so and have no idea how to get rid of them. Nothing works fo me either.
I'm with you Cheezie. I get migraines as well and can't get rid of them. I have tried Demerol and Gravol, and almost every drug on the market, nothing works. I just suffer through them.
Good lord! Migraines and brain surgery! I guess being 150 lbs. overweight with a bad back and knees isn't all that bad, at least when I lie down or sit it doesn't hurt. I don't feel so bad now, but I couldn't imagine having a 24hr headache.
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. And Pooga, go jump in the lake. ;o)
One thing I tried at one time was Imitrex. Doctor's sample. It took away the pain, but it made me just as useless, since all I could do was sleep or be a zombie, drooling at the tv. (Yeah I took the smallest dose.) I would have enjoyed those pills, but at the time, they were $15 a shot! PER PILL!! So then I found myself toughing it through as many headaches as I could… thinking it wasn't worth $15 bucks. (poor me)
My doctor put me onto Tylenol 3 and Gravol… I could never keep anything down if the headache was bad enough, but she said the Gravol will actually make the T3 absorb better, too, since my stomach wouldn't be so grumpy. If I'm feeling particularily nauseated, I take the gravol a few minutes before the T3… sometimes I'll take aspirin, or advil… I don't like taking the same drug too often.
Another trick I found is to use a "Migrastick". It's about the size of a chapstick thingy, full of the essential oils of lavendar and some kind of mint, I think. I put that on spots on my face, like where the main sinuses are, the temples, and under my nose (so I can smell it lots). It helps relax, plus it feels nice and cold, which takes my mind off the pounder. Sometimes I use Vicks, but it's greasier.
A question for fellow migrainers: do you also find, while you have a migraine, if you are bent over, then straighten up, your head feels like it'll split in two? And when recouperating after a looooooooong headache, does it feel like your head (where it hurt) feels almost bruised and worn out?
At any rate, whatever "cure" I chose to try, I still have to go to bed, cover up my head, and not get up 'til the morn-ing. Er.. you know… until I feel better.
Yeasrs ago this lady I worked with used to get them. Nothing worked for her either and it would take her out of work for a day or so. Then she started taking a multi-vitimin every day. She did still get the odd one but it was every year or two.
Thats all I know about the subject, the way it sounds I would not wish it on my worst enemy.
Take care
Pooga, go jump in the lake. ;o)
Not right now, there's still ice on it.
Still think headaches are self induced. Like CJ said, get rid of the stress, get rid of the headache. And if you can't get rid of the stress, ignore it.
I treat chronic pain. Some patients are very disabled by migraines that last for days. It's believed that serotonin dysregulation is important. The more expensive specific drugs for acute treatment target serotonin receptor 5HT3. If you have more than 4 migraines a month it's worth experimenting with prophylaxis; propanolol, valproic acid. FeverFew is worth a try, as is lavender. The acupressure point to hit on either hand is the fleshy part between the thumb and the first finger on the back part of the hand. Try squeezing that. You'll find an exquisitly tender point. The best treatment as a generalization for severe migraines ends up being hysterectomies, getting off Birth control pills or moving to a climate with a stable barometric system.
or drink a beer (although beer has tyramine in it which can precipitate migraines). I agree that stress is overrated. Get a good life partner, have an enjoyable place to work, and have a good mattress (the 1/3's of life).
A good mattress and good pillow has nearly stopped my morning migraines. I think I've got the other 2/3's, too. For once, I'm actually quite happy with myself.
When you talk about the serotonin stuff… is there any relation to food and serotonin?
Reason I ask is… It was getting to the point that nearly everything I ate would trigger a migraine. Bananas, milk, too much caffeine (in any form), apples, chocolate, anything with msg, anything with lots of nitrates (nitrites?) like lunch meats, junk food… pop with sodium benzoate like Dr Pepper, root beer, grape Crush (I'm guessing that was the trigger, because other pops without it, didn't give me a headache), too many raw carrots…
The point is, at that time, I also had major anxiety problems and depression, was agorophobic (couldn't even go down the apartment building's hall to do laundry by myself), yadda yadda yadda.
Then came the SSRI's. Since being on them, my migraines have reduced to maybe once or twice a month, the foods that triggered them don't anymore, unless I go hogwild on things that are bad for me anyway (ie. Christmas time with flavoured coffees, cocoa, pop, chocolates galore), and the migraines themselves haven't been nearly as severe, or have lasted as long.
I learned once, in a light therapy information meeting, that the reason some people tend to indulge on candies and chips, and other simple carbohydrates on cloudy days, and during short winter days, is because it gives the brain little boosts of serotonin.
So… I'm confusing this more than it needs to be, but what was the relationship with my "lack" of serotonin with all those migraine-triggering foods? Once my chemicals started to balance (heh heh), those triggers didn't trigger anymore.
Trigger foods contain tyramine and other 'trace amines'. There is a continuous symphony among our brain chemicals. Serotonin is a major player for a variety of things. Example: at least 15 different subtypes of serotonin in different regions of the brain. The other major 'player' for pleasure is dopamine. This is hijacked by VLT's , cocaine , alcohol. Life's normal experiences have a hard time competing with these things in some people, hence, addiction. The mechanisms in migraine are only slowly becoming unravelled. SSRI's introduced in 1988 have been a major contribution to some 'brains'. It helps keep the conductor of the symphony (brain) on the job.
Hey people!
I was out working in the sun all day today and I think I had a headache when I got home. (I'm never sure if a bit of pressure can be truly called a headache)
Anyway, got home, had a nice COOL (not cold, warm or hot) shower, and then a beer and a Cuban (Bolivar, Robusto) cigar. Voila, no headache and I'm feeling soooooo relaxed!
Good. Now maybe you can explain this numbers game you all are playing.
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