Migraine Pain
I just had a migraine today for the first time in maybe 2 years. I used to get them all the time when I was going through puberty.
Do you get migraines? How do yours work?
Mine start off with a spot in my vision that grows and grows until I'm almost completely blinded for about 15 minutes. Then sometimes (it's a gamble as to which one I'll have with each new migraine) Ill either get:
- numb body parts (arms, face, tongue, throat)
- inability to speak coherently or understand speech (half an hour to an hour)
- blurry vision the rest of the day
- vomiting
- extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and movement
- or equilibrium problems
Today the mix was the always present component of blindness, mild inability to speak or understand written or spoken words, numbness of the right arm/face/tongue/and throat and sensitivity to light. It's always different each time. I never know what I'll get.
What good is a wiener dog if he's not spoiled rotten?
I've suffered from migraines since I was about 7 years old, I'm 34 now. They are not fun. Sometimes they get to the point of me vomiting and then going to sleep for hours.
A couple of weekends ago I had one that lasted about 3 days. I took codeine all weekend long and it didn't help at all. Ice packs to the neck and forehead and a dark room. They are horrible.
Friendship Prayer
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who screws up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch.
Amen
Whoever said anything was possible obviously never tried slamming a revolving door.
Both my mom's brothers get them pretty bad. The one in Alaska gets them for 2-3 days and has to stay in bed with the blackout curtains drawn (during summer). The one in Baton Rouge goes into his man cave for about a day. Mine only last a day (as far as pain and weird symptoms and such) but usually the next day I'm still pretty sensitive to movement. If I shake my hair out of my face then it feels like a round house punch to the temple. I don't have codiene but what I find works better than any prescription is 4 advil gels and 2 sudafed (with real Pseudoephedrine, not the new junk they use) and down all that with a diet coke or coke zero (just enough caffeine. Excedrine throws my heart out of whack from waaaaay too much caffeine in there pills)
Now If I could just get my IBS under control the world would be a beautiful place...
What good is a wiener dog if he's not spoiled rotten?
Have you brought up this with your doctor? There are prescriptions that can help prevent the migraines from occurring in the first place.
There are those who believe that dictionaries should not merely reflect the times but also protect English from the mindless assaults of the trendy.
I was taking Imatrex nasal spray as needed but I'd rather have the migraine than smell and taste the spray going down my throat. The taste is enough to make me throw up so it didn't really help with the migraine induced vomiting... it just made that part worse. I tried the Imatrex pill for a while but it made my chest tight as though an elephant was sitting on my lungs. I moved on to spring loaded single use cartridge injections of Imatrex, but sticking myself isn't all that fun. I'm fine being out of commission for a day as long as I have my afore mentioned remedy (advil and sudafed) and a dark room. I need to go back to my Dr and get checked out. The last time I had this looked at was in '98 with a CT scan. It's been a while...Originally Posted by ItsASecret
What good is a wiener dog if he's not spoiled rotten?
Yeah, those meds are anything but helpful, IMO and they don't really prevent it, they supposedly help once the migraine is already there. I've been on Imatrex before and it would make my entire head tingly and numb, yeah, couldn't feel the migraine but also thought I'd lost my head. In my experience, there is really no such thing as migraine prevention. I would hope if there was, after 25+ years of dealing with them, I would have found out that little secret by now.
Coincidentally enough, late Friday night I went to the ER because the pain got so bad and I had been going on day 3 or 4. You know what they use in the ER... Benadryl and Compazine, I didn't ask why the Benadryl as I was too out of it and tired, but I do plan on researching that. The Compazine is for the nausea from the migraines. But yeah, anyways, I found the whole Benadryl thing interesting. They also gave me about 1.5 liters of fluid too, so maybe I was a little dehydrated which would surprise me since I drink A LOT of water.
Friendship Prayer
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who screws up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch.
Amen
Whoever said anything was possible obviously never tried slamming a revolving door.
I only mentioned it because there is a plethora of meds that are prescribed for migraines. Prophylactic prescriptions are abundant, everything from beta-blockers to antidepressants in some cases, not just the nasal sprays that people generally dislike. The pain, again, lots of stuff from dumb acetaminophen to more potent ones. And yes there are ones for migraines called abortive medications that you can take as soon as a migraine begins. The chances of you finding a solution to completely prevent migraines are slim, the best bet is changing diet to avoid the triggers...but that gets difficult when there are so many possible triggers or doing the typical avoid stressors. Migraines run in the family a lot of the time which means you are going to be predisposed to the pain and not much can be done to stop them forever but they can be reduced in frequency and severity.Yeah, those meds are anything but helpful, IMO and they don't really prevent it, they supposedly help once the migraine is already there. I've been on Imatrex before and it would make my entire head tingly and numb, yeah, couldn't feel the migraine but also thought I'd lost my head. In my experience, there is really no such thing as migraine prevention. I would hope if there was, after 25+ years of dealing with them, I would have found out that little secret by now.
Migraines are caused by increased vasodilation in the brain, this means more blood is flowing through the vessels. The increased pressure from the blood vessels leads to surrounding areas to release chemicals that cause pain and inflammation. Those are the things you want to reduce. Benadryl is an antihistamine, Histamine causes vasodilation and inflammation. Giving benadryl blocks histamine thereby reducing inflammation and causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels = less blood flow). The less blood flow during a migraine the less pain and inflammation and as a result less harsh symptoms during the migraine attack. The easiest way for a doctor to give a pain med (Benadryl often comes with an analgesic), anti-emetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-histamine is in a dose of Benadryl. It also helps a patient possibly sleep because during a migraine the last thing they are able to do is sleep good.You know what they use in the ER... Benadryl and Compazine, I didn't ask why the Benadryl as I was too out of it and tired, but I do plan on researching that. The Compazine is for the nausea from the migraines. But yeah, anyways, I found the whole Benadryl thing interesting.
There are those who believe that dictionaries should not merely reflect the times but also protect English from the mindless assaults of the trendy.
Yea, same thing with Sudafed. It's a vasoconstrictor so that paired with a pain killer and some gingerale or candied ginger fix me up pretty well (provided I have a hole to crawl into for the next 12-24 hours)
What good is a wiener dog if he's not spoiled rotten?
I had migraines from the time I was 12 yrs. old until I was about 30. Some would be extremely bad like you described but I had a few that lasted as long as seven days straight. Smelling food cooking or any noise was torture and usually caused vomiting which of course makes the headache much worse, and so does crying from the pain. Back when I first started getting them they gave me this medication that would knock me out for 14+ hours straight (but I wasn't feeling the pain) medication has come a long way since then. I have used imitrex also and I agree the drip is awful, and the pills make me feel funny. (I prefer the nasal stuff) What really decreased my frequency of migraines was when I stopped taking birth control pills, that and being out of puberty. Another thing that helped me a lot was ice packs (you'd think the cold would make it hurt worse but it always helped me) and when your head hurts the last thing you want is hard ice on your head... I always made sure to keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer in a ziploc bag (so they wouldn't get cooked) and they conform to the shape of your head. I would seriously talk to your doctor about your headaches and have him run some tests just to be on the safe side.
Oh, I swear by ice packs. One to the neck and one to the forehead. I also massage the pressure point between thumb and forefinger, that helps sometimes too.
One thing that had helped in the past for me was a chiropractor, I haven't been in about a year though. I had a CT scan the other day and thankfully everything came back fine on that.
My migraines went away or were actually minimal for a good few years, I've noticed that last 2 months they've come back with a vengeance though.
Friendship Prayer
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who screws up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch.
Amen
Whoever said anything was possible obviously never tried slamming a revolving door.
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