how to get rid of migraines?

[kddani]

Does anyone know of good ways to get rid of headaches/migraines? I get them pretty bad sometimes by the time i come home from work (i work on a computer ALL day and usually have to get stuff done on them at night too), and it pretty much reders me useless.

Thankfully I'll only be at this job for another week, but I'd like to hear if anyone has any remedies. OTC drugs don't seem to work- 2 Aleves don't do anything! ARGH!

Thanks for any help!

[Silverblue]

Go to the doctor. I get migraines, and the best medication I have found is Zomig. I don't go anywhere without it. There is a pretty good variety of prescription migraine medications out now, so if one doesn't work for you, ask your doctor to prescribe another. They are expensive (but worth every penny), so find out the maximum number of pills your insurance company will pay for per month, and ask your doctor to prescribe that many. For example, I'm allowed 12 Zomig each month. OTC drugs won't touch my headaches.

Some people also have luck using muscle relaxers and beta blockers to prevent migraines, but I haven't found them very useful. Again, you may respond differently to them.

Learn what your triggers are. Certain foods bother some people. I can't eat bananas, but chocolate doesn't hurt me, thank goodness! Light is one of my main triggers. I have huge, geeky wraparound sunglasses to wear outside and a glare filter on my computer at work, both of which really help. Keep a diary, and backtrack to what might have caused a migraine when you get one. You should be able to narrow down your triggers and avoid them somewhat.

Good luck. You have to get migraines to understand just how disabling they can be. I've done a lot of research on this, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[PenguinTrax]

Dani -

Cut out all caffeine from your diet, including chocolate. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water (the recommended 8x8 oz. per day at least).

I find that my migraines are caffiene and dehydration triggered. Caffeine is a dehydrating substance, so it goes hand in hand.

[33girl]

Danielle,

One of my coworkers gets bad migraines concurrent with her cycle. The doctor said they would go away if she got pregnant.

Hey, I'm just telling you what I heard.

[Silverblue]

Her doctor must be a man. No woman would suggest getting pregnant as a "solution" to headaches. My mother had migraines before she had me and continues having them to this day. Hormones do play a huge role, though. Migraines frequently start around puberty, and they do tend to happen around your period.

[Fewdfreak]

I used to get horrible migraines where I would go to the point of vomiting. I had them for three years, and I had a CT scan, etc... and everything was normal. It turned out for me that I needed glasses, and my migraines were from squinting. I still get migranes once and a while, and I finally figured out after months that I get them when I have to go the bathroom, and don't.

I heard some of the new drugs like Imitrex work or those inhalers, the woman I used to babysit for used that and also ate blue corn chips , and that made them go away. Also, look at what you are eating, many people are allergic to MSG (commonly found in Chinese food) and get headaches from that. Also, if you take a OTC pain reliever on a regular basis (say for a week while you are on your period for cramps), and then stop when it is over, you can get like rebound headaches. I've gotten those, and they best thing to do is just relax and see if the pain goes away, but not if they are migraines.

Good luck to you, and I hope you start to feel better!
L.

[valkyrie]

I've only had a few migraines, and there's not much that I've found that works for them, although I've never tried prescription medication. I think that my triggers are lack of sleep or sometimes red wine -- but usually I'm okay with no sleep and some red wine.

As far as less serious headaches -- I usually have luck with Excedrin migraine, which is basically aspirin and caffeine. That seems to work for me, but I always have to take that with food or it will upset my tummy. If I don't have any Excedrin migraine, I've gotten by with plain old aspirin and a big old cup of coffee. Sometimes ibuprofen works, but only if it's not a really bad headache.

[Eirene_DGP]

I started having Migraines recently and come to find out, the prescription in my glasses and contacts was too much. I kept putting off going to the doctor and didn't get a new prescription when I was suppose to.

~Kddani, did you go to the doc and tell him/her about the problem when you sit in front of the computer? They (Sears and Lenscrafters) have some new glasses/contacts from people who work with computers for long periods of time.

[AOX81]

I would like to know how the hell to get rid of my headache...this is day five.

All I drink is water. (I don't drink pop anymore)
I don't eat candy.
It's not my time of the month.
I have already been to the eye doctor to get my eyes and glasses checked.

I think I'm going to explode

[kddani]

Thank you everyone for your advice, I definately plan on trying some of it.
One of my triggers definately seems to be light... especially light from the computer monitor and strong outdoor light. I've always been sensitive to light (i have very light blue eyes, that seems to not help at all) and it seems to be getting worse lately.

I definately think there's something to the caffeine helping cause it.... I had cut down significantly on my caffeine intake and I had fewer headaches. However I've been drinking more of it lately and have been having more headaches lately.

33girl- so you're suggesting i run out and get pregnant? I think that may just give me an even bigger headache.... however I have heard some people say that sex actually helps get rid of headaches.... but I don't have a man right now and i'm not one for random hookups, so i guess i'll have to wait to try that remedy.

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions! AOX81, hope you feel better very soon!

[justamom]

How to get rid of a migraine-

Get a divorce! Just kidding!

Sometimes you really do need to see a doctor. Our assistant is stresing out about her wedding right now and her doctor gave her an Rx for Vicadin and something to help her relax.

Hubby just had accupuncture and he is now a believer-his was for "golf" elbow, however.

[Silverblue]

Hootie, my migraines make my eyes hurt, too. In fact, when the backs of my eyes start to feel sore, I know that it's a migraine and not a tension or sinus headache.

AOX81, go to your GP and ask for something specifically for migraines. Call your doctor, tell him you've had a headache for five days, and maybe he'll call something in for you to tide you over until you can see him. My doctor has done that.

Another trigger is the weather. When the barometric pressure changes, the pressure inside your head changes, too. I live in the South, where we have nasty heat and humidity. There's nothing I can do to control that at all.

Eirene--DGP, I'm going to ask my eye doctor about those contacts and glasses (I alternate between the two, depending on whether I feel like fooling with putting in my contacts) for people who work in front of computers. I'm a copy editor, so I'm at a computer all day.

A warning about cutting back on caffeine: Do it slowly, or you'll get a killer withdrawal headache.

[fire1977]

I too am a migraine sufferer. I used to vomit so much when I had them I had to go the hospital 5 times my senior year in school. Here is my advice....
Like everyone said, caffiene and hydration are a biggie. I'd keep a record of foods that you eat and when you get your migraines. I think you will find something that may trigger them. One to watch out for is dried fruit, like raisons etc. some of the stuff they use to dry it has been known to cause migraines.

Second, I hate to get personal here but birth control pills can cause or worsen migraines. That was one the ones that made it worse for me.

Excedrin and other over the counter drugs are fine, but if you over use them too often you may damage your stomach.

I took everything imaginable, amedrine imotrex, maxalt, eventually I was on Percosets and vicoden. They made me so sick I decided to stop taking them.

I've managed to recognize my triggers so now I take a natural herbal supplement (which some people think helps) called feverfew. you have to take it everyday for a couple of months to get the benefits, but it has been suggested that it has the properties of a vasoconstrictor. This with a few advil migraine, which don't upset my stomach usually subdues or eliminates it.

As far as the computer screen goes, you can get screens for the front of a computer that will lessen the glare.

And that concludes my pseudo health lessons for today.

[justamom]

Silverblue is soooooo right. I have read article upon article about stopping your caffeine intake suddenly and experiencing MASSIVE "cluster" headaches.

've only had one such headache in my life-Iserved on a HUGE EVENT decorations committee with a perfection freak. The moment the style show started and nothing more could be don, my headache INSTANTLY went away. Is there anything stressing you out?

So little can be done for this situation. I hope you find relief!

[James]

The vast majority of headaches including migraines are because of muscle tension.

This is why it mostly doesn't respond to medication or conventional treatment.

How many times have we all heard the complaint of someone in an accident: I have these horrible headaches now . . .? Especially from Whiplash.

If I were a betting man kddani, I would say it was less the glare from your monitor than the posture of your body while sitting at the computer as well as various muscle imbalances created over time.

I know someone that has had chronic headaches (one never ending one) punctuated by dizziness, and feelings of dying for 3-4 years as a result of a couple accidents.

After a lot of medication and expensive therapy she stumbled on the idea of "trigger points" and picked up a couple books. Some of the therapy she received was trigger points and seemed to make a difference.

Anyway, the progress she made from 10 days of manipulating her own trigger points has exceeded 18 months of expensive therapy.

Headaches have lessesned in intensity, duration and frequency. She has also had obvious improvement in range of body movement especially the head and neck.

I have tried it myself and it definitely works. Over time you can clear the trigger points totally and thus get rid of the pain pattern.

I have done a bunch of follow-up research. The original Doctor that did much of the research was Janet Travell, JFK's Doctor. Her and David Simmons wrote some definitive text books on the subject.

Their research found that a lot of our problems are muscular in origin . . .

Anyway, she and I have found that certain foods and products will definitely intensify headaches, but if you are really aware you will notice that they tighten certain muscles, often in the head, neck and upper back which are the real culprits.

Assuming you are serious about taking charge of your own health I'll post the title of the books, if you ask.

But its probably the best way to permanently get rid of things like headaches . . .

Oh and Justamom, it works on Tennis Elbow also, and will prevent Tennis Elbow from returning


Have a nice day everyone