how to get rid of migraines?

[Silverblue]

James, please post the titles. Zomig is a wonder drug for me, and I intend to keep a good supply of it on hand, but I'm willing to try a non-drug alternative to stop migraines that have just started. Manipulating trigger points certainly would help with stress-induced headaches. Stress is definitely a trigger for me.

However, light (including glare on a computer screen) is a major trigger for many migraine sufferers. Bright light makes you squint, which can keep those muscles tight all day.

Also, food triggers are different for everyone. This is why keeping a diary is so useful.

[AXOLiz]

If you get migraines frequently, I'd suggest going to your doctor and asking for a referral to a neurologist if they aren't too familiar with migraines (mine wasn't at all). I went to my family doctor and he put me on Imitrex. It worked well, until I discovered I was highly allergic. Since all the migraine drugs are part of that same class, chances are I'd be allergic to all of them, so my doctor sent me to a neurologist.

My neurologist had me keep a headache diary of how long I had them, how bad they were, and anything that could've possibly triggered each one (foods, weather, noise, smells, etc.). I realized I got them more often than I thought, and that some lasted a few days or more. At the same time as I was doing this, he put me on Fioricet for the pain, and those are pretty hardcore drugs (not narcotics, but still knock-you-on-your-butt if you're not careful). There were times when I'd take my daily dosage within the first 4 hours and still be in pain.

When he saw that wasn't working for me, my doctor put me on Atenolol (blood pressure medication). I joked about being geriatric, but the stuff worked - when my blood pressure was lowered, the headaches really couldn't begin in the first place. I've stopped taking it since I stopped taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen (I was on that for various hormonal reasons and I really think that's what made my headaches worse) - my blood pressure was already messed up enough from the Ortho and I got sick of feeling like I was going to pass out whenever I stood up. I'm sure my doc could've adjusted the dosage, but I went to a lower dose for a month and then went off it completely.

One thing you might want to check if you're trying to figure out a cause is the weather - I'm in Cleveland, so our weather changes at the drop of a hat. Whenever there were drastic pressure changes, I'd get headaches (sort of like people with arthritis feeling it in their joints). Another migraine tip: no matter what painkiller you use, take it as soon as you feel you might be getting a migraine (I'd usually take 3 Excedrin - the caffeine in it helps because it dilates the blood vessels and releases some of the pressure, according to my doc). If you don't catch it right away, you're usually in it for the long haul.

I also wouldn't recommend cutting caffeine completely to try to get rid of them. You might end up with headaches from the caffeine withdrawal instead, and those can be just as bad.

Good luck,
Liz

[wrigley]

I haven't had a bad one like this in quite awhile. Hoping the pharmacy has finished filling the order so I can pick it up.

[ThetaDancer]

Awww, wrigley, sending you good thoughts. I know how awful they can be.

[AOII Angel]

Hope the meds kick in soon! I suffer horribly from migraines and keep Imitrex shots in my purse at all times. I guess for people who get them infrequently, it's hard to keep a supply in case one pops up.

[PeppyGPhiB]

I get migraines, too, and am finally learning what my triggers are. MSG, aspertame, changes in the weather, hormones, intense stress. But it also runs in my family - my mom gets them, and my dad got cluster headaches, which are supposedly worse than migraines. My mom always warned me that when she started taking birth control pills, that's when she started getting migraines, and sure enough, that's what happened to me. The biggest trigger for me seems to be the weather, and it seems that my sinus problems and allergies are somehow tied to the migraines, because my dr just put me on some nose spray a few months ago for allergies and I've only had one migraine since.

My migraines are mostly throbbing ones that go away temporarily with one Imitrex. But every once in a while I get a really bad one that doesn't respond to the medication right away and I have to combine a couple Imitrex with OTC meds to make it go away. The last one I had wouldn't respond to anything but Vicodin. Most of my migraines last 72 hours; I just take another Imitrex when the previous dose wears off. And Imitrex is the only prescription I've tried so far that worked. It took some getting used to (I felt funny at first), and it's expensive for just 9 pills per pack, but it's worth every penny to me.

[Gusteau]

This is going to sound so weird, but for less intense migraines or if you just have a headache my mom always recommends taking a cup of tea putting the hot mug on your forehead, temples, eyelids, etc. People will look at you kind of funny but its very soothing.

[Leslie Anne]

I'm sorry to hear you have a migraine. I use Imitrex for mine. I also put a damp cloth over my eyes and an ice pack on my upper neck. The ice pack really helps me.

[ThetaDancer]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

But it also runs in my family - my mom gets them, and my dad got cluster headaches, which are supposedly worse than migraines.

I have cluster headaches too! Most people have no idea what they are and they can be so hard to explain. I was diagnosed with them when I was 18, which was so weird because they mostly happen to middle-aged men.

[honeychile]

One of my very first memories is what I now know was a migraine. My preschool teacher noticed that I looked sick, and it ended up being a full-blown migraine that had me out of school for two days. On my mother's side, almost everyone got "bilious attacks" (migraines with the vomiting) except her, so she knew the minute I started getting them. Strangely, I've never had problems with my periods or with birth control and migraines.

I've kept the diary, and noticed that it does change from time to time. MSG isn't a trigger anymore, for example, but light, noise, and intense heat are really bad triggers. I take Imitrix (Zomig didn't even touch it) and if my head can handle it, a cold to not quite warm shower (it's more cooling) - then off to bed with an ice pack. The noise part means it's almost impossible to go to a concert anymore.

I think that the best thing you can do (once you've found your triggers) is to refuse to let people tell you that you're crazy or making it up, and to do whatever it takes to make your migraine go away. It's not like you can do anything useful while you have one anyhow.

[DreamfulSpirit]

I've had migraines since a young age, I mean like around or before I was 10 years old. They got so bad that when I was younger, the only way to get rid of them was just to go to sleep. I'm not sure what my triggers are, but I have realized that as long as I take something the second I notice a migraine or headache coming on, I'll be ok. If I don't take anything, I become very light sensitive and start becoming very nauseous.

I think they run in my family too. I haven't seen my Mom with many of them, but my grandmother gets them, and is on prescription medication for hers.

[aggieAXO]

I do not leave the house without my imitrex-it is a miracle drug.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

This is going to sound so weird, but for less intense migraines or if you just have a headache my mom always recommends taking a cup of tea putting the hot mug on your forehead, temples, eyelids, etc. People will look at you kind of funny but its very soothing.

I have lots of "home remedies" for migraines. I get an uncontrollable urge to take a hot bath. It usually works as long as I stay in the bath (one recent bad migraine failed to go away after two Maxalts and two hours in the tub! I finally went to the ER when my husband couldn't find Imitrex shots at any local pharmacy. They gave me the shot, and I was normal in less than 15 minutes!)
I like ice packs but more so when I have a tension headache (I haven't found anything but sleep that makes those go away!) I also want to eat icecream. It's probably because the roof of your mouth is innervated by the same nerve as your meninges.

My triggers include hormones. When I have my drug withdraw week on my birth control, I'll get daily migraines. Some days I take as many as three pills/shots to combat them. To help with this, I take Seasonique- three months of pills in a row without a period, but I still am so miserable for that one week every three months that I just started skipping that week.

Red wine, scotch, sleep deprivation, stress, bright light, tension headaches but no specific foods are my usual triggers. For some reason, I still drink wine, though, it's gotten so bad recently that I drink very infrequently.

I took Beta Blockers for 6-7 years. It worked the first year really well, but after that not so much.

[aggieAXO]

red wine also gives me a migraine
other triggers:
working more than 3 days in a row
taking Lunesta more than 3 days in a row
hangovers-thus i drink infrequently
not eating bread or some other kind of carbohydrate for 12 hours (like mac an cheese or potato)

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

This is going to sound so weird, but for less intense migraines or if you just have a headache my mom always recommends taking a cup of tea putting the hot mug on your forehead, temples, eyelids, etc. People will look at you kind of funny but its very soothing.

Heat is good for tension headaches, as those are often muscular. Migraines are neurological, which is why they don't respond to lots of other types of medication and treatment, and why they are different in each person. For instance, heat wouldn't make me feel better...in fact, it would probably make mine feel worse. I sometimes find that a cold washcloth helps, though. My mom eats a popsicle when she gets a migraine...she swears it helps.