migraines :(

susan*s · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 99 Location: Portland, OR

anyone else cursed with these? I have SUCH a bad one right now, it's on day #2. I have some awful combination of migraine & pollen allergies. My energy is dragging, I can't stand loud noise or bright light... I'm really fun today, seriously!

I got acupuncture (by far the most painful one I've ever gotten) this afternoon & it has helped some, but I am still in so much pain. It's like a tight band around my head, with the knot right at the bridge of my nose. And the bitter, thick Chinese medicine I was prescribed made me throw up right away, which also sucked.

Any brilliant crafty treatments that you know of, or have tried? thank you!!

:(

susan
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MonaMew · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 62 Location: Canada

Poor Susan. My best friend has suffered from migranes all her life and here are her remedies:

Tight

Hopefully one of those will help your cranium! :o)
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BumbleV · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 64 Location: Sunny Texas

Ooh, I totally feel your pain. I get headaches all the time and migraines frequently. I recently started getting Migraine Auras, which almost completely block my vision...not fun.

When possible, a cold dark room usually helps but you can't really stay shut up in a room for two days, huh? Anything cold, applied to the base and top of the head helps me sometimes.

Hope your head (and everything else) starts feeling better soon!

CraftinFool · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 809 Location: New England

I have had them for years. The only thing that has helped me at all is Imitrex tablets, which I just started a couple of months ago. I don't like having to rely on pills but they work so well and so quickly for me and it keeps me from having to take so much time off from work for headaches.

spyderkl · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Denver, CO

I've had those for quite a while now. Usually sleep helps me, but now with a toddler I don't have the luxury of "take 4 ibuprofin and have a liedown", as my former doctor advised me. My new doctor (ahem) suggested the Imitrex ampules. They're little injectable things - works a lot faster than the pills. For me, the pills didn't start working until about an hour in. If the pills don't work for you, ask your doctor about the others.

For a more natural cure, I've heard feverfew tea works very well.

jean · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 9:42 am Post subject: mee-graines

here are the things i've tried:

acupuncture (good to go regularly) works well, but sometimes i still get them

get the same amount of sleep each night

take calcium and magnesium

low doses of anti-depressants combined with acupuncture and eating and sleeply regularly were the best solution to prevent them. often migraines are a serotonin issue

hot bath

4 advil and caffeine

vicodin--hangover the next day

imitrex--works good but feels toxic.

i mix and match depending

feel better sweetie!
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sun bear · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 443

my roommate used to take something called maxalt. I only remember this b/c it came with free coasters which we had on our coffee table. I don't know many solutions other than medicine though, I hope you feel better!
jt

deborahthecraft · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 364 Location: California

Well sweets I am sorry you have one.
I wouldn't be able to be at the keyboard with one.
Mine are pretty much monthly now that they are under control.
I am taking Zyrtec for allergies and a Zomig at the first site of one.
A hot tight towl around the head and a dark quiet room to sleep in... and lots of water seem to work for the one a month.
Otherwise if lavander is not a trigger for you spray your pillow with it.
Also learn if yours are tension trigered and pulsing different areas may help as well as looking out windows often may help you avoid them altogether.

my_small_space · Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Posts: 7

mine have been worse than usual lately.

i found that the flax eye pillows were not heavy enough, so i made one and put BBs in it. it holds onto the cold longer, and the weight seems to help me.

i also take a combo of severe allergy sinus headache benadryl and max. strength excedrin (sp?) (with an advil for luck last night!) and lie down in a dark room. sometimes, i steam my head with hot water with a lavender eo.

i was on imitrex for awhile, but i ran out of my prescription. but it worked.

hope you feel better!

greentleaf · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1

draw yourself a warm bath and sprinkle a few drops of essential oils into the water. try out different scents as some could be more intoxicating or nauseous. i like lavender and mint went i have a migraine. turn off the lights and burn a small candle for the minimum amount of light. the best part is submerging your head underwater. this seems to "take it all away".

Faelina · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 2

I hate my migraines, although they seem to not come as frequently if I drink a ridiculous amount of water and get some excercise every day. My doctor put me on Imatrex, but I never have them with me when I get an attack, so I pretty much never take them. Oh, and I also kept a headache journal for awhile so I could figure out what was triggering them (not surprisingly, it was pretty much everything I like to eat.) Wee!

za-za · Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 17

Aveda has a product called BLUE OIL. It comes in a small bottle with a rollerball. It costs $13 and is worth every penny.

I used to have migraines on a regular basis and would be laid up in bed for days with them. Now I rarely have them - this is what works for me.

At any sign of one coming at me, i put blue oil all over the back of my neck, wrists and temple. Then I pop 2 Excedrin, hold that spot between my thumb and forefinger that is suppose to be a pressure point for it and close my eyes for about 5-10 minutes. Bingo - good as gold.

I also agree with above that getting the same amount of sleep each night helps as well as drinking lots of water. And I have a rice bag - always helps.

susan*s · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 99 Location: Portland, OR

I am printing out this thread and keeping it forever!

I saw my naturopath this week and talked to her about getting migraines more frequently--once a month rather than once or twice a year. She said the 3 biggest triggers are

1-red wine
2-coffee
3-chocolate

:(

So, today is the first day of no red wine for me. I'm giving it up this month, and also giving up chocolate. Coffee I'm keeping for now, I love it too much. The wine thing is a bummer because I don't drink that much alcohol in general--but when I do it's always red wine. I don't really like white & I feel like it gives me a little hangover. So, blah, but hopefully it will interrupt the migraine cycle!

The other thing I have to do is reduce stress, which is also hard. I am busy and really focused on a sale I am doing on Saturday so after that I am going to take more time to just relax and try to not let the stress build so high. Since my mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in january, i have had a migraine every month and it just sucks. So, positive thinking, relaxing and meditating for me!

Thank you all so much for posting and I hope we keep coming up with helpful solutions... I am so glad to have some recommendations & options. Thank you!!

susan
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CraftinFool · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 809 Location: New England

I think you just may find a big difference not drinking the red wine. I had to cut it out b/c I realized it was a huge trigger for me. I wasn;t sure if it was sulfites, or what, but it was a trigger like 9 times out of 10.

Good luck!!

susan*s · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 99 Location: Portland, OR

I got a mini-migraine on Saturday :(

I got a tight-band-of-pain headache early in the day, and tried putting a cold washcloth on my forehead and keeping my feet warm so the blood would flow away from my head, or at least feel more in balance (my forehead felt hot and my feet were freezing)... not much luck getting it to recede. Advil every few hours, lots of water, no luck.

Andrew & I went to the movies (Sunset Blvd. on the big screen) and I at least felt functional but crappy. Then we went out for japanese food & when I went to the bathroom, surprise, I got my period over a week early!! It triggered a migraine again!

The only things that helped were Aveda Blue Oil and eating consistently--when I'm hungry, the headache is at least ten times worse.

So I had given up red wine completely for the past 3 weeks, since the last one, and I guess it isn't the only trigger :( Although this one was a lot lighter than the last one, it still really sucked. I had all the light/noise/crowdedness sensitivity, kind of on low instead of on high (if that makes any sense).

I am going to talk to my naturopath again about balancing my hormones during the different parts of my cycle, so they don't surge and ebb so fast--I took this Vitanica stuff a few years ago that really helped with cramps, maybe it will ease the headaches too. I'll report back.

susan :(
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