I definitely find ibuprofen helps if I take it at the first sign. If I don’t manage to take it until the headache gets bad, it doesn’t make it go away, but ibuprofen and a nap will usually make me feel okay. If I skip the ibuprofen, I wake up feeling just as bad as when I lay down. Caffeine helps too (which is why it’s in Excedrine) - a cup of coffee can definitely relieve symptoms to some degree.
Doesn’t sound stupid to me at all. There’s machines that use biofeedback in some way to treat migraines - there’s a lot you can do about them using your mind. I think that I no longer have debilitating migraines largely because I got into the habit using relaxation techniques at the first sign. I close my eyes, breathe slowly, consciously relax my muscles one by one, and essentially meditate for a few minutes, and it helps a great deal. If I do it right away, it often stops a full-blown migraine from happening.
Not for me. I’ve tried masturbating when I had headaches since certainly many people have had good results from it - but as I get near orgasm, the pain becomes absolutely intolerable. I think it’s the increase in heart rate and so forth. And if I managed to squeeze one off anyway, I still felt worse afterwards.
The aphasia thing sounds scarier to me. But once I literally lost vision in my left eye from a migraine. It started with me noticing that I was having a hard time recognizing faces, and I realized there was something wrong with the central part of my eye’s visual field. It spread over the entire eye, and I was panicking to myself because I thought I was going blind. It was bizarre.
I’ve had migraines for 50+ years. When I was in my 30s and 40s, two or three a month were common. Thankfully, they have diminished with time although I spent seven hours in an ER just a couple of weeks ago.
I wake up with mine fully developed; a horrible pain behind my right eye and an extreme sense of nausea. After the vomiting stops, the pain expands to cover the entire right sight of my head. I use an ice bag and a dark room. I used to use Fiorinal #3, which is what I blame my addiction on—they worked all too well and I became very fond of them. Now I take Midrin, which is a little better than plain aspirin.
To the OP, I join the chorus recommending you see a doctor ASAP.
Oh, there are plenty of informative neurologists around, but I’ve never paid a helpful neurologist. Knowing all the different names for all the different headaches isn’t particularly useful to me. Classic, Common, Cluster, Fjorn, Icepick, yaddayadda, whatfreakingever, just make them stop!
Please, see a doctor. Not a neurologist right off the bat, just your GP will be able to guide you in the right direction if he/she can’t help, or if you aren’t actually having true migraines. There are quite a few drugs available that help many migraine sufferers.
For me, Granny’s special migraine treatment is still the most effective.
1 regular strength aspirin
1 regular strength acetaminophen
2 cups coffee
Not perfect, but it helps. I’ve heard (no cite, because I’m a cheapskate, plus it was years ago) that Excedrin changed their formula and removed the aspirin. Talk to your doc about it before trying this, just to make sure you can safely take aspirin, tylenol and caffeine.
I believe it (my source was – and is – a bit of dipstick) but generic is still cheaper.
What does normal excedrin have in it? Isn’t the “migraine” formula of Excedrin relatively new? Like within the last 10-or-so years?
I don’t mean to be pissy – I’d just get a kick out of one old wife’s tale (as in my Grandmother) being not complete horsepucky.
The Excedrin Migraine “formula” came out around 1997. I shouldn’t remember this, because I don’t use Excedrin, but I remember it like it was yesterday: the folks behind Excedrin found out that it worked for migraines too, but the dosing was different. Thus they took the same stuff, dosed it differently, and put it in a different box with a different label and different instructions.
You don’t have to be having a migrane to be diagnosed with migrane, just FYI.
My neurologist has saved my life, really. I still get regular migranes, even though I’m on a preventative (Elavil, a tricyclic antidepressant which supposedly helps prevent migranes) but at least now I have a prescription that WORKS to get rid of them. In a bad month, I can have migranes that last weeks, where I take a pill, it goes away, when the pill wears off it comes back, and so on. Toss in the auras, which make it impossible for me to SEE… yeah. Not much fun.
I’ve tried most of the pain relievers on the market, OTC and prescription, and the only one that works for me is Relpax. I guess there’s no generic for it yet because it costs me a fuck ton, and I’m only able to get 12 a month. But it works. Sometimes my “one month supply” lasts me 2 weeks, unfortunately.
Excedrin Tension Headache, Excedrin Sinus Headache, and Excedrin PM are the ones that don’t contain aspirin.
Extra Strength Excedrin and Excedrin Migraine contain aspirin, acetominophen, and caffeine in the exact same formula. The only difference is package labeling and dosage instructions.
I get what I think are migraines every 6 months or so. They seem to come from a combination of bright light, stress, and possibly eating olives, green peppers, or roast beef.
Mine are bad but if I go home and lay down I’m fine a few hours later.
I used to get more when I worked on a regular CRT monitor, my LCD monitor is much much easier on my eyes.
I also disconnected the flourescent bulbs over my desk, flourescent lights always did bother my eyes.
I have been told that a herbal supplement called Feverfew is good as a preventative for Migraines. Taken daily, it’s supposed to reduce the frequency and severity of them. It never worked for me, but I’m just a sample of one.
You may also want to visit a chiropractor. I have found that mine, who practices a chiropractic tehcnique called “NUCCA” (there are LOTS of different chiropractic techniques!), has really helped me. He said that misalignment of the axis (the bone that your skull sits on) is a major contributor to headaches and migraines.
My worst mirgraine, which I suffered through before I ever saw a neurologist or got a prescription, was 9 days. I was gulping 222s (ASA, caffeine and codeine) - it’s Rx in the USA, but over the counter in Canada - like candy, and told my husband that I’d gladly take Heroin if someone would give it to me.
Good luck with your search for relief. Don’t give up - it takes a lot of trial and error, but you CAN find solutions that will work for you.
