What do you do when you have a migraine?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I get migraines a lot. Roughly 15 days a month. This is down from every day, so I’m actually pretty happy about my 15 days, objectively. But during my 15 days, I’m not a happy camper.

I know there are other people here who suffer from migraines, so I thought I’d start a thread and ask: what do you do while you’re having a migraine? Feel free to tell me about the remedies you’ve tried of course, but I’m really looking for how you pass the time. There’s only so much alone in a dark room with no noise that a person can take. But anything else is really unendurable.

I read sometimes. I sleep. I stare into the shrouded gloom. Many, many days I actually do go to work despite the migraine, just to keep busy and not dwell on it.

What do you when you have migraine?

2

Throw up, take a scalding hot shower and then hide in my dark bedroom. Sometimes rinse and repeat on the shower and the throwing up.

3

I avoid heat if at all possible. Normally (well, since the docs finally agreed with me that what I have are migraines), I take an imitrex.

If I don’t take it soon enough and a full blown migraine ensues, lying in the dark, drinking something very cold (preferably tart and citrus), and waiting until it goes away is all I can do.

If it’s bad enough, I will throw up.

4

I take a large dose of Advil when I feel it coming on and try to sleep it off in a cold, dark room.

5

I’ve only had two. In both cases, a double shot of espresso was very helpful. Of course, it took me a long time to choke down the espresso because I was right on the verge of throwing up, but once I swallowed it, the worst of the migraine soon passed off. I still had a bad headache, but nothing I couldn’t cope with.

I’m not sure if they were proper migraines, as they were birth control pill related, but I had nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and inability to speak coherently.

6

Strap an icepack to my head, lie down and move as little as possible, for as long as possible.

7

I remember hot showers in the dark. I had to prop a towel in the bathroom window. After awhile I had myself trained to sleep through most of it.

Mine were long ago, though, and they only came that often when the doctor tried biofeedback to fight them. It was before most of the newer meds and the thing that finally worked was chronic low doses of caffiene.

If I couldn’t sleep through them, I think I’d try audiobooks or music.

8

Ice. I keep a small bottled water frozen at all times, so I can rest with it under my neck/brain stem. It seems to help. Also meds, of course.

9

ddsun, if you haven’t already got a migraine specialist, please get one. There’s no reason to suffer with a full-on migraine for more than two weeks a month. If you’re near Boston, I know of some good doctors.

I have chronic migraine, but things are kept under control with Cymbalta; trigger point injections into my head, neck, and shoulders; a muscle relaxant at bedtime; and Botox injections. A flexible work environment (and a boss with a wife who has migraines) helps immensely.

When I do get a migraine, it’s normally fairly easy to get under control, and far less intense than it was before seeing my current care team.

I take Relpax, or Relpax and 2 Aleve (if it feels worse than normal). If it’s the full-on migraine with added drill-in-the-middle-of-my-forehead, I take Replax and a percocet. All washed down with regular Coca-Cola, ginger ale, or coffee. I don’t know why, but my body is fine with sweetened milky coffee.

After taking the medication, I microwave a back-sized heat pack, tie it to my head with a scarf (it’s a great look), then fall asleep. The cats lie down with me to provide feline medical assistance. Usually I wake up a couple of hours later, and the pain is gone.

10

Edit to add: Forgot to say how I pass the time.

I’m able to work from home, and on my own modified schedule. So if I wake up with a migraine, I can sleep in until the medication takes effect, then work. I find it helpful to keep myself busy so I don’t think about the migraine. If it’s the weekend, I might sleep it off, or I might do a modified list of errands. It really depends on how I feel. Sometimes the weather is bad for a week (weather is a HUGE trigger), and it’s a battle to keep going, so I gladly sleep in. If it’s a little one, it’s easier to work through it.

Yes – the sensitivity to light and sound along with nausea are the three classic symptoms that differentiate a migraine from a regular headache. Many women have migraines related to hormonal changes, including the pill.

11

I now have reason to count my blessings. I’ve had really bad headaches in the past but never true migraines.

12

My migraines started with puberty. Fortunately, both my grandmother and her sister suffered from them so they recognized immediately what was going on and helped me learn how to cope with them. Years ago (I’m nearly 60), there was precious little you could do except suffer through them. Darkened room, cold compress for my face and the back of my neck (which is where mine always start - the base of my skull and move upwards) and lying down if I could. I usually couldn’t, so I’d prop myself up against the backboard of my bed. This was before ibuprofen, so I’d be given Anacin, I think it was, and I’d just have to wait it out.

When I asked my pediatrician if there was anything he could do to help me, he patted me on the shoulder and said “There’s nothing wrong with you a trip to Europe won’t cure.” I have never been more patronized or marginalized in my life.

When Imitrex came out, it saved my bacon. Like a poster above said, if you can take that pill when you feel the migraine coming on, you can sometimes head it off before it gets to full strength. If it gets to full strength, I need to go to the ER for a shot.

My symptoms include: nausea, extreme vertigo, blurred version with light sensitivity (I clearly don’t drive when I get one), ataxia, and of course gut-wrenching pain.

My headaches used to be related to my cycle, and precipitous changes in barametric pressure. Now I just have to worry about the barametric pressure changes.

13

First of all, when I get one I take Imitrex. Second off all, if you’re getting them every other day, you should talk to your doctor (or see a neurologist) about getting on a daily med like Topamax. It took mine down by about half (both full blown (I’m going to die right now, hopefully) and just my ‘really bad headache’ type headaches.

On top of Topamax and Imitrex, if I have one I really can’t kick (lasts two or three days, multiple doses of Imitrex and Tylenol), I’ll have my neuro call in Prednisone. Sometimes it takes two rounds. It might even just be the time (7? 10? days each), but it’s nice to have that option. In fact, last time, I even had them put a refill on it so it’s just waiting at the pharmacy for me. It’s a lot easier to hit the refill button on Walgrees . com, then to call them and wait 6 hours for them to call me back and then another 2 or 3 hours for Walgreens to have it ready. But, as I said in another thread, I have a decade long history with this doc, so they do trust that I know how to self medicate with the drugs that I have a rather long history with.

Not that my migraines were any less in college, but I’m kinda curious if medicinal marijuana will be prescribed for migraines (I also don’t think that my neuro would do it if it were legal in WI, I’m just curious).

14

I’m jealous that this is an option for you. Prednisone gives me migraines (and makes my joints hurt), so I hate, hate, hate to have it prescribed for my asthma. My allergist knows if I ask for it, I really feel awful and can’t get up the stairs without stopping on the landing.

MM is a big unknown. There’s anecdotal evidence that it helps migraines, but I don’t know about actual peer-reviewed studies. :cool:

It would be amusing to vape weed in the office. “Oh, I have a migraine.”

15

I curl up in a dark, quiet room and sip on ginger ale. It helps with the nausea and it sort of takes the edge off of the pain. It doesn’t make it go away, but it dulls it enough so I can sleep and don’t wake up in the middle of the night crying. (If you decide to try it, make sure it’s a brand with real ginger, like Canada Dry)

I don’t throw up, but the nausea is horrible, and I get both hot and cold flashes, and this horrible pounding in my right ear. Sometimes it’s so bad my hearing it blocked.

Anyone else get them when there’s a big weather change? Mine seem to be affected by a big drop or rise in the barametic pressure.

16

If I can, I take two-three Excedrin (or generic equivalent) when I feel the first signs of an impending migraine, and then continue to sip on something caffeinated. (And if I’m out of Excedrin/equivalent, I take one aspirin and one Tylenol with a cup of coffee or tea. Same active ingredients.) Fortunately for me, that works at least 90% of the time to ward off a full-blown migraine.

When that doesn’t work, or when I fail to notice the first symptoms? I lay in a dark room and sleep. (And frankly, if I can vomit, I’ll start feeling better sooner. Unfortunately, I don’t usually barf, and can’t even do the “stick your finger down your throat” thing. Doesn’t work for me. I’d be terrible at bulimia!) I’ve had migraines since the age of 10, long before most of the current medications came on the market, so I learned to manage them well enough that I haven’t sought a prescription for Imitrex or similar. (I probably now average 2 migraines per year - down from about two per week for the first few years. If better medication had been available for me when I was younger, though, I’d have considered robbing a bank to pay for the prescription.)

As for “doing” something during a migraine? No. Can’t read, can’t watch TV or surf the 'net, can’t talk on the phone or do housework. I sleep. I stagger to the kitchen to feed kids if I must, or to the back door to let dogs in and out. And I stagger back to bed and try to lose consciousness for a while longer. (Sleeping is pretty much my go-to for any illness. If I’m sick, I go to sleep - not by choice. My poor husband checks on me to make sure I’m still breathing, because he’s never known anyone else who could sleep for 18-20 hours straight, without even waking up to go to the bathroom. He actually called my mother once to come check on me, because I had H1N1 during my first trimester of pregnancy - double whammy of exhaustion. I’d been asleep for 21 hours when I woke up to see Tony and Mom hovering over me, discussing whether I needed an ambulance.)

17

Grumpy Bunny, Guinastasia, and Joey P I have 2 neurologists. :slight_smile:

I take topamax, Cymbalta,verapamil, and Frova. I’ve tried prednisone. I also take a few different things for nausea. My team won’t give me any painkillers because painkillers can cause rebound headaches. Given how often I have headaches I’m unconvinced. I think they have sadistic tendencies. Only partly joking. I also get Botox injections. All of that gets me down to half the month instead of daily.

I just get a little bored in my dark, miserable room sometimes. I’ve had a rough couple of days. Just wondering what everyone gets up to.

18

My migraines were cured when I got eyeglasses. It was an incredibly small adjustment, the optometrist said it was like the smallest correction that could possibly be made, and only for one eye. The other eye basically just had a clear lens. However, my headaches stopped and then my vision worsened.

19

I usually (but not always) get migraines in the middle of the night, after having slept for an hour or few.
The first seed of pain inserts itself into my dream so I often have to make myself wake up and take action. If I manage to become aware of it right at the start I have better chances of having a more manageable one. (But I don’t always, sometimes the pain wakes me up at a later point and I have a much rougher time).
Thing is that I awake from such a deep sleep that each cell in my body wants to SLEEP so it’s not usually easy.

The main thing with me is that when I have a migraine I cannot, repeat, cannot lie down. It makes it worse. So I go in to the living room and prop myself up with pillows and cushions. I also need to keep my back and neck straight, so I can’t really lean against the cushions, they have to be set up in a way that they support my weight without my bending my neck in the least. Unfortunately I have not found a way to do this with my new sofa & cushions, so I lightly rest against them while making sure I am sitting up straight. There have been many times when I thought that the migraine has ended so I make the mistake of just sliding down a little, you know, so I can SLEEP, only to have it flare up again. Then I start the process all over.

If I can tell it isn’t going to be a particularly bad one or if I don’t have to go to work the next day I ride it out without painkillers. I use Maxalt which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, and I have recently been told that Nurofen works so I have been trying that as well sometimes. As I said, I try not to because I am scared of rebound headaches and other side- effects.

I usually make a coffee and I put on the telly (I have to look away when it goes on because that sudden flare of light bothers me). I choose something that is mildly but not very interesting. I avoid things with flashes, bangs, or people shouting. Usually something like a talk show, documentary or … Nickelodeon (Drake and Josh, iCarly, Just Jordan … you get the picture). I don’t necessarily look at the TV all the time but I listen to it to pass the time.

I feel very sick, and I find that it helps to actually be sick, so if that is not forthcoming naturally, I stick my finger down my throat. My dentist has advised not to brush teeth afterwards because that ruins the enamel (I rarely did that anyway because I never know when will be the last vomiting session), but to rinse my mouth with water and let my saliva “do its job”.

I employ a type of meditation / biofeedback of my own devising (when I started doing it I had never heard of biofeedback) to make myself calmer and lower blood pressure and heart rate. A few years ago I found out that a certain blood vessel dilates and shortly after saw a documentary on biofeedback where they were training a woman (with the assistance of monitors and other equipment, which obviously I don’t have) to visualize the blood vessel back to its normal state, so I also do something similar, which helps as long as I am focused on that. If I get distracted by something the pain comes back.
This is often quite hard to do because as I said before, each and every cell in my body just wants to SLEEP, and sometimes the level of pain is such that I find it hard to achieve and maintain any level of relaxation.

Hopefully the pain will go away in time to allow me an hour or two of sleep before I have to get up for work.
The next day (I know you only asked about during the migraine, not after) I feel groggy both because of the migraine hangover and the lack of sleep. If I haven’t slept it’s even worse. I tend to keep a steady level of focused working (hoping that there are no emergencies on that day).
Before I had cats I would allow myself to sleep in a little and go to work a couple of hours late but now I am contractually obliged to serve breakfast at 08:30 (with audio reminders :rolleyes: starting between 07:30 and 08:00) so I don’t have that luxury any longer.

On some occasions, I am aware (I don’t know how) that a particular migraine is sinus related in which case I sniff pepper :eek: ! Which makes me sneeze and gets my nose runny which also helps.

All in all, my migraines never last more than a few hours I’ve never timed them, but, say, 5-6 hours max, usually a lot less, if I do the right things right at the start sometimes they don’t even get off the ground properly, so I am quite grateful because I know that other people have it much worse both pain- wise and length wise.

20

I think I could come up with some peers that would be more than happy to review it for them.
I assume it doesn’t make any difference, but have you also tried Methylprednisolone? That’s actually what I take first, but if that doesn’t work than I take regular prednisone. Pharmacologically, I have no idea what the difference is.

When I had kidney stones I was throwing up from the pain and had my doc call in Zofran. I used a few of them for the stone (and a few of them for the next stone) and the remaining 5 or 10 for the last several years worth of headaches. I had my neuro call in some of those since they work pretty well. I asked them to call in 90 of them since that’s a nice round number that the insurance company won’t ask any questions about (it’s a “90 day supply”). It was $60 and will probably last me 10 years.

When I take Vicodin/Percocet etc, I can tell you that sometimes I do wind up with a migraine in the morning that requires Imitrex. Not always, but it does happen. Having said that, I have a feeling it’s just a standard line with neuros. Keeps the drug seekers at bay.

I’ve thought about Botox, but I haven’t been able to convince myself to do it yet. My doc/PA hasn’t brought it up yet, but I have an acquaintance that’s a Allergan sales rep that suggested I do it if I hit my deductible while there’s still a few months left in the year. Even so, it’s very expensive and I’m not quite happy with the numbers yet.