My migraines were the 3rd of 3 headaches. They start with a sinus headache which triggers a tension headache. If left alone it creates a migraine which starts as a strange little headache that spins out of control quickly. I have 15 minutes to react to the start of a migraine.
I take Pseudoephedrine and ibuprofen washed down with hot caffeinated drinks, preferably tea. On top of that is nose spray and then I use a towel and a steam vaporizer to breath in hot moist air. If I were to get a migraine headache I’d also take an ice cube in a paper towel and run that all over my neck and facial muscles to get the tension headache under control.
Basically I have to cure the cause of the headache or the migraine continues unabated. If I react within the 15 minute window I can stop the migraine every time. I keep the OTC stuff listed above at work, home and in my cars.
It took years to figure this out. The important thing for me was learning when to recognize the onset of a migraine and react quickly to it. Once it’s started it takes over to get it under control.
Most of the above for me.
Definitely caffeine (and ice packs) helps. To address the boredom, I like to read large type books (so I don’t need glasses) in the gloom. Radio, TV, and the computer are right out.
No major headache today after 5 straight days, but I can feel it nibbling. Just waiting for the wrong thing to trigger it. What I do have is the “hangover” effect that other folks have mentioned. All I want to do is sleep, which seems ridiculous, since I just spent a large portion of the last week in a dark room, in bed!
I’ve had my allotted coffee, now I just need to power through a few more meetings.
LOL, I improvised that yesterday because my drug of choice went up in flames on the 10th and I am still trying to get certain prescriptions replaced. Fucking insurance.
One Ultram [tramadol], one 500 mg Tylenol [left over from a pain control study I participated in a couple years ago] and washed down with coffee.
I have found that if you can discover the formulary for a med, you can frequently recreate it ad hoc if you have an assortment of other stuff to work with. Not that I can legally recommend free lance pharmacology … but if you legally have the meds and are combining for yourself only, I can’t see much of a problem.
I am stunningly lucky with my migraines - they are rare, and usually give me enough warning (via visual disturbances) that I can toss back some ibuprofen to minimize it. At that point, I just have to get unconscious as fast as I can before it gets to the anvil-pounding stage. Fortunately (hah) I’m sleep-deprived enough in general that I can always manage to sleep 3-4 hours.
Then I stumble around the house, about 75% functional, for 24 hours or so.
I got migraines once a month or so when I was a teenager. Luckily for me, they would only last about 3 hours. Since then, the frequency has declined; I’m probably getting one every two years now. A large dose of Advil as soon as the visual aura appears is usually enough to manage them. I guess my migraines are pretty wimpy as migraines go.
A quibble: neither Fioricet nor Fiorinal contain codeine on their own. Fioricet has acetaminophen, and Fiorinol contains aspirin. Both contain a barbiturate and caffeine.
A combination version of each drug is available with codeine.
Good times. I used Fioricet for years. The relief after years not not knowing why I had week-long “sinus headaches” was amazing. You can’t imagine.
Pixel_Dent – I’ve had IV magnesium as part of the treatment for migraine in the ER, and I wanted a to-go setup so I could do it at home. So effective.
I get Botox every three months, take Imitrex and Advil when one is coming on - Amytriptaline, magnesium and B2 daily. I avoid MSG like the plague, and since I started eating super “clean”, they are not as bad. I exercise 6 days a week and try to control my sleep carefully. Some triggers, like barometric pressure are a bit tough to manage. I also went off the Pill and has a mirena put in.