Only thing that gets rid of a migraine for me is one Tylenol and one aspirin. It’s the same thing as Exedrin but without the caffiene since most of my migraines are triggered by too much caffeine. Even better, which I took once when I didn’t have aspirin, is one Tylenol and one dose of Alka Seltzer. Maybe the aspirin in dissolved Alka Seltzer worked faster but somehwere I read that baking soda often helps migraines.
Other triggers for me are Nutrasweet, bright sunlight, letting my blood sugar get too low and sleeping in too long in the morning.
I’ve tried Imitrex and Zomig. Both worked, but Imitrex works faster and more consistently for me. Imitrex will also work if the migraine has already started, whereas Zomig did nothing unless I caught it right at the start.
Before Imitrex, I had Vicodin to take if I couldn’t catch it, but I’ve never had much luck with drug-drugs. They just don’t do anything for me, least of all kill pain. The most it’s ever done is make me a little dizzy.
Without Imitrex, I don’t bother taking any over-the-counter pill, since I know from experience it’s not going to work. I just sit in a reclining position as motionless as possible in a dark room with no noise other than a low drone like an exhaust fan makes (drones seem to help, at least they do me).
For the nausea, I take Phenergan–works every time.
I was on Topamax for a little while (three days, as I recall), but it affected me very adversely.
It is interesting to me that several of you have mentioned caffeine (coffee) as part of your self treatment regimen, when caffeine is a known trigger of migraines.
I don’t doubt you folks that this is effective for you, it just brings home to me how complex this condition is! Also apparently too much sleep is a trigger for some people, as is too little sleep.
fishbicycle I get the feeling your non-headache having self is in the wrong thread!
Maybe. But studies have shown that migraineurs who consume caffiene regularly often can trigger a headache if they fail to consume enough caffiene to avoid caffiene withdrawal. Or if they consume too much, so that the body tends to become resistant to the effects of caffiene.
For migraineurs who consume little caffiene on a regular basis, a quick dose of caffiene at the first symptom of a mingraine is often effective in aborting the headache.
But as you point out, it is a complex disease, and there is no “one size fits all”.
I used to get some bad migraines while I was in university… my brother (who was using me as his guinea-pig at the time,) hypnotized me with some NLP techniques that he’d been learning and the changes have been remarkable. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a full-blown migraine since then.
He taught me some self-hypnosis techniques once he was done with his own induction… basically amounts to being a little more aware of the warning signs when a migraine is brewing. When it starts, I usually try to lie down in the dark for a few hours, and that heads it off pretty nicely. (Not that I’ve even had to go that far often, recently.)
Count me as one of those for whom caffeine helps prevent migraines. I get migraines a couple of times a year, and if I load up on caffeine, sugar, and chocolate as soon as I’m aware of the aura, the onset is pushed back an hour or so. If I can get to sleep when the caffeine and sugar rush wear out, I can usually nap through the headache and disorientation. My personal formula is a super tall dark chocolate mocha, drank fairly quickly, and off to bed an hour later.
I rarely drink coffee or caffeinated beverages (maybe once every other week or so), so I don’t think I’ve got much of a tolerance or dependency built up for caffeine.
When I first started getting migraines I used caffeine to get rid of them, now I am a caffeine addict, probably from relying on it too much for headaches. I walk a fine line between too much and too little. Any deviation from the usual can set off a migraine. If I am able to suffer through the torture of giving it up I get fewer migraines.
If I’m out of triptans my migraine cocktail is 3 (OTC) Ibuprofen, 1 Dramamine and 200mg of caffeine. Works for the small ones if I catch them at the very beginning.
Thankfully, I don’t suffer from migraines. But my 13-year-old daughter does, and has since she was about 7. Her first symptom is that her vision gets funny in her left eye. If she catches it right away, Excedrin works wonders for her. If she doesn’t catch it right away (like if it starts while she’s sleeping), I give her an adult dose of Benadryl (she’s an adult-sized girl) and let her sleep through it. If we do neither of the above, she’s puking before you know it.
I’ve been having my pre-migraine symptoms all weekend (boss sent me home from work on Friday, bless her, because I was not looking so hot) with auras, nausea, and just a bit of a headache. It hasn’t actually blown up into the full-on “I want to die” migraine, but it’s still been relatively … ugh.
I don’t like to rely on advil too much, I try to use it sparingly, but if I catch the symptoms before they go over into full-on migraine, it’s pretty good. If I don’t, then yeah, darkened room time. Unfortunately it’s been blazing hot and humid here all weekend, so I couldn’t sleep off the symptoms, fortunately I’ve only had to pop a couple of advil when it seemed to be verging over into real pain.
Caffeine definitely helps. Whether it’s partly a placebo effect or not, I don’t really care. Makes me feel better is all I’m asking for. I seem to have relatively mild migraines, which are relatively manageable, especially when I can manage the trigger -bright glare will do it, but so will atmospheric pressure and I can control my exposure to glare but I’m damned if I can stop thunderstorms brewing. I’m glad to hear from Sinshine that I’m not the only one that affects.
Not looking forward to work tomorrow. If this continues I will suck it up and actually see my doctor. I prefer to manage them myself, but don’t wish to be pigheaded about it.
My father had migraines, complete with visual display, and I have either migraines (moderate, without visuals, one-sided throbbing, light sensitivity, cold sensitivity, with nausea and vomiting), or, they may be metabolic (low blood sugar).
Posting, because people who haven’t been diagnosed might consider treating them as metabolic, which turns out to be an easy fix.
Typically, I get them the morning after an intense day, or an aerobics session in the afternoon or evening, and they are consistent with an increased metabolic rate overnight that runs down blood sugar. I wake to the throbbing, with nausea. At that point, if I get some easily digestible sugar into myself in time, everything will settle in 30 minutes and I’m fine.
A half-glass of orange juice will do it, or (a favorite) some spoonsful of brown sugar with skim milk. Nothing fatty or meaty, le stomach will not deal.
Earlier experiments with sugary tea worked pretty well, and/or Tums or Bromo-Seltzer, and an OTC painkiller.
The evidence for hunger headaches is the consistency they appear after evening work-outs. Other evidence hints at moderate migraines. Possibly both occur, but if so they are very similar.
