Who gets Migraines?

[kcnuke]

Recently I've had the privelege of getting a migraine. It started off a really bad headache, started to vomit... Eventually going to the ER. Since I don't have a history of migraines, the doctor was worried that it could be something else (brain hemerage, anurism..), so he requested a catscan which showed nothing and then he wanted a Spinal Tap (OUCH!!!).
The spinal tap results was nothing and no worries there, so he said all I had was a migraine.

My question to you all, is if you have had any, what triggers yours? and what do you do to fix it. To fix mine, they drugged me up really good and some Imatrex.

If you haven't had a spinal tap, for me, it hurt bad and it is in the middle of my back at my gunbelt line and had to take a day off and today I'm on a overtime day and absolutely regretting it. I can barely walk and it feels like a mule kicked me in the back.

[MacLean]

I experience migraines without pain that result in visual distortions.

They are usually brought on by low blood sugar.

[Jenna]

Ouch, kcnuke, that sounds scary! I'm glad it wasn't a serious problem.

I don't think I've ever had a migraine.

[mtaylor]

Allergies can trigger migraines.

[lewisipso]

I experience migraines without pain that result in visual distortions.

They are usually brought on by low blood sugar.

Didn't know this. Mine usually results in a moving blob in my vision for a short time. Only happens every once in a while.

[TXCharlie]

I experience migraines without pain that result in visual distortions.

They are usually brought on by low blood sugar.

It's strange how the same affliction affects people differently...

I don't hardly have headaches at all (can't remember when I had my last one), but I nearly always get a low sugar rebound about 30 minutes after eating certain foods, such as too many jellybeans.

Other candy doesn't have that effect on me, but lots of movie popcorn does. I guess it must be the starch in the popcorn & jellybeans doing it to me, rather than the sugar.

My doctor said to just eat something high in protien, like beef jerky to raise my sugar level when I start to feel sweaty and light-headed, but drinking a coke or eating a couple of cups of lite yogurt also works.

[irishmick]

I feel your pain, kc. I've had migraines ever since I can remember. The ER usually shoots me up with demerol and an anti-nausea cocktail (but even then I continue to throw up). Can't really say what causes mine, though they do tend to happen more often when the barometric pressure changes. Other than that, sometimes it's a low blood sugar, sometimes it's a high blood sugar. There really is no rhyme or reason to them. I get them about twice a month, and am toast for the entirety. Usually 4 Ibuprofen liquigels (if I'm not vomiting yet), a hot shower, and a VERY dark room (and no smells as I'm particularly sensitive to them with the headache) with pressure over my eyes will help.

[ChesCopPodz]

Mine are tension migraines. I injured my neck back in high school and again in January 07 when I wrecked on duty. When I wake up, if I can't crack my neck, it is a guaranteed migraine before the shift is over. The only thing that will really make it go away is going to sleep. I have some left over hydrocodone prescribed after my wreck. If I'm not working I'll take one and that usually works pretty well. If I'm at work I either have to suffer through it or go home early, which I hate doing.

[GASheepdog]

Mine are almost always preceded by spots in my vision. If I take medication at this point, the resulting headache is usually more bearable. I've had good luck with Maxalt and Zomig.

I don't know what causes them, but I don't get them nearly as often as I did when I was in college.

[chp7016]

My migraines (also visual) generally follow 8 - 10 hours after a period of intense stress.

A neurologist put me on "Nitrostat," which disolves under your tongue. Yes, same thing as for heart attacks. It would clear the visual symptoms in 3 - 5 minutes. I would be left with a slight headache, but it sure beat the visual symptoms.

[Hannibal]

Mine are typically due to sleep deprivation. When I was on mids, I would get them regularly. On the suggestion of my doctor (after numerous tests, scans, bloodwork, specialists, etc. and a few different mediciation trials and errors) I switched shifts. After a while on noons, they just about went away.

Now I ususally only get one if I lack sleep for a couple of days or if I get sick with something unrelated (cold, flu, whatever) I get the added bonus of a migraine.

I have been working days now for a while and (knock on wood) haven't had very many.

[kcnuke]

My doc is thinking my migraine was caused from a prolonged time of stress caused from a Sleep Anxiety. Seems I've been a little afraid to fall asleep during bedtime due to some night terrors and bad nightmares that I've been getting and they prolonged a while too long which my doc said may have triggered it. Hopefully, if I can cure that part, I won't get anymore migraines (hopefully)

I thought I'd had migraines before, and didn't think they were that bad, wow, I feel for everyone that has ever had or will get one. Head still hurts, but mostly where I got my spinal tap, I probably shouldn't of wore a gunbelt today, putting it nicely it hurt bad but glad to know it is just a migraine instead of something more severe...

[Big Al]

I ahve experienced "cluster headaches" but not migraines. Clusters are killers while they last. I didn't know what a cluster headache was so I did a little searching on line and it described them to a tee.

Migraines certainly can't be any fun,,, duh!!

[Cidp24]

I had them starting at about age 14-15. Mine start with a spaced-out feeling in my head, pain above both ears, and my vision blurrs from the outer edges. By the time the pain really kicks in I would get nausea. I went to the doctor years ago and they were identified as migraines but all they had then was narcotics for use when they occurred. Pain pills, a dark room, and a bed were about all that helped. Mine have come and gone over the years, last one being 5-6 years ago, knock on wood.

[2 Blue 4 U]

Migraines are the worst, luckily I do not get them as often as some but when I do they really kick. I get the pain, like someone is tightening a belt or something around my head, so bad it even hurts to lay down. I also get nauseous, impaired vision and sensitivity to light. I am not sure what triggers it, but most likely stress, allergies and sinus problems and possibly blood sugar issues. Some claim to stay away from certain drinks and foods, but I never bothered to find out what food triggers mine, if any.

My sister gets them more often, she went as far to get her jaw surgicallyl broken and repaired to correct the alignment, doctors thought it may have helped. It didn't, she swallowed ferinol and pain killers for years, then came along some migraine meds, (Imatrex) it help curb the symptoms.

Hope you feel better KC, sucks you had to go thru all those tests but it is definitely better to be safe then sorry. You should see if there are any sleep clinics near you, several hospitals have them. Some conduct studies and offer free help, others accept health insurance plans. And most importantly, if you have any sort of PTS that is causing the sleep anxiety you really need to get it before it gets you.

[Second Chance]

Wish I could help, but I have nver even had a headache, so sorry. Glad it was only a migrain and nothing more serious.

[Pinki]

I used to get a lot of migraines when I was a teen, mostly hormone related it would seem, but I need a lot of sleep and if I get less than 6 hours of sleep a night for more than a couple of days, then I'll get a migraine preceeded by a blind spot in one eye and then numbness in one hand. If I catch the migraine when I get the blind spot and take ibruprofen then, then I wont get hit by the actual headache although I'll feel slightly dizzy for awhile. Consuming a lot of soy products will also give me a migraine (phyto-estrogens).

[kcnuke]

I must of accidently not pressed post on a last post.
Last monday I went to my neurologist about my sleep problem and he is in the process of sending some notes to my doctor to suggest getting me on some ambian or something similar to get me back on my sleep schedule. He wants my family doc to do that since he knows my med history better. Hopefully soon it'll be fixed.

[Pinki]

I must of accidently not pressed post on a last post.
Last monday I went to my neurologist about my sleep problem and he is in the process of sending some notes to my doctor to suggest getting me on some ambian or something similar to get me back on my sleep schedule. He wants my family doc to do that since he knows my med history better. Hopefully soon it'll be fixed.

I hope it helps and you feel better soon, KC.

[Buttercup]

I hope you get to the root of the problem soon, kcnuke.

I haven't had a migraine in a very long time, but I used to get them occasionally and would be light-sensitive and have vomiting episodes. Mine were fairly infrequent and I couldn't pinpoint a trigger. I was prescribed Maxalt, for some reason Imitrex made them worse.

As for the spinal, you have my sympathy for that as well. I had a spinal block maybe 15 years ago for a surgical procedure - a few days later I was in the bathroom, looked in the mirror over the sink and did not recognize myself although I knew I was looking at my reflection. I panicked and called my mom who took me to the ER. After almost 2 days and a battery of tests the doctors determined that I'd had a reaction to the spinal. I will not have one again unless it is literally a matter of my life or death.