My husband, Kirby, was hit by one today....just washed him out from doing anything in the shop. I think this one was helped brought on by his working on the well for several hours, yesterday..... But maybe not. These will come "out of the blue" for no reason at all. He has had migraine attacks since he was 16 and now 68.

He does not get them often but enough. Classic symptoms with auras and squiggly lines in front of his eyes just before it hits. Will last hours. Feels like a huge hangover, he says after the initial strike happens. After effects like memory and speech could be affected for a short time depending on the severity.

He has a few coping methods (meditation, compresses, dark room, et.c.) to keep these at a dull roar, though.

His material grandmother suffered from really bad headaches, his late mother, Rose, told me. From how she described them, sounded like migraines. Rose suffered from bad Sinus headaches and took Dristan. No one else in the family suffered from bad headaches that she could remember.

Our 22 year old daughter, Freya, inherited Kirby's tendency to get something like these. No auras or "signs"...just come all of a sudden from the back to front or sides. Hit hard and then back off as a constant throbbing. These would last for weeks. She has tried migraine medicines without results (made them worse or did nothing). The best thing she can take is Extra Strength Tylenol. Went to see a neurologist to see what might be "why". Just went in to have an MRI done and a EEG, today, by the neurologist.

All I can say is, I rarely get headaches of any kind nor are these found in my family history. Our son, Brenden, is the same way.

So what do you do when you get them? Have done to relieve them? Any medical info from those who might know?

 

This is the best I can do for info.

Hope it helps.

HealthCentral Search Results

 

When I was younger I used to get migranes. I went through all the procedures, MRI, change in diet, EEG, and none of them showed or did anything. I was taking Tylenol 3 with codine in second grade. I had a rough time with migranes, any light or sounds would cause massive pains and usually bring up vomiting. Oddly though, when I was going through my rebelious stage in high school, I was using drugs, and have never had another migrane since.. Prolly not the best choice..

 

My ex used to get them bad. It turns out he was allergic to the oils in coffee and chocolate. He now watches very carefully his consumption, and rarely gets them. When he does get an episode, he has some prescription he takes that puts him out.
Now on the other hand. Not to scare you. But my mother used to get them really bad when she was young. Then they just stopped. Now in her early seventies, she started getting them again. After mutiple CT's and MRI's, a small benign mass was found in her head. The doctors say that she has had that most of her life. Medication keeps is from getting irritated and enlarged.
I would have him checked out by the doctor just in case.

 

I'm a late bloomer, I guess... did'nt get the first real bad migraine until I was in my 20's. Doctors told me that I probably had had smaller ones before that, but back then ya simply did'nt go to the hospital for a headache. Mine are what they call "non-classical" migraines (no aura, squigglies, etc.) At the time of the first one, I got tested for pretty much everything they could (stroke, tumours, you name it), and nothing found. They prescribed me some fairly strong meds (for the time), and told me that I'd simply have to endure them.

Thankfully, I don't get them often anymore. I find that the best thing for me is to take a non-aspirin pain reliever, caffeine helps, a quiet dark room, and rest. They usually last less than a half-day and I'm fine. Anything beyond that, I go to the doctor and get a prescription for migraine meds that really kick it in the rear end.

 

excedrin tension, is what i use for dehydration headaches,nothing else seemed to work...so maybe for migraines

 

Exedrin Migrane is what I use... Usually helps take the edge off..

 

Back in the early 90's I started getting bad migraines that would stop me dead in my tracks. They were so bad and frequent that I wondered if life was even worth it anymore. I went to numerous dr's and had multiple testing with no relief. This went on for about 4 yrs until a friend recommended another dr. I went to him and he looked over all records of this problem. He gave me an antibiotic and after taking it for about a week I've had no more migraines. NONE. The dr. later told me that I would be surprised how many people walk around with migraines caused by an infection as a result of a previous cold or sinus problems. He has been my family dr. every since. I hope this may help someone who has tried everything else.

 

My wife used to have migraines, and I sympathize with him. This is no bull. She once fell and smacked her head on cement. While waiting for the results of the scan, they asked her what the pain was like on a 1 to 10 scale -- she said about 6 -- compared to migraines.

Anyway, she did get some relief from a drug listed as a 'beta blocker'. I have no idea what it does, but it did help her out. Fortunately, she has not had any migraines for a while.

Otherwise, she could sometimes get relied if she stared on pain stuff and relaxation when she could sense that a migraine was coming. Once it hit, nothing ( including some good stuff given at the Emergency Room ) really worked.

I will say that most people seem to get away from migraines as they get older. So, I will chime in with some others. You might try and see if they can do a scan. If nothing else, it could remove a nagging suspicion.

From what I know of migraines ( which may not be that reliable), they seem to be caused by an excess of blood pressure in the brain. From discussions with my wife, I believe that they are like hangovers -- on a nuclear scale. She also mentioned that the fact that you usually knew they were coming was a real downer.

Hope something helps,

 

the local news station did a piece on the treatment of migraines at the Pain Center of Arizona.

Welcome || The Pain Center of Arizona

Hope this helps!

 

I told Kirby about my post here and been reading your replies to him.

First he thanks you all for your suggestions and comments. While reading these to him, he was relating back to me some descriptions of what he used to get and/or still do. So forgive the disjointedness of these:

Correction, he started having migraines when he was 13.

Before working on the well, he neglected eating anything after he got up. It was only after working on it for several hours that he finally remembered to eat. He is Type 2 Diabetic and should have known better. But before he was diabetic, not eating never acted like a trigger, though.

When he first got them, it started out as seeing "spots" and then get hit by nausea along with the pain. (As a kid, he used to take Peptobismol for the nausea....now he hates the stuff.) He does not get nauseated anymore (hasn't since I have known him)

He will get "frosted spots" after the aura which interferes with seeing. Like someone holding up a frosted piece of glass at the corner of his eyes.

When his blood pressure is down, the migraines would come back. Some triggers might be stress (due to a situation) and/or anger.

Caffine does not trigger his migraines...but if he doesn't drink his Cajun Coffee, or british tea, he will get a bad caffine headache. If he drinks tea or coffee before going to bed, he sleeps fine (his idea of a "cuppa" is a 24oz mug...and several during the day).

When he shakes his head, the temples will feel like having a hangover.

It has been a day and a half since his last episode, and it still feels like a hangover at the temples. His migraines used to feel worse if he did lie down...so always sat up to get the most out of relaxing.

 

My wife takes relpax. she will take one at the onset of a migraine. They've been a life saver for her. She used to have devastating migraines at least once a month. certain foods can trigger migraines. She quit drinking diet colas and this by itself stopped the migraines from occurring so often. "RELPAX" will take the kick out of a bad migraine if taken at the very start of the attack.

 

I have had to deal with migraines for most of my adult life and I think had them as a teenager even though I did not know what they were back then. My wife's family suffered from them so once I began dating her she was able to give me the 411 on these things. I've experimented with different medication and treatments and some are more effective than others. Sometimes depending on the severity of the migraine and how early I determine I am having one, depends on how effective the treatment is. Everyone is a little different but these are the things I have found that helped me..
*The first is medication called Midrin, now available in a generic. 90% of the time this will knock it out for me or at least take the edge off to make it bearable.
*Someone else mentioned monitoring your diet. I think most migraines are triggered by food. Start keeping track of what you had to eat from 2- 24 hours prior to the onset of the migraine. You might be surprised to find a pattern and if so can eliminate the cause without having to resort to medication.
*Caffiene is supposed to help as it opens up the blood vessels in your head and may provide some relief.
*The cold compress, dark room, try to sleep it off thing works but it takes a while for it to run its course. If it makes me sick to my stomach (which happens on the worst ones) I find that it's better not to fight it and once I've thrown up start to feel better fairly soon.
Sorry to be so graphic but migraines are painful and I can empathize. I hope you can find some relief soon.
Good luck.

 

I've had them for years too but finally started getting treated for them about 5 or 6 years ago. Tried all sorts of different meds and was eventually referred to a nuerologist in town. Had a CT Scan and the whole nine yards. The brain doctor put me on Zonegran, which I believe is actually an anti-siezure med. 200mg a day for the rest of my life. Keeps them at bay, but when they do sneak through, I have Maxalt (10mg) which when taken with a Tylenol, will knock me out for about an hour or so, but kills the migraine. Makes me pretty lethargic the rest of the day, but well worth it.

I don't get them as bad as many. Occasionally get the spots, often get nausea, and it does indeed feel like a really bad hangover as many have allready mentioned. I am also on Inderal for high blood pressure which is also known to help with migraines, so maybe betwixt all that stuff, they aren't attacking as often as they used to.

I would recommend that Kirby does go see a nuerologist. Just be clear when asking directions if you go to a large hospital. I went to a large Army hospital down in El Paso to see a nuerologist with a troop of mine for some issues he was having. I had no idea where to go so I asked one of the retired volunteers. He though I said urologist.

Rich