Do you suffer from Migraine headaches?  What symptoms occur when you feel one
coming on?  Do you get sensitive to light and certain smells?  Do you have
visual scintillations?  Does stress, diet, or drink bring them on?  How often
do they occur?

How do you deal with the migraines?  Do you have any treatments which you
would offer for others to consider?

22 responses total.

I suffer Migraines, but only occassionally - and always from an identifyable
external source.  For example, when I would have my vision tested and take
off the UV glasses at home, I found it difficult - sometimes impossible to
read and I felt tired, too tired to sleep.
At college music with the bass high enough to cause minor earthqaukes is a
problme, and as it's been happening since fall quarter, I usually suffer 3
Migraines a day.  I can feel them coming on by the itching of my forehead,
and my skull feeling like the seperate bones are going to do just that.  To
deal with them, I just take a slight overdose of Ibuprofin 3 pills instead
of 2.

Oh no, bjorn's a junkie...

I've been getting headaches a lot too. I know it's a migraine when the back
of my neck begins to hurt. Then the pain kind of makes its way from my neck
into my head. Then my jaw muscles kick in. Somtimes I get dizzy. Last night
I tried to get some work done but could not focus to be on the computer. HEad
kept spinning and hurting and did not stop even after 2 Aleves. Was very hard
to get up this morning.... I think some more sleep is in order. I've been
skimping this week. Can't catch up on it tomorrow since I am taking the GRE
at a bright 'n early 8 a.m. Does Aleve have ibuprofen in it? I don't think
it does.

<bjorn laughs at the beginning of resp 2>

I usually feel worse after taking Aleve, I think I'm allergic to something
in it . . .

I could go on forever with information about migrane.  I've been suffering
from migranesince I was a teenager.  O.K. I'll try to be brief...

First of all, there are two different types of migrane.. classical and common.
classical is preceded by visual disturbances which may be little spacks or
flashes of light or a complicated pattern of zigzags.  This usually lasts for
20 to 30 minutes.  As this subsides, aching starts in the front or back of
the head, usually on only one side and becomes progessivly severe.  also, it
may be accompanies by nausea and vomiting, and sensitivity to light.  Common
migrane is pretty uch the same except that you will not experience the visual
disturbance.

BTW... there are many types of headaches and some are mistaken for migrane...
only a doctor can diagnose migrane and it is not something to mess with.

my migranes are triggered my different things..l. Nitrites in processed food.
a chemical called tyramine, which is found in cheese, red meat and wine. 
certain smells such as perfume or incense.  Alcohol is a big no-no.  And if
you get migrane, don't ever go near anything with nutra-sweet in it!

I get both common and classical migrane and over the counter drugs do not
help.  I have to take prescription drugs for the headaches and have visited
the clinic and the hospital on several occasions.

My advise to anyone with migrane would be to read and get as much information
as you can about the condition.  A good book to get is "Migrane and Other
headaches" by James W. Lance M.D.  Avoid foods that are known triggers such
as processed meat, sulfites, red meat, cheese, alcohol(especially red wine),
excersize is important to keep stress levels down.  stress can be , and
usually is, a trigger.  

Over the counter medication has never been effective for me.  Aleve works the
best, but if you have an alergy to aspirin, you should not use it.  I have
never taken the recommended dosage of anything over the coiunter (which can
be dangerous).  The best thing to do is to see your doctor... There are
several new medications out now that can relieve migrane.  BTW, I don't
recommend the injections... They hurt!...:(

so much for being brief............

I know of a girl who got a machine that blocked the pain she was suffering
from migraines. It was like a beeper but had little wires attached to the back
of her neck. An alternative to medication, it would block the pain signals
so that she wouldn't feel them... The nerves sent a "it hurts" message to the
brain, but the electrodes bypassed them with a "doesn't hurt" message.

In item 21 I announced that medical-FAQ is available here. Here is how you
can use it (and the result of a search on "migraine"): 

Ok: !grep -5 "migraine" medical-FAQ
     Author: Len Burns, lburns@sasquatch.com
     URL: http://www.sasquatch.com/tbi/tpn/FAQS.html

     Topic: Migraine FAQ
     Author: Jennifer Davis-Walton, davisjn@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca
     Newsgroup: alt.support.headaches.migraine, news.answers
     Archive: alt/support/migraine/
     URL: ftp://ugle.unit.no/faq/alt.answers/alt/support/migraine/faq/
     Abstract: Symptoms, physiology, triggers, relief, psychology, etc.

     Topic: Multiple sclerosis
     Author: chris@infosci.org
     URL: http://www.infosci.org/    

For those less familiar with grep - the -5 is a switch to tell it to read
lines in the file from -5 to +5 of where the keyword occurs. The migraine
Topic lists several internet sources for information on migraine.
Write similar commands as      !grep -5 "keyword" /u/rcurl/medical-FAQ
since the file is in my directory.

Thanks, Rane.

ref #5: I had never heard of a TENS unit being used for migraine...hmmmmm...
which pathway(s) would one target? redfox?

I have had problems with serious headaches since about 1977, but just learned
to live with them as best I could after I was told by a neurologist that he
would perform no other tests, nor recommend further treatment, until I cut
off my (then-thigh-length) hair. Does the phrase "blow me" ring a bell, Doc?

My suspicion is that they were common migraine, now that I've been blessed
with the classic type since February. The first time I got the visual
disturbances, I was convinced I was having a stroke and stood there gripping
a doorframe and hoping that I wouldn't loose the ability to speak. I was
s-c-a-r-e-d!!
My cool doc says that I should not put up with the pain, and gave me a
prescription, but I haven't tried it yet. . .

What did he prescribe?  I have had inderal and it is 99% effective.  I
switched to the generic, but it did not work.  I make sure I have a "D.A.W."
comment (Dispense as Written) or else they will fill it with generic medicine.

The neurologist who would not treat you until you cut your hair.  Really! 
He must have sent away to California for his degree (in one of those men's
magazines).  

Also, when I recently had my first visual scintillations, I was sure it was
a stroke.  I called on emergency and described them.  The Doc said, "those
are classic visual scintillations - I just assumed you were having them all
along."  Mine start with a dead spot in the center of vision and then are
replaced by a geometric figure which looks like a lighted ferris wheel.  This
figure starts very small and on the left side.  It increases in size and
travels left to right across my field of vision.  It takes about 20 minutes
to disappear.  I have had this twice now.  (the ferris wheel has distinct
colors, I think red and yellow)

Inderal sounds right. I usually have a tough time waking up in the morning,
so my concern is that it will make that problem worse. I'm waiting for a day
off and a headache to happen at the same time, then I'll give it a try.

The waking up problem is that I simply *do not* hear the silly alarm, even
though it's about a foot from my head, cranked up to maximum volume. I've
been known to sleep right through until it shuts itself off 90 minutes
later, and it doesn't matter what kind of noise it's set to make. <shrug>

Redfox is right.  Some of the headaches described above do not sound like
migraines, but rather Level 5 tension headaches.  In fact, beeswing described
a classic Level 5 in response 2.  I got the differences sorted out when I took
biofeedback training as part of a study done at Vet's Hospital several years
ago.  

The fact that tension headaches are not migraines does not demean their
ability to seriously interfere with one's life.  It does mean they are easier
to get rid of if you know how.  Biofeedback really works well in this instance
(thank heaven!), as do some yoga exercises and good old ibuprophen.

Finally, they made the drug that used to be only used in injections in a
pill!!  My doctor prescribed it for me (bless him), now when I get a migrain,
I know I will get releaf within 45 minutes to an hour.  The drug is called
Imetrex and the only side affects that I have experienced from it is nausea
(which I had anyway) and thirst.  I can live with that.  I saw a special in
TV awhile ago and they have been experimenting with using a lidicane nose
spray to get rid of migrane.  It deadens the headache within 30 sec. to 5 min,
but only lasts for about an hour. I can't wait until it's made available.

Cool! So you can take the pill, do the spray, and not have to  put up with
a long period of pain. Nice! Does the spray work on all types of migraine?

I can't remember the percentage of migrains the spray is effective on, but
they have had good results.

Hmmm... For a while I've had rare (a few times a year) occasions where I felt
just slightly flu-like, or something I've always attributed to a very milld
case of something.  Headache, just enough to screw up concentration, mild
nausea, and some loss in energy.  Exertion made it worse.  Now I'm wondering
if that was a migraine headache instead of an infection.

Cons:  Head pain is not limited to one side of head, but tends to be around
and above the eyes, balanced between left and right.  I've never really
noticed sensitivity to light or sound, although I do tend to like lying down
in a dark room (and if the pain jumps a bit closing my eyes helps).

FWIW, a few months ago _U.S. News and World Report_ had a big feature on
sleep, and they said that teenagers can have something migraine-like simply
from trying to function on not enough sleep.  This made sense of some
episodes with our 13-year-old.

Went to the doctor's office today and saw the "nurse practitioner".  She
thought it more likely to be stress or sinus related.  I can sort of buy into
the sinus theory, anyway.

It's nice actually knowing that this is a headache instead of a low-grade
infection, though.  I'm not as worried about making the sickness worse (before
I'd make a point of getting more rest, to give the immune system a bigger
share of energy), and it's not getting in my way as much as a result.

I get a stuffy head for a day or two after getting chilled, which I used to
think was an infection but is probably something similar to your problem, an
overreaction to some environmental stress.  The body produces chemicals in
response.  I read something about cryoproteins which are produced when you
get too cold, and (probably intentionally) block blood flow to the extremities
so that they get colder but the rest of you stays warmer.  It takes a few days
for them to be broken down and/or removed, and this might cause the stuffy
head (glands).  Different causes can produce similar results.  Headaches are
supposed to be related to blood flow, which can be affected by stress of
various kinds.  Some headaches are caused by food allergies.

I get massive bad headaches from sinus pressure.  Makes my eyes throb, causes
the muscles in my neck to stiffen, which makes the headache worse there too,
not to mention the pain in my face where the sinuses actually are.  It makes
the whole thing miserable, and can go on for days.  I've found that it works
best for me to leave it for a day, and then take Tylenol.  It doesn't seem
to help before then, though.

I will go back and find the source if I must, but I recently read that the
single most common cause of headaches in adults is dehydration. Worth thinking
about...

It's amazing what dehydration causes.

Actually, it now dows occur to me that I've not had nearly as many headaches
since I've made a concerted effort to drink quite a bit more water....

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