Thursday, May 19, 2011

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR MIGRAINES?

I suffer from migraine headaches
and am wondering if many of you
have the same problem.
I've had them for years
and the only trigger I can isolate is
MSG.

So that means
no Doritos,
very few flavored salty snacks,
many meat products,
and some ethnic restaurants.
Many people associate MSG
with Chinese food,
but beware -
most Chinese restaurants
will advertise "no MSG"
but other places won't
and you will find it in many meat dishes
and sauces.


Other things I have found that trigger them are
strobe or flashing lights,
intricate patterns,
frozen drinks,
and
sometimes a gentle breeze
blowing across my forehead.




And when I get one,
the best relief
is to go to sleep
in a dark room -
so far I have found
no medicine,
prescription or OTC
that will give me relief.

I will be seeing a headache specialist soon
and pray he can help me because
when I get a migraine,
I loose at least 24 hours
of my life
and have missed out
on many fun events.

My regular doctor
will give me a shot of morphine
when I get one,
but that just zaps me too -
and it has to be when I have a driver
to drive me home.
The good thing is that
when I wake up,
the headache is usually gone.

If you have any suggestions,
please leave them for me.

Blessings to all who visit here,
Lynn

11 comments:

  1. I could probably write you a book on this one. My daughter has suffered miserably with migraines since she was at least 10 years old, maybe earlier but undiagnosed. I will shoot you an email rather than write a lengthy comment.

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  2. I have zip for you. I have never had a migraine in my life!! Here, I think a regular headache is bad enough LOL

    Diana

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  3. I use Immetrez nasal spray. It works wonderfully for me. I get relief within 1/2 hour.
    My trigger is usually a synthetic or human made scent.
    Ruby & Penny's mom

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  4. I have horrible migranes way too often. I have found nothing that helps except to stay in bed in the dark and hope to sleep. Mine come on and I have no idea what triggers them but it's been happening since I was a little kid. I hope your headache specialist can help you. I know how horrible they are. Lots of love, Debbie

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  5. Our mom burst out laughing at that first picture because that's exactly what she feels like doing when she has a migraine. There isn't a darn thing that will help her so she just tuffs it out. Thank doG that she can sleep but it's still there in the morning to welcome her to another day of misery.
    We're so sorry, Miss Lynn. Migraines are NOT FUN!

    Love ya lots
    Maggie and Mitch

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  6. I started getting migraines when I was about nine years old. I'll email you.
    Sue

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  7. Thank goodness you are going to see a good doctor, he will be able to help you, there are many medications out now, my fav is Maxalt. Cannot locate your email to tell you more but basically I was able to track my headaches to hormones. Starting in childhood and diminishing in menopause. None during pregnancy, horrific with some medications. Search the National Headache Foundation. Good Luck with this!

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  8. What's weird about this is that I was researching migraines last night and thinking of you about 2 hours before you posted this. I thought maybe you'd given up on experimenting w/ treatments since nothing ever helped or you developed a tolerance to anything that did. Thought you were getting regular shots of B vitamins or something to help?
    love you

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  9. Well, this is a subject I am, unfortunately, well acquainted with. I had migraines for years and years. Sometimes several times a week, sometimes lasting two to three days. I cannot tell you how many dinner parties I had to cancel, even ones at my own home. Or how many vacations were interrupted due to those blasted things. The nausea was dreadful, and the pain unimaginable to those unfamiliar with migraine. They are so much more than a headache.

    Imitrex pills finally worked for me, but not always and when they didn't, I would have to use the injection, which I hated like crazy. But then, about five years ago, I was at a dinner party, seated across the table from a gentleman I didn't know who kept trying to pour me some red wine. I kept politely refusing, until finally I told him that I'd had a migraine that very afternoon and didn't think red wine would do me any good at all. His face lit up and he told me his own migraine story, which boils down to a small blood pressure pill called Atenolol that had totally eradicated his migraines. As luck would have it, I was scheduled for my yearly physical the very next week, so I asked my doctor about it. I was a bit concerned, as I've always had rather low blood pressure, but it doesn't seem to cause a problem, and the good news is... no more migraines. I don't know how it works, or what it does to help, but the last five years have been so wonderful not to feel enslaved by those things.

    Everybody is wired up differently, so I don't know if this would work for you the same, but it's certainly worth asking your doctor about. Believe me, I know the desperation you feel.

    All the best,
    Pamela

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  10. I have a friend who has suffered from these headaches all her life and someone told her about a nasal wash call alcohol and she uses a nettie pot in the shower to cleanse her sinus and she has been migraines since. She said all you do is ask the pharmist for the stuff and it is cheap but works for her. Worth trying...another friend uses an herb she grows, can't think of the name of it but will find out and send it to you.

    I will be praying they go away with great speed.....



    Love ya,
    Robin

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  11. I get migraines as well, although they are not as bad as they used to be. They started around age 40 and my hormones were all wacky and I needed a hysterectomy. I've tried tons of medications. Imitrex shots worked but then I had and "episode" and they told me not to use them again. I now have Fiorinol. If I have the slightest twinge of a headache I take one. I never wait till the headache is bad. That's the key. I also get warnings that a headache is coming, my vision gets blurry. Then I pop a pill and it usually doesn't get started. My friend used to get them bad and she started exercising and went on a special diet (read the book The Pericone Promise) and her headaches decreased. Like all the other commenters have said, it's an individual thing. My favorite remedy is go to bed and put a wet wash rag on your head - and lots of puppy kisses!!!

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