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[sprinklethief]

migraines - how do you deal with them?

i've been rapidly gaining weight lately even though i changed my eating habits (for the better) and i'm more active. i was baffled and horrified that this nightmare could start again. then i was reading an article(you can't read the whole thing online :P) at work about migraines and the argument about what starts (nerves vs. blood vessels) them in scientific american mind and i found a snippet that made my heart jump into my throat about how beta blockers (what i take for my migraines) cause excessive weight gain and some patients have to stop taking them because they gain so much weight that it triggers diabetes.

diabetes is in my family. and for some reason if i can get fat i will, even on the small amount of food i eat each day. i guess my metabolism likes to drive like a little old asian lady.

so the doc told me there was no risk of weight gain with this med. i've already gained 5-6 lbs. you can see where this is going - fuck this med, i'd rather have migraines than diabetes. and i sure as shit don't want to get fat again.

so any pointers on how to take care of migraines?

Comments

[matafleur.livejournal.com]

when do you get them the most often? around your period or randomly?

I might have a few suggestions...

[paroxysm-cycle.livejournal.com]

i have them constantly without any medication (including ibuprofen and such as medication). i'm talking weeks on end with just a couple hours break in between. they're the kind that lock up your jaw and tense up your neck muscles and make the whole world pulse red (when they get really bad).

with medication i only have about 4-5 a week and they just hit whenever they feel like it, mostly at work, and sometimes they are as severe as they are without meds but mostly it's a little toned down.

[matafleur.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's awful! :(
Well, I'm not sure how much help I can be since I only get them really bad several times every few months or so. But I have had them since I was around 10 so I will try to share my tricks that tend to help. Everyone's migraines are caused or triggered by different things so something that works for me may not do much for another person.

The part about them being constant is definitely worrying. A lot of people view migraines like a really bad allergic reaction to stuff, like dietary things, medications, overexposure to sun and light, etc. So, usually you can tell what sort of things may have triggered it by examining your past few days but.. I don't think that approach will work.
But if there is something in your environment that you think may be aggravating you, best to give it the boot!

You said it affects your jaw pretty badly - I know you have TMJ (it is the suck) so maybe that is spurring these horribly headaches on.
neck stretches and rubbing around your ears may help, heck - they can't hurt...wait.. it's a migraine, everything hurts.

Have you been to the dentist recently? No bad cavaties that might be abcessing?

No bathroom problems? (poop!)
If nothing is moving out, it's just sitting there festering and making your insides work harder to clean you out - often resulting in bad headaches and general icky feelings.

You had a pretty bad back injury a bit ago, perhaps a chiropractic adjustment might help?
I dunno, I'm kinda iffy on the chiropractics - massage therapy worked better for me than any chiropracter. My step mom works out in Hartville - not to far from Kent.

Analgesics (ibouprofen, tylenol,aspirin) have actually inreased the incidence of migraines in many studies which sucks real hard. So, nab some medicine specifically mor migraines.

*puts on the mom hat*
Make sure you're drinking enough water and getting enough vitamins and minerals.
Sometimes a lack of protein can lead to migrains and blurry vision.
/endmomhat

(also, aspartame is eeeevil)

Anyhow, on to the tricks...

Sounds like you've got the vasoconstriction sort in which case increased blood flow is what you want. A heating pad will be your new best friend, along with ample massages of neck and shoulders and scalp. If you can stand eating anything, perhaps some ginger tea will help - gets the blood flowing!
Also, I've read a lot about people swearing by feverfew and I think I may have to try it sometime.

Alternately, if that doesn't help you can try sitting in an overly warm bath with a cold compress on your head - which is more for the other sort of migraines that are from too much blood flow to the head.

Valerian has helped me with relaxing of the back and neck muscles -but just a bit so you don't sleep for hours upon hours.

You can buy some melatonin stuff at the drugstore which (while helping with insomnia) may help with the pain.
My doctor gave me something to increase gland production on serotonin and melotonin and my constant headaches (while not always migraine strength) went away several days later.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/28559/melatonin_and_migraine_headaches.html


Well, that's all I got off the top of my head - try to figure out what is triggering them and nipping that stuff out and investing in a good heating pad and sweet sweet melatonin.

I really hope you find some relief soon.

[paroxysm-cycle.livejournal.com]

i know cigarette smoke is a major trigger now (even though i smoked for what, 13 years?). so is certain perfumes, usually floral.

a reaction to meds would not surprise me at all considering the pharmacopia i've withstood. thing is, two of the meds i'm on are actually helping way more than hurting so i wouldn't want to jeopardize that. the inderal (the beta blocker) makes me sluggish, fogs my thought, makes me more depressed than i am naturally and makes me fat so i can give or take on that one. once again, diabetes vs. migraine.

i've thought about the TMJ connection but docs don't seem too worried and just give me ibuprofen.

i've always got doodie issues but i've increased my fiber intake as of late so that's beginning to get better.

excedrin migraine makes me really shaky and sick. maybe if i condition myself to tolerate it i could take it more.

i'm scared of chiropractors, i know that they're kind of the laughing stock in the premed circle. they don't even go to med school, so i don't trust them to adjust parts of the body that might have serious issues.

and yes mom, i suck down water like its my job (wellbutrin makes you really dehydrated) and i take my multivitamin every day (i've been on prenatal vitamins most of my life cuz my body doesn't absorb vitamins and such as well as it should)

i never even considered a heating pad, but it makes total sense! and where would one go about getting ginger tea? sounds nummy! i'll have to check up on those supplements to see if they interact with anything, but thank you so much for the advice!

[matafleur.livejournal.com]

Well, people change and their tolerances for things change so if cigarette smoke is a major trigger for you then hopefully those around you will understanding and caring enough to do their best not to smoke around you or in your apartment.
You shouldn't have to endure endless misery!
:(

I hope the heating pad helps - they've gotten me through some pretty rough times.
As for the ginger tea, Yogi Tea makes some
good ginger tea and you can find it at most Giant Eagles - usually in the organics section with a bunch of other supplements. Alternately, you can cut up a piece of crystallized ginger and pour some 'just before it boils' water over it and have some that way. Or combine the two, mwhahahah! Ginger is great - warms you up, increases blood flow, helps clean out your blood of toxins, and tastes pleasantly citrusy and spicey. It also is a good immune system support - I try to keep some on hand for whenever I start to feel a bit under the weather.

One thing you might want to look into is an intestinal cleanse, cleaning out any sluggish rotting waste will help you get more regular and everyone feels better after a good poo. :D
Most of them are easy, just a series of fiber pills or a drink mix with some herbs to help break down impaction.


Okay, I'm done being a windbag!

/ramble