Migraine stuff

[mamadeb]

Am I going to get used to this?

I often wake up with a mild headache - water and coffee cure it nicely. And today I have good reason to be nervous - it's the day I find out if I have jury duty or not.

But right now, every twinge in my head (even if it's in back, which says "tension") and every butterfly in my stomach scares me. Which, by itself, makes the butterflies and the headache *worse*. I know the difference. I even took an advil for the headache and it's starting to go away. I don't want to live this way.

Will I get used to this?

Comments

[pewtergryphon.livejournal.com]

Will I get used to this?

Well, once I realized (tension headache >>> migraine) for me, I went through a period of taking the little blue pills at the first sign of tension. But after a while I got pretty good at realizing when an ordinary bit of neck tension was turning headache-ward and only taking the Alleve then, and I save the imitrex for the days I wake up with the full-blown symptoms.

So I think the chances are good that once you get used to the idea-- and to the knowledge that there's something to hand that will stop the darn things-- the hyperawareness will fade a bit.

YMMV, of course, but that's how it worked for me.

[cereta.livejournal.com]

You will, in the sense that you won't worry that every twinge is an impending migraine. Also, if it turns out you have chronic migraine, there are preventative therapies that can help.

On that note, for the minor headaches (and there can be minor migraines, although they're often about helf tension headache), the best thing I have ever found is arthritis strength Tylenol and a Coke - the real stuff, not diet. I know sugar is The Evil, but it really helps.

[gittygiggles.livejournal.com]

htere are certain things that trigger migrains. my mother doesn't eat certain stuff now. i know one is msg. it's in just about every pre-prepared jewish food on earth. maneshvitz should be renamed msgwitz.

my mother had to give herself shots. i hope it doesn't get like that for you!

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[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, I'm not one for preprepared foods. Pretty much everything I cook is prepared from largely fresh or plain frozen ingredients.

And thus far, they just seem. Random. I ate nothing on Saturday that I ate the previous Wednesday.

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[sraun]

my mother had to give herself shots

Imitrex by injection? I'm told that's very much a last resort. My wife had that option for while - she dreaded the shot so much that she wasn't taking it until much too late. She went back to pills.

My understanding is that the new Imitrex nasal spray is almost as fast as the injections, and much less painful!

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[gittygiggles.livejournal.com]

well mom doesnt need it anymore...but it was rough. shed just disappear for a while when we were younger

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[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

Immitrex injections are nearly obsolete now. Mostly, they are used only in hospitals. The nasal spray is not only just as fast, it's more effective, as I understand it. I took Immitrex back when it was only available as an injection, but responded very badly to it, as I do do every other triptan-class medication. Sigh.

[rocky-t.livejournal.com]

If you're regularly waking up with a headache, is there enough fresh air in the bedroom overnight? Is the temp set too high? During the day, are you drinking enough?

I also suffer from migraines. For me, the trigger is messed up 'sleep hygiene' i.e. too little sleep. Major stress is another factor (with the migraine often hitting *after* the situation is over).

You don't have to 'get used to this'; once you establish what your triggers are and have a proven therapy to deal with the migraines when they occur, you'll find you'll spend the vast majority of the time being perfectly fine. And when a headache does hit, at least you'll have the comfort of knowing it's only temporary.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

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[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Fresh air is not a problem - unless it's bitter, bitter cold, we leave the window at least cracked, and I sleep pretty much under the window.

However, I have clogged sinuses - this is chronic. I sleep at an angle. My doctor is aware of this.

Hydration is a *major* problem. We do not have a functional bathroom in my office, and have to go to a different one to use facilities. So I'm limiting fluid intake on the days I work. I do *not* do this on the days I don't work, which are four out of seven, but. However, except for last night, none of my migraines have happened after work. This means very little, I know.

We are moving in about a month.

I mean, will I stop jumping at the least twinge of head or stomach?

I'm assuming yes. I managed to convince myself that what I'm feeling this morning is purely nerves.

hydration

[cellio]

The situation in your building is appalling -- just in case I haven't said that recently.

If you're waking up with mild headaches, drinking lots of water in the evening (after work) might still help. You might have to get up for middle-of-the-night bladder attention until you get used to it, but that might be less bad than the headache.

a wacky suggestion

[cellio]

It just occurred to me that your workplaces poses a problem that has been solved historically. Is there any place in your office space that can be made private enough to support a chamberpot -- or the more modern chemical toilet? The latter can be rented.

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[sraun]

From external experience, yes, you will.

Frequent migraines is one of the trio of things that has my wife on permanent Federal disability. She has an authorization for 18 Imitrex a month!

Learn the triggers - stress is a biggie - and see what you can do to control them. I can believe that if you have an environmental trigger, it could take up to a day to take effect - so, is there any commonality to Tuesday / Friday?

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[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling stress is the major trigger. I don't handle stress well.

And, no, there is no commonality between those days. Thursday is my big do-everything day, though, and if I'm sick *nothing* gets done. And that Thursday I had a very bad cold.

So. Stress. *Sigh*.

*Gets up to do some tai chi*

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[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

will I stop jumping at the least twinge of head or stomach?

Yes, probably. Unless you're an extremely jumpy person. You don't seem that way to me. Check out the American Council for Headache Education's website (I believe it's www.ache-net.org, but I may be wrong. Google always finds it for me). They've got lots of good information.

If you're finding that you get a lot of them, you can try taking a preventive therapy, but generally, doctors want to see if you can control it other ways first. I've got lots of information on migraines as I've been getting them since I was a toddler. I'm more than happy to share. You can email me or you know my AIM name.

[blueraccoon.livejournal.com]

The short answer? Yes.

The long answer? Eventually you learn to tell what's a migraine, what's a tension headache, and what's in the category of "Going-to-become-a-migraine-if-I-don't-do-something-about-it-NOW". (The last are particularly annoying.) The problem, as you've already noticed, is that at first you get so jumpy over getting migraines that it's more likely you'll trigger one. Talk about a pain. (pun intended *g*)

The other thing, too, is that a lot of it depends on how often you get migraines. If you're like me, you end up on daily preventative medication to cut the frequency down from once or twice a day to once or twice a month. If you're like other people, you only have to worry about this once in a while and then it's generally a matter of realizing what environmental factors contribute to your migraines and learning how to avoid them/deal with them.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that this turns out to be a "once-in-a-while" thing...

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[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Right now, I suspect I need a day completely *off*.

That's not going to happen until Saturday...

Thank God for Shabbat.

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[blueraccoon.livejournal.com]

days off are good too :) I could use one of those right about now...