Migraines

[kronenborg]

i didnt say they are curable, and my facts arent wrong. im trying to help someone who is concerned about their daughter, and painting an unnecessarily gloomy picture helps noone.

just taking a single class of drugs - the triptans - the reponse rate in migraine sufferers is somewhere around 95% - meaning there are only about 5% of migraine sufferers who do not respond. this is a minority, and i'm only talking about a single class of drugs - there are many others. you can easily check the published scientific literature yourself to verify this if you please.

frequency of migraines can also be reduced by non-pharmaceutical measures, as i, and others, have already referred to.

if you'd like to take issue with details of what i've said here, or previously, you'll have to be more specific.

migraines are painful, unpleasant, can be debilitating, and you're right, they are not fully understood. but for many, they are quite controllable, and, in other cases, may be largely preventable.

[Davachka]

Originally Posted by cl723

Kronenborg, some of your facts are wrong.You can`t control migraines. They come and go as they please. Even with meds. Also, people who get them cannot completely avoid them.Even with meds.That`s because a migraine is more complicated than anyone knows about. It`s is a neurogical disease.You`re also wrong that only the minority can do nothing about them. It`s more than just the minority that can do nothing about them. Drs don`t even know enough about migarines about how to "fix" them. No one knows. At this point, they are not fixable.

Though you make some good points, I think here we are trying to "manage" as opposed to "fix". Though fixing would be great. I understand there might not be a magic cure, however learning what others did in response to, what others found triggered theirs, etc is beneficial. Also, since migraines are caused by blood vessels swelling around the brain, medicines that reduce the swelling should theoretically help control the migraine.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

It seems like the opposite effect, but I used to stand under the shower as hot as I could stand it, and let the water run over my head and temples. It helped a lot. I think the hot water eased the tight muscles around the constricted the blood vessels. Cold never helped me at all!

[kronenborg]

the blood vessels do not behave in a constant manner during the course of a migraine. during the aura, they are severely constricted, causing symptoms due to lack of oxygen to some parts of the brain (and not at all dissimilar to what occurs during a stroke). during this phase, some find warm water helpful (as heat will dilate blood vessels).

during the headache phase, the blood vessels are grossly dilated, causing a rise in intracranial pressure, and accounting for the headache - during this phase, some find cold water helpful (as cold constricts blood vessels).

additionally, both hot and cold water could help headache through a mechanism called "gate control theory" - not dissimilar to the idea that rubbing an injury can make it less painful - stimulation of thermoreceptors in the skin can interefere with the pain signals from the headache.

[h886]

My sister had migraines as a teenager but grew out of them in her adult years. She took Imitrex for bad attacks and found that hers were often connected to certain foods. She cut out caffeine, chocolate, etc and seemed to have better results. Now she eats those things and still only rarely has migraines. Hard to say.

I never had them as a child, but they started around the time I turned 30. Mine are timed to certain points in my cycle and I average about 2 per month, with the aura appearing an hour or so before the pain (blurred vision in one eye, seeing phantom black spots.) I find that not getting enough sleep seems to make them more frequent and often get a migraine the next day if I stay up late. Very strong light also bothers me. I take Maxalt and OTC Excedrin, which works, though it makes me woozy and I still have a residual headache for a day or so after.

Sorry about your daughter. It's good you're seeing a specialist. It seems everyone's experiences are wildly different and migraines can be tricky buggers.

[Davachka]

Thanks for sharing. Thats the impression I get as well.

Originally Posted by h886

My sister had migraines as a teenager but grew out of them in her adult years. She took Imitrex for bad attacks and found that hers were often connected to certain foods. She cut out caffeine, chocolate, etc and seemed to have better results. Now she eats those things and still only rarely has migraines. Hard to say.

I never had them as a child, but they started around the time I turned 30. Mine are timed to certain points in my cycle and I average about 2 per month, with the aura appearing an hour or so before the pain (blurred vision in one eye, seeing phantom black spots.) I find that not getting enough sleep seems to make them more frequent and often get a migraine the next day if I stay up late. Very strong light also bothers me. I take Maxalt and OTC Excedrin, which works, though it makes me woozy and I still have a residual headache for a day or so after.

Sorry about your daughter. It's good you're seeing a specialist. It seems everyone's experiences are wildly different and migraines can be tricky buggers.