Migraines, do you get these kind? (pain, blood, pulsating, doctor)
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I got these as a kid and didn't start getting them again until last year. Oddly enough my twin brother gets them too. I used to get them a lot as a kid as did my brother and no one else in my family does. It's a bit hard to explain but my vision has what seems like bright white pulsating spider webs that block my vision. Kinda like if you look at the sun for about 3 seconds, that's what my vision looks like. It gets to the point where I can't even read words on a piece of paper or computer screen. This lasts for about 45-60 mins. Followed by the worst headache of my life. I can't move because my head hurts so bad and I have to constantly spit because my saliva is in overdrive. I found that if I lay down in a completely dark room for the entire time the headache will be a little better but still hurts bad. Aspirin can't kill it either. I plan on going to the doctor as this seems to happening like it did when I was a kid.
Anyone else have these and if so what have you done? Is there some prescription I can get that can atleast do better than OTC drugs for the pain?
I take vicoden for my migraines but they dont come on as often now as they used too . When they started at 16 they were horrible and grew worse around 30 . Now they are better . I think they get better with age and not as severe . My dr does not like to write for vicoden but the alternative is not good so he understands .
It's called migraine with aura. Sometimes I just get the aura, not the migraine pain. When I'm going to get the pain, the aura looks like someone increased the brightness and saturation of the world, everything is too bright and colorful. I also see colored shapes, like when you look at a light bulb and then look away, and the colored shapes don't go away like usual, they stack up on each other.
I've found that the best treatment is prevention...I can't eat dark chocolate, or very much cheese. I also have to stay away from some scents, and don't smell more than two or three new smells at a time (for example, smelling the laundry detergents at the store, more than two or three kinds will bring on the migraine). Drinking enough water helps.
Usually when I do end up with a migraine, benadryl, an ice pack, and a dark room is what helps it. I don't take prescription painkillers anymore and my doctor suggested a migraine medicine that works by constricting the blood vessels in the head, but I don't get the migraines as often anymore so I haven't wanted to take a prescription that I'd need all the time, to prevent something that happens once a month or less.
I used to get what I called yellow sparkles of light in my vision right before a migraine. I read an article in the New York Life newsletter to policy holders mentioning a British article and recommending feverfew to migraine sufferers. Figuring they didn't want to pay out any insurance too early, I researched the subject.
The Lancet (British equivalent of JAMA) published 4 studies (double-blind, peer-reviewed) that showed use of feverfew reduced both the frequency and severity of migraines. I asked my internist about it and after researching, he said it couldn't hurt me. So, I bought the HerbPharm brand of liquid feverfew at the grocery. Any grocery with a "natural" section will have it. I prefer liquid to pills as I think it acts faster. I put it in a little water, juice, or soda. DO NOT use milk. The liquid is foul-tasting but a little water or juice disguises it a bit. Milk doesn't.
You can use it up to 5 times a day but I never needed more than 2 doses. I was using 4-5 Immetrex injections/week when I started and my last one was prior to 2001. You can take it daily to prevent migraines if they are frequent or you can take it at the first sign. I used it daily for about 10 yrs and was quite happy with the results. I used to wake up in the middle of the night with a bad migraine and that stopped once I started using feverfew. I would still get the beginnings of one but a dose would stop it. I used to keep one bottle at the office.
I've had migraine with onset symptoms prior to the pain (not always aura but I've had that too). What I've found, is an ordinary Tylenol, or Exedrin, or Alieve, IMMEDIATELY upon noticing something is starting up - will often prevent the pain from coming.
So you'd take it within 1 minute of getting your first moment of aura - you'd have to keep a little pill case with one handy at all times.
If you can catch it before the pain comes, often, the pain will either not come at all, or will be delayed, or will be less severe.
Other than that, I got nothing. Get off the road if you're driving, find a dark *quiet* spot to rock in with your eyes closed.
Thanks for help Southern and I'll go see if I can find this stuff. Anonchick, for me no OTC helps. I had one last night and today I still have a mild headache. It hurts more if I bend over (obviously). Today I went to the store and will try some Alive PM pills. When I was younger I did nothing but try to sleep which I never was. Still wondering why I never seen a doctor on this even as a kid. I pray this never happens at work.
Hedgehog, I'm willing to bet diet, certain foods or in your case smell can trigger it. But I can't pin point it. I wish it were something as simple as the detergent I use to wash clothes.
And I wish they had a cure to this because I'm basically legally blind when this happens for the hour or so. As a kid (high school) I got them a couple times a week.
The OTC pain meds generally don't work if you try to use them AFTER the pain starts. You have to take them before the pain comes - long enough before, that the pills can start to absorb into your system. One thing you could try, is start to journal your migraines - write down the day of week/time of day the aura comes, what you ate prior to the aura (up to 3 hours before if it wasn't recent), the barometer pressure in the area, pollution level in the area, and where you were located at the time (your own living room, the office where you work, in your car, in front of the shopping mall, etc).
Then notate the time that the pain starts. Notate what you attempt to do about it, if anything, and notate again when the pain finally wears off.
Look for any kind of pattern - especially time of day/day of week. If you can predict when you're "due" to get one - you can take an Excedrin Migraine 1-2 hours prior to that predicted time/day of week, and see if that helps. If you don't get a headache that day - don't assume it was the Excedrin. Try it again the next time you're "due" and the next time, and the next. If you notice that you're not getting migraines anymore, then you can credit the Excedrin.
yeah they suck.............the first time i got one I thought I was having a stroke or something serious was going on. I find that a heavy dose of ativan or zanex while restinf in a dark room works well when it's really bad.
Hedgehog, I'm willing to bet diet, certain foods or in your case smell can trigger it. But I can't pin point it. I wish it were something as simple as the detergent I use to wash clothes.
And I wish they had a cure to this because I'm basically legally blind when this happens for the hour or so. As a kid (high school) I got them a couple times a week.
I had to keep a journal of everything I ate and the migraines before I figured out what my migraine triggers are. It wasn't an instant thing. Keep track of how much water you drink too. It took me a couple of months to get it all figured out. The smells were easier, because those headaches come on right away. It's not one particular smell, it's smelling several new scents in a row. Another thing that triggers it for me is flashing lights.
Do you mean that the migraine only lasts an hour for you? Mine usually last three days.
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