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Lots of MSG does it for me too. Chinese food tends to have a lot of MSG in it. You can find some places that advertise that there is no MSG added, I'll eat at only those places.
I find the majority of the time it's food or water related for myself.
Only started getting them the past few years.
The first few kicked off after playing football. I'd be running around like a madman & then bang, my vision went a short while after finishing. Was scary at first as i'd never experienced it.
I wondered if it was because i wasn't drinking the RIGHT stuff post-game (i.e. Lucozade sport instead of just plain old water).
I now find if i go a while without eating, i develop headaches, these progress into migraines. I think it might be related to not drinking much through the day although it's never bothered me in the past.
Then light & noise will seriously irritate me
typical headache tablets wont work. I need to take Nurofen migraine tablets
Give it 30mins up to 90mins for anything severe & i'm usually fine.
It seems like I noticed the sun in the very corner of my left eye driving to work that morning as I was driving the old Chrysler to work and the window shade didn't quite cover the sun. The next morning, the same thing would have happened, but I purposely leaned forward so the sun didn't catch my eye and I could feel the heat of the sun on my ear.
As far as the water, I felt much better all of Monday night after I went home, got some food (I was starving) and laid down on the couch for a while. I felt great yesterday, but drank water like a greyhound!
Excedrin Migraine! I took some later Monday night, but way too late.
Any suggestions on this drug? I have been put on this med since I am no longer responding to Imitrex and they are adding this to my Topimax and Klonopin. I am having at least 2-3 headaches weekly. During menstrual and Pre menstrual cycle I have migraines 3-4 days some of which are rebound headaches I can't break.
Any suggestions? I am so desperate for some treatment since I am pretty much in the same boat as you in terms of how long I have had these headaches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueLily7
I have suffered from migraines for over a decade and am in my early 30s now. Everyone's case is different but maybe something I say will help someone else. I will just summarize. In some cases it took years of journals and trial and error to figure all this out.
My TRIGGERS:
1. SCENTS- especially heavy perfumes, cigarette smoke or smoke from an outdoor fire, and cleaning chemicals such as certain Pine and chlorox products. Also, Gain laundry detergent is a biggie. I have to be very careful with fragrance and avoid people who douse up in cologne or aftershave or perfume.
2. SLEEP- I will always get a headache if I go more than one night in a row of not sleeping well. I will also get a BAD headache if I wait until Saturday morning and try to sleep in to catch up on sleep. I can't sleep too long either. My ideal sleep as far as preventing a headache is a minimum of 6 hours of good solid sleep, and no more than 8-9 hours in the bed total. 9 hours is pushing it. I seem to do best at 7-8 hours.
3. Extended periods of loud music, bright flashing lights, fluorescent lights, or bumping my head. So yes, music concerts trigger headaches. A whole day of being around my kisd when they're screaming and tearing-the-house-down-hyper-being-loud-for-hours, or working a job where I sit a computer all day under fluorescent lights- this will trigger frequent migraines. I have bumped my head on the roof of the car while loading groceries, and gotten a headache that turned into a migraine. It's annoying...I can take my kid to the planetarium or something, and end up with a headache later on, especially if I have any other triggers.
4. FOOD/DRINK- for me personally. Onions, especially raw onions or sharp white onions (sweet onions don't seem to be as bad). trigger headaches. Unlike most people, I don't notice that caffeine makes a difference maybe because I don't drink it much. I find that if I avoid caffeine in general, then drink something high in caffeine when I take pain meds for a headache it enhances the relief. Also, alcoholic beverages can trigger migraines. I avoid wine and beer. I notice that vodka almost always triggers a migraine. I can get away with drinking other things in moderation. But more than 2 drinks, I will probably get a headache.
5. And another weird trigger. If I take a narcotic for pain (not a headache) it will often trigger a migraine after it wears off and send me into rebound. I noticed this over the years when I had narcotics for minor surgeries. A neurologist prescribed Vicodin for me to use WITH my triptan (Relpax, Maxalt, Imitrex, Zomig, etc). If i take it WITH the triptan it enhances pain relief for my worst headaches but I can never, EVER take a narcotic for a headache alone or it will worsen the headache. So again narcotics are useful but ONLY if used along with a triptan at the same time, and sometimes add caffeine into that mix too. (My neurologist told me that any pain medicine can send you into rebound, whether it's Motrin, Fioricet, a narcotic, naproxen or whatever).
6. Birth control pills and anything messing with my hormones cause migraines. I have endometriosis that gets very painful and I once went on a 5 month course of Lupron-Depo injection and it was the worst 5 months of my life as far as headaches. My headaches relate to my menstrual cycle- I get them during ovulation midcycle as well as during periods so birth control pills to regulate my periods were tried for a couple years for me and every one I tried...EVERY one...made my headaches more frequent or severe or both. Low dose pills, mini pills, you name it.
With me, it seems to be a bank account...one trigger alone might not cause a migraine, but if I have 2-3 triggers I will certainly get one. Perfume will always cause a headache, but secondhand cigarette smoke may not- it might be on a day where I didn't sleep well the night before, I have eaten something with onions in it, then someone lights one up around me and THEN I am over my threshhold and get a migraine.
REMEDIES that work for me or help:
1. I have to have a triptan drug. I prefer Relpax...others that worked better for me were Amerge and Imitrex injection. They all work for me but I found that the following just didn't work as well as Relpax for me: Imitrex pill and nasal spray, Axert, Zomig, Maxalt and Maxalt-MLT, Frova. Taking this as soon as I feel it coming on helps much more than trying to abort a full blown migraine, but if I can lie down and use some other remedies I find that Relpax is still usually effective.
2. Lying down in a cool quiet room (68 degrees) in the dark with a cool compress on my forehead, and sleeping it off. Sound gross but if I'm nauseous from the headache, throwing up makes me feel better.
3. If the headache is severe I supplement the triptan with Vicodin 7.5mg/500 or Aleve, and drink it with a caffeinated drink. My doctor recommended black coffe but I hate coffee, so I often use just a Coke or tea, or Mountain Dew.
4. And finally, I have had to go on daily medications to prevent and reduce the headaches. I tried many that did NOT work for me until I found the ones that do work for me. Here is what works best for me:
---Klonopin 1-2mg, taken only at bedtime. Corrects my sleep problem and ensures I get a good night's sleep so this relieves a MAJOR trigger for me with the added bonus of making my restless legs and tossing and turning stop.
---Verapimil - I don't know my dose but other than Klonopin, verapimil is THE most effective preventive medication for me for migraine. It works.
I tried Topamax, but it made my stomach cramp constantly and I was never able to raise my dose from the low starting dose- also I took it for 3 weeks and my neuro had me stop it because the stomach side effect did not subside. I can't say if it worked since I was unable to use it. But I tried each of the medications over a period of years and none of them worked for ME but they have helped others: Inderal, Noritryptilene (sp? Pamelor is the brand name), amitryptilene (sp? Elavil is the brand name), Effexor XR, Paxil CR, Zanaflex, birth control pills- Lo-Ovral, Ortho Tri Cyclen, progestin only pill, Alesse, Mircette....., Keppra, Mirapex, Lexapro, Zyprexa. There are probably more I have forgotten, I think I tried a few more antiseizure drugs. I refused to try Depakote due to side effects. My doctors tried me on all types of drugs, antidepressants and everything else, and they seemed to make my sleep worse and headaches more.
For me the magic bullet preventative is Klonopin at bedtime, and verapimil daily. Then Relpax for the actual migraine and occasionally add either Motrin, Vicodin, or Aleve to that.
Hope this helps someone, I know it's long. Feel free to DM me if you want to chat about migraines. Mine are severe.
Oh one more thing that has helped mine is to keep my sinuses clear, so I also normally stay on Zyrtec-D too. Keeping my allergies under control prevents sinus pressure and headaches, for me, a sinus headache can turn into a migraine that pounds.
What kind of migraines do you get? Before I had kids I got migraines with actual aura- I would be feeling ok then I'd see what looked like sparkly floaters and then my vision would blur a bit, then I'd know the pounding was going to start. Mine come on rather quickly when they do start. Since having kids, I do not get the sparkly aura, but I do still occasionally have an aura where I start not to feel "right", feel kind of lightheaded and my vision gets a bit dim and blurry and my head starts to feel sore, and I know one is on the way.
My mother got them until menopause so I assume they are genetic in nature. They have pretty well reduced my quality of life but it's better when I stay on top of them and control them as well as possible.........it took me so long to find my best remedies, I empathize with anyone who is not there yet. I also believe I got them as a child, it's just I always was told they were "eye headaches" because I wore glasses. And as a child, the bad ones were only a few times a year. As an adult I have gotten them as often as several times a week at my worst. I consider them well controlled now, and still get 2-3 per month at least.
Goodness, I feel SO bad for some of you on here! I am a migraine sufferer as well. Used to get about 3 per month. Now I only get about 1 per month if that. More like 1 every 6-8 weeks. I have never kept a journal as to triggers etc, but think I will start doing that. I don't have insurance right now so I can't afford the prescriptions that help or the doctor visit as I'm a poor college student I do get regular chiropractic adjustments ( I work for one so it's free!! ) and that has seemed to reduce the frequency of them. When you can't afford the prescriptions, I've noticed that if I take Excedrin Migraine at just the right moment, literally at the instant I feel a headache/migraine coming on, that can sometimes prevent it from progressing. If it's taken too late though, it will not help at all. The only thing I find helps me, is throwing up if I'm nauseous, and also sleeping it off. Usually I will go straight to bed, in a cool, dark, quiet room and pray to god that it's gone when I wake up in the morning. Luckily, it usually is. It's weird though, the next day my head literally feels sore in the area where it was pounding the most, like it's recovering from the trauma.
I found this thread very helpful, thank you! It was interesting to read that onions were a trigger for many people!
My friend's are in disbelief. First, I am not that health conscious. The only reason being, that I've noticed a co-incidence between going out to eat[usually food additives], & migraines. That is why I have to make different choices, home-cooking or family run restaurants. Mother's day, my son and his girlfriend cooked. Awesome dinner They are making healthier choices on their own, not just because we were coming to dinner. So, imagine my disbelief when I wake up and a headache has started. I don't get headaches. The day progresses and the headache gets stronger, then weaker, then stronger. I'm pissed, what the h--- triggered it. Not enough water this morning, too much coffee, too many cigarettes [I told you], are you hungry? NO WAY. I'm replaying everything I ATE. Then it hit me. Last night, the conversation came around to allergies and my exzema. A friend said her friend used some shea butter [vitamin A, E, F] for her exzema and it got lots better.Gave me a jar, put it on, as soon as I got home and first thing in the morning.
The exzema was looking lots better over night. By 5 pm. I'm dieing. Then it hit me. The only thing I did different was the shea butter. NAHHH ,that couldn't be it. I had just put some on[ the headache was stronger again]. Scrubbed it all off. Within two hours, no sign of a headache. Who would have thought. The exzema is going to have to wait. What's your trigger?
My friend's are in disbelief. First, I am not that health conscious. The only reason being, that I've noticed a co-incidence between going out to eat[usually food additives], & migraines. That is why I have to make different choices, home-cooking or family run restaurants. Mother's day, my son and his girlfriend cooked. Awesome dinner They are making healthier choices on their own, not just because we were coming to dinner. So, imagine my disbelief when I wake up and a headache has started. I don't get headaches. The day progresses and the headache gets stronger, then weaker, then stronger. I'm pissed, what the h--- triggered it. Not enough water this morning, too much coffee, too many cigarettes [I told you], are you hungry? NO WAY. I'm replaying everything I ATE. Then it hit me. Last night, the conversation came around to allergies and my exzema. A friend said her friend used some shea butter [vitamin A, E, F] for her exzema and it got lots better.Gave me a jar, put it on, as soon as I got home and first thing in the morning.
The exzema was looking lots better over night. By 5 pm. I'm dieing. Then it hit me. The only thing I did different was the shea butter. NAHHH ,that couldn't be it. I had just put some on[ the headache was stronger again]. Scrubbed it all off. Within two hours, no sign of a headache. Who would have thought. The exzema is going to have to wait. What's your trigger?
At your age it's just as likely hormonal related as anything you ate or smelled.
you're doing the correct thing---monitoring anything new that could be a contibuting factor. That is KEY in migraine relief.
I can't have or use anything with Yellow Dye #5 (this includes shampoo)
no onions
no perfumes/colognes
no artificial sweeteners
for me-no going without morning coffee
no skipping meals either!
adding Magnesium has helped mine to ease off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfr
My friend's are in disbelief. First, I am not that health conscious. The only reason being, that I've noticed a co-incidence between going out to eat[usually food additives], & migraines. That is why I have to make different choices, home-cooking or family run restaurants. Mother's day, my son and his girlfriend cooked. Awesome dinner They are making healthier choices on their own, not just because we were coming to dinner. So, imagine my disbelief when I wake up and a headache has started. I don't get headaches. The day progresses and the headache gets stronger, then weaker, then stronger. I'm pissed, what the h--- triggered it. Not enough water this morning, too much coffee, too many cigarettes [I told you], are you hungry? NO WAY. I'm replaying everything I ATE. Then it hit me. Last night, the conversation came around to allergies and my exzema. A friend said her friend used some shea butter [vitamin A, E, F] for her exzema and it got lots better.Gave me a jar, put it on, as soon as I got home and first thing in the morning.
The exzema was looking lots better over night. By 5 pm. I'm dieing. Then it hit me. The only thing I did different was the shea butter. NAHHH ,that couldn't be it. I had just put some on[ the headache was stronger again]. Scrubbed it all off. Within two hours, no sign of a headache. Who would have thought. The exzema is going to have to wait. What's your trigger?
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noritriptilene
They have pretty well reduced my quality of life but it's better when I stay on top of them and control them as well as possible.........it took me so long to find my best remedies, I empathize with anyone who is not there yet. I also believe I got them as a child, it's just I always was told they were "eye headaches" because I wore glasses. And as a child, the bad ones were only a few times a year. As an adult I have gotten them as often as several times a week at my worst. I consider them well controlled now, and still get 2-3 per month at least. 
I do get regular chiropractic adjustments ( I work for one so it's free!! ) and that has seemed to reduce the frequency of them. When you can't afford the prescriptions, I've noticed that if I take Excedrin Migraine at just the right moment, literally at the instant I feel a headache/migraine coming on, that can sometimes prevent it from progressing. If it's taken too late though, it will not help at all. The only thing I find helps me, is throwing up if I'm nauseous, and also sleeping it off. Usually I will go straight to bed, in a cool, dark, quiet room and pray to god that it's gone when I wake up in the morning. Luckily, it usually is. It's weird though, the next day my head literally feels sore in the area where it was pounding the most, like it's recovering from the trauma. 
They are making healthier choices on their own, not just because we were coming to dinner. So, imagine my disbelief when I wake up and a headache has started. I don't get headaches. The day progresses and the headache gets stronger, then weaker, then stronger. I'm pissed, what the h--- triggered it. Not enough water this morning, too much coffee, too many cigarettes [I told you], are you hungry? NO WAY. I'm replaying everything I ATE. Then it hit me. Last night, the conversation came around to allergies and my exzema. A friend said her friend used some shea butter [vitamin A, E, F] for her exzema and it got lots better.Gave me a jar, put it on, as soon as I got home and first thing in the morning. 
