Anybody here get migraines?

[Darkwing Duck]

And if so, how often and how severe?

I've gotten lucky over the years and my migraine pain has reduced significantly over the years. I think my first migraine was my worst. Happened when I was in high school at a Weber State football game. Not quite the best place to have one.

Now, I lose vision for 30-45 minutes and get dull and fairly mild migraine pain for a couple of days. Can't complain too much, though I think I get them a bit more frequently now. Probably one every 9-10 months now instead of one a year.

Some interesting symptoms with migraines, too. I had one where it mimicked some symptoms of a stroke. That wasn't a fun night.

 

[PearlWatson]

You've seen a doctor about this right?

 

[TroutBum]

I had my first official migraine this year. I was at work when all of a sudden my left eye went completely blind. Needless to say, it scared the dump out of me and I checked my *** into the ER as soon as humanly possible. I didn't get the actual headache for another 6 hours or so, but then... damn. I was out for 24 hours.

 

[Gameface]

My wife does. Used to be really bad but now she has some medicine that works well if she catches a headache early. She's gone through a half dozen different migraine medicines that didn't work. I can't remember the name of what she uses now but I can get it if you'd like.

It also seems that dairy (especially cheese) triggers her migraines.

 

[Chad Feldheimer]

I get about one or two a month. Never really be able to nail down a trigger other than maybe when it is really bright outside (i.e after a snow storm and the sun is reflecting off the snow). I've been able to keep them fairly manageable by taking a lot of Ibuprofen (1000mg) or Tylenol (1000mg). I get the same loss of vision, well it's more like I can't quite focus my eyes completely. That is when I pop the meds and I am ok. I still have a crappy headache for awhile but at least I am not puking my guts out.

 

[VINYLONE]

Ive gotten them before, but years ago...ever since Ive eaten better and exercised more it seems as though, they kind of fell off. Migraines suck to say the least.

Like the other poster asked, dude, have you seen a doctor?

 

[YB85]

Make sure you know what you are dealing with when it comes to severe head pain. Almost a month ago, my wife had what she thought was a migraine but it turned out to be blood clot in the vein leaving her brain that almost killed her. We asked the doctor how to tell if it was a true migraine or if it is something else and he said that migraines are always just behind the eyes, thus causing the change in vision or sensitivity to light.

As for migraine treatment, I have a cousin who has suffered from them for years. As a treatment, she is now getting small botox injections and she hasn't had a migraine in almost a year.

 

[Scat]

I can't remember the name of what she uses now but I can get it if you'd like.

My wife gets them occasionally. The meds that work best for her are a combination of compazine (anti-nausea) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) which is odd because neither does anything for pain. One of her doctors suggested it and it worked amazingly well. In fact it is starting to be used in a lot of ER's as standard protocol for treating severe migraines.

As for migraine treatment, I have a cousin who has suffered from them for years. As a treatment, she is now getting small botox injections and she hasn't had a migraine in almost a year.

I saw this on the news just last week. Very intriguing.

Almost a month ago, my wife had what she thought was a migraine but it turned out to be blood clot in the vein leaving her brain that almost killed her.

Clots are scary ****. My wife had bilateral pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in both lungs) about 4 years ago and ended up spending several days in the hospital. Since they couldn't find a reason she had developed clots she is now on a lifetime regiment of anti-coagulants which has nasty side effects in and of itself. Anytime she gets chest pain or a bad headache we have to rush to the ER on the chance that she has developed clots again.

Hopefully they know what happened with your wife and she doesn't have to do likewise.

 

[VINYLONE]

Im happy that both of your wives are still with us....seriously.

 

[YB85]

Clots are scary ****. My wife had bilateral pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in both lungs) about 4 years ago and ended up spending several days in the hospital. Since they couldn't find a reason she had developed clots she is now on a lifetime regiment of anti-coagulants which has nasty side effects in and of itself. Anytime she gets chest pain or a bad headache we have to rush to the ER on the chance that she has developed clots again.

Hopefully they know what happened with your wife and she doesn't have to do likewise.

Right now any sneeze she has send my alert level to "Red". They don't know for sure what happened, but they suspect her birth control pills, which she takes to help fight migraines she gets when Flo comes to town. The neurologist at the U told me he sees patients that are in the state she was when she arrived (which was bad enough that she was flown by Life Flight from Davis Hospital to the University Hospital) about once every two weeks and the overwhelming number are women between the ages of 35 and 45 who are still taking birth control. It's pretty scary to think that what she was taking to help fight migraines and pain almost killed her.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

You've seen a doctor about this right?

Like the other poster asked, dude, have you seen a doctor?

About migraines? Doctor will come to the conclusion that I get migraines. And since I don't nearly get the pain I used to get, medication is really kind of unnecessary.

I had my first official migraine this year. I was at work when all of a sudden my left eye went completely blind. Needless to say, it scared the dump out of me and I checked my *** into the ER as soon as humanly possible. I didn't get the actual headache for another 6 hours or so, but then... damn. I was out for 24 hours.

Heh, the first few are always the scariest because you have no idea what's going on. I've done a bit of research on them and there are brain scans that show your brain in the affected area totally shuts off for awhile, and moves along with the migraine.

I get about one or two a month. Never really be able to nail down a trigger other than maybe when it is really bright outside (i.e after a snow storm and the sun is reflecting off the snow). I've been able to keep them fairly manageable by taking a lot of Ibuprofen (1000mg) or Tylenol (1000mg). I get the same loss of vision, well it's more like I can't quite focus my eyes completely. That is when I pop the meds and I am ok. I still have a crappy headache for awhile but at least I am not puking my guts out.

Yeah, that's what happened to me last night. I couldn't quite pinpoint the loss of vision, but I couldn't focus anyway.

What I can't do, and what I will avoid doing for a couple of days, is bending over. If my head gets below my waist and I'm upright, the pain is tremendous, what you'd expect from a migraine.

 

[Chad Feldheimer]

Also with my migraines, the pain is always in the same small area just above my eye.

 

[dodo]

I get them too. Same as everyone else, aura, pain, nausea, though mine have eased with age. Now I get them more often but the pain is manageable. The whole ordeal ends in 4 hours though i do have a residual hangover-like pain for another 3-4 hours.

Interesting article I read awhile ago [1]

[1] https://www.la-sight.com/media/documents/Migraine.pdf

 

[bigb]

My wife gets them occasionally. Her first came when we were camping/boating at Flaming Gorge. We had to ride out a storm in the boat and it came on. We went back to shore and and as soon as she stepped off the boat, she puked her guts out. She went back to camp and slept for hours. Now if she feels one coming on, she'll get in a bath that's almost scolding hot, as dark as possible, and sleep for as long as possible. She's getting pretty good at recognizing them and treating herself early to stem it off.

 

[PearlWatson]

About migraines? Doctor will come to the conclusion that I get migraines. And since I don't nearly get the pain I used to get, medication is really kind of unnecessary.

Ha! That's probably true but aren't you concerned there may be an underlying issue they could discover?

 

[//r00t 4 Jazz]

Amazing how symptoms are similar, mine always a shooting piercing pain through my left eye, I don't have loss of vision but a bit of tunnel vision in that left eye if I open it but most of the time I keep it closed as it helps reduce the pain and nausea. Cold, dark and sleep are my best friends while waiting it out.

Also Viny I agree taking better care of my self food, sleep and drink wise helps reduce them for sure I think that is my biggest trigger. I find Excedrine if caught early enough and sleep does well enough and because I can get puke happy and can't keep anything down the Dr's have given me a few different ones that dissolve in my mouth but some are so salty it makes me puke more.

I remember my first one was New Years eve 2000 and I next to never even got head aches and thought nothing of it until I thought I was going to die or wish I would so it would stop, I'll be honest my first couple of Migraines hurt me worse then my appendix bursting (I was at the hospital when it burst). My next one strangely enough was when 9/11 (strange I know) was playing baseball legged out a triple and my vision we coming in and out with my heart beat and once the inning was over went to the dugout to get my glove and next thing I remember was the hospital.

Oh sorry for the novel here but one more strange thing the a few years ago (last time I went to the hospital for one) they gave me Benadryl or I remember being told it was for allergies so I'm pretty sure that's what it was and it sent me into a rage something fierce. I don't even remember everything the hospital said I did or said but I just remember wanting hurt anybody who made a sound.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

Ha! That's probably true but aren't you concerned there may be an underlying issue they could discover?

Would you do that every time you get a cold?

 

[PearlWatson]

Would you do that every time you get a cold?

I have never lost vision for 45 minutes with a cold.
Sorry for being concerned for your health.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

I have never lost vision for 45 minutes with a cold.
Sorry for being concerned for your health.

Ah, that. Common symptom of a migraine. The image in the article Dodo posted is a very good portrayal of what it looks like. It's on page 2.

A few other images from a search:

https://remediesformigraines.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/migraineaurasymptoms.jpg

https://www.richmondeye.com/images/migraine2.jpg

It's not vision loss per se. I've tended to describe the affected area of your vision as something akin to the "nothingness" that is in The Neverending Story. There's just nothing there, but you can tell there's nothing there, and it's a sort of visual buzzing effect.

It's just easier to say "loss of vision." It'll grow an undeterminal amount, and I really don't know how much the last few have increased, since it's easy to tell when a migraine is coming on, so I usually lie down and close my eyes. This effect only lasts from start to finish an hour at most. It's just the act of the migraine. There's really nothing long term about it, and the effect doesn't really have anything to do with malfunctioning of the eyes. It's the brain.

 

[PearlWatson]

Ah, that. Common symptom of a migraine. The image in the article Dodo posted is a very good portrayal of what it looks like. It's on page 2.

A few other images from a search:

https://remediesformigraines.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/migraineaurasymptoms.jpg

https://www.richmondeye.com/images/migraine2.jpg

It's not vision loss per se. I've tended to describe the affected area of your vision as something akin to the "nothingness" that is in The Neverending Story. There's just nothing there, but you can tell there's nothing there, and it's a sort of visual buzzing effect.

It's just easier to say "loss of vision." It'll grow an undeterminal amount, and I really don't know how much the last few have increased, since it's easy to tell when a migraine is coming on, so I usually lie down and close my eyes. This effect only lasts from start to finish an hour at most. It's just the act of the migraine. There's really nothing long term about it, and the effect doesn't really have anything to do with malfunctioning of the eyes. It's the brain.

Okay, thanks for the explanation. I've obviously never experienced one myself.