UKH

Hi all, 

The frequency at which I get migraines seems to have been increasing in recent years. They're quite debilitating when they hit - impaired vision, extreme sensitivity to light, difficulty speaking, followed by the intense headache and often nausea.

I went to my GP a few years back who suggested Migraleve and keeping a diary of triggers - I'm not sure they could suggest more than that. I don't drink coffee, or too much alcohol and limit tea to about 2 cups a day (caffeine has definitely brought them on in the past). I do worry about getting them because when they hit it tends to be me out for a day.

I was wondering if anyone had any success stories of keeping them at bay, or limiting their frequency? The best I've managed is catching them early and stopping the worst symptoms.

Thanks in advance, 

Nick

Do you drink orange juice?  I have a marked aversion to it since I discovered many years ago that it was a trigger for me.  The main one for me these days is an unexpected bright light, usually a reflection.  Ibuprofen and a quiet hour with eyes closed seems to work and diminish the headache.  Fighting them usually makes it worse.

I find my migraines are most strongly associated with blood sugar and lighting, particularly if having to deal with bright text on dark backgrounds, or bright side lighting. Reducing the amount of processed carbs in my breakfast has had the biggest effect, imho.

I don't get them that often, but when I do I'm often in bed for at least 24 hours, sometimes longer. I find taking some sumatriptan as soon as I feel one coming off usually cures it. Don't wait, get on it straight away. My brother has them a lot worse and has tried almost everything - acupuncture, physio, different diets and lots of medication but nothing has ever seemed to work. 

My father used to get them, broke his back in a motorcycle accident 40 years ago and hasn't had one since! Not recommended by medical professionals!!! 

I seem to have inherited migraines from my dad who had it debilitatingly for about four decades. Sumatriptan was life changing for him and it helps me. It was around by the time mine started so thankfully haven't had to live with the fear of migraine hanging over. You'll get it on prescription.

Lifestyle factors for me are tiredness, especially those 'blunt' rest days after many days on the go. Tiredness then can morph into migraine. Possibly dehydration and, for some reason, rice has a close connection.

Hi,

i have no direct experience and advice to offer, but one of our best undergraduates (Ellie Gross) suffered terribly, she has studied for her PhD the +ve effects of a keto diet on migranes. I cant comment on the science other than to say it looks promising, it may work for some but it's quite early days, she has a start up Keto Swiss.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFR9zmwHv-EzMsJWelqcOBw

I had them from 10 years old. A right pain, once a week on average. Two years ago I found I had developed high blood pressure. Started medication, amlodipine and benzosomething, and have not had a headache since. 

Unfortunately this is my specialist subject. I've had 'high frequency episodic migraine' since about 2013 (so not quite enough to describe it as chronic). After a series of dismissive GPs I found one who had a special interest and who referred me to Kings College Hospital where they have a special clinic and carry out research.

I have to stay hydrated and can't let myself get hungry or I'll get one. Sometimes I get them anyway but I try to help myself as much as I can. The current trend for fasting diets would not go well for me. Stressful situations bring them on (not during the stressful situation, but afterwards - so I often get them at weekends). Too much or too little sleep brings them on - it is advised that you go to sleep and get up at the same time each day (I struggle with this one).

I would strongly suggest you stop taking Migraleve. I know it sounds odd because they sell it for migraine but there is now evidence that the codeine in it will increase the amount of migraines you get in the long term (medication overuse headache). My specialist always checks I've not been taking it.

You should definitely ask your Dr to prescribe sumatriptan. If that doesn't work or stops working, there are other triptans.

If you get more than two a week, there are loads of preventives you can try but they all have side effects. I'd have put up with the side effects if any of them had worked for me though.  Some new preventives have just been approved by NICE for NHS use but getting hold of them is difficult and COVID has made it more so.

If you are into podcasts, there is one called Heads Up by the National Migraine Centre which I've found useful and informative.

Edited to add: I've had some success with regular cold water swimming being helpful, but that's not possible in lockdown

You get them far worse than me.

My main trigger is light. very high contrasts or flickering. (Stress + computer screen time can also). Whenever outside with any chance of sunlight, I try to remember to bring my Cat 4 sunglasses and a peaked hat. 

Yeah - after having migraines for years, they came to a head (bad pun intended) last December with me being hospitalised with malignant hypertension.

I'm on a bit more medication than you, but it's working and I haven't so much as had a moderate headache since.

The op's migraines may have nothing to do with blood pressure, of course, but that's definitely something to check out.

I get occasional migraines tho I’m lucky not get pain - only visual disturbance/photophobia then a general seediness. Coffee, chocolate and exercise seems to be a risky combination for me. I’ve also learned not to use a screen based gadget in a darkened room. More recently I had a cluster which I think might have been triggered by my liking for Camembert - I’m now mostly avoiding all soft cheeses ( bit of a sacrifice that) and have been migraine free.

Good luck in figuring it out.

I expect you already know this, but don't assume that coffee is a bad thing for migraines. I have much less trouble now that I have taken up the habit of drinking a cup of coffee when I get up in the morning. I don't fancy a double blind trial to test whether there's a connection, but I connect the two in my mind.

I have started to get them more frequently over the past 4 years, I have recently started some preventative medication and am hopeful that I get some long term relief. As mentioned in this thread, the Sumatriptan has been great for me too and can normally get me back on my feet within a few hours.

I stopped eating dried mango because that seemed to be a trigger.  Possibly the preservative used.  

I do find tiredness stress and low blood sugar all contribute.  

Certain lights set it off, so sunglasses are useful to have in my bag.  

My wife suffered to the extent of us calling for an ambulance on more than one occasion.

She removed things from her diet one at a time. It was only when she stopped eating chocolate that the migraines stopped for good.

If you don't already wear glasses have your eyes tested.

I started getting them in my late teens, early twenties. Cured by having my eyes tested, found that one eye was 'lazy'.

Sumatriptan (you can get a small quantity without a prescription).

Have had severe headaches infrequently for years; always assumed it was eye strain (sometimes come after driving a long way) but evidently not.

If I get on them as soon as I have symptoms I can avoid the headache entirely.

Another vote for sumatriptan - it almost always knocks it on the head. Quite a startling  sensation - you can be feeling very rubbish indeed and then quite suddenly feel the medication kick in and it all lift away.

You have to be careful how regularly you take it though - if you use it too much it can lead to rebound headaches. 

Increasing migraines for me over the last decade - but I’m female and not so young!  ;-(

Magnesium supplements have also helped me.

My wife used to get migraines regularly. I’ve never had one, so struggled to understand how she couldn’t find a way of stopping them. Did a bit of digging round and eventually we decided she would try acupuncture.

Started off one session a week, then every two weeks, then each month. Think it was about 6 months (maybe,...it was a long time ago) but totally stopped. That was over 25 years ago. Not an endorsement, just our experience. 
Good luck, hope you get it sorted, they look dreadful to go through. 
 

Plus one for immigran / sumatriptan . 
 

Can buy it over the counter at boots or much cheaper online. Astounding when you first take it. 
 

If you can't find the trigger, or you can and you can't avoid it consider propranolol prophylaxis.

As mentioned above, triptans such as sumatriptan taken as soon as you feel the headache coming on can stop you developing a full blown migraine. If you speak to a GP again they could discuss this, as well as other things like preventative medications if you're getting them quite frequently (virtually all preventative medications are repurposed from other uses - blood pressure, epilepsy, depression etc - often a case of working through them until you find one that works/doesn't give you too many side effects).

My Migraines don't sound as bad as some, but I do get flashing lights, blurry vision and a piercing lingering headache made worse by bright light. I started to get them as a teenager, and they always seem stress related.

They don't happen when I'm under stress, but rather after the relief of stress. I had them after exams through my education, and in working life following deadlines and stints of difficulty.

I don't get them badly often, but over the years I've missed a fair number of celebrations for work projects etc, and often have at least a mild one at christmas or the start of a holiday (for me essentially being unable to focus on anything for 30 minutes or so and then just a minor headache for an hour or 2)

A Mild one I can clear with ibuprofen and a night's sleep if i pop one as soon as I see the light trails, a bad one I use "Imigraine" or Migraleve but neither seem to make a big difference - if it's bad it's bad it seems

Second that. First time I remember feeling the migraine drain away like water. Devastatingly effective stuff, goes through quicker putting it down in front of food.

My Mum suffers/suffered quite badly from migraines, but went to see an allergy specialist a few years ago and discovered she was intollerant to bananas and a couple of other things.

Stopped eating them and her migraines have become much less frequent/severe.

Might be worth getting checked.

I get them, but they are quite mild.

As soon as I suspect the blurred vision coming on, a couple of ibuprofen prevent the onset of the banging headache, reducing it to a dull ache.

Closing my eyes for the first 10 minutes also helps.

No obvious triggers, other than general tiredness/overwork/stress, except for Budweiser and Blandford Fly ale. Luckily there are plenty of alternatives.

My wife and daughter both suffer from migraines and, having tried the usual analgesics without much success, now take naratriptan at the first hint of onset - it usually aborts the attack pretty quickly.

I can add my support for Sumatriptan. I haven't tried it yet but it was highly recommended to me by a fellow sufferer after I had been knocked out for a week by a migraine. If you have high blood pressure check with your GP.

Thanks for the really helpful replies, everyone. It sounds like Sumatriptan is something I'll be looking at.

I know a lot my triggers already from experience over the years, but I think making more of an effort to keep tiredness and blood sugar levels in check is what I'll focus on.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

I think those 2 are major factors for me. Particularly in combination as when I'm tired I tend to eat sweet food which then causes a blood sugar drop later.  I hope it works for you.  

Absolutely agree. Doctors never mention medication overuse headache until you've got it. I originally was on codeine for back pain, but towards the end I was getting headaches, and when I stopped taking codeine I got a migraine (+insomnia) for 6 weeks solid!

Hi Nick,

Some great suggestions above! 

There are studies going on at the moment about the affects of cold water swimming helping control Migraines. This video is well worth a watch, showing the affects cold water swimming has on someone who suffers from chronic Migraines- https://www.vitaminseafilm.com/ 

I hope this is helpful!

Do you have food triggers ? If you don't know, try a food diary and see if any pattern shows up.

Common triggers for me, in order from worst to least are: Cheese, white pork meat (ok with ham and bacon), high stress levels, flickering flourescent lights, red wine, low blood sugar and excess fatigue.

When I get the first signs - vision distortion or bright lights, or nubming of my lips, I take a 1 gram effervescent vitamin C tablet and two 300 mg dispersible aspirins. The Migraine stops in 5 to 15 minutes. If you can take Aspirin this is worth a try. If not try the effervescent vit C tablet.

Migraleve does not work for me.

Your symptoms sound very like mine, except the headache bit of mine is the least of the symptoms and I don't get nauseous. Instead I get numbness and a sense of dissociation from some extremities e.g. tongue, arm, or hands (usually on left side of body). The loss of speech function is the most awkward, especially if it happens at work, leaving me no way of explaining the problem as it also impairs read and writing. Such fun! Given how bad the non-headache bits of migraine are I always wonder if it's a totally different syndrome to the straightforward recurring bad headaches that also get lumped in under the title.

Fortunately I usually only get one or two episodes a year. They're so infrequent that I've never managed to figure out what triggers, other than excursion, dehydration, and bacon frazzles. Lying down in a darkened room reduces the severity and length if I catch it early enough. Have never tried any meds.

I drink a bit less (alcohol), run a bit more and try to stay hydrated and well fed. Basically look after myself! The result is a marked decrease in the severity of my migraines. Although the frequency hasn’t dropped much. +1 for sumatriptan - reliable relief. Good luck

Just confirm first that the headaches you get are typical migraines. Migraine sufferers often start getting several different types of headaches, and there’s a good chance that some are analgesia/painkiller overuse headaches: the risk of these increases with more than 5-6 days/month painkiller use. This includes triptans like sumatriptan, so while they might be better for immediate treatment, avoid overuse. 
Opiates like codeine are generally a very poor choice for treating migraines and probably ha s the highest risk of painkiller overuse headaches (not too mention tolerance) so avoid.

Prevention therapy is worth trying if they are significantly impacting your life. There are various different classes of medication used for these including blood pressure medications (Beta Blocker) Tricylic antidepressants, and some anti-epileptics. Nortriptyline is often a good one to try first if you can tolerate it, as there’s some evidence it can also help with non-migraine headaches like tension and cluster.

The above is all general advice, and of course it is best you go and seek appropriate medical advice. BASH, the British association for the study of headaches used to (and I assume still does) have some good info on their website.

Where I used to work I knew three woman who had bad migraines. Imigran, now generally referred to as Sumatriptan apparently, worked well for all. With two though they often threw it back up if taking too late in the attack. The solution for one was antiemetic  suppositorys, while the other persuaded her GP to prescribe her Imigran vials for injection, expensive apparently.