hi everybody iam 24 i have migaines since i was 8 yrs old,and they got worse when i got preggie for my 2nd child and have not let up i have been to pain clinics,had mri cat scans everything you can imange i have had plus i have been to mich head pain and neorlogiacl center in ann abor mich,i spent a month there it was hell i get no relif from any thing any more i do'nt know what to do my hubbie don't seem to understand what iam going though i need some ideas i have 2 wonderful little boys i have to care for and i can't when i have a miagaine if any body can give me some ideas it would help thankyou so much iam glad i found this site today...

erin <www.jayerin2000@yahoo.com>
Friday, December 27, 2002 at 14:14:04

Hello there. I have been suffering from migraine and headaches since around 8 years of age (I am now 25). These past few years I have been suffering from more and more tension headaches, plus headaches which I have on waking. I have loads of tension in my neck and shoulders which then seems to erupt into headaches. The frequency of my migraines seems to have lessened, but they seem to have got worse in some ways and changed in their nature. For example, over the past couple of years I have experienced something very strange on awakening, an incredibly concentrated headache around my temples and the desire to be sick, but this is not a normal type of nausea - instead i feel as if i have a concentrated ball in my stomach i need to get rid of, and i will vomit several times in the day before the headache recedes. I have also, in the last few years, suffered incredibly severe reaciotns to alchohol and in particular red wine. The last two times i drank the later, i had one glass, and half way through the glass, the headache seemed to materialise - a very tense one as if i needed to drink water. I then spent the next 24 hours with an extremely painful headache, vomiting more times then i can remember - I have never felt so ill.
Anyway, I would like to say that pills and the like dont seem to be the best solution - i am trying not to take so many but this is hard when you just want to get on with your life. I think everyone who suffers like this needs to try and exrcise more, especially swimming which is something i am trying to do as regularly as possible and seems to be a great help, particularly as it exercises arund your shoulders and arms, where tension builds up. I also experienced today, for the first time, an Indian Head Massage. I am told this can be a great help - has anyone else tried this? The nurse was amazed by the tension in my shoulders and I hope that if this is released the headaches may start to recede. The massage was very relaxing anyway, and certainly I felt more positive somehow afterwards.

Liz <revolutn1@hotmail.com>
Friday, December 27, 2002 at 11:31:54

Hello Everyone ... I would like to bring to your attention a simple solution that helped me. I have had migraines for about 10 years. I have averaged about 10 headaches a month. My doctor recently suggested I try the herbal supplement Coenzme Q10, which is available any place that sells vitamins. He said it has been shown to help reduce migraines. Well, to my surprise in the last 2 months, my headaches have been down to only 1 a month. It will take a couple of weeks to begin to help. I am hoping for continued success. I have also cut out all sugar substitutes. Anyway ... something simple that may also help you ... Ray.

Ray <rrenoir@hotmail.com>
Wednesday, December 25, 2002 at 21:42:17

Hi, I am 22 years old. I have been getting migraine headaches with auras since I was about 7 years old. I usually get them about twice a month...sometimes a bit more. My first warning signs are my vision gets blurry and I see flashing lights, and some loss in vision. I have been through CAT scans, MRI's and losts of tests. They think it probably has something to do with photophobia, I have an abnormal sensitivity to bright lights. Whenever I am about to get a migraine...or whenever the light changes, my left pupil gets really small, and my right pupil is really big. They take in light differently. If I could wish one thing, it would be that I would never have another migraine again, before being rich or beautiful or anything. The only days I ever miss off of work are when I get these migraines...I had one boss that had them too...she was very understanding, but my other ones...they just don't understand unless they have ever had one. If anyone has any suggestions about relief of a migraine...let me know.
Jules

julie <julie_mcguinness@hotmail.com>
Tuesday, December 24, 2002 at 14:02:20

I have been taking demerol for migraine pain for many years. Lately (twice) I have taken more than prescribed due to lack of pain relief. I know I built up a tolerance but a counselor has labeled me addicted. I am now being referred to a pain clinic because my neurologist thinks it is best. When I go to see the doc at the pain clinic, does anyone take pain meds without any tolerance problems. I have heard that methadone is effective but would like some fellow sufferers input. Right now I am not taking any pain meds just to prove to counselor I am not addicted. I have suffered no withdrawl symptoms but am miserable and unable to function when my migraines occur which is 2-3 times per week? any advise would be appreciated. Best wishes to everyone for a headache-free holiday.
linda

linda <otmaj@aol.com>
Monday, December 23, 2002 at 06:24:58

Hi! I have been having migraines for a little over six years now. I have three children-nine, six and three months. I have had CATScans, MRIs, blood work, and other tests. My dad also suffers from migraines, but he doesn't have them as often as me. He has never had to go to the er for a shot. I have to go about every three months. I have been put on so many pain meds, that I can't keep up with them all. During my pregancy this year, my doctor had me take codine, floricet, and stadol NS. The stadol is the only thing that helped. I was having at least one headache a week lasting any where from 24 hrs to three or four days. My doctor really didn't want to give me the stadol because there wasn't much research done on use in pregancy. I had a healthy, happy baby girl. Since she has been born my headaches have slowed down some. The dr now has my on pamelor, zomag, and stadol. They always say take meds at onset of migrain. I see black spots right as the pain hits hard. By then, I have to take the zomag and stadol to get any relief. But that knocks me out, so I have to wait until my husband gets home from work (anywhere from 5:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.) to take it. If anyone has any suggestions on how to take care of kids with a mind-numming migraine, please let me know, I need all the help I can get. My kids are the ones who suffer the most because I am in too much pain to help them with their homework and play with them. They try not to make to much noise, but a six year old boy does not know how to play very quietly. Thank you for letting me get this off my mind. I hope all of you out there aren't in too much pain. I also hope that we all can get through the holiday season without a migraine!

Merry Christmas and have a good new year

Dawn
Monday, December 23, 2002 at 00:36:48

Hi,
It's nice to find some support for the horror that is the reality of migraine. Next time I am held hostage, I will think about the rest of you out there and remind myself, I am not alone. In my case the agony lasts anywhere from 24 hours to all week long, besides the usual unbearable headpain, and mind numbing nausea, inability to eat or sleep, (except in small vignette's of bizarre, abstract dreaming, followed by increase in pain upon awakening. I also get a clogged nose on the same side the pain is on. A weird inability to stop yawning, (these symptoms increase the head pain and nausea) and I think I will go mad with the pain. When the torture finally ends, I will have lost a good deal of weight (from dehydration)depending on the length of my stay in "Hotel Hell" my blood sugar will be very low, I will feel as if I have emerged from a long illness. It will take a few days to recover. In my town I am judged for not working (I can no longer hold down a job,) "I'm not dependable" I have been told "I allow myself to be a victim" (another popular judgement for migraneurs)I have been in relationships where I am told, "I'm going to find someone I can do things with. "feed and walk your own dog, thats 'your responsibility." I don't bother with relationships now, the added stress of soothing 'their ruffled feathers' because I abandoned them once again, just isn't worth it! In my late 40's I live with my widowed mom now. She understands, and does all she can to help, though we all know there's not much that can be done for this kind of trauma. I have been the "Imitrix" route, ahem.
That's another common thing I hear, "Oh well there's medicine for that kind of thing now you know."This said implying , you obviously choose to suffer. Yeah right!
I have also tried ever alternative plan ever conceived. I have both prayed and cursed at God. I don't know, I guess I just felt like venting because I think I'm gearing up for one,(mine are mainly hormonal) I just wanted to shake my fist in defiance before I succumb.
Well anyway, with all due respect, 'see you in hell.'

val <goatchile@aol.com>
Saturday, December 21, 2002 at 15:54:18

I've posted off and on at this site and just finished reading the post of KatyKaty. I, too, believe that caffeine is the cause of alot of migraine headaches. While it may not work for you, it is worth a try to eliminate coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, cocoa, excederin and other caffeine products from your diet. Additionally, cut back and/or eliminate alchohol, MSG (found in so many things foods, its scary) and heavy salt usage.

I was plagued with migraines since age 17. I've gone to doctors, neuros, have taken many tests and many different medications. Ond doctor, years ago, suggested eliminating caffeine and quite frankly, my first reaction was "what a fool -- he has not idea what he's talking about".

One day, out of desperation and despair, I took his suggestion. I can only say that eliminating caffeine has made a wonderful difference in my headaches and in my life. Please try it and I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

jay
Sunday, December 15, 2002 at 10:08:29

Hi, I am 21 years old, and am still suffering the after-effects of my first full blown migraine. At least that's what I think it was. Does anyone here know about visual mograines? I went blind for about an hour, well not completely blind, but blurry, it was very scary and I didn't know if I should have gone to the hospital or home. An hour after going blind the pain settled in, I have never felt that pain before, I wanted someone to cut my head off, I knew I couldn't drive at that point and had a co-worker take me home where I then vomited 4 times and went to bed. I slept until 7:30, got up, ate something and went back to bed. I got up this morning, not sure if I should have stayed home or not, now thinking I should have. I guess I needed to share my little experience and I am hoping to find someone who has had the same visual effects as I did. Thank you for listening.

Jen <jensalsbury@hotmail.com>
Tuesday, December 10, 2002 at 09:51:26

i've been a migrainer since i was a teenager and now am 54. i always figured i'd be a migrainer forever because i come from a migraine family, i'm a woman with the hormonal baggage women carry, i'm a type-A personality, neurologists have told me to "just take the medicine...it's all you can do.." etc. i've taken caffergot for years. 25 to be exact. and this past summer my caffegot consumption got out of control. and my headaches got more frequent and more intense. then i heard about barry spencer's webside www.baatnet.com/spencer and everything changed. barry's theory is centered around caffeine and his belief that migraine without aura and caffeine withdrawl are one and the same. migraine without aura (which is what i have) has never been proved to exist without caffeine withdrawl. barry can explain it much more clearly, scientifically, and deeply than i ever could, but to make a long story short, i followed his lead and got off caffeine. which meant i gave up ALL caffeine substances; coffee, tea, any foods containing caffeine, AND caffergot. the withdrawl was seriously awful and lasted about a month. but after that, i definitely noticed a radical change in my life. i was not getting headaches! and the small twinges i'd get were taken care of by ibuprofen (something i'd crossed off as useless years ago). since the month of withdrawl i have learned a lot of hard lessons. abstaining from caffeine is a choice that involved some rigorous behavioral work. and there are mistakes you can make...i've inadvertently eaten stuff that put me into caffeine withdrawl and just last week i sort of had a spaced out moment and drank black tea at a chinese restaurant. that experience made me KNOW that barry's theory is right. i went into caffeine withdrawl about 32 hours later and had the first full-blown migraine since late summer. it reminded me of how i used to live and made me want to share what i've learned with all you kindred spirits out there. check barry's website and then if you have the courage, follow his lead. he will help you if you contact him. feel free to contact me. katy

katy l. <katykaty@aol.com>
Sunday, December 8, 2002 at 08:40:50

Hey,
Just found this site today, (Dec.2, 02) and am wondering what experience any of you have had with Feverfew? I recently started researching migraines and decided to start with this.
Please write and tell me as I don't want to waste time and money on the wrong path.

Lisa

Lisa <lboehmer1@cox.net>
Tuesday, December 3, 2002 at 22:48:51

Anyone out there suffering from the Big M with a suspicion that it is somehow linked to Widom Teeth?
or is it rather that the Big M stimulates Widom Teeth pain?

If one removes Widom Teeth does the Migraine go away?
or it is always there, once you are a sufferer.

I�ve tried all kinds of dangerous quantities of Paracetamol (waste of time)
"Sanomigran" was somewhat ok. But is it dangerous?
Surely natural treatment methods are more recommendable?

Best so far, unfortunately - is going to bed, covering the eyes from all light sources, and just waiting, praying, meditating.Some mornings after - the throb is gone, but one feels the weak "crater" feeling - and a little paranoid.
It is terrible for your non-suffering partner.Boring, and sad.
Just get on an live till the next one comes.

One thing, the "aura" thing everyone talks about during the migraine cycle.Please explain.
I�ve never had any quasi-lsd experiences with a Migraine (And I�ve tried Lsd long ago!) - just pain, throbbing, slight nausea, and bit of �noia and a urgent need to close eyes and hope to god!

Best of luck to all M sufferers out there.There are millions of us out there!

illumination <illumination47@hotmail.com>
Monday, December 2, 2002 at 06:37:15

I have been experiencing painful headaches for the past 3 years of my life. I am 37 year old female with a history of head traumas. At age 14 I fractured my skull and since then have had 3 concussions. I began experiencing severe headaches about 3 years ago. Along with the head pain comes extreme nausea and pupil dilation in my left eye. I have been to numerous doctors over these years and am now at the point of taking lots of medication and having to deal with some severe side effects. I feel very depressed as a result of major lifestyle changes because of these headaches. I am having a lot of difficulty sleeping and my energy level has dramatically decreased. I guess I just need to know there are others out there who are experiencing this hell.

Nina <ninahoops@aol.com>
Friday, November 29, 2002 at 13:29:57

hi all. i've suffered from migraines since i was six or seven and am now thirty one. in fact i have one now, i took a zomig about an hour ago and it's not kicked in yet. have one left as i had to take four two days ago. i don't think the drug store will let me have any more till next month. so i'm screwed. anyway, i can emphathize with everyone here. i too know what it is like to go to the e.r. with a migraine. they act like i'm out hunting for percocet and demerol. if you really want to confuse them, ask for toradol. my doc gives me that in her office, and it usually breaks the headache. oh well, i guess it could be worse.
here's an interesting side note, as i was reading the post that said migraines could be associated, with some form of epilepsy. my four year old son has epilepsy. makes you wonder.

tracey <tranurse@yahoo.com>
Thursday, November 28, 2002 at 11:52:40

To Maria who posted her message on 11-18-02: I feel your pain. I have been there. Almost committed suicide once. i have 5 children ages 24-14. Now I have a grandchild. It is wonderful!! I almost missed out on this! After 10 years of constant headache pain and frequent migraines, I finally got to a neurologist who specialized in migraine. He gave me Norvasc to take daily-within two weeks I was headache free for the first time in 10 years! I thought I died and went to heaven! I still suffer from headache and from migraine, in fact I am just recovering from one, but I do have totally headache free days and migraines are few and far between. Check out web sites for Dr.s in your area who specialize in migraine. The National Headache Foundation is one to try. Do not give up! There is life after migraine, and there is help! It took me years of every Dr. imaginable and multiple tests, but I am alive again!!!!

ALSO: To Diane 11-13-02 There are tests to check hormone levels!! After thyroid surgery I had mine checked by my endocrinologist (spell?) and my levels were low!! No wonder I was getting a darker mustache and man-hair on my arms!

Peggy <pcwells@sstelco.com>
Wednesday, November 27, 2002 at 08:51:31