Posted on 06/24/2004 6:26:37 AM PDT by TheExploited
If throwing up helps, your migraine trigger is probably in the food you eat. It took my wife and I 14 years to recognize that she would get a migraine about 8 hours after eating any food with MSG. Well, anything more than about 5 corn chips. Now we watch labels, and if she avoids MSG she does not get migraines.
You have my sympathy for the miagraines. I was a sufferer for many years.
Finally I discovered food allergies were to blame for most of them. The pain didn't start for 6 hours after the offending food was eaten so it was kind of hard to figure out. Keeping a food diary finally did it.
Also low pressure weather conditions would trigger one & am sure hormonal things.
Corn was one of the hidden allergies because corn in some form (corn starch, corn syrup, corn oil) is in so many many foods. I read labels constantly. MSG is a problem for many people & they don't realize what it is. I hope you are able to figure out your particular problem because the pain is horrible.
I think it takes a combination of food and weather (Alien Pollen). For me, it's corn, chocolate, and tomatoes. Not every time, about 3 or 4 per year.
Other triggers (for some people) are cheese, tea, coffee, whole wheat, or strawberries.
Correction: "Classic Migraines" vs Common Migraines.
I don't know specifically about it's use for migraines, but I suspect it would be used locally to paralyze the muscles in the scalp. I doubt it would affect your brain; in order to do that, it would have to be injected through the skull in order to reach the brain.
I haven't eaten chocolate in years, that was the worst one along with corn. I don't drink anything with alcohol.
I had migraines from the age of nine or so. Triggers: glare, not enough food or sleep, jolting (punching or kicking a bag, sledding or biking a rough road, running - go for low impact exercise), red wine or old cheese if other factors were present, hormones -- and the Big One - caffeine withdrawal - one time I drank decaf mislabelled as regular coffee and within an hour - nausea, throbbing, faintness - poisoned by a cup of decaf. Now I drink one cup of tea in the morning, that's it. The headache remedies with caffeine can cause terrible rebound headaches.
What helps? Pregnancy and nursing, (I think I've put in about twelve years doing one or the other, lol, and now I've got teenagers AND a two year old), ibuprofen at the first sign, antihistamines because now the headaches come with congestion, a cup of warm tea, warm compresses, biofeedback (imagine your fingers warming, holding a hot drink, stretching your hands before a fire, lying back and digging into warm sand at sunset, then warm your feet the same way.)
Anyway botox has been around for a while as a treatment - guess it helps when muscle tension triggers a migraine.
good luck
Mrs VS
Have you checked for a sinus infection? Forgive my unknowledgable interjection. I only mention because I had a family cousine who suffered for almost two years. One astute doctor figured it out after various efforts and medication. It was a ten day regime of sinus infection drugs and relief resulted.
I only mention just in case you may find this of help.
my husband suffered from horrible migranes for years as did four of his brothers. His oldest brother heard about taking a multible B complex multiple and it had to include B3 (niacin) and B6 so they started taking B complex and the migraines stopped. My husband has had two migraines in the last 17 years and it was because he ran out of vitamin B complex and he failed to replace them right away. We didn't believe that a vitamin would stop migraines but we were wrong.
I have some (anecdotal) evidence for a weather connection. I worked with two people who also suffered from headaches; one migrane like mine and the other "cluster" headaches (related, but different.) We usually all had the headaches on the same day.
The headaches that have come on with the approaching low pressure seem to be crushing but short lived. The food allergies are long lasting usually 24/36 hours. I am 63 yrs old & it seems that my miagraine problems are over (yea) so I think there was also a hormonal connection.
It lasted up to 4 months, so I repeated it. Believe me, I cringe when I read the bashing Kerry takes on Botox. It just doesn't bother me if folks get these injections for wrinkles and such. But then, I am an artist by profession and thus admittedly not normal. HA!
The injections were expensive... mine were not covered by insurance so it cost me $300 - $350. But the relief was so astounding. I had forgotten what it was like not to have pounding head pain.
I did 3 rounds of the injections, 4 months apart. I can't afford it now, and the headaches have come back, but are not as severe as before. When I get enough $$ again, I will repeat the Botox. I do a ton of cartooning artwork, so it sure will be nice to be rid of the constant head pain again.
I highly, highly recommend getting Botox for the headaches.
I have two customers who have migraines and swear by AVEDA's Blue Oil. It contains blue chamomile and peppermint. It's about $11 and has a rollerball applicator. They put some under the nose, massage it into the temples and back of the neck and get some immediate relief. One lady says it makes hers go away and the other says the pain subsides enough to make it bearable, at least. Go to http://www.aveda.com and put in your zip code to find a location nearest you. Good luck.
I have had severe tension headaches and I have had a few migraines and tension headaches are a walk in the park compared to migraine headaches....they are not the same thing at all
Most headaches are in the muscles of the scalp. It is not unreasonable to believe that a medication that causes the relaxation of muscles and skin just might relieve headache pain.
I haven't seen any posts concerning Imatrex--available in many media, but works quickest as an injection. It has helped many with severe migraine. Prescription, of course.
she is on a boatload of meds. to try to control the spasms and contortions, but she also has rec'd her first BTX injections, small doses on each side of her neck....
since her dose was so small, she had little side effects, except the shots "hurt" a little....
she will be receiving larger doses from now on.....
apparently, there is a chance of antibody development....however, if you carefully plan your BTX at least 3 mos apart, people are usually okay....
good luck....
the extremely bad HA's I have had also are greatly helped by throwing up.....
it must have something to do with reducing intracranial pressure, but that is my own little idea....perhaps a Doc could let us know....
Just last week we were discussing Botox treatments with her doctor, because she seems to be a good candidate for them, The doctor mentioned that Botox can be quite expensive and often isn't covered by insurance, but that there are other medications that are administered in the same way which a) are much cheaper, b) do the same thing as Botox in the same way, but c) don't last as long as the Botox treatments. However, these traits make them an excellent "trial" treatment. If they don't work for you, then the Botox most likely won't either, and if they do work for you, you'll know that the Botox treatment will be worth the money.
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