Migraines?

Post Reply New Topic

Any other Aspies suffer from this? I could use some support.

Do you know what triggers your migraines? Mine have decreased a lot (thankfully!) since getting my irlen lenses earlier this year so I guess mine are mostly vision related.

Everything triggers my migraines.

That sucks. You can't really avoid everything. Can you describe the migraines? Do you get any vision disturbances with yours? Any numbness or tingling in your body? Vomiting?
I suppose you've tried lots of different things to try and prevent them. How do you deal with the pain? Do you get a 'migraine hangover' afterwards?

I haven't vomited from one since I was 10, probably because I'm emetophobic and won't move for hours when I feel sick. They tend to just be a horrible pain in my whole head, mostly in the front and I can't function. I don't like lights when I have one and I'm very resistant to pain meds. I usually need to take pain med AND caffeine (Exedrin, usually) and it only works when I take it before the headache gets bad.

I've suffered from migraines for as long as I can remember. I don't know what actually triggers them, as the most commonly reported migraine triggers don't apply to me.

Due my other health issues, I get prescribed a liquid narcotic medicine, which helps sometimes. I also self medicate with marijuana, which actually helps all of the time, for me.

It might be physical tension that you are not aware of.
Since starting medication I've become aware of how tense my upper body gets. I relax and then five minutes later it's back. At least now I'm aware of it and so I make a point to notice my body. I roll my neck as soon as I start to get the tension and before it turns into a migraine. Walking for a few minutes also helps a lot to put them off.

Try this from another angle.

Is there anything that seems to prevent or soothe the migraines?

If you get them all the time, you could have multiple triggers OR you could have a overarching trigger. A guy I know is "photo-phobic" and has to wear dark glasses all the time and avoid flash photography. His migraines are triggered by light hitting his retinas at sufficient intensity.

Yes I have migraines and it becomes really difficult to deal with the it sometimes. When I am busy or when I am having hectic schedule at that time it is really difficult to manage migraines.

I have (deep breath) severe chronic cluster migraines. Been in the hospital numerous times for them, including spending essentially 1 year in the hospital (three to four day stays weekly, over the course of 2 years) because of them. Now I only get them 1-3 times a week!

Makes it really hard to plan anything.
I'm one of those people where everything is a trigger, but what really helped me was switching to a mostly unprocessed diet with lots of fruits and veggies that were raw.
I have to stay out of direct sunlight most days and avoid computers, watch tv from at least 10 feet away and such.

Due to the constant inflammation I generally always run a fever, LOL!

Practically living off of naproxen and imitrex.

Sending my warmth-vibes!

I agree - when I changed to a raw diet, my migraines went from daily to infrequent.
I also use lamps instead of overhead bulbs wherever I can. I used to watch TV with sunglasses when I was younger - I guess that was related, though I didn't know why I had to do it. Eventually I stopped watching altogether.

When I started taking Magnesium to reduce muscle cramps and spasms, I noticed a dramatic drop in the instances of migraine, but I only made the connection when someone mentioned that they were told about the benefits of Magnesium for Migraine.

I had them as a kid but I outgrew em. Have you tried any triptans? I have one on hand incase I get headaches that aren't helped by other medications. Triptans are for migraines & cluster headaches. Another idea is to talk to a doc about getting on blood-pressure medication to help prevent them.

They started for me at their most occurrent in my mid-20's. I've noticed that fall setting in or spring changing to summer used to set them off, also and especially getting 5 1/2 or 6 hours of sleep every night during the week would trigger a migraine on Saturday if I got 8 hours of sleep that night.

Maybe one or two days during the week I'll get something where I know that I'll have the start of one for most of the day and I usually try to take it easy and medicate with a lot of caffeine and good food. I also noticed that as of about the time I turned 26 I stopped being able to jump out of bed when my alarm went off - if I did I'd get an instant splitting migraine, as if my rushing the wake up process induced it immediately. Those semi-migraine or pre-migraine days are those where I notice that I can hit the alarm 2 or 3 times and it's still not going to fully be safe to get out of bed - at that point I deliberately take a bit longer than usual and as mentioned, try to mitigate it for most of the morning.

What I like to do when I get a bad one, I like to wrap a fleece throw around my head, eyes and occipital bump areas and tie a knot in it to tighten it. I generally leave it on while I lie down for about 20 minutes.

Also, I'm prone to migraines so I get something called coital cephalgia. It's a thunderclap headache following masturbation or intercourse. Makes me wish I was dead until it's gone. Feels like my head will explode.

I've been struggling with migraines for a few years now, but in the last year and a bit, they have been chronic. As in, a constant migraine all the time. The biggest help has been in the prophylaxis department: the beta blocker bisoprolol along with thirty-nine injections of botulinum toxin into my face every ten weeks. However, as my occupational stress increased, so too did the severity of the migraines and associated symptoms, such as hemiplegia, which is pretty much all the symptoms of a stroke but thankfully with no brain damage. So I've been on the hunt for another prophylaxis. Memantine had little to no effect. Topiramate turned me into a veritable automaton. Valproate seems to be working, although I'm experiencing dizziness and tremors (totally worth it). For the breakthrough pain, I bring out a the rapid-release acetaminophen (I can't take any NSAIDs due to the gastritis they inflict upon me) and metoclopramide, with extended-release tramadol for the really bad ones.

Now I just need to get out of my current job, which is the source of almost all the stress in my life. I'm on medical leave right now. The proverbial straw on the camel's back was when I was mandated by my senior manager not to disclose my autism, OCD, or migraines to co-workers.