Migraines are not really unusual for me but lately I have been getting more of them normally preceded by auras. I was wondering if anyone knew any tips for lessening the pain/duration of migraines. I have been trying controlled breathing, spicy foods, and other methods I read about online but they dont really help. Last night I was hit with a bad one and tossed and turned for hours and still had a slight headache when I woke up this morning. I have been working out my triggers which seem mostly to be stress or times when I have gone long periods without sleep and am trying to fight it on that end, but I am really more focused on what can I do after the aura starts to either prevent or lessen the intensity/duration of the actual pain that follows.
Also I know a lot of people are going to say go to the doctor, I already am going for a check-up and blood work in a little over two weeks and will talk to the doctor then. I just wanted some advice from others because I dont really want to turn to prescription meds.
Stay well-hydrated. Stress and lack of fluids tend to result in a migraine for me, with aura as you described. The second I get the aura I take 2 or 3 Advil. It helps significantly if I don't end up throwing it up before it's absorbed into my bloodstream.
[QUOTE=No_Excuses;39640964]Stay well-hydrated. Stress and lack of fluids tend to result in a migraine for me, with aura as you described. The second I get the aura I take 2 or 3 Advil. It helps significantly if I don't end up throwing it up before it's absorbed into my bloodstream.[/QUOTE]
take it with food.
Try Aleve (over the counter pain medication). I've started popping two of them whenever I get an aura and it makes the migraines much more bearable. Sometimes it makes them unnoticeable to the point where I can play video games with little problem, and other times it turns them into mild/moderate headaches.
And drink a full glass of water when you take the pills
I am experimenting with different doses of Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, and Naproxen (Tylenol, Advil, and Aleve) trying to find what works for me. One problem is a lot of times I dont get to them in time before the pain starts and have trouble keeping anything down during the migraine.
The only thing I found to help at all is going to bed, even if it's midday. Though it hasn't helped today and it's lead me to throwing up constantly.
Keep fluids up and turn the brightness down on computers/phones (avoid using them at all)
Whenever I get a headache, it stays. If I don't have some pain pills AND go to sleep for a few hours, it just evolves into a migrain pretty damn quickly. Collectively, I've probably puked enough to fill up a garbage truck. And then, I have to take migrain pills AND go to sleep to stop it.
I, more than anyone, know what you're going through. Sleep and pills truly is the best way to stop a brain-fisting headache. Without it... the migrain's just gonna stay there. Squatting in your head.
My suggestions:
Ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) help, least for me. Be careful with the former because it can bother your stomach or give you one of [URL="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001255/"]these[/URL] if you take it too much, and the latter can hurt your liver. I don't use aspirin as the doctor said I shouldn't unless I asked. I recommend taking it the moment you get an aura.
Water is good, but Gatorade is better, especially if you're at the point where you're upchucking everything, the electrolytes help. Not so much for the pain, but getting dehydrated is not something you want to go through. Also plain crackers (saltines?) help with nausea.
A warm, damp washcloth to the back of the neck. This is more for tension headaches but I've seen it work.
Avoid sudden movements.
I used to have migraines with auras but then I stopped eating cheese, chocolate and citrus fruit and I haven't had any since. It's probably just one of these things that triggered my migraines but I'm too lazy to narrow it down
What is this aura thing ? Explain.
snip
[QUOTE=fritzel;39646363]What is this aura thing ? Explain.[/QUOTE]
It is a visual phenomena that proceeds the migraine. I can not speak for others but for me it is like my vision goes wavy, sort of like I am looking through water.
[editline]19th February 2013[/editline]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJZMnXG_Yw0[/media]
[QUOTE=fritzel;39646363]What is this aura thing ? Explain.[/QUOTE]
Some time before a headache, your vision goes wonky. How it goes wonky depends. When I get one, my vision is basically filled up with what resembles TV static.
Audio auras exist too, but I don't know much about those.
By the way, has anyone else once got a headache-less migraine? That was a very very strange experience.
[QUOTE=fritzel;39646363]What is this aura thing ? Explain.[/QUOTE]
The way it works for me is my vision slowly degrades over time until the headache itself happens. First it's just a small spot in my vision, about large enough to cover a single word on a computer monitor. It's not exactly a blind spot, but for all intents and purposes that's about what it does, it's like a solid color spot in my vision with a slight waving pattern. Over time that spot grows to fill about my entire vision in one eye, expanding to the point where it's very difficult to read or otherwise function normally. The pattern becomes really intense by the time its over, so you can imagine it's very discomforting despite the fact that the headache itself hasn't even started yet.
The closest thing I can think of visually is the void effect in Source, when you leave parts of map geometry open and the rendering begins to artifact all over the place. I've begun to associate the effect with migraines, so whenever I'm on a Source map that isn't properly closed it's uncomfortable to say the least.
I know of migraine attacks being provoked by certain e-numbers. If the attacks have gotten worse over a short period of time you might want to see if you have made any changes to your diet.
Also see a physician, there is good medication for migraines.
Found some stuff. Avoid the following:
Anything containing Amines. (cheese/dairy products/chocolate/red wine)
And the following enumbers, I'm not going to translate the names because you can do that yourself.
E102 Tetrazine
E104 Chinolineyellow
E110 orangeyellow S
E123 Amarant
E124 ChochenilleroodA
E127 Erytrosine
E131 Patentblauw V
E132 Indigokarmijn
E133-Briljantblauw FCF
E151 Briljantzwart BN Salycylaten (aspirine)
E210-213 benzoaten
E214-218 Parabenen
E220-228 sulfieten
E249-250 Nitrieten
E251-252 Nitraten (soms: E260-261 Acetaten)
E280-283 proprionaten
E310-312 gallaten
E422 glycerol
E539 natriumthiosulfaat
E620-625 Glutamaten
E906 benzoïnegom, Methyl, Vanilline, Ethyl-vanilline.
[QUOTE=BlackBirdNL;39648163]I know of migraine attacks being provoked by certain e-numbers. If the attacks have gotten worse over a short period of time you might want to see if you have made any changes to your diet.
Also see a physician, there is good medication for migraines.[/QUOTE]
I think recently it is stress increasing mine, I have a lot of exams coming up and a few papers that I have been working on. My diet has been pretty consistent, because I get all my food from my colleges dining hall.
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