Migraine poll

[gah!ghost]

A lot of us here seem to suffer from migraines. So I decided to make a poll.

 

For those who don't know migraines are a neural disorder and not just a very bad headache. In addition to the head pain they can be accompanied by what are known as auras, spots in vision, nausea, body shakes, frequent urination, numbness, stuttering, sensitivity to light and sound, and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting.

Edited May 19, 2016 by gah!ghost

[snuggleprincess]

I had my first migraine in middle school, and my doctor attributed their onset to me beginning puberty.  I will NEVER forget my first migraine.  That one was the absolute worst I have ever had, but in general, they are all full body experiences that debilitate me for an entire day. Other than changes in my hormones right before my period, I have several other triggers that I try to avoid:

 

• Dehydration - My goal is to drink around 100 oz a day. I really can't drink too much alcohol as that contributes directly to dehydration.
• Eating too many foods I am sensitive/intolerant of because it stresses out my body
• Having an irregular sleep schedule, but that is difficult to avoid because of my job right now
• Using my phone,computer,or TV too much.My eyes are extremely sensitive to light (photo-sensitivity).  Even sitting behind a car in traffic, at night, with their blinker on can cause me a lot of discomfort.
• Caffeine - Soda can be fine, tea is risky, and just a few sips of coffee (especially if it's got creamer) is guaranteed to make me feel pretty ill.

 

Sometimes, I feel like my life is a little dominated by these limitations, and It is extremely frustrating. Sometimes I can't avoid my triggers or meet my goals because of the demands of daily life.  I kind of wish I had a Daddy to help me a bit

 

On the good side, I have gotten a lot of relief from getting acupuncture treatments and taking Chinese herbal supplements. I recommend acupuncture to anyone suffering from migraines, or any difficult health issue, really.

 

I have so much empathy for people who deal with migraines to the point where I can get "ghost symptoms" of one if I am with a person who is having a migraine.  I really wish we had a better understanding of what migraines are, because they are incredibly complex and various among different people. 

[DaddySkellington]

I have suffered from them since i was two years old. In fact they thought i was a colic baby but it turns out i was probably having migraines. Mine can last from a few hours to a few days of absolute misery. They have gotten worse after I was thrown down 3 flight of concrete steps for trying to save my neighbor from being beaten to death and suffered a TBI that left me temp blind and with spinal cord shock. The only thing that gets rid of my migraines is an Imitrex (Sumitriptan) shots i have to give myself when one comes on.

[snuggleprincess]

I'm so sorry.....  UGH! No one deserves migraines.

[Guest sirdude77]

Msg in Chinese food causes a lot of people to have migranes. Caffine does in some as well.

[auban]

dont suffer migraines anymore.

 

i do suffer chronic cluster headaches though...  

[Guest little domi]

Migraines suck! I used to get them at least 3 times a month when I was a young teen, and I sorta grew out of them eventually. They showed up again when I was pregnant with my kids. I get them rarely now, and when they do show up, it's the painless variety that just screws up my vision for an hour or so.  I often thought my particular cause was hormone-related because of the times these things popped in and out of my life...

[gah!ghost]

I'm of the personal opinion that migraines are only caused by stress. Which makes sense that many people would have many different triggers since anything you believe is a trigger ends up becoming one. Like I know for me if I let myself worry I'll get a migraine it all but guarantees it. Which is also why I think I tend to get them in big clumps. I get one and then I start worrying about getting another and it becomes a vicious cycle. 

[Kara]

I got my migraines after my first concussion, they seem to be triggered by stress most of the times but there are some other small triggers.   I feel disoriented at times if they have lasted for days and are intense.  Sometimes I do stutter or have a hard time remembering simple words when they are present.  I have just learned to deal with them as they won't go away and have been around for 20 something years.

[Guest Candy Minx ♡]

i saw this poll and had to roll off to my laptop, i suffer from migraines! i currently

have 3 to 5 a week, sometimes i get a single migraine lasting 3 to 4 days.

 

two weeks before my 16th birthday i got my first migraine, i was hospitalized. but

i suffer from more than just migraines. i have chronic daily headaches, meaning

for me, that i've had the very SAME headache since before my 16th birthday. it

has never, ever gone away. it fluctuates depending on my situation, what i'm eating,

what i'm feeling which makes my life very, very difficult - the point where i cannot

work or do much of anything else. they're considered a disability at this point. i

don't know true relief! 

 

i have been hospitalized on multiple occasions and many doctors didn't know what

was wrong with me so i was shoved from doctor to doctor, i went to a headache

clinic for a few weeks years back and was told it was an unnamed virus that young

adults often get, sometimes it stays with them for the rest of their lives, sometimes

it goes away. at this point in my life i do not know what life is like without these 

constant headaches and migraines. i also have a cyst in my brain, it's small but

it's a 50/50 on whether or not it's the reasoning behind my migraines. i currently

don't have plans on getting it removed as it is very small and i don't want brain

surgery, scary.

 

my migraines/rising headaches are NOT cause by just stress. certain foods i eat

can set them off, strong smells, chemically smells, but also sudden strong emotions

can set them off as well. i have many, many, many triggers to the point where it's 

almost safer for me to creep around my house super carefully, lol. 

 

when stuck with a migraine i am very.. cranky, i have trouble walking, speaking,

i slur and mix my words up and speak very slowly because my brain is mush,

i get nauseated ( heavily so ) my eyes hurt, i get neck pain, i also get very

sleepy but i can't lay down due to the fact laying down makes my migraines 

worse. everything is hypersensitive, i don't people very well and i really don't

care at that point, lol. lot of stuff, it's horrid. 

 

my treatments? i've had so many i can't remember them all! i have preventatives 

( that no longer work but are for when i feel a migraine coming on ) and abortives 

( which i'm struggling with working despite rotation but these are to get rid of my

migraines once i have them ). i've had botox and that stopped working, i currently

have an IM injection that will help a lowgrade migraine. but at the end of the day, it

comes down to me smoking weed when they get really awful and i can't be rid of them

any other way besides going to the ER. i have tried acupuncture and basically anything

else you can think of, i plan on trying a daith piercing on monday and see where that

takes me, i've gotten mixed results from people. i'm to the point where i try just about

anything. 

 

i don't know a lot of people ( or a single person, really ) who experiences them the way

i do. i'd like to mention after my concussion i got three years ago that they were less 

intense for about a year.