Anyone suffer from migraines?

[Rusty Blade]

I thought I should bump this thread forward...maybe some of you new members might have some insight.

 

[KUfan]

My migraine history goes back to high school, almost fifty years. I didn't know what they were for about a decade. An attack would begin by sensing something was wrong with me, kind of an incoherent moment, then the gradual loss of some of my vision, then the appearance of what seemed to be lightning bolts in my vision. This aura would fade after fifteen minutes, my vision would slowly return, and then painful pounding on one side of my head. This pain continued for hours, and it was debilitating. Aspirin helped, but not much. When I was about twenty-five, I suffered a nasty attack, so bad I could not speak, or feel anything on my left side, for a few hours. I was taken to the hospital and examined, and diagnosed with vascular migraine. A vascular migraine is brought on by triggers in our system which restrict blood flow to our brains. As the attack wears off, these blood vessels slowly return to normal size, and that is when the pain begins. This type of migraine can mimic a stroke. I was prescribed a medication to be placed under my tongue at the first notice of symptoms. The medication was awful, but it helped, and I always carried some with me. About fifteen years ago, my doctor suggested Excedrin Migraine, and that drug has helped shorten the onset and reduced the pain involved with a migraine. I am usually back to normal within an hour of taking a couple of EM tablets. For me, they work wonders, I recommend them. My research through the years has helped identify the triggers...processed meats, red wine, aged cheeses, bananas, strong odors, bright flashing lights, too much or not enough sleep, stress, worrying, not drinking enough water...each of these can trigger a migraine attack. I am in my mid-sixties now, and my attacks aren't as prevalent as in my younger days. I can enjoy most foods now which are triggers for me, but in moderation, plus I am retired now, so the stresses and worries over work are no more. As we age, the blood vessels in our brain are more rigid than in our youth, so migraine frequency typically declines as we age. There are other types of migraines also, but successful management of triggers and proper medications can bring relief.

 

[Rusty Blade]

My migraine history goes back to high school, almost fifty years. I didn't know what they were for about a decade. An attack would begin by sensing something was wrong with me, kind of an incoherent moment, then the gradual loss of some of my vision, then the appearance of what seemed to be lightning bolts in my vision. This aura would fade after fifteen minutes, my vision would slowly return, and then painful pounding on one side of my head. This pain continued for hours, and it was debilitating. Aspirin helped, but not much. When I was about twenty-five, I suffered a nasty attack, so bad I could not speak, or feel anything on my left side, for a few hours. I was taken to the hospital and examined, and diagnosed with vascular migraine. A vascular migraine is brought on by triggers in our system which restrict blood flow to our brains. As the attack wears off, these blood vessels slowly return to normal size, and that is when the pain begins. This type of migraine can mimic a stroke. I was prescribed a medication to be placed under my tongue at the first notice of symptoms. The medication was awful, but it helped, and I always carried some with me. About fifteen years ago, my doctor suggested Excedrin Migraine, and that drug has helped shorten the onset and reduced the pain involved with a migraine. I am usually back to normal within an hour of taking a couple of EM tablets. For me, they work wonders, I recommend them. My research through the years has helped identify the triggers...processed meats, red wine, aged cheeses, bananas, strong odors, bright flashing lights, too much or not enough sleep, stress, worrying, not drinking enough water...each of these can trigger a migraine attack. I am in my mid-sixties now, and my attacks aren't as prevalent as in my younger days. I can enjoy most foods now which are triggers for me, but in moderation, plus I am retired now, so the stresses and worries over work are no more. As we age, the blood vessels in our brain are more rigid than in our youth, so migraine frequency typically declines as we age. There are other types of migraines also, but successful management of triggers and proper medications can bring relief.

Your migraines are very similar to my own experience, especially your onset symptoms and triggers. I am just coming down from a migraine that has lasted 2 days.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I suffer from Vestibular Migraines. Who knew there was such a thing.
I started having trouble with my balance about 4 years ago. I was checked out by my Cardiologist, my PCP, and every other doctor that would listen. They all shrugged their shoulders and said there wasn’t anything wrong with me.

My PCP finally sent me to a Neurologist. He listened for about five minutes and then had me do some simple tests, such as try to walk heel toe in a straight line, stand with my feet together and my eyes closed and some other tests. He finally said that he was almost certain that it was Vestibular Migraines.

To determine it for sure, he sent me to an Ear, Nose, Throat and Wallet doctor. She tested me for three hours. She made me look at a moving line of LEDs, put on a fighter pilots helmet with the face shield blacked out and watch for dots. She then ran alternating cold and warm water in my ears.

Her conclusion was that I have Migraine Associated Vertigo or MAV for short.

There aren’t any headaches when I have an attack, but I occasionally have visual and or olfactory aura, vertigo and always light headedness, brain fog and difficulty maintaining my balance.

My triggers are light, disruption of sleep patterns, looking up, fast moving objects, such as walking down an aisle at thegrocery store and watching the products move by. There are probably other triggers, but I haven’t identified them.

 

[Doc4]

I get them occasionally.

I start off with a whitish spot right in the centre of my field of vision; when I get that, I know trouble is a-comin'. It used to be "feel like crap until you puke, and then slowly get better" (which made me initially think it was from eating bad food), but now I usually avoid the extreme stomach upset. I take "migraine" Advil at the first sign of symptoms, and thereafter as per the instructions until I'm getting better, and that helps.

Ah, the "good old days".

Shortly after this post, I started on a ketogenic diet. (Long story short, basically a drastic reduction in carbohydrate intake.)

It's been years, and I haven't had one single migraine since.