# Migraine



## 102731 (Jan 30, 2007)

I have suffered migraine head aches , of greater or lesser severity, for the last 40+ years.
Any fellow sufferers out there and what methods do you use to cope. Drugs, alternative medicine, homeopathy, aupuncture?


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

bear1 said:


> I have suffered migraine head aches , of greater or lesser severity, for the last 40+ years.
> Any fellow sufferers out there and what methods do you use to cope. Drugs, alternative medicine, homeopathy, aupuncture?


Hi bear 1, many years ago I also used to suffer regular migraine attacks. For whatever reason they gradually disappeared, thank God. The only relief I could get was to put my head close to an electric fire (honest). It didn't get rid of it but certainly eased the throbbing.

Nick.


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## tramp (May 25, 2005)

*migraine*

hi,
Ive had them for the last 30 + years with little respite till I was put on Beta blockers they worked for me but not for everyone ,the only downside is my breathing has slowed and I get cold feet and hands in winter very easily  . the wife prods me in the night to check Im still here and not crocked it :roll: .

i find a good wooly hat and a dark room help and the changing british weather dosent :evil:

tramp


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## Superk (Aug 22, 2005)

Hi sorry to hear you've been suffering - do you vomit as well?

If not you can get IMIGRAN TABLETS from Boots the Chemist - they will put you through a rigorous questioning first to make sure you are a real migraine sufferer and suitable. If you answer the questions correctly they will dispense it for you.

If you vomit tablets will be of no use of course.

In this case you need to go to your GP (which would be advisable anyway) and ask for IMIGRAN NASAL SPRAY. There are a number of conditions that would preclude you taking it that's why you need to see your doctor. If you're suitable it will change your life.

There is also a treatment called PARAMAX SACHETS which reading the formula suggests it is a combination of paracetamol and metaclopramide (stops the sickness). Again you will have to see your GP.

Good luck.

 
Keith


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## G2EWS (May 1, 2006)

Hi bear1,

Suffered with migraine for about 40 years.

I reached a turning point when I was learning to play squash. Every night halfway through the game a migraine would start and I would rush home, under the covers shaking and vomiting all night.

In the end I could not stand it, so carried on playing. Of course I could not see the ball, but that did not stop me trying. To my suprise the next migraine did not last for 3 days.

Over the years I have been in other circumstances were I cannot stop. For instance arriving on site for a meeting with 3 other companies from around the country! I have learnt to take three paracetamol and relax as best I can.

The worst point was when I was diagnosed with cluster migraine and ME. This nearly killed me and in fact the doctor had all but written me off. In hospital when a nurse put a needle in my leg I nearly hit her and finally vomitted across the room in good Excorcist style.

After much research I found out the ME was the biggest problem and the medical profession were not interested. I found a medicine called solpadol which relaxed me and is now available over the counter. I then studied alternative medicines and ran a course of treatment of my own making.

Now I suffer very little and if a stigmata cluster migraine comes on, I deal with it by taking three paracetamol and relax. Within a few hours I can continue albeit feeling fragile for at least 24 hours.

Regards

Chris


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## angie (May 16, 2005)

Hi Bear1,

I, too have suffered with severe migraine for the past 20 odd years. When it was at its worst I was having attacks that lasted approx 3-4 days virtually every week. This made family life very hard, especially when the children were young.
I have been treated by the hospital for the majority of these years. I have a long list of prescribed medication that has been tried, including beta blockers etc.
There is only 2 that have helped me - the first was IMIGRAN tablets (quite a few years ago before they were available over the counter) These helped as long as you took them as soon as you felt an attack coming on.
And now, for the past 8 or 9 years I have been on METHYSERGIDE (also known as DESERIL) These help to prevent migraines altogether. They are about 80% effective for me so thats a vast improvement to my life.I have to be monitored by the hospital on these tablets and they can only be taken for 6 month max then a break of 1 month tablet free and then back on them again.
I'm told that alot of womens migraines lessen or even stop as they get older so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that happening to me!!

All the Best,
Angie


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## annetony (May 1, 2005)

When I worked at boots years ago, we used to sell Migraleve tablets, there were 2 different ones

the Pink ones contain paracetemol, codeine and an anti sickness ingredient, you take 2 when you get your first sypmtoms,

then if after 4 hours your headache is still there you take 2 of the yellow ones

to be honest the yellow ones are only paracetemol and codeine, so the cheaper version will do the same trick

I suppose it depends on how severe your migrains are and there are lots of new treatments today

Anne


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## Busty (Apr 3, 2008)

Been there done that. Yes i suffered migraine for years and only ever realized after several years the cause as i have progressed through life.

Regularly I had Migraine tablets two pink two yellow at the onset of blurred and floating vision. After several years i developed M E which nearly confined me to a wheelchair, i have fought ever since to stay healthy and sane .

My advice is, *there somewhere is the reason for your stress.* Migraine because thats what it is caused by stress. i left the lying , cheating, drunken , womaniser that i lived with for several years and slowly my health is improving and i have returned to my position as a goverment advisor.

Although still fragile and not at the top of my form i am once again manageing to communicate for short periods.

Dont wait until you become worse later in life, tackle the issues now that cause you stress and confine them to the bin it may be too late next week what is life if you are under constant stress deal with it now. i wish i had taken action years ago.

Busty ( Name and Nature )


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

I used to answer a helpline for NAPS (National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome-www.pms.org.uk). Many, many sufferers complained of premenstrual migraine attacks. 

What I used to find on questioning was that many of them were not eating regularly. They were missing breakfast-the most important meal of the day-it does what it says BREAKS FAST-and were probably suffering from hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) as they hadn't eaten from supper the night before. 

I would advise that they ate three meals a day with three snacks between, roughly three hourly eating. Many of them found this a great help in controlling PMS symptoms including migraine. It is worth a try even for the men amonst the MHF fraternity!


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

After suffering recurrent 3 day headaches for 20 years (which I always dismissed as migraine as never felt sick or had vision disturbance), nothing would relieve them (and being a dispenser I tried everything )!
I saw the doc, as they were cyclic we decided to give beta-blockers a go, they stopped immediately I took them for 6 months and they seemed to have broken the cycle. I have been off them now for 3 months, and no headaches


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## 102731 (Jan 30, 2007)

Thanks, eveyone, for the replies, help and suggestions.
I've tried all the suggestions over the years but to no avail. In fact, Imigran, in common with all the triptans available, is addictive, and I have only just escaped from their grip. They also cause headaches, so to stop one you have to take another. 
I'm convinced that stress is my trigger, and even attended a stress management class where they thought I was some kind of mystery shopper because, they said, I was so relaxed I could have been dead( in the nicest possible way).
My consultant, when I first attended the Princess Margaret Migraine Clinic, said, "They usually stop once you reach 40", later ammended to 50 then 60.
However, I still suffer, nil desperandum, eh.


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

I know you've probably been down this route, but I s'pose youve considered intolerance to certain foods/food groups.

My Mum suffered from migraine and discovered almost by accident that dairy produce in quantity, ( especially cheese) was a trigger. She has reduced the instance of migraine onset considerabl since cutting it out of the diet.


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## G2EWS (May 1, 2006)

Hi bear1,

It is sometimes difficult to understand how bad the stress you receive is. When I was getting over my ME and seeing a specialist I came back from a weekend away to an appointment.

He asked how I felt and my reply was 'not good',

'Did you have problems over the weekend' he asked.

'No, not really'!

Then I explained how I had met my Ex Girlfriend who was a schizo in a pub about 120 miles from were she lived whilst out having a meal with my Wife and in laws.

That evening I had a row with my Bro in Law and I got up at 05:00 on the Sunday morning to come home!

'And that was not stressful' my consultant asked!

'Err I guess so'!

He then explained that it is common for stress sufferers to not realise what they are going through!

Take a few minutes to either think or ask an outsider, not a family member just how stressful your life really is!

By the way the two things that bring on my rare attacks of migraine are stress and physical exercise if I am not fit.

Best regards

Chris


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