Since a few others mentioned getting migraines & we haven't had a thread on it here yet...
thought we could talk about it - what helps for you?

what helps...
darkness
no annoying men (love him but can't tolerate anyone)
quiet
bed
cold on head and cold on face but nowhre else
axert 12.5mg as soon as I get the aura

my aura is the right eye (right side tos) I loose vision or see tunnel and can't read at all. I also get pressure behind the right eye as well as getting a facial twitching and eye muscle spasms so I know it pretty well now.......but after five years....lol

sleep!! hopefully!!!

Take care guys and looking forward to others answers

love and hugs,
Victoria

Can anyone tell me what exactly separates a migraine from a really really bad headache??? just curious..

sometimes the textbooks classify the difference between a migraine an aura. It is most often one sided and is thought to be created by a vascular spasm in the brain. You usually have an aversion to light and sound and usually nausea.

hope this helps
http://zomig.com/what/migraine.aspx?ce=set

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mig...120/DSECTION=3

hugs,
Victoria

Since my rib resection I get much fewer migraines, but still once in awhile the sharp pains up over the top of my head into my eyes, with other symptoms too

If I don't take an Imitrex 100 mg pretty quick it will progress to vomiting ( really hurts the chest)
The next day or 2 I'm really feel like I've been hit by a truck

My niece gets bad ones {no TOS} she gets nausea, tunnel vision, auras.

I had an optical migraine once at work- was seeing shooting sparks, stars, like fireworks and then things started spinning around and nausea after the visual sx stopped. I made it home but I was wiped out for the rest of the day. I did go to eye dr to get it checked - he was the one to dx was it was.

Migraines can be more than a headache... many sites have info. on understanding, treatment options, etc.
some excellent sites :
httpmigraine.orgwww.migraine.org
check out Overiew section.

MAGNUM migraines.org/treatment/index.html[/URL]www.migraines.org/treatment/index.html

"treating pain disorders w/ intradermal Botox" (link to this article from Magnum -migraines.org/treatments, cited above) is of interest. Has anyone tried??

My nuero has suggested Botox and I'm now considering since my insurance has approved.
I 've had migraines since teen but now getting "other" headaches--daily & often debilitating. Not sure what kind.... seems several "types"...

I can't take Triptans (Imitrex, zomig, etc) Fiorecet did help but not now....
Have had cluster headaches (horrible) --was given IM Toradol at ER .
Have also tried some other prophylactics, like Topomax, which did help years ago but couldn't tolerate when tried again recently.
Am wondering if Botox may be a good option...

A timely thread, i must say! This is one of the reasons I havent been around much. The last 2 months I have had at least 2 migraines a week ugh. The worst is sometimes they last 4 or 5 days. Most of these latest ones have lasted 2 to 3 days. A dark room with absolutely not a sound, dark wet cloth over my eyes, gravol to try to stop vomiting. I have never found a medication to take that helps much. When ive suffered the 4th or 5th day I give in and go to the ER and they put me on iv maxeran (not sure the spelling) and that usually takes it down so i still feel the core of the headache in the centre of my head. If they give me a toradol shot before i go home , this usually takes away the core within a few hours. I know, i know, why suffer for 4 or 5 days instead of going to Er??? Dr, always asks that, well i usually have to sit in a room full of sick people, crying babies, doors closing etc.... for 3 to 4 hours before I finally see the dr. So when a migraine is in full swing the last possible thing i can think of is going to sit through that. On the subject of botox, I kind of put 2 and 2 together last week , in november my pain doc. did a full head and shoulder migraine protocol of botox injections. She managed to scrounge enough to give me a free trial. (If I want it again I have to pay $450. so that rules that out completely ugh) She did that area for the headaches but also hoped it would alleveiate some neck and shoulder pain. Well I didnt think I got any good form them. My pain seemed to stay the same and I was still getting some headaches , but not many migraines, now that io think about it. So for the past 2 months I have been having alot of migraines again. August has been terrible for them, the barometer has been terrible too. We havent had 4 days without a major rain/thunder storm. That kind of weather as many of you know is about the worst it canget. It flares up eevery health problem i have. So.....back to the botox......hubby happened to mention it last week, I had forgotten all about it. I think the botox did help the migraines because all of a sudden Im having them alot and i went through many months with very few. I guess you dont realize something is gone until it comes back. So for anyone who has health insurance and if they will cover it, I would suggest trying the botox. One major advantage with botox is it doesn't get severely painful like cortisone injections.
I did not have childhood migraines, in fact I dont remember having them until I was around 30. I do get warning signs (if i pay attention to them). Usually sound starts really bothering me, or my vision goes funny in my left eye, or i very suddenly feel sick to my stomach. Sometimes if i notice the signs, if i take advil and a muscle relaxer and go lay down in a dark quiet room I can ward them off. Lately nothing has worked. Hope this helps!

there was just a study done to say that in a blinded trial there was no benefit either way to saline injection or botox.....so 50/50 either way!

don't have time to find it now, will look later if I feel up to it.....

hugs,
Victoria


found it..don;t know enough about it......can;t comment on the article but will look into it

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/n...ory_53314.html

The only thing that helps my migraines is fioricet and 2 advil. Then laying down in dark quiet room. Mine are mostly menstrual migraines. They begin 1-2days before and usually last a cpl days. For about 3-4 days after the migraine subsides my neck muscles are in agony. I get blurred vision before the migraine and the nausea. It is always on the right side going from my eye to the back upper part of my head. Ihtos