Comments on: Migraine News and Tips

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:05:55 +0000

“downing huge piles of pills in desperation when a migraine hits – is demonstrably worse for your health.”

Well, its a bit of a double edged sword. On the one hand you don’t want to take too many pain killers increasing the risk of rebound headaches. On the other hand, not treating the migraines aggressively can lead to them turning into a much harder to treat chronic condition which is what happened to me.

I think it’s misleading to link to an article which is talking about drugs that don’t contribute to the potential for rebound headaches like pain killers can and, missing from that article is the fact studies have shown that people who are suffering from rebound headaches don’t respond to prophylactic treatment like those mentioned in the article.

By: Teri Eddy

Teri Eddy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:01:06 +0000

Thank you for this article. Very informative. My diagnosis of Chronic Daily Migraine came almost 2 decades ago. I’ve seen more neurologists than I care to count and it’s sad how many discount the pain as “mental”, especially since migraineurs are typically women. I finally found a headache specialist that is local and it’s changed my life. I still get very frequent migraines (about 20 per month) but they are much more in control thanks to daily prophylactic prescription meds.
When you have migraines, it’s severely debilitating. People, unless they also suffer, don’t understand all the time. It also leads to other mental issues like anxiety and depression… social withdrawal too. Being a full time employee in my former career as a Physical Therapist became impossible. Yet, migraines, as an invisible disease, is not a diagnosis that qualifies easily for disability insurance. Working through a severe migraine is horrid, not to mention dangerous in some cases. With greater awareness, my hope is that this will change.

By: raising migraine awareness: are you a victim? - Home of Wedding and Honeymooners Resource - Best Dream Day

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:40:52 +0000

[...] anyone suffering from migraines should be on a preventative medication. Mark Sisson writes in a post that it “is actually safer for a migraine sufferer to take a limited amount of migraine [...]

By: Grace Alexander

Grace Alexander — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:25:56 +0000

That’s what scares me, too, Tisha. I have a friend with severe epilepsy and seizures of various kinds. She keeps telling me I need a neuro consult!

My face goes numb in patches, my speech slurs, my vision splits so if I am driving, for instance, the right side of the road looks six inches higher than the left, etc. My hands tingle and go numb, my balance is off, and I look like I am having some sort of an episode between the slurred speech and holding my head cocked to one side squinting to be able to see.

They have gotten so bad that even throwing Vicodin at them doesn’t help once they take hold.

I have three children as mentioned above, and trying to care for them during a migraine is one of the hardest things in the world – I feel like such a bad mother ineffectually blundering around trying to fix them dinner or help with homework.

By: Tisha

Tisha — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:18:16 +0000

I find myself astonished after reading these posts. I am affected by Barometric Pressure Migraines, I can tell you when we will be getting rain, because if the pressure reaches over 29 I am toast! I currently take Relpax 40mg, when one strikes and it is a miracle pill. However, sometimes it doesn’t work, and those are the migraines that last for days and I wish I could die. I have tried so many things, cutting foods from my diet, watching the menstrual cycle, and changes in the weather, and so far my worst triggers are the weather, which there isn’t a lot I can do, tho Beta Blockers did seem to help with those, which I can’t explain, but I found them to not help enough and I quit taking them. I was abused as a child,sexually as a another poster on here said she thought there was a psych issue to every illness, I would say I have suffered from that, but I am also genetically inclined, my mother has had migraines for over 30 years. My sister had them as well and found her one trigger was chocolate and she is migraine free, not so lucky for mom and I. Mom has been on Feranol with Codeine for as long as I can remember for hers for the pain, she also suffers from right side paralysis during her migraines, nausea and aura. I have only had one episode like that, and had the slurred speech, thought I was having a stroke it really scared me. My migraines, start at the base of my neck and move up, once they are full blown there is no help for them, and the only med to help me in all the plethora of crap I have taken is the Relpax 40mg. I appreciate the insights and articles here, I tried the south beach diet and it seemed to make my symptoms worse. Anyone else out there like me?

By: Lola Terrell

Lola Terrell — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:22:24 +0000

So nice to read all the good posts about mirgraines! Very helpful info. I went on a low dose of Propanolol 4 years ago for a heart issue. My migraines left. Though lately I’ve had a couple, but seem to cycle faster. Because of these posts I am going to try B2 and magnesium (which I did stop taking several months ago!) and see if they help. If not enough, I’ll try elim. some foods. Also, I had a very dramatic insight in a dream the night of the my first migraine in a long while 2 weeks ago. This may sound weird, and maybe it’s just utter coincidence, but the dream was about shame, being abused, and finally reacting to the abuser and actually killing him. Lover comes over, sees scene, and vomits (I had vomited earlier that night). I have also read elsewhere that many migraine/IBS sufferers were sexually abused. I hope you will print this Mark. I feel there is almost always some degree of a psychological component to illness. Thanks again.

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:58:58 +0000

I suffered years of devastating migraines…they got worse and worse, til I had daily migraines and didn’t even remember what it was like not to live on painkillers. It affected my life so much, and my career (I’m military). I have seen so many doctors, specialists etc….just more pills. A friend suggested the gluten-free diet…I laughed at it…but gave it a whirl. In 3 days I no longer had pain! I couldn’t believe it. I know it’s true because I can eat something with wheat in it and immediately I will be in agony.
The pain kept creeping back,daily again, til I discovered that almonds also caused it, then milk. And just lately I suspect corn, so I am also eliminating that. The gluten-caused migraines are the worst… there is absolutely no temptation for me because I know what will happen. The other foods are to a lesser degree, but still need painkillers. I would just rather not eat those foods than have to deal with the pain and pills.
If you suffer from migraines…please, please look to a food source FIRST before going through buckets of pills. I wish someone had told me this 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it is different with everyone, and can be as obscure as an additive. Good luck to all!
Mark, I really appreciate this useful blog and the time you put into it to get the word out. We don’t need all that other “stuff” in our diet!

By: Natural Headache Remedies | Mark's Daily Apple

Natural Headache Remedies | Mark's Daily Apple — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:58:19 +0000

[...] is chemically similar to aspirin. That’s an option for headaches. Magnesium, we said, is used to alleviate migraines, which are an especially painful form of headaches. Those are two common treatments, but surely [...]

By: Miriam

Miriam — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:22:59 +0000

I wasn’t aware of the insuline thing with inderal. I probably need to stop it since my blood sugar was high on my last blood test. Be very careful with over the counter pain killers. Doctors told me to take ibuprofen, they said that I could take up to 4 pills at once, which I never did. I never took more than 2 at a time. Sudently my blood pressure was extremelly high, and the doctors started and kept me in blood pressure meds for more than a year. All a sudden my blood pressure dropped to the point that I could not get out of bed without fainting. The doctors did not know what was going on, so they decided to take me off all medications. The answer was simple and came to me from a physician from a different country: ibuprofen decreses kidney function, because of that, I was retaining fluids and my blood pressure was so high. The sudden drop in blood pressure obeyed to the fact that I switched from ibuprofen to acetaminophen, on an attempt to find pain relief. All the physicians involved in my case knew all about the medications I was taking, including the over the counter, however, none of them mentioned the fact that ibuprofen affects the kidneys that way, even though I wasn’t taking as many as I was advised to. The link between ibuprofen and high BP remained silent, I my body got more than a year worth of unnecessary medications.
Please read carefully all the side effects of all you take, even for over the counter and other supplements; you never know.
Peace,
Miriam

By: Sonsa

Sonsa — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:38:31 +0000

I am 27. I have suffered migraines for years. Untreated, i get approximately 2 a week. I went on Sandomigrin as a preventative and Imigrain for when one came along. Although i hate the idea of taking drugs everyday, I now have a higher quality of life. I am still unable to work full time but I can do things now I couldn’t before. I have looked at all the different causes and one of the causes for mine are flavor enhancers especially MSG. Another is fatty foods (ie, cheesy food, deep fried food, etc).
I have found over time that migraines have made me sugar sensitive. I don’t know if that is the right word for it. I am very careful of what I eat now, no packaged meals (full of flavor enhancers), no refined sugar sweets. I am now pregnant and almost due. I have found that during this pregnancy, my migraines have stopped which is just wonderful. I am hoping that I stay migraine free once my body recovers from pregnancy. I have heard of this happening.