garland

Imitrex didn't work for me, but Zomig, which is related, has changed my life, and I don't have any side effects. Unfortunately, my insurance limits the amount I can get to a few a month, so I am always deciding if it's really a migraine, or bad enough, to use a pill for.

Luckily, I seem finally to be moving on to a non-hormone stage of life, and for the last couple months, the number of headaches has gone down. Knock on wood....

anxiousmom

yep - menopause worked wonders for mine. I hardly have them any more, and they are much milder.

NewHope33

OP - Let's see: Imitrex, Amerge, botox, amitriptyline, seratonin, Midrin, triptan, ice, heat, high-dose ibuprofin, Zomig, and menopause. A colleague with lifelong migraines swore by loud music, but I think she was just making that up. Hot (make that very hot) baths work for me. But as the variety of "best migraine solution ever" responses suggest, people respond to very different treatments.

PS, If you know what your triggers are, biofeedback works really well in my experience.

MaryTN

I would recommend that you see a Neurologist who is up-to-date on the latest meds. You may need to try different drugs/combos to figure out what works best for you. A good neurologist understands that.

NurEins

^^ Good summation! Just add caffeine, alcohol, and vomiting to the list for sake of total inclusiveness, and you've got it nailed.

Identifying triggers is indeed helpful. My migraine onset was after menopause, so hormone balance must certainly play a part for women. My eyes are very light-sensitive, and I suspect the change of the angle of sunlight and its intensity at day's end during different times of year will be always a factor for me.

I have heard that if you have issues with circulation in your hands and feet (a la Reynaud's), warming your extremities can bring comfort. Biofeedback is said to be very helpful in some cases, but I have no personal experience with it.

I do hope you are feeling better tonight and that you'll soon have a coping mechanism that works for you.

geek_mom

Drugs never touched mine, so I don't bother with them. Only thing that works for me is lots of cold water (to hasten vomiting and ease it when it happens) and bed rest. However, sometimes when it's not a full-blown migraine but just a hormone shift or mild food problem, eating something tomato-based will shift the acids in my system and ease the headache. Or drinking tea until I feel bloated, then switching to water.

The past few weeks have been hard on a lot of folks in my area because of rain and approaching spring... every idiot is out there spraying gallons and gallons of weed killer, and the blend of chemicals is terribly harsh. mom2three, I hope you're feeling much better now.

mom2three

Thanks to everyone who has responded, both here and privately. At least I know I'm not alone. I think there are some hormonal aspects, as well as the stress and other triggers. It's day 4, and still there. Not a lie-in-the-dark-and-avoid-vomiting headache, but a so-much-for-the-weekend headache.

Some of the suggestions are so common sense that if it didn't hurt I'd hit my forehead: see a neurologist, take some of the supplements that I had taken in the past, but stopped when the headaches were reduced and I ran out. (feeling pretty stupid right now).

I also appreciate the comments on the meds. I had figured that they were all in the same family, so if I had problems with Imitrex, I'd have problems with the others as well. Also, with the new job, my students, and my own kids, dealing with my own health issues has come last. Thanks for the wake-up call to take care of myself.

New trigger - staring at this computer screen.... going to lie down in the dark now....

cleveland

Beta blockers (which are anti-hypertensive drugs) are also used for headache prevention. I take them for blood pressure management, but noticed that I've gone from having frequent headaches to having 1 every 2 months or even less.

The guy who did the original research on botox and migraines is from my town. It's amazing how many people are helped by this. However, the botox isn't always placed where it would help cosmetically, but on the scalp, under the hair, where muscles tighten and cause headaches to get worse.

tango14

If your doctor has eliminated medical causes for headaches, try a chiropractor. My mother had major migraines from age 30-50. I remember her being out of commission for days. They were so bad she would throw up. Finally, she had such a bad one that on the 5th day, when she had been to the hospital 3 times in 24 hours for a shot of pain killer, and they wouldn't give her anymore, she tried a chiropractor. It took her several weeks of treatment, but she never had another migraine.

When I was about 30, I started getting them. Sometimes they were in the back, sometimes it would feel like my sinuses were going to explode. I remember laying on the bathroom floor in the dark and my 5-year-old would bring me ice and his teddy bear. I finally had one so bad I threw up. I called a chiropractor. He cured me. He showed me what was causing them, and I can now tell when something is out of whack. I go for a treatment before now before I get the headache. I haven't had a headache in more than 20 years and haven't had to go to the chiropractor in about 4 years now.

In choosing a chiropractor, I would ask around for personal recommendations. I've always gotten good recommendations from people and been very happy with the chiropractors I visited.

Mary13

nysmile, I am still using the old Imitrex injection method because the migraine causes me to throw up anything in pill form. You described it perfectly—“immediate feeling of something weird rushing through your veins.” I hate it. Unfortunately, it’s the only thing (for me) that takes the edge off the pain--none of which helps mom2three, except to know that I am commiserating with her as a fellow sufferer.

tango14, that’s interesting—my daughter visited a chiropractor for neck pain (with complete success), but I never thought of it as a cure for migraines.

spideygirl

My son had horrible, frequent migraines (vomiting, etc.). Through an elimination diet, we discovered that he is sensitive to artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, and wheat. He has not gotten a migraine in years. I can't guarantee what will work for you, but I do know that doctors did nothing for him. If you are experiencing recurring head pain, something is wrong that may be remedied in a way that does not involve medications. Here are some things for you to check out.

Locate Dr. Raap's books on how to find out what is making you sick (including headaches) through a food elimination program:
Doris J. Rapp, M.D. Home Page

Feingold isn't just about ADHD. Petroleum based food additives can be a major culprit in migraines. Food allergies can be as well. Feingold also discusses how to heal yourself by finding out what you are sensitive to:
Overview of Feingold Program

Kids often have vomiting episodes instead of migraines, but at puberty, it changes to the more adult form of suffering. The cyclical vomiting association website has some interesting information for adults as well.
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Association - CVSA

I know a neurologist who is a headache expert. She mentioned that we have serotonin in our guts as well. What we eat can be very related to how we feel, including making us prone to headaches.

Hope some of this helps. It changed our lives.

somemom

Imitrex did not work for me and heavy narcotics like Percocet make me sick, so I found that maximum advil at the first sign of a headache progressing to TORODOL an NSAID, worked well.

In general avoiding allowing them to take hold was best

Hot baths, hot rice bag, anything to ease it.

But I cured my cluster headaches (similar symptoms, opposite effect on blood vessels (dialation//constriction) when I had my wisdom teeth out. It took nearly 10 years to determine they were the cause as there was nothing wrong, they were just triggering nerve irritation.