I had my first migraine at the age of eight or nine. It was Sunday, after church. Dad was cooking chicken. Beyond that, I only remember lying in the fetal position on the couch with a headache so blinding, I couldn’t make sense of anything. Oh, yes. And also that my mom called the neighbor doctor over to make sure I wasn’t dying of an aneurysm, like the other eight-year-old Heather she’d just read about in Good Housekeeping that month. I gotta say, my timing was right on target for some real, gen-u-ine maternal panic. Hoo-boy!
Since then, I’ve had a few memorable trips down migraine lane. Like, the insanely embarrassing time when at 19 years of age, I had to have my dad had to come get me from work, because I couldn’t drive. Or stop blowing snot bubbles. Or when I lay on the bathroom floor of my New York apartment sobbing and retching until the super’s wife came to the door to see if I was gonna make it. Who says New Yorkers are cold and unfriendly?
After recurring at six month intervals for most of my adult life, though, the headaches just went away. And for long enough (since October 2007, I think), that I mostly forgot what it’s like to want to pluck your own eye out and stomp on it. But Sunday night, as my sodium and magic levels were returning to a post-Disney normal, I started to feel…off. Headachey, dizzy. We had the lights off and dark, foreboding-type movie on, so it wasn’t until I meandered into the kitchen after some Advil and flipped on the lights that I realized what I was in for. Holy mother of bob. Was I going to have to add “Really Bad Tom Hanks Films” to my list of possible triggers? Having never successfully narrowed it down, I already had Sunday School, Barcelona and Alphabetical Filing on there. Though let’s be real; even with the improved hair, the Tom Hanks one seems to make the most sense.
As far as meltdowns go, I think the pinnacle of the evening came when I was hiding out in the dark bedroom, unable to open my eyes, and realizing with acute panic that our geriatric dog had just had an accident and was in the process of loudly EATING UP the evidence.
Cue snot bubbles.
My daughter the migraine queen’s go tos: excedrin migraine, relpax and if all else fails: tylenol w/codeine (stays down post vomit & knocks her out.)
OMG, you poor thing! I hope you (and your dog) are feeling better!
*Sending hugs*
I took a ibuprofen/hydrocodone and was still in agony til 3AM. Time to see the doc about a new Rx.
I am so sorry. I used to get one every single month. Then they stopped. Now I’m good for one every 3 months or so. No idea what triggers them and none of the drugs have ever worked for me. Last time I had to go to the ER for fluids and they gave me some drug that was a mix of ibuprofen, aspirin and caffeine. What an odd feeling of being drugged and caffinated at the same time, but it did finally kill it. (I figure it’s good to have as many options as possible to try to get it over with quickly.)
Hope you and the dog are feeling better.
I have extremely bad migraines as well. I go through 6 imitrez nasal sprays a month most months. I feel your pain. Hopefully this will be your last migraine for a while again. I wish they would come up with some sort of cure for them because they really interfer in so many peoples lives. I hope you are feeling better today!
I suffered from migraines at least 3-4 times a month. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for about 3 months now and I’ve only had 3 headaches since I started. No migraine in sight.
Ugh. Sorry to hear of your plight and I hope you and the dog are feeling much better very soon.
While I’m not one that has suffered such pains, I was wondering of those of you that do, have any of you ever considered acupuncture? (Just a thought…) I say this because acupuncture has helped me on so many levels. From back, neck, hip pains and headaches.
Heather please look into getting enough Magnesium!!! Google magnesium and migraines. There are so many people out there who suffer migraines because they don’t get enough magnesium – 80% of people are Magnesium Deficient because it used to be in our food and water and now it’s stripped of it due to farming and purification practices. So many side effects of low magnesium are overlooked – heart palpitations, muscle spasms, restless sleep, high blood pressure and cholesterol AND MIGRAINES! Heart disease barely existed before our magnesium levels started declining and the correlation is rather eye-opening! Oral supplements don’t really work because you don’t absorb enough, but Magnesium Oil which is pure magnesium and water gets absorbed through your skin.. the best absorption there is! And your cells will stop absorbing when you have enough so no risk of getting too much! I ask every person who reads this to read up on Magnesium Deficiency.. it’s pathetic that doctors would rather prescribe “calcium channel blockers” for high blood pressure than tell you about the natural calcium blocker – Magnesium!
I heart headaches so bad they make you puke. Ask your doc about Imitrex! Works wonders for me. (Re: accupuncture: I tried it once and hated it, but I have a friend who used to get horrendous sinus headaches and its really worked for her.)
Hope you’re feeling better. I think it’s a shame so many people use migraines as an excuse to get out of work bc it takes away from people who really get them.
Although my husband is a doctor, please do not consider this medical advice: keep a detailed log of what you were doing in the 24 hours before your migraine. It might help narrow down the trigger(s). Don’t worry though, it’s not Magnum. Of this, I am positive.
No more Disney for you. Agree with Carrie Boo. Calcium, magnesium, minerals, B vitamins, banana, Natalie Merchant (Ophelia – Life is Sweet)and Annie Lennox music. Soft lights – Have your loved one massage neck, shoulder and temple and run fingers thru hair (in your case Dork Lord). Klonazapam (clonapin – needs prescription)really releases the tension better than anything. Now go kick migraines ass.
Or maybe, it’s the smell of Christmas trees? Kidding. For not-yet-blinding-but-on-their-way-to-being-migraine headaches, Excedrin Extra Strength Headache formula can sometimes head them off at the pass. When that doesn’t cut work, you know it’s time to break out the Relpax. Consider staying clear of Imitrex – it causes (at least for me) bad shoulder-strain pain, as if my muscles have been working overtime to hold my head together and now must make me pay.
And yes, disturbingly, dogs do eat evidence. This is why I no longer own one. A cat would never …stoop to that.
Feel betters!
Jenny
One more suggestion – one of those gel filled eye masks you keep in the fridge; not a cure but some temporary relief.
I was newly introduced to migraine headache two weeks ago – oh my god it was unbelievably bad, much more than I imagined it could be when my friends described of them. The usual painkillers didn’t do much, so in the end I took some left over codeine from my wisdom-teeth extraction and passed out for a few days. Couldn’t see for days. I can sympathize! I really hope you feel better now…
I used to get them when I was in my late teens/early 20s and then they just stopped. Once, I cowered under the desk with all the lights off in the medical office where I worked. Another time, I “lost” about 15-30 minutes of time – I had worked (GAH!) for that time, but could not recall how I got there or what I’d done during that time. The doctor gave me something that started with “O” and it knocked the pain right out. If I can remember what it was, I will post it.
I’ve suffered from migranes my entire life. I’ve found that the best quick fix is to pound a Red Bull and lay on the floor in a dark room with my head on an ice pack for about an hour. Won’t completely dull the pain, but if I get to it fast enough it’ll keep me upright and working!
Of course as soon as I get home it’s vicodin and compazine. It’s usually gone the next morning.
Carrie Boo’s right about Mg. Just want to add that my Dr. said frequently women have an inherited problem with cell mitochondria not metabolising Mg very well into energy – thus leading directly and indirectly to the ailments CB described – and it could thus be helpful to take Mg supplements. (She advised me to do so, but I won’t extend that to a blanket statement for everyone.)
BTW, Don – I like the way you roll. Klonopin – now, that is some serious horse tranq.
I’m so sorry to hear about your migraine and I totally empathize! I started getting them about about 12 and they’ve just gotten worse ever since. My list of triggers includes most strong scents (including candles, most perfume, flowers, and yes, even Christmas trees!), sudden changes in the weather, lack of sleep, all alcohol, and some food dyes. I highly recommend 1) having a sleep mask to use to black out everything (you just can’t get a room dark enough when a migraine is really bad), ice packs for the side of the head on which the pain is concentrated, and a good prescription. I use Maxalt and/or injectable Imitrex. I also take Topamax daily to prevent/reduce my migraines, and it has been a lifesaver. Good luck sorting out the best way to manage them!!!
Heather,
I really think Carrie Boo is on to something with the Magnesium suggestion. It’s my secret weapon for muscle cramps of any kind (including monthly). It’s amazing how fast it works (30 mins tops)! Putting magnesium oil on your skin might enhance absorbtion even more, but in my experience regular tablets work just fine.
Calcium makes muscles contract, magnesium makes them relax. If they’re not in balance, your body will let you know in no uncertain terms!
I add my voice to those above encouraging you to look into it.
Good luck!
Gina
As a longtime reader, I really must say you need to change the title that says “A Blog that Celebrates Single Life”…It’s misrepresentation and time for you to change the scope of your blog to reflect the reality of your life.
Look, I could not agree more. But – and I don’t know how many times I have to explain this – I HAVE NO CONTROL over the title. iVillage does. I simply fill in daily entries. I can’t change the title, the About Me. I can’t even change the font.
But also, why, as a longtime reader, do you care what the title says? I mean, by this point, you know what you’re in for, right?
- Heather
I had my first migraine when I was 8 too. It was hideous and I threw up. (TMI? I’m never sure.) Chiropractor has helped me. Excedrin migraine works if I catch it early enough. Otherwise I take darvocet and lay in a dark room. Noise, light and smell all make me sick. Ugh. If it gets really bad off to the ER I go and they shoot me full of demoral. Luckily that hasn’t happened for a long time, but back in high school it was a semi-regular occurrence. Sitting in the ER with horrible florescent light with a migraine is miserable.
Klonopin is great- but it’s highly addictive so I stay away from it. But the few times the doc has had me take it (I have fibromyalgia and it’s one of the treatment options.) I felt amazing! Which is probably why it’s highly addictive!!!!
On a different note I hate it when people say- “Oh, I have a migraine.” then continue what they are doing. Maybe mine are just horrible but if you are able to hold your head up- it’s not a migraine.
Oh yes! I can relate!! My right eye turns red, face swells, and feel like my eye is going to blow out of my head! Have had them since 2005 at least twice a month, and down for 4 days at a time. Every med known to man-best one 3 tylenol pm’s and a half a glass of beer, or tizadine and ice!! (anything more makes it worse) Just recieved my 3rd epideral steroid shot through the front of my neck.. Haven’t had a knock down on my back migraine going on 3 months. Keep your fingers crossed. I think the shots are working.
I’m like Barbara E’s daughter… Relpax and puking for me is the only thing that brings relief… Taking imitrex (nasal spray or pills) is no different than salt water and candy for me… But I have had some decrease in the number of migraines since I started taking magnesium supplements so I think that there is something to that too…