Caffein....lots of it!
And an absence of MSG.
Sorry for your pain...
Linda C

I am suffering from the first migraine I have ever had. It started last Sunday with a blinding pain and has clamed to a dull thud, but has not gone away.

I too am interested in hearing about any ideas you may have to offer.

Alexa

BIL has migraines alot and he swears by Tiger Balm massaged in temple area and base of skull helps him. He buys his Tiger Balm from oriental grocery stores which is stronger than what you can buy OTC at costco, walgreen's etc.

Healing thoughts for you two also.

Brenda

I'm a life long migraine sufferer along with my mom. I've tried every home remedy without much success.

Caffeine does help sometimes. It used to help the most when I eliminated caffeine on a daily basis and only had it when I had a migraine.

I take a prescription med called Zomig. I am so thankful for it. I've taken large quantities of narcotics in the past because the pain was so bad,but they never helped.

You can try 2 Aleve or Motrin and drink something with caffeine. Sometimes I get some nasal congestion with the headaches which is common so I'll take a small dose of sudafed(I use the children's liquid because I don't like how a larger dose makes me feel).

Try some ice too.

Hope you feel better. Having a migraine s*ucks!

Tracey

I feel for all of you. I had my first migraine a few weeks ago and unfortunately I found out that my pregnancy hormones may make them more common. I have had 2 hormonal caused headaches since then and it is the pits. It was almost like I couldn't see things straight. I ended up having to go up to the hospital to get a shot to get things calmed down. Between the migraines, gallstones and hormonal headaches and sinus infection, the Dr said this baby is making sure it is a pregnancy to remember lol.

Stacie

I've suffered from migranes for 24 years! It's hormonal. It's not a particular hormone level that causes migranes, it's rising and falling hormone levels, which is why pre-menopause it a fine time to get them. Mine are getting worse. But be of good cheer, my best friend who is ten years older than me got them terribly in her late 40's and early 50's, but said they completely disappeared at menopause. Only to be replaced by arthritis, but that's another story, lol!

I take Imetrex, which is very expensive, and looses it's effectiveness after a while. Better than nothing I guess. Painkillers in larger and larger doses will NOT help. Same with caffeine, it can help once or twice if you don't do caffeine normally, but if you start using it all the time it will have the opposite effect. The secret is take a large dose of painkillers BEFORE the pain gets bad, take it when you just feel like a headache might possibly be coming on. Then take an extra strength dose. I use a combo of acetemiophan (the stuff that's in tylenol) and asprin. I can always take it with a cup of coffee or coke if I want caffeine too. Most people wait until the pain is really bad before they take a painkiller. At that point it is too late, you can chew asprin like sweet tarts and it will not do any good for the headache and cause all kinds of other problems.

Drink lots of water. Migranes are caused by minute changes in tissue pressure. You want to avoid getting dehydrated, which is why caffeine is only an emergency fix, otherwise it dehydrates you, slightly. Not a lot, but the dehydration we are talking about is at a minute level so don't risk it.

One the migrane is in full swing, you can forget about painkillers. Take some if you want, they will dull the pain but not get rid of it. More and stronger painkillers will have diminishing returns. Rest. Wait it out. Pushing yourself will only prolong the headache. More and more painkillers will get you into rebound syndrome. Take them early, BEFORE serious onset.

I've tried all the home remedies--tiger balm, feverfew, etc. Other than the hydration, the other thing that helps is AVOID swing is blood sugar level like the plague. Always eat carbs with protein, and watch your carbs overall. Watch your alcohol intake, it is also dehydrating. Some people are affected by the amines in alcohol too, red wine is notorious for that, so I avoid it.
Good luck.

I get some relief from a hot pack on the back of my neck, and a head, neck and shoulders massage.
My sympathies. Migraine sucks.

I agree that painkillers don't really work once the migraine hits. For me and my son, we find that gravol works the best as it helps relax all the muscles that tend to tense up when we have a migraine, making the pain worse. Ice on the head also helps alot.

Shelley

DH suffered for years. Finally, in his late fifies, they waned and have pretty much subsided. He tried it all, but like Laurie & Tracy, he found relief with the sumitripin drugs. His choice was Maxalt. He said his body reacted best to that. Years ago when only Imitrex was available and before the pills came out, he would use the injectable form. Then Zomig came on the market and finally Maxalt.
Additionally, a headache specialist also prescribed a beta blocker called Atenolol. He took that daily which seemed to cut the intensity and frequency (he was having them 3 x a week!). Gradually he weaned off that and just took the pain killers.
As women you should know that a woman's migraine can have an estrogen trigger too. I'm not all that well versed on that subject, but a dear friend got them "monthly" as her hormone levels dropped. She was on some other meds for that too. It helped her migraines a bit, but still needed other meds.
Even DH, when the pain was really severe, would boost the effect of the Maxalt etc with a Tylenol 4.

Years ago I tried some Imitrex with an awful headache. It did nothing. The doc told us that signified that I didn't have a true migraine, but a headache of another origin. For me, my problem is SINUS. Those headaches take me down. The only thing when they get really mulit-day awful that helps is a Medrol dose-pack. (cortisone). It reduces the inflammation and lets an antibiotic take effect.
Good luck Eileen etc, it's a nasty thing to live with!

It's awful, isn't it.

These days, when I get an aura I rarely get a headache, but, I take a Sudafed (the real kind, not the Sudafed PE), four 200mg capsules of ibuprofen (I am allergic to Tylenol, but always found it worthless), and a benadryl to sleep. If I can sleep for a few hours, I usually wake up feeling better. It worked for years, and I'm afraid to stop, for fear of getting a headache.

About 11 years ago, I had two migraines that literally knocked me to my knees, quite unlike the ones I had experienced most of my life. I now take diltiazem for migraine prevention, and the high blood pressure we discovered with those two migraines. It works pretty well, though I do get an atypical migraine every couple of months, and I take the same - Sudafed and Motrin (and if I'm not at work, a Benadryl).

My daughter has been getting them more and more frequently, and recently went to the Neurologist. He recommended and she is now trying a low tyramine diet. He stopped all the medications she was taking. He did some manipulation of her neck and that seems to have helped a lot, so she is going to be getting physical therapy. The most successful change: he recommended a different pillow to "force" her to sleep on her side. He says a lot of women sleep on their back with their head turned completely to one side which puts a terrible strain on the muscles and nerves in the neck. In the past month she's only had one migraine (before she would have three or four a week), and that was the morning she woke up and realized she had been sleeping on her back.

Good luck.

Caffeine only works when you first feel it coming on. If I can get a double espresso in the first hour of one, it usually subsides. After that it doesn't do much. After it's full blown the only things I've found that help are ice packs (heat makes mine worse), lots of water, dark and quiet. The best remedy I ever found for them, though, was a visit to the accupuncturist.

Thanks everyone!

I keep real sudafed on hand for allergies, so I have been back on that and combined with Tylenol it does seem to be helping. Now I jsut have to tell DH that a neck and back massage have been prescribed by the CF for any lingering discomfort!

Thanks again - I am C&P this thread for reference.

Alexa

Renee is on to something. I have never had acupuncture, which I probably should do, but I have found acupressure to be somewhat helpful. Also, if someone can give you a scalp and neck massage, or do it yourself to your best abilities.

Google acupressure for migranes, you may find other sites. I had a book on it. Also self message.
How to massage away a headache

Here is a link that might be useful: eHow - Acupresure points for migrane headaches

Alexa, Sorry for forgetting to wish you well, I'm glad that you're doing better! I take Sudafed (the little red one that you buy from behind the pharmacist's counter) and Mucinex daily along with a nasal spray and a nasal irrigant. It's the only way I can keep the sinus/allergy headaches/infections at bay. I'm always so incredulous when people say, "I never get headaches" or don't take meds! How I wish I was them!

I suffered terribly as a teen through my early 20's. At the tale end they were just starting to come on the market with actual migraine meds. But I never got to take them. In my teens my mom would call our chiropractor in the middle of the night and he would meet us at his office for an adjustment that would help me a little..but wouldn't make them go away. In my late teens a friend had an electro shock/accupunture machine she used on her horse, that she'd use on my head that again eased the pressure, but didn't make it totally go away.
I found a few ways that seemed to help. I do agree that it's alot of hormones and a few triggers. For me it was caffine and chocolate, especially milk chocolate.
I went "clean" of chocolate and caffine in any form, and after withdrawls. Which I used tons of water, and a immune booster herbal tea. (so much tea that my husband said I tasted like it, when he even kissed my forehead or cheeks!) LOL That was a tough 2 weeks...but for 2 years I didn't touch caffine, and didn't have a single migraine. It was so wonderful. I started slowly slipping chocolate back in, but only white or dark. I do drink caffinated coffee now and then and even have a hershey's with almonds with no ill effects. It's been years since I've had a migraine. Those first few years I could "stave" them off with increasing my water and taking 3 extra strength tylenol and a nap.

Any headaches I get now are sent packing with 1 night time cold tab. I can function with them during the day with one. They do the job, and 2 sends me in to horrid fits of sleep/vivid dreams!

I have been trying Migranal nose spray when I have my auras and I only use them when I need to stay at work. When I'm home where I can go to bed, I take Excedrine for the asprin and caffeine and Phenergan for the nausea. Each migraine is different for me but I know I will usually have some nausea, pain, trouble talking and with odors. My son swears by Soltice which is similar to Tiger Balm and I have used it with positive results sometime. The bottom line is nothing ever works the same for me so it is trial and error with every headache. The worst part for me is usually the feeling that I have for a day after of two nails being driven in my temples. An old wives tale I have heard of says put your feet in ice cold water and it draws your congested blood from your head to your feet. Haven't tried that one yet but I'm sure I will get around to it.

Thank you all, fellow sufferers, for your well wishes, good advice, and comaraderie. I am better today though I was awakened by stabbing pains in my trapezius muscles. Residue from the headache and associated tension, I'm sure. I still have that haunted, drained post-migraine look about my eyes. Ugh. Yesterday the headache moved on and I was able to think and function better. The previous two days are a blur.

I know I had several triggers this time around. I let myself get dehydrated, I'm stressed, I was premenstrual and I'm perimenopausal (as well as the oldest living menstruating woman on the planet). I never had migraines until I was in my 40s and during a particularly awful period in my marriage and work life I suffered from both cluster headaches and migraines, often together or in the same week. Imitrex saved my life back then but since the end of my marriage I have been nearly migraine free. I guess I need to pay more attention to avoiding triggers. I'd rather not have to go back on Imitrex again. As Lpink mentions, it is quite expensive and I do not have prescription coverage.

I missed the signs that this was a migraine coming on. I had joint and muscle pain for a couple of days before for reasons that mystify me. Could barely move. (I seem to have some fibromyalgia symptoms from time to time where my shoulders, hips, knees, and elbows hurt.) Then the headache.

I rarely get the aural stuff or if I do, it is slight. I do get nauseous and light sensitive.

Water, check. I loaded up on fluids as soon as I realized I was getting a headache and was also awfully thirsty.

Caffeine, check. I doubled up on my morning brew yesterday. I'm a one cupper so I had two.

Massage, check. My son rubbed my shoulders, it was wonderful while he did it!

Nap, check.

No MSG, I don't recall anything that might have had MSG but I tend to avoid it anyway. It makes me feel strange.

No red wine, I'm a white wine drinker as a rule but I'll keep this in mind.

Tiger Balm, I'll be visiting the Asian market soon.

Hot pack, check. I wrapped my neck in one of those things you heat in the microwave. Heat helps me. It relaxes the tension a bit.

I did some self hand massage, which I find helps. Thanks for the links, Lpink.

I swear by acupuncture for some other problems I've had, I'll give it try for this. The problem is that when I am in the midst of a migraine, driving to a clinic and sitting in a waiting room is the last thing I want to do.

Alexa, tell your DH you needs LOTS of massaging and TLC.

Terri, I'm interested in the tea you used. What was it?

i've only recently heard about this, but am taking magnesium to try to ward them off. There are lots and lots of articles if you google magnesium and migraines.

Here is a link that might be useful: magnesium

Oh absolutely magnesium. Take with calcium to increase absorption of both. Also vit. C. Double mg. of calcium to magnesium. That's why folks crave chocolate--it has a lot of magnesium. Magnesium can quell chocolate cravings. But it's fussy as far as absorption.