Migraines - anyone know about these?

[fisho mcspaz]

OK, I've got a migraine. I've only ever had one before - I saw my GP about it but she said she didn't want to treat it because I'd never had one before and chances were I never would again. Well, I've got another one now and it is bloody terrible. It is also quite scary because I don't know much about migraines - other than the fact that they are severe headaches, usually on one side of the head, and can sometimes cause vomiting and dizziness - and whenever I google a medical condition, the resulting websites seem to do their best to convince me that I am actually suffering from something else I hadn't previously considered, usually a terminal illness. If I type in 'migraine' I will no doubt get a website that says my symptoms are ALSO consistent with a brain tumour/aneurysm/Sjogren's syndrome, and perhaps I should go to my nearest emergency department.

It started yesterday - I felt really weird, not myself at all, my head was hurting and I kept having periods of intense drowsiness. I also cried for a couple of hours, which is something a headache doesn't usually make me do. Today the headache was worse, my vision was blurry around bright lights and I thought I was going to chuck. I also had a lot of neck and back pain and tingling hands. A bloke from the footy club gave me a couple of Panadeine Forte - I wasn't going to take medicine for my headaches any more but I had to do something - and then he cracked my spine, which helped the neck pain. The headache went away momentarily - so I was pretty cheerful, being whacked out on the Panadeine Forte - but then it came back with a bang, along with all my other aches and nausea and now I'm feeling like absolute ratsh1t.

Anyway - has anyone else ever experienced this sort of headache? Is this typical of migraines? How long do they usually last? (I don't reckon I can take another day of this.) Is there anything that might alleviate the pain apart from opiates? Because I threw away my Panadeine so I'm really stuffed now.

Also, I've heard that tricyclic antidepressants e.g. amitriptyline (not sure if I spelt that right) can block migraines - anyone know if that's true? I'm currently taking an SSRI and it might be worth switching meds if it'll prevent this from happening again.

[Pseudo]

My missus gets 'em a lot.

Usually about 5 minutes after the lights go out...

[dedja]

Fisho, my wife gets them and over the last 20 years or so, she's had probably a dozen that have been really bad.

She will get blurred vision, is sensitive to any light, sometimes can vomit and usually has to lie down in a very dark room and it takes around 24 hours to recover.

She's a physio and has worked out that a major way to relieve the symptoms is to work on her neck ... she can do this herself and in the last 5 years has not had a major episode.

She's never taken any medication.

[gadj1976]

Fisho, I get them when I'm really really run down. It will start with part of my peripheral vision being blurred, then move from that to 'clear vision but massive pain behind the eye'. Great fun! But at least I know when they are about to hit now.

I used to take panadol but after visiting a sympathetic chemist one day, they put me onto Codis. Codis is a combo of Codeine and Asprin. It dissolves in water and tends to relax you (which for me can let me sleep the migraine off) however I have had them at work because I've had to and I've been able to relieve the pain and work through them.

Codis is available at the chemist and they seem to work for me. Obviously the to determine the medication you successfully use it will be a trial and error thing for you but I wish you the best of luck.

There is plenty of info on the net about Codis, but here is a useful link.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000566.html

[Gozu]

I had a mate that used to get migraines all the time so was always taking panadeine forte for them. I never realised how strong that stuff was until I had a wisdom tooth coming through that got food in the hole and became infected and had to go to the hospital. I was in excrutiating pain so while waiting to see a doctor a nurse gave me a panadeine forte tablet and about 20 minutes later I felt fine with no pain at all My mate just used to take them whenever he'd get a migraine which was reasonably often so not sure if that helps.

Maybe it could be a side-effect of the anti-depressants? I'd probably go back to the doctor and see if it's possible to try a different one.

[Leaping Lindner]

I've has some luck with this. It's not an opiate but you will need a doctor's script.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100003625.html

[Wedgie]

Ive been getting them since I was 14 but they're much less severe now than they were, were at their worse/most intense in my late teens and early 20s.
I can even work through them now, its always the vision going first followed by the head pain and naseau but if I take a tablet as the vision goes the rest usually is bearable.
But on the other hand if I got them consistently like some of the more severe ones I had in my early 20s I reckon I'd be suicidal, luckily they were few and far between.
Panadeine Forte did nothing for me, best and only medicine I use is Mersondyl Night strength, it puts me to sleep or at least makes me drowsy.
They're a lot more prevelent in females, so I guess I and Gadj are just lucky.

[Psyber]

I used to get Migraine fairly often, as did my mother - the pattern was the variant sometimes called "Cluster Headache".
I gradually learned that the two most common triggers were cigarette smoke and some red wines.

Since then I've avoided cigarette smoke as much as possible, and by careful thorough research over the years I've identified the wines.
Basically, it is the heavy classic Shiraz like the Grange I don't tolerate, though I never turn down a small taste if I'm near an open bottle.
I get on OK with the lighter peppery Shiraz styles, usually made from grapes grown in high country regions - so I assume Tannin content may be important.
So, mow Migraines are now rare.

I avoid narcotic analgesics like the plague as they tend to cause rebound pain, starting a cyclical pattern of needing more of them.

The causation of Migraine is controversial and various medicos have their pet theories, but genetics, hormonal factors, and allergic reactions all seem to play a part.
The dominance of these factors seems to vary from person to person.

[Footy Chick]

My friends mum used to get them all the time and it was a real problem for years, however after many tests, they found that oranges were her trigger. How bizarre.

[fisho mcspaz]

The headache has subsided for the most part but I've now got all these horrible aches everywhere else. Hands and shoulders mainly. My mum suggested fibromyalgia, which is a cheerful thought. Off to see my GP this week.

[JAS]

Are you sure you haven't picked up a touch of flu fisho???

Regards
JAS

[fisho mcspaz]

Yeah, I'd be thinking that too except I have no fever. I'm not sure what to make of it!

[Psyber]

Yeah, I'd be thinking that too except I have no fever. I'm not sure what to make of it!

Allergic reactions can trigger reactions which tend to show up as muscular aches and pains.
[I got them when I lived near the industrial areas of Adelaide - first in Prospect and later West Lakes - I am allergy prone.]
Beware of the label "Fibromyalgia" - it just means aching fibrous tissues and muscles.
It is just a symptom of some underlying process, not a diagnosis and a specific disease, though people - and even some doctors - tend to treat it as if it is.
I noticed in another thread you said you had recently chucked your Panadeine - the withdrawal symptoms from codeine can drag on for a couple of weeks, gradually petering out, and resemble 'flu without the fever.

[fisho mcspaz]

Yeah, I'd be thinking that too except I have no fever. I'm not sure what to make of it!

Allergic reactions can trigger reactions which tend to show up as muscular aches and pains.
[I got them when I lived near the industrial areas of Adelaide - first in Prospect and later West Lakes - I am allergy prone.]
Beware of the label "Fibromyalgia" - it just means aching fibrous tissues and muscles.
It is just a symptom of some underlying process, not a diagnosis and a specific disease, though people - and even some doctors - tend to treat it as if it is.
I noticed in another thread you said you had recently chucked your Panadeine - the withdrawal symptoms from codeine can drag on for a couple of weeks, gradually petering out, and resemble 'flu without the fever.

I've decided not to pay attention to the fibromyalgia thing - Mum has previously diagnosed my headaches as shingles and encephalitis, so she tends to assume the worst.

With the codeine, I wasn't taking a lot - only 20mg (2 tablets), 40mg at most per day that I had a headache, but unfortunately I have headaches most of the time, so on average I'd be taking Panadeine five out of seven days a week over the last two months. Is that enough to get withdrawal symptoms?

[Psyber]

With the codeine, I wasn't taking a lot - only 20mg (2 tablets), 40mg at most per day that I had a headache, but unfortunately I have headaches most of the time, so on average I'd be taking Panadeine five out of seven days a week over the last two months. Is that enough to get withdrawal symptoms?

It is hard to quantify as it depends on your individual metabolism, and some people don't need much to trigger it.
I took Di-Gesic, which contains dextro-propoxyphene a synthetic narcotic related to codeine, about 6 a day for 3 days once and got significant withdrawal symptoms about 2 days after stopping them, which faded over a week, after I went on to a gradual withdrawal regimen - one 3x a day for 2 days, 1/2 tablet 3x a day for 2 days , then stop.

With Heroin, which is also related chemically, some people can use it occasionally for years without problems while anther person may get a withdrawal response after one dose.
Normal doses of Pethidine - another synthetic narcotic - stop me bothering to breathe.

[Johno6]

My missus gets 'em a lot.

Usually about 5 minutes after the lights go out...

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