Migraines!

[DailyDi]

Was bed-ridden yesterday with the worst migraines I have had in many years. Planning to see my doc about them, but was wondering if other sufferers have any medication advice? Needs to be something available in generic form as I don't have insurance and the newer meds are several hundred dollars a month,

[sarah_ab]

hmm i take imitrex, but availble in generic version....

its newer for me, i used to take maxalt which was not available in generic, but then my insurance stopped covering it... so i switched to imitrex, it works alright...

for me, no medication has ever completely gotten rid of a migraine, but it will bring it down to just a simple headache, which is MUCH more managable...

I hope you are feeling better....i get at least 1 migraine a month, if not more, the longest one i had a few years ago lasted 10 days!

[Mommieslildaddy]

I have migraine problems and i take Imitrex for it. they work in about 15 minutes and once they kick in the migraines gone instantly which is lovely. down fall is, well 15 minutes can feel like years if the migraines bad enough, and for me (this side effect doesn't happen to everyone) they make me light headed and if i dont go try and lay down and go to sleep after i take them, i get dizzy. which means their not as helpful as i would like them to be, seeing as im a college student and i would like something the would get rid of the migraine with out putting me out of commission. but they still work really well and the dizzy thing might not happen to you.

i hope everything works out, ive suffered from migraines sense i was probably 9 or 10 so i feel your pain...literally. I'm sure things will only get better . best of luck with your doctors appointment. and if you ever want to talk to someone who also goes through these or have any questions id be happy to help, i've learned a lot about them over time and research.

[ItchyTasty]

I get migraines, but strangely enough they only started since I got epilepsy.

I get terrible pressure above the eyes and at the temples of my head which feels like it's in a vice with a thumping headache as well; when I get a migraine.

Also I have to take paracetamol (sometimes helps, sometimes does fuck all).

Also I get nausea which varies from mild to extreme, luckily never thrown up from it, but eating raw ginger really helps that. Also sometimes I feel dizzy and have vertigo.

The only thing to get rid of the migraine is to lie down for hours in the pitch black on my back. As bright light only hurts my eyes and makes it much worse and makes me have that sickly feely.

Luckily I don't get them often, but sometimes I can after a fairly bad epiletic seizure.

[sarah_ab]

i get ocular migraines about 2-3 times a year, starts as photosensitivity, then over the course fo 24 hours i'll completely lose my vision.. those are the most painful...

my regular ones are accompanied by nausea, vomitting, dizziness, photosensitivity, sensitivity to noise, basically, i lie in hte guest room with my head wrapped in ice and just try and focus on anything but the pain....

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

From 1974-82I used to get real Death Star headaches above my eye. Living in New England I chalked them up to sunusitis, which I was pretty shure I have had since I was 12. This was "take 3 Bayer asprin, dissolve a 4th in water and drink it down and go to bed for an hour" territory. Well in about 1978 a friend recommended Excedrin. and it worked wonders I stll get mild, but persistant and very annoying ones but, still, nothing works but Excedrin.. I have tried them all . The least effective is Tylenol (acetominephen) about which I quipped in the mid 80's "That stuff didn't even cut the pain down, even with the cyanide" I was told by my ENT that asprin is still the best for pain and inflamation if you can take it

[pax87]

Aww migraines are no fun. :/ I get them too. I take the generic form of tomapax and it's really cheap. Talk to your doctor about it because it's used as migraine prevention daily. I also have a generic fiurocet (I think thats how it's spelled) for when an onset does happen. Walgreen's has yearly prescription drug program where you pay maybe 20 dollars a year and then you get a discount off your prescriptions if that helps too.

Also a suggestion for when you do have a migraine is to take an ice pack wrapped around a towel and put it on the base of your neck or your temple for a few minutes. That really helps when I have them. Good luck!

[Youngatheart252]

i get ocular migraines about 2-3 times a year, starts as photosensitivity, then over the course fo 24 hours i'll completely lose my vision.. those are the most painful...

my regular ones are accompanied by nausea, vomitting, dizziness, photosensitivity, sensitivity to noise, basically, i lie in hte guest room with my head wrapped in ice and just try and focus on anything but the pain....

Pretty much same, except I can't handle light at all, but can still see. Excedrin migraine if I catch it early, otherwise I just have to go thru the motions. Sometimes they last days but usually only a couple hours.

[oliver d]

get migrians maybe once or twice a year normally when the seasons change.Take one algesol tablet,a morphine/codine based pain killer,for the few times I get them worth it to keep around.They nost of the time clear up after a few hours.

[Yvhuce]

I'm currently on "Ascomp with Codine", which is generic for "Fiorinal with Codine". They cost about $1 per pill and have been helpful for the past decade, but I'm starting to need to use them twice for really bad Migraines, so it's about time to talk with my doctor to see about something that'll work better... You should make sure your doctor knows about your financial situation, as they may be able to prescribe something cheaper that would be safe to take a couple of them at a time, instead of going with a more expensive and more powerful medicine.

[DailyDi]

Got an appointment in the morning. Will update. Thanks for advice

[Mommieslildaddy]

good luck with the appointment. hope it is helpful and productive.

[Leilin]

My migraines range from once every couple weeks to five out of seven days. Not fun. Best of luck to the others who get them.

[DailyDi]

Why didn't you people warn me that migraine treatments includes a shot in the butt! I was wearing a NiceDiaper thick trainer with a booster! Got a chuckle and a "Those look comfy" from the nursing student.

Got heavy-duty pain killers and a migraine drug, but the migraine one was apparently discontinued in December, so waiting on an updated scrip from the Doc.

[insanewiener]

Zipsor works great!

[sarah_ab]

never heard of a butt shot for a migraine treatment... i know some people get botox in their shoulders/neck if the headaches are caused by muscle spasm in that area.... but yeah... never heard of the butt shot.... but hope it works!

[Mommieslildaddy]

butt shot. thats new. now im not feeling like going to my next appointment, they'll spring a random butt shot on me . sounds like it went well though

[Leilin]

MMmm... bad migraine day for me. I ended up incredibly nauseous from my pain medication. Really messed me up.

[Marcuss]

I dont think the butt shot was for the migraine i bet it was a date rape drug

I cant tell you what meds to take but what might help some is a bit of meditation ... with practice it can help. Also you can try taking a bath and let your head go under water so just enough of your nose is up to breath. It keeps the sound down and the water is soothing. I know a real migraine is some of the worst pain you can feel so i dont expect either of these to "fix it" but if it helps even a little...

[dogpiss]

There's a triptan that is injectable (I can't remember which one) and that's likely what you got in the buttocks since the drugs work by embedding in muscle tissue. (I'm doing pharmacology mechanisms from memory here so I'm likely way off on the exact mechanism, but something along these lines). Triptans are the class of drugs that include, but are not limited to: rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex, Migriptan, Imigran), naratriptan (Amerge, Naramig), and my favourite eletriptan (Relpax). ALWAYS ask your doctor about free samples. Many manufacturers have free trial offers for their drugs on their websites. If you doctor doesn't mind writing a bunch of scripts for a few pills of this and a few pills of that, you can get a good stash of migraine drugs for FREE! YMMV depending on the drug as for how well it works. Imitrex is useless for me... it does NOTHING. Maxalt works well and Relpax works best for me. As for the YMMV thing I know from a friend of mine, Relpax is useless to her and Axert being her favoured med.

Topamax just went generic a year or two ago, and it's pretty good at preventing migraines, but not as resolving them. It's on-label use is as an anti-seizure drug. Typical Rx for Topamax as a migraine preventor is 50mg BID. Some people have EXTREME sedating effects with even small amounts, so again YMMV. I had no sedation when I took it, but my friend calls it DOPE-amax since she is in a sleepy fog all day with even 50 mg.

So, I recommend free samples or web coupons!

[ABigDL]

i used to take imitrex injections when i was in high school and they stopped working after a while... now i just take Excedrin migraine and a nap. seems to work ok but i havnt had a migraine like the ones i used to get in a long time. first one i had i went to the hospital because i couldnt see..

ask your doc if they have any samples of imitrex are anything like that. samples are always good.

[Diaper Mike 05]

Have you looked into what is triggering them? I don't have any advice as to what to take for migraines as nothing I have done has helped me in the past, but mine are also triggered by being over-stressed. The reason I ask is because if there is a definite trigger, would it be possible to remove it from your life, or at least limit exposure to it?