Migraines

[Charlene]

I've only had a couple of migraines. The aura I had was a bracelet of sparkly triangles with a blank spot in the middle. The blank spot is like what you get when a flashbulb leaves you blind for a second. It was only in the left eye.

But boy, if I don't get my caffiene fix with my tea you don't want to be around me!

[Cynth]

Every once in a while I get just the vision disturbance, very similar to what Charlene describes. The first time it happened I got a little scared because I really couldn't read and I thought something had gone wrong with my eye or brain, but the doctor said just be glad you don't have the headache too, and I truly am. I think I've heard it called an ocular migraine. The vision thing is annoying and makes you feel just a bit seasick, but it is nothing compared to pain and it goes away in 15 minutes or so. I hope chrisoff is feeling better. Can you not get that medicine that people take when they know the headache is just coming on? Maybe it does not work for you. I really do feel sorry for people who get migraine headaches---they are considered to be one of the most painful possible things my sister the nurse told me.

[chrisoff]

I hope chrisoff is feeling better. Can you not get that medicine that people take when they know the headache is just coming on? Maybe it does not work for you. I really do feel sorry for people who get migraine headaches---they are considered to be one of the most painful possible things my sister the nurse told me.

I am, thanks for the sympathetic thoughts. Some ibuprofen and most of the day lying on my couch sorted it out. Still feeling drained though so no Saturday night fun for me.

Not that it's set in stone, but I try not to take a lot of drugs for headaches and things if I can help it. I usually just ride them out if I can as with migraines painkillers aren't always very effective, so I either don't bother or only take them when it's starting to peak.

The migraine specific stuff (and some normal painkillers) don't always agree with me either, so that's another reason.

[pipersgrip]

MSG will give me minor migraines.

[hyldemoer]

From early childhood on I used to get classic migraine headaches complete with the annoying vision stuff.
They stopped happening when I moved out of my parents house to go to college.
They came back when I returned home for visits.

Both my parents smoked tobacco.

Coffee and chocolate don't trigger migraines for me but then I can restraint myself to a theraputic dosage rather than abuse those herbs.

[cowtime]

My dad use to get "sick" headaches. He would be barely able to move. He found that chocolate was a trigger- so were the horses. After his heart attack , and was put on blood thinners, he never had another migraine. One of my daughters is laid out by them. She's never figured out the trigger.

I occasionally get the "glimmers" where I have a blind spot with shimmery stuff around what's left. I do get a headache after these, but not a migraine. If I take an aspirin as soon as I start seeing stuff, it just goes away. But, boy , is it a pain, since if I'm working, I have to be able to read addresses.

[Casey Burns]

I used to suffer occasional and unexpected migraines - mostly of the vision aura /restricted vision kind. Triggers would be bright light, such as kayaking on a bright summer day. Or being in a dark room and going into the bright. A couple of times when I'd look up from the lathe out into the sunny yard. Also, some effects such as interrupted sunlight while driving by a line of trees would start them.

Chocolate was thought to be the cause. I stopped eating chocolate and a friend said to me "well, without chocolate, what is the point of living?" I agreed and just felt sad.

Then I discovered Feverfew. I started taking these on the recommendation of a Chinese medical practitioner and the migraines went away totally and never returned.

I have since developed a taste for artisanal chocolate, none of which gives me migraines and actually helps keep my blood pressure down and palpitations at bay (I base this on observations, working closely with a superb naturopathic physician).

Feverfew is available at natural food stores everywhere. Natures Way is one brand. I have a single cap every morning.

My favorite chocolates include those by Michel Cluizel, Claudio Corallo (my most favorite), the Grenada Chocolate Company, Santander - and occasionally the bars I make from beans that I roast and grind myself. I usually stay above the 70% range, currently enjoying some 99% Cluizel Noir Infini.

A good site to find most of these is www.chocosphere.com whereas the Corallo is available only from Fortnum and Mason's in London, and www.elevatedicecream.com in Port Townsend WA. A good source for raw beans is www.chocolatealchemy.com

Casey

[Charlene]

..... Also, some effects such as interrupted sunlight while driving by a line of trees would start them......


Casey

I get nauseated if I'm in a car and the shadows of the trees are stretched across the road and the light goes flicker flicker flicker ... never thought of it as a migraine but I suppose it could be. It's not as bad if I'm driving, probably because I have to concentrate on what I'm doing. If I'm the passenger I usually just take a nap until we're out of the flickering.

[djm]

the light goes flicker flicker flicker

This is also a well-known trigger for epileptic seizures.

djm

[missy]

My favorite chocolates include those by Michel Cluizel, Claudio Corallo (my most favorite), the Grenada Chocolate Company, Santander - and occasionally the bars I make from beans that I roast and grind myself. I usually stay above the 70% range, currently enjoying some 99% Cluizel Noir Infini.

99%!!! Wow! I've had 85%, and that was getting to be a bit much for me (and I can't taste bitter), I can't imagine 99%!

I get nauseated if I'm in a car and the shadows of the trees are stretched across the road and the light goes flicker flicker flicker ... never thought of it as a migraine but I suppose it could be. It's not as bad if I'm driving, probably because I have to concentrate on what I'm doing. If I'm the passenger I usually just take a nap until we're out of the flickering.

I've always gotten car sick, from the time I can first remember. If I drive, I very rarely get sick. If it's highway, I can maybe be a passenger in the front seat. I can never ride in the back seat. Big planes are ok, forget the "puddle jumpers" however. Never been on any boat except on a small lake or river, so I have no idea, but I can give a good guess that would get me too. Plus I can't ride any ride that goes in a circle.

[hyldemoer]

Then I discovered Feverfew. I started taking these on the recommendation of a Chinese medical practitioner and the migraines went away totally and never returned.

I have since developed a taste for artisanal chocolate, none of which gives me migraines and actually helps keep my blood pressure down and palpitations at bay (I base this on observations, working closely with a superb naturopathic physician).

Feverfew is available at natural food stores everywhere. Natures Way is one brand. I have a single cap every morning.

Natures Way standardizes the parthenolide in their product to 0.7%. That would mean its not the average Feverfew as an herb.
I wonder if that is a factor in their product addressing what ever might have been bothering you (have you tried the effectiveness of other brands of Feverfew or grown your own yet?)

or if the quality of chocolate (ingredients) is a factor?
Does cheap chocolate (with artificial vanilla for example) give you adverse reactions inspite of taking the Feverfew?

Btw, there's a product available that is nothing but cocoa (no extra ingredients) called "cocoa nibs". I've seen it raw and roasted (which changes it a bit chemically).

[lalit]

A little OT: I posted on this thread yesterday, and now my post has disappeared into thin air -- was the board rebooted, or something?

Back On T: The only food trigger I have noticed is high amounts of MSG. Chocolate can actually help me feel better when I have a migraine, but I'd rather eat it when I'm not feeling bad in the first place.

[Doug_Tipple]

I used to suffer occasional and unexpected migraines - mostly of the vision aura /restricted vision kind. Triggers would be bright light, such as kayaking on a bright summer day. Or being in a dark room and going into the bright. A couple of times when I'd look up from the lathe out into the sunny yard. Also, some effects such as interrupted sunlight while driving by a line of trees would start them.

I have had migraines which I believe were triggered by bright overhead lights in my industrial work area. Prior to the onset of the headache, I experienced a narrowing of the visual field, which really freaked me out the first time that it happened. I like to wear a baseball hat to protect my eyes from the sun or other sources of intense light.

I also am bothered by flashing TV and movie screens. I purchased a light sound machine to experiment with its many advertised benefits. However, the flashing LED's in the glasses tended to give me a headache rather than put me into a state of relaxation. I ended up giving them away.

[Aanvil]

I've had headaches off and on from childhood...I reckon most everybody does.

We're talking normal headaches: the kind that, while you don't feel your best, you can still function and could possibly even enjoy life on some level.

About three times in my life I've had what I consider a migraine: a pounding, throbbing illness that makes you think death might just be better than this. The only things that help are laying down in an absolutely dark, quiet room, and sleeping it off. The after-effects will leave me feeling strange for days.

I can tell very quickly which kind it'll be: in a normal headache it doesn't get worse depending on how I move my head or my eyes. In a migraine, I just want to look down. Even lifting my eyes to normal level hurts like hell; looking up at all is sheer torture.

Fortunately, as I said, I've only had a migraine about three times. In each case the trigger was extreme, prolonged stress.

On coffee, if I'm starting to get a headache (the normal kind) and I catch it quick enough and drink some coffee, sometimes it'll head it off.

I like good coffee: grind it right before you brew it, and brew in a French press, so that none of the oils are lost. It makes a very smooth, rich coffee that's strong but not bitter or acidic.

--James

That is very similar to my type of migraine.

I get about three a year. Stress is a factor. It also seems to occur with a change in barometric pressure. I can usually predict rain every time... I can feel the pressure change.

Probably lucky I live in an arid and stable climate.

Coffee and a hand full of Advil can sometimes overt the onslaught of the kind of pain would not wish upon my worst of enemies.

They seem to get me at about 3am too.

It gets so bad that I become physically ill.

Its horrible.

The only thing I can do is hide away in the bathroom with the lights off and rock on my knees until the pain subsides to a point where I can fall asleep.

Im toast for the rest of the day and messed up for a few days afterwards.

Sucks it does.

[Alan]

I have always suffered from frequent headaches including migraines.

Most often I see an aura that looks like an arc of flourescent microbes that seem to be pulsing just outside the center of my vision. This aura often seems slowly to expand to the edge of my sight until it is gone.

At times I get blind spots of different sizes and still recall my alarm when the first one of that type hit me as I was watching TV many years ago. Half of the screen went blank and I thought the TV was at fault until I looked at the clock to see what time this was happening and only half of the clock was visible! I was almost relieved when the pain hit me and I knew it was a migraine.

Another variation of the aura for me is everything looking as though it was seen through a fine ground glass, slightly indistinct and with low contrast.

The aura is usually preceded by a feeling of being flushed with hot blood from head to toe though the weather, room heating or my activity can often mask this aspect.

I have not been able to determine any triggers with certainty. The use of chemicals at work such as a combination of laquer thinner, grease solvent and penetrating catalyst often but not always precedes a migraine as does the glare of sunlight reflected from the chrome or glass of a car or the like.

I discovered long ago, thank goodness, that taking aspirin, ibuprofen or equivalent at the first sign of a migraine can significantly reduce the otherwise horrible pain. Unfortunately all the other symptoms are still in full effect so I have to head for a cool quiet place as quickly as possible when a migraine hits and am in pretty poor shape for at least the day after.

One odd aspect of the effect of migraines on me is that my sense of smell, which usually seems somewhat suppressed when it comes to the scent of flowers, is accentuated to the point I can smell roses a block away and the odor sickens me!

What I dread most now are the migraines that come on me as I sleep and thus have no warning.

That is NO way to start a day...