First time Migraine sufferer...

[wsu12]

This past Thursday morning I believe I had a migraine, and now I am honestly so fearful of having another. I was making an appointment on the phone and reading my planner and I noticed that my vision was blotchy. It is very hard to describe but it was as if certain letters in each word I was trying to read were simply missing. I remember feeling very confused by this, I felt like my brain just was not "thinking". I got off the phone and sat down in front of the television that had been on, the volume set at a normal level. Meanwhile I had a nagging slight headache, nothing severe just enough to notice. Now things get very strange. My peripheral vision goes out or is simply white. I cannot see anything to my sides without turning my head. The volume on the TV seems to keep turning up, honestly like someone was in the room and had the remote. My headache has gone from a moderate ache to a severe throb that feels like it is located in my facial bones. The sunlight coming in the room was so very painful. I went into the master bedroom and tried to relax with a pillow over my head. The pain now feels like it is coming out of my eye socket. I am actually pressing on my facial bones to attempt to find some relief.

I had no idea what was happening to me. I phoned my mother, she calmed me down and said this was a migraine. Three hours later I feel I am on the other side of the mountain of pain.

I apologize for writing a novel about this very common experience but now I live in fear that it will happen again. All of you ladies out there who suffer from this, I am so very sorry. I had no idea how devastating this could be.

 

[upgrade]

I get them from time to time too, and I get the weird vision blurring that you described. It''s very weird- not everything goes blurry, just pin points. For me the thing that works best is to take 2 ibuprofen and a feverfew capsule (health food store) and go lay down and sleep somewhere quiet for about half and hour. If I can catch it early enough the actual migraine doesn''t develop.

I hope you find what worls for you! The pain is horrible.

 

[Lilac]

I''m so sorry you had such a bad migraine!

I know just how bad they can be... I used to get several a week, but now it''s down to once every few weeks. When I was getting them a couple times a week it was so hard to function. The only thing that helped me was going into a pitch black room with *no* lights on (not even a tiny light from the DVR or a clock - those tiny lights felt like piercing knives when I had a migraine!) and staying in the dark room half conscious for as long as it took for the migraine to go away. DH would come and rub my head and press on different areas of it to try and stop the pain. Sometimes that helped, sometimes it didn''t but usually it at least helped me fall asleep. Sometimes it took a few hours to go away, sometimes it was a whole night.

The only thing that ever helped me was Excedrin but then I developed an allergy to aspirin and Advil/Motrin so I can''t take any of that anymore. I don''t know if you drink coffee, but if you want to avoid another migraine you might want to think about drinking less (if you do drink any). Several neurologists and other doctors have told me caffeine greatly contributes to migraines and that''s usually the first thing they''ll tell you to cut out of your diet if you want migraines to stop.

Good luck and I really hope you don''t have to experience that ever again!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Ugh, I''m SO sorry you''ve had to go through that. Migraines are the worst! What works for me is Excedrin, a dark room, a cool wash cloth on my forehead and a nap. If you find yourself having them more often or your symptoms escalate, go see your doctor ASAP. They should check you for other things and they can give you Rx meds that help sometimes more than the Excedrin. For OTC migraine meds though, Excedrin migraine can''t be beat. If you''re ever hit with one and you don''t have access to Excedrin or a dark room, take some aspirin and drink caffeine.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I''m so sorry about your scary experiance.

It''s so unpleasant.
They run in my family, so I have been unable to escape them. I also sometimes get ophthalmic migraines, where I only have severe visual disturbances (huge blind spots, complete blindness in one eye, zig-zag patterns etc) without the headache.
Lying in a dark room, hot compresses and silence help, but all you can really do is wait it out. Normal headache pills do not help at all, you need medication targeting migraines specifically.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

They are the WORST!!!
I used to be on the pill and the BC caused my blood pressure to skyrocket, thus causing migraines several times a week. Thus I was no fun to be around at ALL!

If anyone is having migraines and not sure where they are coming from, and you''re on BC, might be worth checking into. I don''t ever get them anymore! Except once in a blue moon from stress!

 

[risingsun]

I would suggest you have yourself evaluated by your PCP and perhaps by a neurologist. You just want to be sure what you are dealing with. There are some very effective migraine meds and you could be a candidate. They need to do a rule out to be sure. I'm sorry you are having to cope with this pain.

 

[elrohwen]

I''m so sorry you had to go through that! I''m a long time sufferer, but thankfully I don''t get the visual disturbances often - it is scary when your vision doesn''t seem to work correctly.

Ditto HH on excedrin - for me caffeine is key. It doesn''t work for everyone, but my mom and I both find that if we get a shot of caffeine at the beginning of a headache, we can often head off a migraine. If this happens again, maybe try having a coke, or a coffee, or just taking an excedrin (they have tons of caffeine) and see if that helps.

There are also some really powerful prescription meds that can knock out a migraine even when it''s in full swing (I find over the counter stuff only works if you catch it early enough). If it happens again, I would see your doctor for suggestions.

 

[lyra]

Date: 2/1/2010 11:37:30 AM
Author: risingsun
I would suggest you have yourself evaluated by your PCP and perhaps by a neurologist. You just want to be sure what you are dealing with. There are some very effective migraine meds and you could be a candidate. They need to do a rule out to be sure. I''m sorry you are having to cope with this pain.

Absolutely agree with this. My daughter gets migraines, but at 22 she actually had a TIA, and has had to see several specialists since then. See your doc and get a referral to a neurologist asap. Good luck.

 

[packrat]

My mom gets them a lot. I get them, but not on a regular basis like she does. She has fibromyalgia too, so I dunno if it''s b/c of that or not. She used to get a little relief by going to the chiropractor..maybe your neck or back is out of whack? You could check w/your Dr..there are meds they can prescribe to take when you feel one coming on. Sometimes I get my fingers cold under water and then put my ring fingers on the inside corner of my eyes by my nose and my middle fingers at my temples and press-doesn''t always help, but worth a try.

I hope it was just a fluke one time deal for you, but if not, I hope you find something that works for you!

 

[wsu12]

Thank you to all the kind responses. I know I am not alone in suffering from Migraines. I have an appointment tomorrow morning just to rule out anything more serious. I really feel for those who are struck by these nasty things, it is bloody awful.

Thanks again for allowing the random vent, perhaps this should have gone in the random comments thread? I''ll try to remember next time I write something silly.

 

[packrat]

FSU-it''s not silly at ALL! More people saw it this way and were able to comment on what they do.

 

[bebe]

fsu, my niece has suffered from migranes for years. Just recently her neuro doc used botox injections to help her - at this point not much has.
I think she had 8 injections in her upper back and neck.
she''s reporting relief for the first time in ages.
I''m not saying this is the answer, but I found it rather interesting.

 

[jewelerman]

know exactly how you feel !There are many different triggers for migraines....stress,to much suger in the diet,lack of sleep,not eating,additives in the food we eat!Stress and suger are triggers for me....as well as a lack of sleep...good luck and i hope its a long time before your next one!

 

[ksinger]

Well, I don''t know if they''re migraines, but they''re sickening, I crave the dark, and they usually affect the right side of my head more than the left. Icepick through the right eyesocket. I had the first one while my first marriage was falling apart. Luckily I don''t get them terribly often.

The odd thing about mine though, is that I get them usually in the middle of the night - I wake UP with them. So, no occular disturbances or anything. So I stagger up, grab the Excedrin - like several others, I find that this does the trick - and try to get back to sleep. Usually I''ll wake up OK, with only a faint echo of what drove me out of sleep. Does anyone else ever get them at night like I do? And of course, I''ve never been to the doctor with them. I had horrible headaches in college too - not migraine, but something kinda like them as I recall. I had one episode of a sick headache for almost a month, waking and sleeping. Nearly drove me mad. Probably stress...

 

[Callisto]

So I''m probably repeating things others have said, but I agree that next time you notice your vision blurring take pain meds right away. Sometimes I can help make it better by doing that. Also if you have time to spare sometimes I''ll try to take a nap right when I notice it coming on. To just let my head reset and that can help too.

To me the blurring is like looking into a really bright light and then trying to look at normal brightness things. Which from what I''ve heard is pretty normal.


Hope it doesn''t happen to you again!

 

[deegee]

Sorry you had such a nasty migraine! I started getting migraines when I was in college, and I get them at least once a month now. Sometimes I can function, sometimes I can't. For the really bad ones, I take a excedrin migraine or a pain pill, put an ice pack on the side of my head, and try to go to sleep. A times they make me sick at my stomach, and other times I have the funky vision thing. I dread it so much when I feel one coming on.

I hope you don't get another one anytime soon!

 

[yssie]

Oh, no

As someone who has recently discovered this horrible world herself, I can sympathise!


I hope things improve!

 

[ANGEL WANTS A HALO]

I get migraines about 2 times a month or more. I never had blurry vision though. I always get a throbbing pain in the back of my head where the neck starts. I''ve been getting them since I was a little girl and had them so bad that my doctor wanted to give me a shot, in my head...not cool lol. So hopefully what you are having is a migraine and nothing more serious. Just in case you should make an appointment with your doctor and your eye doctor. My friend''s mom had the same symptoms and it showed that she had a tumor in her brain. God forbid you do but go check it out.