Migraines and cluster headaches

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lead69 said:
I believe those are called silent migraines,you get the pain and some nerve issues without the other effects.
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I just spent an hour researching silent migraines on the intermess, that could be what they are! THANK YOU lead69!!
 
Knock on wood - I don't have y'all's problem. Last night, though, I was talking with my neighbor who mentioned that he gets migranes. He then went on to say that for other health issues he has an oxygen tank that he uses "as needed". Said he has discovered that when a migrane comes on if he hits the pure oxygen it stops it cold and he hasn't suffered a migraine since. Said when he asked his dr. the response was "yes, he (dr.) was aware that oxygen could work but didn't want to run the risk of having him end up oxygen dependent".

Something you might ask your dr. about.
C
 
clhyer said:
Knock on wood - I don't have y'all's problem. Last night, though, I was talking with my neighbor who mentioned that he gets migranes. He then went on to say that for other health issues he has an oxygen tank that he uses "as needed". Said he has discovered that when a migrane comes on if he hits the pure oxygen it stops it cold and he hasn't suffered a migraine since. Said when he asked his dr. the response was "yes, he (dr.) was aware that oxygen could work but didn't want to run the risk of having him end up oxygen dependent".

Something you might ask your dr. about.
C
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I hope you don't ever get them either. It's sure no fun. Apparently your neighbor has a breathing problem since he has the oxygen tank. Maybe his headaches have something to do with not getting enough oxygen to his brain. Then again maybe it is something that'll work on alot of people no matter what the cause for their headaches is. I will mention it to my doc to see what he says. Thanks for the tip.
 
I get migraines every time I look at the fenders I bought on eBay for my 71 Dart last fall. ;-)

Seriously, though, I used to get splitting headaches that would start behind my left eye, radiate along my scalp to the base of my neck. It felt like somebody was trying to split my head open with a dull broadax, and it felt like if i would dig my eye out with a fork I might get some relief. Light, especially sunlight, would enhance the experience to sheer agony. The only way to get relief was to fall asleep, and then when I would wake up I was pretty groggy for awhile. Turned out it was all sinus related.
 
I have had what My Doc figured were "Cluster or Vascular head aches" Liquour would bring them on. One beer could do it but not all the time. Kinda like An ice cream headache in my right eye, hurt like a f--ker usually only last 30 minutes or less light would be a sob when experienceing it. Smoking seemed to be a factor havent smoked in four months and had only one since they suck!! D
 
I am 37 and have had migraine's all my life. I quit getting them a few years ago when I started taking medication for high cholesterol. The doctor, along with my aunt and my wife's aunt, who are both nurses, said that has nothing to do with it, but I don't get them anymore. I would always get them in the same spot, the top of the left side of my head. If I didn't 4-5 Advil, the pain would eventually creep down my neck and the top of my back. I literally went from getting them 4-5 times a month to 2-3 times a year, and the ones I get now aren't migraines, just mild headaches. For me, the things that trigger them are weather/barometric pressure changes, drinking sodas, eating cheese. I used to buy big blocks of cheese and eat a chunk pretty often. Cutting these out cuts down on the headaches for me.

Also, I tried a prescription (don't remember which one) for migraines and they did nothing for me.
 
lilcuda said:
I get migraines. Mine are triggered by irregular sleep, muscle tension in my shoulders & neck, dust or too much sun. I'm not sure about foods yet. I'm trying to narrow that down. Anyway, Imitrex works for me if I take it right when I'm feeling it come on. I get nausea sometimes, but the big thing is a real bad pain behind my eye. Seems to be more on the right than the left, but I do get them on the left side once in a while. If I don't get it with the Imitrex right away, it's pretty much a wasted day for me recovering from it. Luckily (for me), my boss' wife gets them, so when I call in sick because of one, he totally understands.

My mom got me this book called "Your Migraine Brain". It's very interesting and quite helpful. It's geared more toward women, but it does apply to men. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416547681/?tag=joeychgo-20
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Very similar to my experiences. Sometimes catching the glare of the sun off glass or chrome or being dehydrated will trigger them also. Mine mostly consist of the vision disruption that passes shortly but you feel washed out for most of the day. Thank god the headaches are not bad. I also suspect sinus problems are a trigger or come as a result.

Scariest though is twice it affected my speech similar to a stroke. Could not speak right and get the words to come out. Very unnerving. I read that this can be a symptom but discussed it with my doctor and eventually had a MRI. Anyone else experience this ?

I will have to check out the book too.

Mike
 
I used to work in an ED and many of the docs would give Caffeine through a IV to some Migraine HA's. Excedrin Migraine has Caffeine in it also. Caffeine is a stimulant, like a "adrenaline rush" it causes vascular constriction along with the other stuff. The constriction helps in HA because it decreases fluid in the skull, as many HA's are caused by a change in pressure/fluid. The skull is unlike the rest of the body, because the tissue can't swell to shift/move fluid. I dont get HA's, so I have never tried it. Ask your DOC about it, but it may be a good home remidy. Goodluck.
 
FrostyGreen318 said:
Very similar to my experiences. Sometimes catching the glare of the sun off glass or chrome or being dehydrated will trigger them also. Mine mostly consist of the vision disruption that passes shortly but you feel washed out for most of the day. Thank god the headaches are not bad. I also suspect sinus problems are a trigger or come as a result.

Scariest though is twice it affected my speech similar to a stroke. Could not speak right and get the words to come out. Very unnerving. I read that this can be a symptom but discussed it with my doctor and eventually had a MRI. Anyone else experience this ?

I will have to check out the book too.

Mike
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I've had that happen just a couple of times. Your right it is scary.

joeboy said:
I used to work in an ED and many of the docs would give Caffeine through a IV to some Migraine HA's. Excedrin Migraine has Caffeine in it also. Caffeine is a stimulant, like a "adrenaline rush" it causes vascular constriction along with the other stuff. The constriction helps in HA because it decreases fluid in the skull, as many HA's are caused by a change in pressure/fluid. The skull is unlike the rest of the body, because the tissue can't swell to shift/move fluid. I dont get HA's, so I have never tried it. Ask your DOC about it, but it may be a good home remidy. Goodluck.
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I have to avoid caffeine as it agitates my already high blood pressure. Even taking my BP med (3 pills per day) it still runs about 170 over 100.
 
i used to get bad headaches all the time went to my doctor good looking( chines lady)ask me all kinds of questions. she told me to only drink one cup of coffee a day for a couple days in stead of 3pots a day and see if that helps. well that was it. now its only one cup maybe two all day. and yes she gives me my d.o.t.phisicls to. my truck mechanic yous to get them it was his back she told him to try a whirlpool tub.he now has his Owen tub and no more headaches. hop this will help i know what your feeling.......
 
godfatherofchry said:
i used to get bad headaches all the time went to my doctor good looking( chines lady)ask me all kinds of questions. she told me to only drink one cup of coffee a day for a couple days in stead of 3pots a day and see if that helps. well that was it. now its only one cup maybe two all day. and yes she gives me my d.o.t.phisicls to. my truck mechanic yous to get them it was his back she told him to try a whirlpool tub.he now has his Owen tub and no more headaches. hop this will help i know what your feeling.......
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I think the caffeine thing can go either way from what I've heard. You were probably caffeine dependent since you drank so much coffee and that's what caused you headaches. By kicking the caffeine habit that eliminated that problem and your headaches left. I've heard whirlpools help but unfortunately I don't have room in my house for one. Next year we'll have the house paid off so maybe then we can add on and put one in. Thanks for the tip.
 
I have to avoid caffeine as it agitates my already high blood pressure. Even taking my BP med (3 pills per day) it still runs about 170 over 100.[/quote]



Skip that plan then....
 
I had my first migraine at 34... and it caused a small stroke called a TIA. I couldn't understand what people were telling me, couldn't form words coherently, my speech was blurred, my reality disappeared. Everything seemed like it was surreal, with my hands feeling like they were a mile from my body. The migraines I suffer from are a rarity, something like only 10%, where the blood vessels contract. (Normal migraines the blood vessels expand and put pressure on the brain tissue.) Someone on here mentioned Imitrex, which my wife uses for her migraines. I was told by the doctor that if I take one of those I could die, so make sure the doctor has the migraines diagnosed properly to begin with.
For the past three years, though, almost nothing has been available for my type of migraine. Unbearable pain and aspirin, which will help open the blood passages was the norm. And a prescription from the doctor that if I feel a full blown migraine coming on to get my butt to the hospital so they can monitor me for a stroke.
I have found a few triggers. Piercing, repetive noise is one. One reason I couldn't stand working with the idiot in the last place I worked who insisted that the radio be on a modern music station. Britany Spears, Rhianna, etc, can be pretty piercing and repetitive, especially when he'd crank it up, despite knowing that it would give me a headache that could lead to a trip to the hospital for me. Wearing earplugs when I know I'll have to use the impact a lot of the day (one of the reasons I liked the Ford garage and doing drivability: the IDS scanner makes no noise). Certain smells can also be a trigger. Massive amounts of gasoline, say from changing a fuel pump or sendng unit card (I can do 'em in record time, so I don't have to put up with the smell).
Sometimes I'd get the migraine with no headache. Mood swings were the worst. I'd get angry over bull**** things for no apparent reason and fly off the handle. This would happen about half an hour before the actual pain would set in.
Changed doctors and he prescribed Topomax, which is actually an anti-seizure med. My incidents of migraine has gone from one a day to about one every two to three weeks. Aspirin is still prescribe as a blood thinner to help my blood vessels stay open and keep the blood flowing.
 
ramenth said:
I had my first migraine at 34... and it caused a small stroke called a TIA. I couldn't understand what people were telling me, couldn't form words coherently, my speech was blurred, my reality disappeared. Everything seemed like it was surreal, with my hands feeling like they were a mile from my body. The migraines I suffer from are a rarity, something like only 10%, where the blood vessels contract. (Normal migraines the blood vessels expand and put pressure on the brain tissue.) Someone on here mentioned Imitrex, which my wife uses for her migraines. I was told by the doctor that if I take one of those I could die, so make sure the doctor has the migraines diagnosed properly to begin with.
For the past three years, though, almost nothing has been available for my type of migraine. Unbearable pain and aspirin, which will help open the blood passages was the norm. And a prescription from the doctor that if I feel a full blown migraine coming on to get my butt to the hospital so they can monitor me for a stroke.
I have found a few triggers. Piercing, repetive noise is one. One reason I couldn't stand working with the idiot in the last place I worked who insisted that the radio be on a modern music station. Britany Spears, Rhianna, etc, can be pretty piercing and repetitive, especially when he'd crank it up, despite knowing that it would give me a headache that could lead to a trip to the hospital for me. Wearing earplugs when I know I'll have to use the impact a lot of the day (one of the reasons I liked the Ford garage and doing drivability: the IDS scanner makes no noise). Certain smells can also be a trigger. Massive amounts of gasoline, say from changing a fuel pump or sendng unit card (I can do 'em in record time, so I don't have to put up with the smell).
Sometimes I'd get the migraine with no headache. Mood swings were the worst. I'd get angry over bull**** things for no apparent reason and fly off the handle. This would happen about half an hour before the actual pain would set in.
Changed doctors and he prescribed Topomax, which is actually an anti-seizure med. My incidents of migraine has gone from one a day to about one every two to three weeks. Aspirin is still prescribe as a blood thinner to help my blood vessels stay open and keep the blood flowing.
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Wow that's wild. Although yoru migraines are different from mine we share alot of the same triggers. Loud and repetitive noise and strong smells do me in too. Can't use brake or carb cleaner inside a closed building at all. Even if it's ventilated. Gasoline does me in too. Most any strong smell will trigger one. It don't always hit me right then but I feel light headed and generally within an hour or 2 I'll have a migraine hit. Don't know if you read my earlier comment about the Topamax but be real careful with it as it's known to cause major kidney stones in alot of people. I took it for about 6 months and felt real good and the migraines were cut way back like yours then I got a real nasty stone that put me down for a full week. They analyzed it's content when I passed it and it was from the Topamax so they immediately took me off of it because they said it'd cause kidney damage if I kept taking it. When originally designed as a anti-seizure drug it was given in smaller doses. Then they discovered it does help with headaches when given in larger doses so of course the medical company pushed it for that even though it was never approved as a migraine prevention drug. I read awhile back they were talking about pulling it from the market because it's killed quite a few people but I never heard they actually did yank it. Do a Google search on it and side effects and see what you find. Sorry to give you that bad news as I know you said it helps alot but if it causes more problems in the end it might not be worth it.

Man I don't wish a migraine on anybody but after hearing about the jerk you worked with it's makes you wish he'd get one real bad one (one of those 3 day gotta lay in a quite dark room buggers) just so he'd see how you felt from his stupid selfish carelessness.
 
I get Migraines headaches and they suck! What are cluster headaches?
 
KP said:
I get Migraines headaches and they suck! What are cluster headaches?
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They are similar to migraines in the pain level but you get them more often. Can happen several times a day over a few days then you get a few days or possibly weeks off then they hit again. You don't generally get sick from them or have aura (sp) like you get with migraines.
 
fishy68 said:
They are similar to migraines in the pain level but you get them more often. Can happen several times a day over a few days then you get a few days or possibly weeks off then they hit again. You don't generally get sick from them or have aura (sp) like you get with migraines.
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I Do Not Want Them!
 
Anyone try Axert? Tried alot of stuff nothing works. Cluster headaches, pressure in head and eyes, light sensitive, vission issues, hearing issues, noise senstive, jaw pain, no sleep, fatigue, numbness on right side of face and lsft side of body, sureal almost feel drunk. Those days can't do anything and nothing helps. Found light, noise and stress, thinking to much seem and sudden movements (elavators can`t take them)to help the headaches get worse (trigger) Also have neck and back issues and see a Chriopractor and natural path Doctor. Tried accupuncture as well heard it works well for some ice on the base of your neck (back of neck) rub ice on the temples will dull the headaches some. Also taking Lyrica for nerve issues. Went to work fell about 25 feet = head trauma, with full body trauma = sucks. I`ve seen alot of worst people so can`t really complain, just not enjoyable at all, big life style change. Ice, accupunture, cranel adjustments (chrioprator) and meds and naturalpath doctors seem to help some people. Good luck all and if you have any ideas keep them comming. All the best
 
slantysix said:
Anyone try Axert?
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Never heard of that one. Is it prescript or otc?

I tried Lyrica too for about 6 weeks. The longer I took it the worse my memory got. By the end of the 5th week you could tell me something and I wouldn't remember I even talked to you 5 minutes later. I hear that's rare and wouldn't you know I was the one that had that reaction. Didn't help the headaches either.
 
fishy68 said:
Wow that's wild. Although yoru migraines are different from mine we share alot of the same triggers. Loud and repetitive noise and strong smells do me in too. Can't use brake or carb cleaner inside a closed building at all. Even if it's ventilated. Gasoline does me in too. Most any strong smell will trigger one. It don't always hit me right then but I feel light headed and generally within an hour or 2 I'll have a migraine hit. Don't know if you read my earlier comment about the Topamax but be real careful with it as it's known to cause major kidney stones in alot of people. I took it for about 6 months and felt real good and the migraines were cut way back like yours then I got a real nasty stone that put me down for a full week. They analyzed it's content when I passed it and it was from the Topamax so they immediately took me off of it because they said it'd cause kidney damage if I kept taking it. When originally designed as a anti-seizure drug it was given in smaller doses. Then they discovered it does help with headaches when given in larger doses so of course the medical company pushed it for that even though it was never approved as a migraine prevention drug. I read awhile back they were talking about pulling it from the market because it's killed quite a few people but I never heard they actually did yank it. Do a Google search on it and side effects and see what you find. Sorry to give you that bad news as I know you said it helps alot but if it causes more problems in the end it might not be worth it.

Man I don't wish a migraine on anybody but after hearing about the jerk you worked with it's makes you wish he'd get one real bad one (one of those 3 day gotta lay in a quite dark room buggers) just so he'd see how you felt from his stupid selfish carelessness.
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The doc explained the Topamax side affects going into it and I'm taking just 25mg daily. The pill is about the size of a lighter flint; not a very big dosage. My wife had some concerns about it, too, since she works for a state-run psych hospital and had seen some of the side affects after folks had been taken off, by that was all high dosage. All concerns have been talked about with the doc.
Other than aspirin to help with blood flow, though, there really isn't much on the market to help with my kind of migraine. The drug companies put the R&D money into kind that 90% suffer. Imatrex, others, and the OTC kind are meant to contract the blood vessels, hence the reason if I take one for my migraines, considering my blood vessels have already constricted...you get the point. Living for 3 years in almost constant pain, the migraines coming twice daily or sometimes even three times a day, can be quite dibilitating. A steady diet of aspirin, almost 2000mg a day, I was building up a tolerance to the stuff and was heading to stomach problems. Now 25 mg of Topomax and 81mg of aspirin for blood thinner is controlling them.
One of the things that has my primary physician and my neurologist concerned is that my first migraine came so late in life. It is an extreme rarity for someone to have their first migraine at the age I did. Most will suffer their first as teenagers. But my cholesterol is good, blood pressure is right where it should be, and the CT scans were all normal. Is it hereditary? My grandad died from a series of strokes and my father just suffered a series of a TIAs (if they hadn't used blood thinner in the ambulance he may have suffered a massive stroke). Who can say? They never suffered from migraines. Grandad was in his 80s when he passed and dad will turn 68 later this month. My blood vessels are younger and therefore stronger, so it may be manifesting as migraines now.
I'm just really not thrilled with the idea of going back and suffering so much pain at the moment. Or thrilled with the idea that I'll possibly suffer a massive stroke before I'm 40. I have repetive motion in my life elbow, and surgery is needed to take care of that. My wife is an occupational therapist and with stretching exercises and massage she gets me through that. I grit my teeth and work through it. I need a new right knee thanks to years of doing body and collision work. It stiffens up, I pop it, walk around with a brace and a limp, but I grit my teeth and get through it. My head, though, is intolerable. I can burn myself, throw welder slag down my boot, hit myself with a five pound maul, pinch my fingers, whatever and keep working. My head pain pisses me off (lack of blood flow to the brain which controls mood), causes massive amounts of pain, and makes me a complete a**hole to be around. My wife shouldn't have to live with that.
As for the kid I worked with, he was useless. Everyone treated him like he owned the shop and was a #1 tech. Can't tell you how many times I had to babysit him on the scanner or explain to him how to do something the right way. Everyone felt sorry for him because his daughter suffered from a heart defect. I didn't feel bad for him, though I prayed for his daughter. I lost my daughter and when I heard him talking about hanging out at the bars instead of spending time with her, I felt the sympathy I felt for him drain away. Not very Christian perhaps, but I am only human.
 
ramenth said:
The doc explained the Topamax side affects going into it and I'm taking just 25mg daily. The pill is about the size of a lighter flint; not a very big dosage. My wife had some concerns about it, too, since she works for a state-run psych hospital and had seen some of the side affects after folks had been taken off, by that was all high dosage. All concerns have been talked about with the doc.
Other than aspirin to help with blood flow, though, there really isn't much on the market to help with my kind of migraine. The drug companies put the R&D money into kind that 90% suffer. Imatrex, others, and the OTC kind are meant to contract the blood vessels, hence the reason if I take one for my migraines, considering my blood vessels have already constricted...you get the point. Living for 3 years in almost constant pain, the migraines coming twice daily or sometimes even three times a day, can be quite dibilitating. A steady diet of aspirin, almost 2000mg a day, I was building up a tolerance to the stuff and was heading to stomach problems. Now 25 mg of Topomax and 81mg of aspirin for blood thinner is controlling them.
One of the things that has my primary physician and my neurologist concerned is that my first migraine came so late in life. It is an extreme rarity for someone to have their first migraine at the age I did. Most will suffer their first as teenagers. But my cholesterol is good, blood pressure is right where it should be, and the CT scans were all normal. Is it hereditary? My grandad died from a series of strokes and my father just suffered a series of a TIAs (if they hadn't used blood thinner in the ambulance he may have suffered a massive stroke). Who can say? They never suffered from migraines. Grandad was in his 80s when he passed and dad will turn 68 later this month. My blood vessels are younger and therefore stronger, so it may be manifesting as migraines now.
I'm just really not thrilled with the idea of going back and suffering so much pain at the moment. Or thrilled with the idea that I'll possibly suffer a massive stroke before I'm 40. I have repetive motion in my life elbow, and surgery is needed to take care of that. My wife is an occupational therapist and with stretching exercises and massage she gets me through that. I grit my teeth and work through it. I need a new right knee thanks to years of doing body and collision work. It stiffens up, I pop it, walk around with a brace and a limp, but I grit my teeth and get through it. My head, though, is intolerable. I can burn myself, throw welder slag down my boot, hit myself with a five pound maul, pinch my fingers, whatever and keep working. My head pain pisses me off (lack of blood flow to the brain which controls mood), causes massive amounts of pain, and makes me a complete a**hole to be around. My wife shouldn't have to live with that.
As for the kid I worked with, he was useless. Everyone treated him like he owned the shop and was a #1 tech. Can't tell you how many times I had to babysit him on the scanner or explain to him how to do something the right way. Everyone felt sorry for him because his daughter suffered from a heart defect. I didn't feel bad for him, though I prayed for his daughter. I lost my daughter and when I heard him talking about hanging out at the bars instead of spending time with her, I felt the sympathy I felt for him drain away. Not very Christian perhaps, but I am only human.
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I know where your coming from. I also went through a couple of yrs. enduring constant head pain and the Topamax did help but I had to take alot more than you. 200 mg. per day to quench mine. from what I've read you should be ok at 25 mg. per day. I didn't know how much you took and just wanted to warn you in case you didn't know the side effects. I never had a migraine until I was 35 either. It's been 10 yrs. now. I also had to have my elbows operated on (cubital tunnel syndrome) do to repetitive over use. I was a forklift mechanic for almost 15 yrs. so that took a toll on my small frame. Alot of heavy lifting and bending over. Climbing up on the mast and jumping down (that was my fault for taking shortcuts) wore the discs out in my back. Thank God my knees seem to be doing ok. At least my legs dont' give me any trouble. It's hard to be Christ like when you have to work with jerks like you described. We just have to keep trying and ask for forgiveness when we fall short. I know cause I've been there too.
 
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