Had my first (severe) migraine today

last time i had one i ended up at the hospital. got an injection of something in my ass which helped but took a couple days to fully recover.

the time before that i couldn't move for about a week. the pain was so intense i seriously considered killing myself.

they are no joke. thankfully i don't have them often.
 
If your getting them on weekends then there is some specific trigger. too much sleep/not enough. think about your routine and what's different. Once you find your triggers you can manage them more.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, it's been a lot of help. I'll have plenty to talk about with my doctor my next visit.

OP, migraines run in my families. I only get them sometimes but my sister gets them far more often.

My recommendation is see a doctor. He can properly diagnose your headache, which sounds like either a migraine or cluster headache. The aura you have is seen commonly with migraines, but if you have lacrimation, runny nose, retrorbital pain that usually means it's a cluster headache.

The doctor will probably prescribe you preventive drugs, and if you do get a headache a treatment for that.

Yeah, the symptoms made me think of a cluster headache, but while the pain was pretty damn bad, it wasn't that bad. Aren't cluster headaches supposed to be one of the most painful conditions known to man?
 
OP, do your sleeping patterns change on the weekend? I realized sleep was my trigger when I had kids and how often I was having migraines tripled.

Also, I can confirm ibuprofen and caffeine are helpful.
 
Yeah I get them pretty often (and fun ones that stay around for weeks/months and a damn year and a half in one case). They always suck. Thankfully most of them are far less in severity than the year one. I can only recommend you get some water and try to stay in a not obnoxiously bright room. (I don't really recommend rest unless it spikes but that's only because I get them so often if I rested all the time I'd never do anything).
 
Thanks for the responses guys, it's been a lot of help. I'll have plenty to talk about with my doctor my next visit.



Yeah, the symptoms made me think of a cluster headache, but while the pain was pretty damn bad, it wasn't that bad. Aren't cluster headaches supposed to be one of the most painful conditions known to man?

I would imagine cluster headaches/migraines have different severities. I've had migraines which were throbbing, annoying, and I've had migraines where I've literally vomited because the pain was so bad - basically the pain would vary from mild to severe. At it's most severe it's probably one of the more painful conditions a person can experience.

OP, do your sleeping patterns change on the weekend? I realized sleep was my trigger when I had kids and how often I was having migraines tripled.

Also, I can confirm ibuprofen and caffeine are helpful.

Somehow I figured out sleeping on my left side triggers migraines, sleeping on my right side doesn't cause them.
 
I had migraines for twenty-one years but about five months ago I finally saw a neurologist and haven't had one since. Not only that but the headaches I do get can be instantly fixed by Advil.

So if this becomes a regular occurrence go to a neurologist if you can afford it because they really can prescribe medication that can help.

OTC get Excedrin. That stuff is amazing. 1000mg of acetaminophen also is pretty decent. I also found that drinking constant low doses of caffeinated beverages would act kinda like a preventive but maybe that's specific to me. Also washing your hair in the sink can be very relaxing.
 
Had intense migraines for years, coming at random intervals.

After going to the doctor for years, a random doctor checked my eye. Apparently I had incredibly high pressure in my eyes, causing the pain.

Would check that if you have issues.
 
Excedrin is the only thing that helps from my experience.

The first time having a visual aura was terrifying. I thought I was having a stroke. Nearly had a panic attack on top of the migraine. Good times.

I get them maybe once every 4 months or so now. Sugar and bright sunlight seem to be my triggers.
 
People saying RedBull, make sure you are not Hypoglycemic like me. As it can cause you to sugar crash. Talk to your doctor if you have trouble waking up in the morning, it may be a condition you are unaware of.
 
I always had headaches, usually on the weekends (dunno why). Sometimes the pain was bit more severe, but most of the headaches I've experienced were mostly inconsequential and just ended up being nothing more than nuisances.

But today was different. I had the preemptive warning signs with the blurred vision, runny nose, and then one side of my head started to hurt so bad I threw up multiple times, and I spent the rest of the day sleeping and just wasted away my entire Saturday.

This probably isn't the best place to ask, but any other fellow migraine sufferers out there? Any tips on how to prevent migraines with happening, and do you have any go-to solutions when you get the first warning signs of a migraine attack?

And before you ask, yes, I went to a doctor. He didn't really say much though, just gave me some painkillers and told me to visit again next week.

Get the doc to prescribe you sumatriptan (imigran). I've suffered with migraines since my early teens it's the only medication that stops them in their tracks.

Co-codomal and decent strength ibuprofen take the edge off a bit, but when they wear off I find the severe pain comes back.

Try and keep a note of what you eat, or any stress factors when a migraine starts, try to work out what your triggers are. For me it's dairy products, stress and grapefruit.
 
I get Ocular Migraines. Basically my vision becomes a kaleidoscope for about 45 minutes, then I have a dull headache for a couple days. It could be much worse from a pain perspective but being basically blind for 45 minutes (usually at really inopportune times) is a little frightening.
 
Had intense migraines for years, coming at random intervals.

After going to the doctor for years, a random doctor checked my eye. Apparently I had incredibly high pressure in my eyes, causing the pain.

Would check that if you have issues.
Was it specifically an eye doctor or your GP?
 
I've had them for many years but recently they have been more rare. Until 2 weeks ago when I was walking in a parking lot and as I was taking a step up, I missed judged and fell down hard onto rough concrete. I badly scraped my forearms and knees. I was worried that I hit my head because I was out of it and bloody. Turns out my visual aura was interfering with my vision and made me miss the step!

What followed was the worst migraine I've had in many years. Blinding pain, nausea vomiting, weakness and just feeling like I had a stroke for about 24 hours. I've never had a migraine hit me so hard and so fast before. I have been under extra stress, but was well hydrated and did not take any trigger food (for me aged and feta cheese). Excedrin and anti nausea medicine helped me get though it.

When I used to get them more regularly, I found if I could have an orgasm as soon as I detected the aura, it would really shrink the migraine or knock it out. It must be something about endorphines, etc. But the key is to have one before the migraine symptoms start, cause once the pounding head pain and nausea hit, sex is out of the question. Happy to say my wife is very helpful when I have a migraine.
 
Fellow migraine sufferer here.

It got really fucking bad in my teens, to the point where it affected my education. Unfortunately, my migraines come with the extremely annoying aura so it can ruin an entire day (or more) of your life. My Dad gets them too and we dubbed the aura stage 'the worm' because it appears small at first and then wriggles across your field of vision.

The first time it happened to me when I was about 13 or 14 I thought I was having a stroke. My cycle is 'the worm' and then once my vision was completely compromised it would eventually dissipate and was then followed by an incredibly intense headache and nausea which would make 'sleeping it off' difficult. I think, outside of what I've heard about cluster headaches, regular migraines is one of the worst conditions you can have, and very few people sympathise with it because they think it's "just a headache".

Usually there's something in your diet, routine, sleep pattern or lifestyle that's triggers migraines. I credit my migraines with pushing me towards a much healthier life and these days they're very rare.
 
Used to have them a lot as a kid/teenager.

Hasn't really been an issue in recent years, think dropping caffeine altogether helped but thats just a blind assumption on my part. Wouldn't be able to trace back the correlation.

In any case, start hoarding Ibuprofen gel tablets. Those things are amazing.
 
I suffered from very bad migraine as a child i somehow grew out of it in someway but here it goes:

A couple times each year as a child i had such a bad headache that i could do nothing the pain was so bad i layed in bed all day for a couple of days it was really painfull. My parents always had to call school to report me as sick because i literally could do nothing it was that bad. The house doctor said it was a bad case of severe migraine.

Nothing helped sadly and i randomly had these. As i said as i grew older i got em less and less and now i only experienve normal headaches sometimes but not those severe ones.

I dunno what you can do about em since i don't remember but man i know how bad they can get...it ain't fun.
 
Watch for triggers. Caffeine, sleep deprivation, daily blazing, bright screens, and hunger seem to trigger mine.

Some imitrex from the doctor might be beneficial to you.
 
Water, excedrine, dark, and sleep. The water is the important part, as others have said. I had a brain tumor as a child, and I get really debilitating migraines where the tumor used to be. My neurologist gave me some pills to use in an emergency, and they work great. If you keep getting them, it might be worth looking into. I'd assume you could get them from your PCP as well.
 
Excedrin is an absolute game changer for me. Thankfully they don't seem to hit me as hard as they did previously, but it's still a given that when the aura hits I am going to my room and turning my lights off for the immediate future.

Never tried a red bull, I can see the logic. I might have to keep a couple spares in the fridge just in case.
 
My brother-in-law in a neurologist and I just asked him about my migraines; they sound similar to yours. He said, I should take a regimen of the migraine-level Tylenol every other day (the stuff with caffeine) for a week and see how it goes. Basically, one day of taking it every 4-6 hours and then nothing the next day unless I'm having a severe headache. He said that stress headaches and migraines build up over time and the idea is that you need to break up the pattern. Make sure you're drinking a lot of water and getting good sleep as well.

I feel bad for you OP because I've also lost entire days to migraines in recent months. I've woken up, spent the next two hours throwing up and having severe stomach issues and then had to sleep it off.
 
I tried getting up the same time I do on weekends and I feel fine today.

I think my trigger is falling asleep again after waking up. I always had headaches whenever I did that, so I think that's what I'll be watching out for from now on.
 
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