Migraines

[Manfred Belheim]

Does anyone here suffer from migraines? I'm starting to suspect that I might do, but what I get doesn't seem to remotely match either of the two people I've known personally who suffer from them, so I'd always assumed I don't. But it seems the symptoms can vary widely.

So do you get migraines? And if so, how do they manifest?

 

[bernie14]

Typically, migraines are one sided, throbbing and associated with nausea and photophobia

Edit, I've only had 2 migraines in my life and they were preceded by scotoma

 

[AmazonQueen]

I've had a couple of viral infection headaches over the years which are very painful and last for days. Much worse than the flu or whatever that led to them.

 

[MaryKB]

I started getting migraines when I was sixteen years old. Mine were on my right side, and I basically felt like my head was going to explode. I felt like my brain was in overdrive or something, and thinking seemed to cause me physical pain, but something wouldn't let me relax and my thoughts wouldn't stop, I couldn't even control it. I used to get them very regularly, and sometimes they'd last days at a time. I basically couldn't do anything but lie down with a hot towel over my eyes, and I'd routinely throw up. I started getting them less and less as I got older, and now that I'm in my late thirties they've pretty much gone away for the most part.

 

[Josu]

My wife suffers migraines.
She has identified following triggers:
- South wind, where we live South wind means dry winds
- Greasy food
- Poor Sleep

She can easily avoid the greasy food and can control (more or less) the sleep. However there is no way of managing the weather, these days she takes a pill whose name I can not remember or an ibuprofen, before the throbbing starts

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Yes. They're awful.

Thankfully most of the ones I get are just optical migraines. It usually starts when I notice it's difficult to read. Then I end up with a giant sctintillating scotoma covering half my field of vision.

It was terrifying the first few times. Now it's just annoying because I don't know if it's just an optical migraine or the aura to an actual severe one.

 

[MaryKB]

I discovered one of my triggers was caffeine, which was one of my big motivators to get off of it. Lack of sleep also affected me, and I was also very sensitive to certain noise frequencies (either high or low)

 

[The_J]

I had them when I was a teenie (like 12-14), luckily went away after puberty.
I think I had them roughly once per month, normally at a weekend. No clue what triggered them. Not much to do there, except lie down in the darkness, because it made me very light sensitive, and normally a bit nauseous too.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

The two triggers I've noticed are strong scents and bad weather.

EDIT: Flashing lights, too.

 

[Gorbles]

My dad used to get them a lot (probably still does occasionally). Unsure of the exact cause, but likely incredibly punishing working hours and the stress of being a chef on split shifts. Often resulted in him lying down in a dark room for several hours resting.

Haven't suffered from them myself, thankfully. I've taken to managing light sensitivity and being very specific about wearing sunglasses though, because my parents both needed glasses into early middle-age, and being a developer myself I don't want to strain my eyes into uselessness too early into my career.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I've had three or four in my life and that's quite enough. No idea what triggers them.

 

[Synobun]

I had them chronically as a child every couple weeks; the more standard variety where just being upright caused nausea, couldn't eat, couldn't stand light, etc. They stopped when I entered puberty, thank god.

For the past couple years I go through a phase every year for a few months where I get migraines regularly. I've had three in the past week. But they are more manageable now. I get brain zaps when I look at bright lights (like streetlights/headlights) but I can be in a normally lighted room without it being miserable. The pain is pounding and severe but not to the point of making me nauseous. Usually always on the right side. And I can still listen to things, just not as loudly as usual as my sense tolerances are reduced by 50% or so during a migraine. Caffeine actually helps take the edge off the pain, but just the edge. Sleep usually solves it but that's difficult to achieve as the symptoms actually get worse when I lay down and it constantly wakes me up.

No discernible triggers as far as I can tell. They hit suddenly and then they stop suddenly. I'll go months without a single one and then have a couple months where I get multiple every week.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

A few years ago I had some terrifying bad headaches that made the migraines look mild. I think it was explained to me as a nerve somewhere in my head getting smushed, but that whole time period is kind of foggy for me. Thankfully I don't get those anymore.

 

[Kozmos]

I don't know if they are migraines but my 'headaches' take form in one side of the head, most commonly the brow having throbbing dull bohrer into the brain sensation of pain. Usually caused by bad sleep or naps. I rub cooling gel on my forhead and beneath my nose and eat as much ice cream as I can, before burying my head into a pillow and a dark room. Even moving my head feels painful.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My triggers are certain foods and cigarette smoke. People think I'm crazy for telling them that if there's raw basil in whatever they're serving, I not only can't eat it, but can't even smell it. I literally ran out of someone's house after they sprinkled basil flakes over a salad, because the pain was agonizing and instantaneous. It's like someone inside my head, sticking me with knives.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

I get atypical ones. I get very dizzy and my vision swims. Obviously driving is out when that happens. Triggers are red wine, some cheeses and smoke flavoring in some BBQ products and sausages etc.

 

[bernie14]

I had them chronically as a child every couple weeks; the more standard variety where just being upright caused nausea, couldn't eat, couldn't stand light, etc. They stopped when I entered puberty, thank god.

For the past couple years I go through a phase every year for a few months where I get migraines regularly. I've had three in the past week. But they are more manageable now. I get brain zaps when I look at bright lights (like streetlights/headlights) but I can be in a normally lighted room without it being miserable. The pain is pounding and severe but not to the point of making me nauseous. Usually always on the right side. And I can still listen to things, just not as loudly as usual as my sense tolerances are reduced by 50% or so during a migraine. Caffeine actually helps take the edge off the pain, but just the edge. Sleep usually solves it but that's difficult to achieve as the symptoms actually get worse when I lay down and it constantly wakes me up.

No discernible triggers as far as I can tell. They hit suddenly and then they stop suddenly. I'll go months without a single one and then have a couple months where I get multiple every week.

Iirc, you recently mentioned tearing or some eye pain? Is it possible you have cluster headaches?

A few years ago I had some terrifying bad headaches that made the migraines look mild. I think it was explained to me as a nerve somewhere in my head getting smushed, but that whole time period is kind of foggy for me. Thankfully I don't get those anymore.

Trigeminal neuralgia?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Might have been.