I've spent the past few days on a migraine rollercoaster. The first one hit me on Tuesday evening. I took an Imitrex, which helped, but I felt fragile all of Wednesday, and Thursday, it blossomed into bright, agonizing pain again. I don't get the usual migraines; I get cluster headaches, which are worse (I've experienced both).
Thursday, my beautiful husband picked up some Imitrex samples from my doctor. I discovered that the samples are 100mg, while my prescription was for 25mg. The 100mg helped, and I basically melted into the bed, a puddle of "huh?" when spoken to. I didn't dare move. I slipped into sleep, and I apparently needed some major healing, because my body slept for a very long time while an electrical storm raged in my brain. I had bizarre dreams and several periods of waking with sleep paralysis still in place (I hate that SO much).
If I had health insurance, I'd probably ask for my brain to be scanned or something.
I awoke around 2pm today, still a bit fragile, but much, much better. I think that, if I'd had the higher dose on Tuesday, I would have nipped this thing in the bud. As it is, I had a great deal of myofascial pain while the storm raged.
Let me describe myofascial pain: I felt like I had a network of very fragile, brittle material, like blown glass, or ice, just beneath my skin, all over my body, limbs, and head. The material felt like it cracked and crunched when I moved certain parts, especially the helmet of it over my head. There is no actual material, just nerves giving bizarre and incorrect feedback to my brain.
So I had a really miserable time for one of my favorite holidays--I adore Valentine's Day. My sweet, wonderful husband was so kind to me--he brought me cupcakes from the bakery near his work, which has the very best cakes and frosting in the area (Cinnamon Stick in Clifton Park Center--trust me on this one, you'll never get a birthday cake anywhere else!). He also framed a small print of "The Ravishment of Psyche" by Bouguereau, one of my favorite paintings. I was delighted! I had managed to make him some homemade batter-dipped mozzarella sticks, which he and my roommate enjoyed very much. I was planning on making him a wonderful dinner, then having dessert (I got him some key lime pie) in the bedroom. That was ruined, and I feel really ripped off. Screw you, trigeminal nerve. Screw you, myofascial pain.
I hope others were able to enjoy Valentine's Day. I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone else!
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4 comments:
sorry to hear you get migraines, i suffer them too( i grew 12 inches in 1 year when i was 14 and it blew my system to shreds)
but mine are sort of pins and needles in my tongue, i see flashing lights, my speech becomes very disordered, and i cant keep my hand open, it keeps shutting itself. then i become ill.
you get well, rest and recover.
Have you tried magnesium as a preventative? It sounds crazy, but it's the only thing that keep my migraines at bay. I take 500 mgs a day and I rarely get break through headaches anymore. And mine are....well, they've been mistaken for seizures on more than one occassion. I've run the full spectrum of 'types' of migraine, as well as a nice spell of cluster headaches. (God damn but those hurt!)
Hi Rio,
I am so sorry to hear of your plight with cluster headaches, which are, as I am sure you know, a type of migraine. I want you to know that they are very controllable through controlling the autonomic (automatic) nervous system. Most of us nowadays are way too much in the fight or flight response (even if we have adapted and don't know it!) or have some unresolved trauma. The nervous system has a memory of all of this. I am affiliated with Boulder Community Hospital and have created a program over the past couple of decades which works. Enough said... please check my website, www.NaturallyPainFree.com for more info. The National Headache Foundation is doing a review on my book (Migraines Be Gone)in their March-April issue of Headlines! Good luck to you... you can control them... perhaps look for someone in your own area that can help (go to BCIA.org)... Regards, Kelsie
I also suffer from migraines and have found a partial/temporary solution. Well, I didn't find it, my aunt, who has an brain aneurysm, was told about it when she went to the Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago. There's no guarantee that this will work for any one person, but it might help some.
Anyway, it worked for the both of us, it might work for you as well.
Here it goes. Cooked proteins (like meat, cheese, tofu, etc.) develop something called tyramine as they age. Tyramine is tolerable for migraine sufferers until it's has hit 3 day's growth/development. At that point, it has been found to trigger migraine in some people. Solution, don't eat meat that has been cooked more than 3 days prior. (ex. if you make chicken on Monday, you can eat it Tuesday and Wednesday, but not Thursday). Also, avoid pre-cooked meats, like lunch meats and cheeses. You can eat "fresh" cheese or soft cheese with some success, but not any aged cheeses.
I found that if I eliminated these things from my diet for about 2 weeks, my migraines went away almost completely. I could then slowly add them back into my diet. Some people are more sensative that others, you just have to try it and see.
More info can be found here: http://www.nutrition4health.org/nohanews/NNS02DietMigraineHeadaches.htm
I hope this helps.
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