[ghelmer]

I have experienced migraines since my teens, usually starting with annoying visual artifacts, facial numbness, difficulty speaking, and progressing to intense pain. The worst of them would also cause auditory discomfort. In my 20s, I could reliably trigger a migraine by doing something intensely physical (like playing basketball with friends) and drinking lots of cold water or taking a cool shower. Since then, it's been harder to determine a cause other than stress. About 15 years ago, work was really stressful and I had numerous migraines in a four-month period. Once I even got a demerol IM shot, which seemed like much ado about nothing -- I was hoping for great relief, but it didn't seem to do much. Now in my 50s, I only get about one a year, and it's pretty mild.