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I always feel a bit weird when reading migraine threads on the internet, because mine seem so much milder, but it's still debilitating. I remember first noticing the migraines in grade when I was 16, but it took me years before realizing they were migraines. I thought that most people had pain like I did, and just powered through with some Advil/Tylenol. My migraines follow a very regular schedule. I wake up and just know that I will have a migraine. It's like a nagging thought. Worse after days of poor/little sleep, or days where the temperature changes dramatically, or if there is a big storm. At around 14:00 the pain grows in intensity, I feel nauseous and uncoordinated, very sensitive to light. Lying in a dark room and listening to a podcast/YouTube video is the best way to get through this period, I can get to the edge of sleep and it makes it easier. At around 20:00 the pain has usually mostly subsided, and by 22:00 I'm pain free but exhausted. I tried a few prescription medications after talking with a doctor, but they didn't have much of an effect, so I just accepted that once every 1/2 weeks I would have to deal with it. Whenever I would read about migraines online, I would feel relieved, because mine seemed so much more mild. No aura, the pain is usually gone within a day, and if I needed to be out and about I could manage, even though it was painful. About 5 years ago an ex-partner offered me a Bufferin (Aspirin mix), and right away it helped with the symptoms. Read into it and saw a study that suggested some people respond well to high-doses of aspirin and caffeine for migraine relief. It worked exceptionally well for me. 9/10 migraines knocked out immediately, with the rest being substantially reduced in length and intensity. I get maybe 1 migraine a year now that is truly bad. Recently talked to a new doctor who prescribed me propanolol (he was afraid about the high dose of aspirin on my stomach), and it's been just as good. I just feel fortunate to have easy access to migraine relief, and I hope that others are able to find something that works for them as well. |
I spent about 30 years getting migraines before I realized that wearing sunglasses helps my light sensitivity. It seems like that'd be a fairly intuitive thing to have tried, but somehow I never did.