The 18 hour migraine has finally eased

[ThomCat]

enough for me to eat a small meal. I'm having breakfast at 8pm. And I can now read without pain!

I'm sure you've all had the experience of having every minute feel like it takes forever.

Laying down in a dark, quiet room, wide awake with pounding pain, waiting for it to go away is like that. You feel every moment. I'm very glad it's finally passing.

To everyone else here who has migraines, I'm very sorry that any of us have to go through this, but I'm very glad there are people here who understand.

Unfortunately, one of my triggers is rapid changes in the temperature and air pressure. I can't eliminate the weather, so i'm always going to get these headaches. But all the good advice for dealing with it has been very helpful. I really appreciate hearing about things you've tried that help.


Hi Everyone! I'm finally feeling social. I'm going to try to catch up with what people are posting.

[DarkTirade]

1. Yay!

[ThomCat]

2. Hi, DarkTirade!

How is your weekend going?

I mentioned to my friends in Buffalo that I have invited you over next time I can come up to visit. They have extended an invitation.

They're much closer to your age than mine, and two of them are guys I've thought for a long time you're probably like to meet.

[DarkTirade]

13. Pretty boring so far.

Planning on meeting someone at this nifty english-style pub downtown in a little while though.

Someone who could have been the one to make me so not-single anymore that I might have even stopped flirting with you. But alas, she moved 300 miles away and is only in town for a day and a half to get her stuff that she left behind when she moved.

So that means I'm still free to flirt.

[ThomCat]

15. I'm sorry it isn't working out with her.

I'd love to see you really happy and committed, no matter how much I like to flirt with you.

[DarkTirade]

19. She doesn't want me to waste my time pining over her, she keeps nudging me to start dating other

people.

So... what are you doin' this weekend?

Seriously though... even if I was in a committed relationship I'd still probably flirt with you. Just not quite as blatantly.

[ThomCat]

22. Oh good!

Flirting is good for you.

Though, if I do ever get to meet you, you'll find that I don't flirt nearly as much in person.

[DarkTirade]

23. We'll see about that.

[Omphaloskepsis]

3. My mom gets crazy migraines...

She swears that a Pepsi helps. I have Googled around and have found that caffeine can help.

[ThomCat]

7. For some people, like me, caffeine definitely helps.

For some people it's a trigger, so you just have to be careful.

I have to take two of my prescription meds, plus two over the counter meds, together to deal with my worst headaches. The over the counter meds contain caffeine.

[alarimer]

4. I understand totally

They don't happen very often but when they do, it really sucks.

Glad you are feeling a little better.

[ThomCat]

8. I am very glad yours are rare.

I hope they get more and more rare as time goes on.

Thank you! It's nice to feel like I can function again.

[AlCzervik]

5. Glad you're feeling better.

i can so relate to the barometric pressure change migraines, those for me are the worst, the dull ache begins behind my left eye and i know what's coming.

Be well TC.

[ThomCat]

9. You too!

Weather triggered migraines have got to be a curse. I'm so sorry that you have these too.

I'm used to changing my life around to accomodate health issues. But how do you deal with something like this that can't be avoided, no matter what you do?

[auntAgonist]

6. ThomCat .. even in YOUR pain

You have empathy and sympathy for others. I sure do wish I'd been able to meet you when you visited Ohio. I hope you continue to feel better and get better as the night goes on. Don't overdo it though ok?

aA
kesha

[ThomCat]

11. I will find a way to visit Ohio again.

I love all the people I met out there. You're a very, very awesome group of people. And I'm hoping I'll get to meet you in person next time.

[lizziegrace]

48. ...

I didn't want you to leave. I don't cry at the airport often, but did when they wheeled you away.

I miss you, TC.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Glad that you're feeling a little better.

I would be an incredibly miserable SOB if I got migraines... I'm pretty miserable with garden variety headaches as it is.

[ThomCat]

12. My defense mechanism is that I hybernate when I can't handle the pain.

I leave people alone and want people to leave me alone. That really helps.

I already know that it'll take me until Monday to fully recover. The really bad ones linger. A DUer was going to be coming over tomorrow but I've pushed that back until next weekend. And I've already let my boss know I'm not coming in on Monday.

By Tuesday I should be fully over this one. I won't leave the house until then.

I am very glad you don't get migraines. I hope you never, ever develop them. I wish I could grant people perfect health so that nobody ever had to go through pain, discomfort and health problems.

[VenusRising]

14. I'm so glad you're feeling better, ThomCat.

Lots of hugs and love coming your way.

I hope the rest of your weekend is much better.

[ThomCat]

16. I got your valentine card today.

My roommate gets the mail and misplaced it for a few days.

You and your hubby totally made my day.

[VenusRising]

20. Yay!

I was wondering if you got it or not.

How could I not send someone I love a Valentine's Day card?

[SPKrazy]

17. Very good to hear Thom

sorry for your pain that sucks

as if you don't have enough to deal with

[ThomCat]

18. Everything else gets put on a back-burner when a migraine hits.

There is no way to deal with anything else.

Thank you.

It's nice to be well enough that I'm not just waiting to die.

[hippywife]

21. Yaaaaa!

You're too sweet to have to suffer like that! And if I had a magic wand, I'd fix more than just your migraines!

[ThomCat]

24. It's unfortunate that pain doesn't care what type of person you are.

Wouldn't it be nice if pain only happened to people who deserve it?

Then again, who would decide who deserves it?

[hippywife]

25. Good questions, TC.

Glad no one around here gets to answer them.

[Ariana Celeste]

26. Good to hear!

Migraines are horrible, I wouldn't wish them on anybody!!

Glad you are feeling better sweetie

[ThomCat]

27. Hi AC!

I agree. I wouldn't wish them on even someone I don't like.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

28. My dear ThomCat!

I am so glad to hear you're feeling better!

I have never had a migraine, but I've heard about them...

I'm so sorry that you're subject to them, sweetie...

If I were queen, nobody would ever have them...

Esp. someone as good as you...

[ThomCat]

31. Hi CaliforniaPeggy!

That would be very cool if you could just banish migraines.

I hope you are having a very good weekend. I'm likely to be up very very late tonight, so I'll be up to post with you on the west coast.

[seemunkee]

29. Glad its over

I'v had some killer sinus headaches but after 24 hours of antibiotics their gone.

[ThomCat]

32. I'm very glad that antibiotics work

and that you either had them or were able to get them quickly. If a sinus headache is anything like this, quick relief is awesome.

[orleans]

39. no hospital emergency room shot of Demerol? that usually does the trick. n/t

[ThomCat]

68. I'm too stuborn to go to an emergency room.

I keep thinking "I can't afford that. I can stick this out."

It would be wonderful if I we had real health care in this country and I didn't have to think twice about it.

[orleans]

73. well, next time, if you really can afford it, i wouldn't be too stubborn

it helps A LOT--just make sure someone drives you there so you can get home (they don't release you after demerol)

i've had to do that several times, but not for ten or fifteen years now. but damn! it was sweet relief.

[KitchenWitch]

30. So glad it is subsiding.

I have had a low grade one today, because I had my eyes dilated today for an eye exam.

I am getting bifocals (progressives).

[ThomCat]

33. OMG, my opthalmologist doesn't believe me when I tell him

that all those bright lights he shines in my eyes can trigger a migraine. I always take a migraine pill immediately afterward to catch it while it's small.

I'm glad yours was minor. I hope you caught it quickly too.

I saw your thread about your new glasses. I hope we'll get to see a picture. You look good in glasses.

[KitchenWitch]

34. I will.

The glasses I am getting are very similar to the ones I have now. I will get them in about a week (I refused to pay almost triple at Lens Crafters just to get them in an hour.)

[hisownpetard]

71. Yeah, and a flickering fluorescent light can give me a migraine in two seconds!

Great, Thom, that the pain is easing up.
It's such a tremendous relief when that starts to happen, I almost get manic.

Take a deeeeep breath!
Feel better!!

Susan

[ThomCat]

75. Oh yes!

My boss thinks I'm just being a pain in his ass when I insist that fluorescent bulbs need to be changed when they first start to flicker. I become miserable very quickly if they aren't changed.

[nytemare]

35. Migraines absolutely suck, glad you feel better.

When I feel better after getting one, I almost feel reborn, because they are so awful.

Welcome back to the world of not having a migraine!

[ThomCat]

37. I wish I felt reborn after mine.

I tend to have lingering effects, like having trouble concentrating, hot flashes, and other fun stuff.

Thank you! It's nice to be among the living again. And little by little I do feel alive.

[Liberal Veteran]

52. I thought I was the only one who got those horrible after effects.

I tend to feel almost hung over and out of sync with my own body after a bad headache.

[nytemare]

79. It does take me a couple of days after to feel right

It is possible that when I get them, I just feel so incredibly shitty that when I do feel better, it is like a rebirth...lol.

Migraines are just awful. I couldn't imagine getting them way back when people didn't know what the hell caused them, so they just put leaches on your head.

At least, now, imitrex and other medications seem to work most of the time.

[alfredo]

36. Everybody seems to have something that works for them. What

medication do you take.

If I don't take medicine (Zomig) they last for three to four days.

[ThomCat]

38. I take Relpax, Excedrin Migraine, and Iced Tea.

[alfredo]

49. How long does it take for the Relpax to work?

I've tried the Excedrin Migraine but it didn't work for me.


I got relief from Zomig and before that Imitrex in about an hour after taking it. It might come back later that day or the next morning but I do get relief. Zomig makes me a bit drowsy, Imitrex wires me up.

Tea or coffee works for me too. Vomiting sometimes helps with the pain. I think that kind of "resets" the blood flow in the scalp because of the strain of vomiting.

[ThomCat]

56. It takes about half an hour to an hour

for the Relpax to work.

The Excedrin Migraine only sometimes works by itself on my smallest headaches. It works well in combination with the Relpax.

[alfredo]

69. I also have a bad stomach from the medicine for my Arthritis, so

things like Aspirin and ibuprofen are to be avoided.

[Liberal Veteran]

47. Imitrex injection and calcium channel blockers

Unfortunately I am out of imitrex until next week and had to plow through a nasty headache on Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.

[alfredo]

50. You are lucky yours only last a day. Mine last 3-4 days. I used to work

with my migraines. I was a mail carrier. It's hard to carry mail when your knees are buckling from the pain.

[Liberal Veteran]

51. Mine often do last for a few days at a time.

But I feel pity for anyone who has to suffer through one hour of a migraine or a cluster headache. It's draining and makes you practically useless.

[alfredo]

55. For those who don't have them, think of the worst hangover you've ever

had, now think of it lasting several days.

Am I right about that LV?

[ThomCat]

63. That's how I've described them to people.

A severe, never-ending hangover. I have never had a hang-over though, so I don't know how accurate that description really is.

[alfredo]

70. Close enough.

[ThomCat]

62. Ouch! I'm sorry.

Running out of migraine meds is one of those thoughts that makes me panic.

Before they diagnosed my migraines I used to have headaches that lasted most a week. I never, ever want to go through that again. I don't even want to think about it.

[UndertheOcean]

40. Could pot help?

maybe its worth a try

[ThomCat]

42. That's possible.

But I have neither the extra income or the access to give it a try.

I haven't heard that pot helps with migraines but it is definitely supposed to help with pain and nausea in general.

[Unsane]

41. You should have drank a load of coffee.

[ThomCat]

43. I went with tea instead.

[Connonym]

44. Glad you're feeling better

I haven't had one of the every minute feels like a lifetime migraines in a long time but omg you never forget how awful that is. I've always held to the theory that the best thing to do is take an Imitrex and a sleeping pill and pray for the oblivion of sleep and that it's gone when you wake up. That becomes a total wash if you don't get it before the intractable nausea sets in and you can't hold a pill down. :shudder:

[ThomCat]

58. Thank you.

I hope neither of us ever experiences that again.

I still feel dehydrated and dense today.

[lost-in-nj]

45. Glad your feeling better.....

hope you can get out and enjoy today!!!
its supposed to get nice....


lost

[ThomCat]

59. I am. I promised a friend I'd make it to her Birthday Party.

It's someplace that's not wheelchair accessible so I'm going all the way out to Bayside Queens on crutches. I hope it's a good day. I feel like I'm rolling the dice on this one.

[Debi]

46. Oh ThomCat

Mr. Debi calls me his human barometer

Weather changes cause slight pain/pressure headaches but nothing debilitating - I can drink some hot tea or put a hot compress on my head and wait it out.

I'm sorry for all your pain.

[ThomCat]

60. Hi Debi!

My co-workers ask me how the weather feels to double check the weather reports.

It's all good now that it's over. Let's hope the next one is a long, long, long, time from now.

[zanne]

53. I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

I've had one migraine in my entire life. I can't begin to imagine what it's like to have them chronically.

[ThomCat]

61. I truly hope you never have another one.

[BarenakedLady]

54. I'm glad you are feeling better.

I've only had a few serious migraines in my life, but I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.

[ThomCat]

64. Hey, have you felt your entire additional year's worth of wisdom

hit you yet?

[Midlodemocrat]

57. I'm glad you are better, ThomCat. It's been a while since I've had

one of those really severe migraines. I take a prophylactic medication which seems to help a great deal.

[ThomCat]

65. A lot of people swear by Topomax.

I tried it, but the side effects were severe enough that I had to stop taking it.

I think I'll have to try it again though. I think the side effects of one of my other meds might cancel out the side effects of the Topomax.

[Sanity Claws]

66. I'm so sorry to hear about your migraine.

Thomcat,
I suffered from migraines for many years but have found relief with Chinese herbs and acupuncture. I understand that you shouldn't take the herbs because you're on medication for another problem but perhaps you should consider acupuncture.

[ThomCat]

67. I would love to get acupuncture.

It's a matter of time and money.

I used to get acupressure massages, and they did wonders for my pain.

[lightningandsnow]

72. Glad to hear you're feeling better.

Migraines suck.

[ThomCat]

74. Hi AspieGrrl!

Hey, you're going to be hitting 1000 soon!

It has now been about 24 hours since it subsided, and most of the after effects are finally going away. Woo Hoo! It would be very nice if migraines went away as quickly as they arrive, but no such luck.

[Redstone]

76. I understand, and I'll explain why in two words: Cluster Headaches.

Redstone

[ThomCat]

77. You have all of my sympathy.

I hope never to know what those are like.

[LanternWaste]

78. Holy crap, Red!

Holy crap, Red-- I thought I was the only DU'er with Clusters! Nice to know the misery is shared.

My condolences...

[Mike03]

80. High Fives to you. I got a migraine Friday morning and It has been hanging on, in spite

of medication. It seems to be lightening up today.