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[inthelab]

Some of us have few if any migraine tirggers.  Mine have been release of big stress (think after diss defense) and hormone plunges after childbirth (but no monthly migraines).
Sometimes dehydration, lack of sleep or poor sleep, or skipped meals.  Sometimes.
Taking a preventive has been so much better.  For years I took atenolol before I was switched to Zonagran.  I may ask to go back on atenolol.

[history_grrrl]

Sigh. Looks like I'm going to have another one today.

I'm on atenolol for something else and it doesn't work as a migraine preventative, so I take a low dose of nortryptiline (sp?) daily for that. It doesn't actually prevent migraines, but if I find that I'm getting one and take the other pill (sumatriptan), generally the migraine stops quickly. I thought I could drop the preventative stuff one time after I forgot to take it for a few days, but then I went on a job interview, got a migraine on the plane, and had it the entire time: even after taking the Imitrex, it persisted for almost 24 hours. Nothing like a migraine during an academic job interview! (And no, I did not get the job.) Since then I've taken the nortryptiline religiously even though I don't love taking a med every day besides the other, essential one.

Once I started keeping track, I discovered the pattern easily: I always get one at the start of menstruation, and additional ones when I'm under stress. The combination is what's nailing me at the moment; I just have too much to do in too short a time.

I'm definitely going to try the hot water trick. Christiane Northrup (Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom) has written about keeping the hands warm, and I find that this helps. Sleeping it off usually works -- if you can lie down in the middle of the day. I recently discovered the correlation between migraines and dehydration, and I actually managed to stave one off a few months ago by drinking water constantly throughout the day. Off to do that right now. Thanks for the discussion.

[inthelab]

You have to take the preventives all the time or they do not work.  Does of atenolol matters too, although you may be someone for whom verapamil wil work when atenolol does not.

[high_energy_photons]

My migraine triggers:
Dehydration
Needing to eat (particularly if I have worked a long day and forgotten to eat lunch)- I tend to need to eat regularly, even if it is tiny meals
STRESS (this is why I am not in a TT position, and I am passing up applying anymore)
Pollution- on high pollution days, I will get a migraine, it is just a matter of how bad and for how long
Caffeine changes- I rely on high levels of caffeine.  If I do not get that, I get a migraine.  By the same token, when I avoided caffeine, having caffeine would cause a migraine.
Hormone changes- For this one, Seasonale has been a life saver (possibly literally considering how mean I get with PMS and migraines)
Weather changes

My neurologist also thought I had a hole in my heart (patent foramen ovale or PFO), but he was wrong.  They performed a bubble study to determine if I had a PFO (which is apparently common for patients who have migraine with aura), and I was their first false positive (out of many hundreds tested).  It was scary.  Of course, the neurologist thinks there might still be something wrong with me, and he wants to repeat the bubble study.  The bubble study is uncomfortable and a little scary (they inject air into a vein), so I don't really want to do it again.  My migraines are under control currently, and I am tempted to just leave the false positive as a mystery.

[papaya]

Sorry to change the subject but high_energy_photons remined me that I've been wanting to ask something....I changed doctors and was recently put on Seasonique (birth control where you get a period every three months instead of three weeks). I've been on it for two months now and my migraines have decreased.  Has anyone had any adverse effects with Seasonique?  I was reluctant to take it b/c it just never seems like a good idea to stop your body from doing something it is suppose to do naturally.

[high_energy_photons]

Sorry to change the subject but high_energy_photons remined me that I've been wanting to ask something....I changed doctors and was recently put on Seasonique (birth control where you get a period every three months instead of three weeks). I've been on it for two months now and my migraines have decreased.  Has anyone had any adverse effects with Seasonique?  I was reluctant to take it b/c it just never seems like a good idea to stop your body from doing something it is suppose to do naturally.

I am taking the equivalent.  I have had no problems.  I worried that my period would be heavier (saving it all up?  not sure on my logic there), but it has actually been less.  Sometimes, I have even gone without a period in between (skipped the off week and simply started the next pack).  I went 9 months without a period that way this past year (I figured that was a good amount of time- simulates pregnancy).  I have fiddled with it a bit, and I am really happy with choosing to decrease my periods a year.  It makes me a much happier particle of electromagnetic radiation.

[zeeba]

I take Relpax for my migraines (I don't know what class of drugs it falls under, so perhaps others have mentioned the generic category). Relpax sometimes takes about 30 minutes to kick in, so a bit longer than some of the others, which is an agonizingly long time when you just want the pain to stop. But when it does kick in, it's usually for good. I rarely ever have to take a follow-up dose. Even better, it doesn't give me the worse-than-the-migraine side effects that some of the other migraine meds did (knock on wood).

My migraine triggers are also mostly random -- dehydration, overhydration, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, light, dark, etc. -- with one exception. The one constant and predictable trigger is my discipline's annual professional meetings. Without fail, I have a migraine by the second day.  Sigh.

[high_energy_photons]

My migraine triggers are also mostly random -- dehydration, overhydration, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, light, dark, etc. -- with one exception. The one constant and predictable trigger is my discipline's annual professional meetings. Without fail, I have a migraine by the second day.  Sigh.

This is exactly why I no longer go to big annual meetings.  I can do the smaller, local meetings, but the national meetings are a ticket straight to migraine-ville.  Of course, I also always get a migraine when I visit my neurologist (something about the lighting in his office), and I get them from strobe lights.

[assessment_lady]

Sorry to change the subject but high_energy_photons remined me that I've been wanting to ask something....I changed doctors and was recently put on Seasonique (birth control where you get a period every three months instead of three weeks). I've been on it for two months now and my migraines have decreased.  Has anyone had any adverse effects with Seasonique?  I was reluctant to take it b/c it just never seems like a good idea to stop your body from doing something it is suppose to do naturally.

I am taking the equivalent.  I have had no problems.  I worried that my period would be heavier (saving it all up?  not sure on my logic there), but it has actually been less.  Sometimes, I have even gone without a period in between (skipped the off week and simply started the next pack).  I went 9 months without a period that way this past year (I figured that was a good amount of time- simulates pregnancy).  I have fiddled with it a bit, and I am really happy with choosing to decrease my periods a year.  It makes me a much happier particle of electromagnetic radiation.

I actually hated that pill!  I had a 7 month long period before I stopped taking it!  Seriously, 7 months of a nonstop period.  Can you say m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e?

My main trigger is ovulation and menstruation.  I get a migraine about 2 weeks before I actually start my period and then one the day before.  And then I get one if I'm majorly stressed, eat foods that have been aged for a long time (bleu cheese especially), drink wine, exercise vigorously (this is my excuse for not exercising!), don't drink enough water, travel for long periods of time, don't get enough sleep, or some times for absolutely no reason at all.

I had one on a job interview last year, and it was horrible.  I finally took some Class IV narcotics, and then I was probably loopy and staring into space.  Needless to say, I didn't get offered the job!!!

[papaya]

Sorry to change the subject but high_energy_photons remined me that I've been wanting to ask something....I changed doctors and was recently put on Seasonique (birth control where you get a period every three months instead of three weeks). I've been on it for two months now and my migraines have decreased.  Has anyone had any adverse effects with Seasonique?  I was reluctant to take it b/c it just never seems like a good idea to stop your body from doing something it is suppose to do naturally.

I am taking the equivalent.  I have had no problems.  I worried that my period would be heavier (saving it all up?  not sure on my logic there), but it has actually been less.  Sometimes, I have even gone without a period in between (skipped the off week and simply started the next pack).  I went 9 months without a period that way this past year (I figured that was a good amount of time- simulates pregnancy).  I have fiddled with it a bit, and I am really happy with choosing to decrease my periods a year.  It makes me a much happier particle of electromagnetic radiation.

I actually hated that pill!  I had a 7 month long period before I stopped taking it!  Seriously, 7 months of a nonstop period.  Can you say m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e?

My main trigger is ovulation and menstruation.  I get a migraine about 2 weeks before I actually start my period and then one the day before.  And then I get one if I'm majorly stressed, eat foods that have been aged for a long time (bleu cheese especially), drink wine, exercise vigorously (this is my excuse for not exercising!), don't drink enough water, travel for long periods of time, don't get enough sleep, or some times for absolutely no reason at all.

I had one on a job interview last year, and it was horrible.  I finally took some Class IV narcotics, and then I was probably loopy and staring into space.  Needless to say, I didn't get offered the job!!!

Wow, what opposite experiences with the Seasonique.  I was warned about the "spotting," but a 7 month period is ridiculous.  So far so good though.  I'll keep my fingers crossed because I really like that I no longer get menstruation migrations.

[zeeba]

My migraine triggers are also mostly random -- dehydration, overhydration, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, light, dark, etc. -- with one exception. The one constant and predictable trigger is my discipline's annual professional meetings. Without fail, I have a migraine by the second day.  Sigh.

This is exactly why I no longer go to big annual meetings.  I can do the smaller, local meetings, but the national meetings are a ticket straight to migraine-ville.  Of course, I also always get a migraine when I visit my neurologist (something about the lighting in his office), and I get them from strobe lights.

I'm not yet at the point where I can get out of our annual meetings, but I'm looking forward to the day.

I also have problems with certain types of lighting. There are a couple of classrooms that I can't use because of the badly flickering flourescent lighting, but on my campus we're so strapped for space that it can be difficult to justify a request not to use certain classrooms. Our facilities folks are no help with actually fixing those lights.  So I sometimes teach with most of the lights turned off, which can make for fun times all around.

[peppergal]

Chiming in with frequent migraines here.  Mine don't seem to be linked to anything (well, maybe sleep deprivation, but it's been years since I had a normal sleep schedule, so it's really impossible to tell).  None of the preventatives have worked for me, and birth control made them worse as well.  I get about 2-3 per month.

If I have to be functional, then I've found washing down 400 mg of ibuprofen with a cup of coffee when I get the aura will keep the migraine at a dull roar, enabling me to work.

If I can retreat from the world for at least 24 hours, then I'll take a sleeping pill when I get the aura, drag my quilt and some pillows into the closet (no light, and less noise), and make myself a nest until the migraine goes away (usually about 24 hours).

I still remember my first migraine -- I was eight, and got the aura in social studies.  Thank goodness my teacher recognized the symptoms, sent me to the nurse and called my mom to come take me home.  My mom had frequent migraines as well, also since she was a child.

[inthelab]

I take Relpax for my migraines (I don't know what class of drugs it falls under, so perhaps others have mentioned the generic category). Relpax sometimes takes about 30 minutes to kick in, so a bit longer than some of the others, which is an agonizingly long time when you just want the pain to stop. But when it does kick in, it's usually for good. I rarely ever have to take a follow-up dose. Even better, it doesn't give me the worse-than-the-migraine side effects that some of the other migraine meds did (knock on wood).

My migraine triggers are also mostly random -- dehydration, overhydration, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, light, dark, etc. -- with one exception. The one constant and predictable trigger is my discipline's annual professional meetings. Without fail, I have a migraine by the second day.  Sigh.

Relpax sound like an abortive rather than a preventive.  As far as I know, all the abortives affect serotonin metabolism whereas the preventive have very different mechanisms: verapamil affects calcium ion channels; atenolol is a beta-blocker (vaso-dilator); Topomax and Zonagran are anti-seizure medications.  One preventive is even related to anti-histamines used for allergies.

[inthelab]

Chiming in with frequent migraines here.  Mine don't seem to be linked to anything (well, maybe sleep deprivation, but it's been years since I had a normal sleep schedule, so it's really impossible to tell).  None of the preventatives have worked for me, and birth control made them worse as well.  I get about 2-3 per month.

If I have to be functional, then I've found washing down 400 mg of ibuprofen with a cup of coffee when I get the aura will keep the migraine at a dull roar, enabling me to work.

If I can retreat from the world for at least 24 hours, then I'll take a sleeping pill when I get the aura, drag my quilt and some pillows into the closet (no light, and less noise), and make myself a nest until the migraine goes away (usually about 24 hours).

I still remember my first migraine -- I was eight, and got the aura in social studies.  Thank goodness my teacher recognized the symptoms, sent me to the nurse and called my mom to come take me home.  My mom had frequent migraines as well, also since she was a child.

The pill made them worse for me too.  Have you seen a neurologist who specializes in migraines yet?

[peppergal]

Chiming in with frequent migraines here.  Mine don't seem to be linked to anything (well, maybe sleep deprivation, but it's been years since I had a normal sleep schedule, so it's really impossible to tell).  None of the preventatives have worked for me, and birth control made them worse as well.  I get about 2-3 per month.

If I have to be functional, then I've found washing down 400 mg of ibuprofen with a cup of coffee when I get the aura will keep the migraine at a dull roar, enabling me to work.

If I can retreat from the world for at least 24 hours, then I'll take a sleeping pill when I get the aura, drag my quilt and some pillows into the closet (no light, and less noise), and make myself a nest until the migraine goes away (usually about 24 hours).

I still remember my first migraine -- I was eight, and got the aura in social studies.  Thank goodness my teacher recognized the symptoms, sent me to the nurse and called my mom to come take me home.  My mom had frequent migraines as well, also since she was a child.

The pill made them worse for me too.  Have you seen a neurologist who specializes in migraines yet?

I would if I had decent health insurance.  When I was a student my health insurance didn't cover specialists, and now that I'm adjuncting my health insurance covers only the basics (and I don't make enough money to pay for it out of pocket).

There have been times when I've seriously considered marrying someone (anyone, really) just to get his health insurance.