Migraine

Hi Hawk,

Not good. Recently rodwsmith started a thread about headaches he was having. A number of us counselled him to see a doctor. Seriously, I think you should too - as I said in that thread anything that's going on near the brain which you can't explain should really be checked out by a specialist, you can't take these things for granted IMO.

Here is the link:-

rodwsmith's 'Continual headache...' thread

There should be some useful information in there which might help.

Good luck and I wish you all the best.

JonR

PS: Get well soon - I'm still hoping to get a chance to try out your 282 in my system!

Cheers Jon, ill check out the thread...

A link that might be interesting. A recent change in the frequency/severity of your migraine should be checked by a GP.

As a rule most migraineurs have a variety of triggers including 'nothing at all'. The commonest are probably stress, fatigue and hunger. Any painful head/face condition can trigger (such as dental problems, sinusitis). Food triggers are comparatively rare in my experience.

Stress? This thread may be interesting.

bruce

quote:

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Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:
Food triggers are comparatively rare in my experience.

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I'm glad to hear that you bother checking. Before my mother retired she was constantly referred patients by incompetent doctors who, unable to find a cause or a cure for a patient's afflictions, were left with no option but to assume the problem was purely psychosomatic. Very often, these were people whose ailments were caused simply by breathtakingly inappropriate diets.

Re migraine: one of my mother's former colleagues appears to have had some success in staving off migraines by warming her hands at the first sign of an attack. You can learn to do this by using a biofeedback machine or visualisation techniques but maybe all you need a basin of warm water? The latter seems worth a try...

If you ask migraineurs they often say that the classic triggers of 'cheese, chocolate and red wine' cause no problem. I have had a patient who could instantly set off an attack with dry-roasted peanuts. Or maybe it was the fourteen pints of mild and a pork pie he had at the same time come to think!

Bruce

You must get regular GP advice, but after that go see a Cranial Osteopath. It isn't magic, but it works like it. Cranial Osteopathathy is ideal for migrane.
You could also try acupuncture & reflexology, but I would definately start with the CO.

Hi Hawk,
you have my heart felt sympathy,I used to get the dreaded Migrains and my symptons at the time were exactly the same as the ones you are experiencing, but fortunatly I haven't had them for a few years now. The things that used to trigger mine, if I had a combination of one or more of the following over a couple of days were
(1) always some element of stress
(2) smoked salmon
(3) cheese, [normaly the hard cheeses]
(4) commercially prouduced Hams
Which at the time lead me to believe that the problem was cased by food containing an excess of artificially added sodium or potasium compounds.
So I managed to control the migrains by making sure that I never ate more that one item on consecative days and that "generally" seemed to do the trick
Best of luck
oldie

Hawk,
this just confirms my opinion

quote:

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Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:
If you ask migraineurs they often say that the classic triggers of 'cheese, chocolate and red wine' cause no problem. I have had a patient who could instantly set off an attack with dry-roasted peanuts. Or maybe it was the fourteen pints of mild and a pork pie he had at the same time come to think!

Bruce

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Pork pie = excess salt
Dry-roasted peanuts = excess salt
It might be worth trying to cut out some , not all of your salt intake and see if things improve, it has to be worth a try.
oldie.

quote:

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Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:
A http://www.migraine.org.uk/ that might be interesting. A recent change in the frequency/severity of your migraine should be checked by a GP.

As a rule most migraineurs have a variety of triggers including 'nothing at all'. The commonest are probably stress, fatigue and hunger. Any painful head/face condition can trigger (such as dental problems, sinusitis). Food triggers are comparatively rare in my experience.

Stress? http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=67019385&f=58019385&m=225104903&r=753109903#753109903 thread may be interesting.

bruce

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Thanks for the links Bruce, some good info there especially the migraine site. In terms of stress im concious i have to manage it, but the cause is something unavoidable... My wife has a destructive long term illness that has no chance of recovery and we are entering a very difficult phase...

thanks

Hawk

Hawk,

I wish you all the best and if you need any support just give me a bell - remember I'm only a short drive away.

Cheers,

JR

Oldie, I'll certainly look at salt intake... i have been eating alot of ham lately... leftovers from my daughters 5th birthday party!!

Rasher, The CO sounds interesting, ive tried reflexology which i found good for relaxation..

Jeremy, the hand warming is worth a try, in fact anything is...


Thanks again to all

Hawk

quote:

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Originally posted by JonR:
Hawk,

I wish you all the best and if you need any support just give me a bell - remember I'm only a short drive away.

Cheers,

JR

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Thanks Jon, i might hold you to that!

Mine was never migraine proportions (in fact quite the reverse, boringly mild). I suspect therefore the cause(s) are unrelated. I saw my doctor, and was told that it was likely psychosomatic - in the sense that thinking about it made it worse (as I suspected). It carried on for nearly three weeks and then just faded.

I cannot explain it. I tried limiting the usual suspect food and drink intakes with no effect, and I have never suffered from any kind of allergy or anything else really.

It was my doctor's comment that it could take three months to get to see the neuro-specialist person, that put me off slightly. I was also reassured that she checked my eyes which eliminated some of the potential nasties (as someone medical comented on the thread).

She did tell me to go for an eye-test (I wear specs for driving only) which is common-sense advice that hadn't occured to me as a source of headaches.

I just got back from Bordeaux and frankly if that level of caffeine, alcohol, and the makings of what the French so accurately call a "crise de foie" haven't caused a reoccurence, then I am prepared to believe it was just one of those things...

I stress however, that mine was not a migraine - or anything of that order. You should see your doctor if for no other reason than the reassurance you will get will help...

Good luck

Rod

Hawk,

Been away for a while and only just seen this thread.....

I've suffered migraines for over 25 years and have always been sceptical of the links to food. I used to put mine down to stress most of the time but a conversation with a friend who also suffers has led me to stop drinking orange juice - since stopping I've noticed a considerable reduction in both the frequency and intensity of the migraines.

Might be worth a try....

Cheers,
Mark

Hawk

Have you discussed using the new generattion of anti-migraine drugs (called 'triptans') with your GP?

For some, these drugs provide almost miraculous relief from an attack.

Unfortunately they don't work for me but I have two colleagues whose lives have been transformed by them.

Douglas

Thanks for the recent replies, since my last post ive continued having on average two migraines a week but touch wood have made some progress this week.

In terms of cause i know that some currently unavoidable stress is playing a big part, and when mixed with not sleeping or eating properly is a recipe for disaster!
Ive systematically cut out various foods with no success but i do drink orange juice so ill give that one a try.
Staring at Computer screens for too long, and sometimes bright lighting seem to have been triggers for me as well.

Ive been seeing the GP weekly and have tried various drugs including imigraine and other triptans without much luck but we have discovered this week two things that really do help.

I have managed to stop several migraines from developing by taking the following combination as soon as the visual disturbance starts

One Motillium 10 (contains domperidone) tablet and two soluble solpadines.

According to my doc the domperidone works on the brain receptors that have been linked to migraine. In addition it also works on the stomach and helps speed up the absorbtion of the pain killers. For me this combo has been a lifesaver.

Also i have started taking something called pizotifen to prevent the attacks. I cant yet tell you if this works, partly as i dont want to tempt fate! but ive had the best run without a migraine for what feels like ages!

Cheers

Hawk