Not sure where to put this so here it is.

I have dealt with what was diagnosed as migraines from childhood.
There are memories i have of barely being able to open my eyes from severe pain from any light and nausea.
Those memories are from when i was about 5-6.

For years i remember being fine and maybe having a really bad headache/migraine every other year or so.

As an adult i have been ok for the most part only having occasional incidents
. I did see a doc about the headaches and was told that there are meds but i would only be able to receive 5 a month due to insurance. (this was 10ish years ago and i believe the med was imitrex with no generic at the time)

I didn't bother because there was so much time of having no issues.

Fast forward to now that im 31 years old i have been having many more incidents than i ever had.
At least monthly and many times several a month.
I have also started to develop different kinds of headaches.

Sever pain between my eye that is like a hot knife combined with nasal drip and tearfulness on the same side.

This headache is called a cluster headache from what i have read. It's just different and so much worse than my migraines. 2 Advil's. 2 Motrin 200mg. And 2 migraine meds over the counter containing caffeine aspirin and something else i can't think of help this pain enough for me to lock myself in a dark room and rest it out.

Im not running to the doc because i know pain meds is really all they will do and im not a big fan of those.

I just want to hear others experience with migraines/ severe headaches and any input you may have.

(Years later i found out my sister had severe headaches as well with vomiting and she ended up being epileptic- not sure if it matters)

TIA

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Pierro]

Hello Imalooney, i have a different type of headache, the ice-pick headache. It drives me crazier than I already am. I have fibromyalgia so I think it's all part and parcel of the symptoms that I have. I am now on lyrica so hopefully the headaches along with the long list of other symptoms will subside. I do have a trigger for my headaches and it is the wind... sounds daft i know but I always cover my ears whenever its windy. I am sorry that you are in pain all the time.. there must be something out there that can lessen the extent of the headache's..Best wishes.

Originally Posted by Pierro

Hello Imalooney, i have a different type of headache, the ice-pick headache. It drives me crazier than I already am. I have fibromyalgia so I think it's all part and parcel of the symptoms that I have. I am now on lyrica so hopefully the headaches along with the long list of other symptoms will subside. I do have a trigger for my headaches and it is the wind... sounds daft i know but I always cover my ears whenever its windy. I am sorry that you are in pain all the time.. there must be something out there that can lessen the extent of the headache's..Best wishes.

Thanks Pierro
I sympathize with you having to deal with fibro and extremely painful headaches. I can't imagine being in pain all over and all the time.

I have tried to think of triggers but it's difficult to pinpoint. I have been triggered by direct fan or ac air so thats going to be something i keep in mind.

I did make an appointment to be seen tomorrow. The pain is enough to drive me mad and the amount of pills i take is surely not good either.

Hope there is some relief in the near future for us both

[*Laurie*]

I'm 52 and the migraines have lessened over the past few years, but when I was younger (ages 8 to 45) I had crippling migraines and cluster headaches. Blinding, nauseating, screeching pain that was sheer hell. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I managed anything during those headaches - and oftentimes, I didn't.

The 2 things that helped me were taking 600mg/Advil the moment I had an inkling of an impending migraine and Imitrex nasal spray. I understand that now there are Imitrex pills. Imitrex is not a pain med...it works to kind-of circumvent the migraine before it really hits full-on. Imitrex was prescribed to me by a neurologist, to whom I had been referred for the severe headaches.

There are meds that are not pain pills. Really, you should check with your doctor.

[vonmoxie]

My profile with migraines/cluster headaches is similar to the OP's.. it started with migraines with aura from as early as I can remember which is about 5 years old, and has gotten progressively worse with each decade. Interestingly it was also in my early 30s that the cluster headaches really took hold, putting me in mortal pain for more days out of the year than I could possibly count. Easily 70% of the time for months on end.

Anti-seizure medications have helped me with the headaches in the past, but the long-term side effects (cognitive etc.) haven't been worth it -- something I never would have guessed, that there could be anything more worth avoiding than the pain of my headaches. I too get the knife behind the eye feeling. I have it right now, am about 3 days into what is looking like a pretty bad one.. resistant. I know they have a few things at the hospital that could help, but having dealt with this totally on my own for the first 30 years of pain (when I was a kid they didn't have anything to recommend, and I didn't realize for a long time that anything had come along), I tend not to reach out for that kind of assistance. I do find Imitrex fairly helpful, about 85% of the time, which makes it worth the try for me. Hasn't helped this one though, I just gotta ride it out.

[bddouglas]

Originally Posted by Pierro

Hello Imalooney, i have a different type of headache, the ice-pick headache. It drives me crazier than I already am. I have fibromyalgia so I think it's all part and parcel of the symptoms that I have. I am now on lyrica so hopefully the headaches along with the long list of other symptoms will subside. I do have a trigger for my headaches and it is the wind... sounds daft i know but I always cover my ears whenever its windy. I am sorry that you are in pain all the time.. there must be something out there that can lessen the extent of the headache's..Best wishes.

Pierro,

I suffer migraines daily that my neurologist and I feel are actually a major symptom of my Fibromyalgia. We approached it with preventive medication. I am currently taking 300mg Topamax and 90mg Cymbalta (the Cymbalta seems to help control the migraines) for the occasional migraine that gets through, I take Tylenol with Codiene since I am allergic to all migraine specific medications.

[bddouglas]

Originally Posted by Imalooney

Not sure where to put this so here it is.

I have dealt with what was diagnosed as migraines from childhood.
There are memories i have of barely being able to open my eyes from severe pain from any light and nausea.
Those memories are from when i was about 5-6.

For years i remember being fine and maybe having a really bad headache/migraine every other year or so.

As an adult i have been ok for the most part only having occasional incidents
. I did see a doc about the headaches and was told that there are meds but i would only be able to receive 5 a month due to insurance. (this was 10ish years ago and i believe the med was imitrex with no generic at the time)

I didn't bother because there was so much time of having no issues.

Fast forward to now that im 31 years old i have been having many more incidents than i ever had.
At least monthly and many times several a month.
I have also started to develop different kinds of headaches.

Sever pain between my eye that is like a hot knife combined with nasal drip and tearfulness on the same side.

This headache is called a cluster headache from what i have read. It's just different and so much worse than my migraines. 2 Advil's. 2 Motrin 200mg. And 2 migraine meds over the counter containing caffeine aspirin and something else i can't think of help this pain enough for me to lock myself in a dark room and rest it out.

Im not running to the doc because i know pain meds is really all they will do and im not a big fan of those.

I just want to hear others experience with migraines/ severe headaches and any input you may have.

(Years later i found out my sister had severe headaches as well with vomiting and she ended up being epileptic- not sure if it matters)

TIA

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Imalooney,

I am so sorry that you have to deal with such pain. I have had daily midraines in the past and they started by the time I was 11, I will be 50 in March. My neuro and I chose the route of prevention. I currently take 300mg Topamax. I was prescribed Cymbalta for Fibromyalgia. As my body became adjusted to the level of Topamax, the Cymbalta was increased to 60mg by my primary care and I realized that my migraines stopped again. I spoke with my neuro and he took over writing my Cymbalta and I am now up to 90mg Cymbalta. After a 4 day migraine in September and a trip to the ER, a shot of Dilaudid and Phenergan later, my neuro prescribed Tylenol with Codiene (#3) for the ones that get through. I am allergic to all migraine abortive meds.

You may want to explore seeing a neuro and see what can be done for you. My neuro and I have even discussed Botox, but due to the way I react to meds and having Fibro, he is reluctant.

I hope you find some relief, head pain is no joke. Hugs to you.

[TerriLynn]

I too have migraines. They started somewhere around 9 or 10 years old, am 45 now. Blinding pain, sensitivity to light, smells, and noise.

I have tried imitrex, midrin, topomax others, and now am on Prozac, and Fioricet. I read an article about how antidepressants can sometimes ward off the headaches and since mine are mostly mood/stress related, and I was sinking pretty low, I figured it couldn't hurt to go back on Prozac. But mostly, something works a couple times, and then stops working.

I am on day 2 of a migraine that is waning, and I haven't had one in more than 3 weeks, so that has been good.

My parents really never believed me about the headaches when I was little, so they would continue to push me to function, finish my dinner even though I was crying in pain and nauseous, that kind of thing. So I grew up just pushing myself, which I still do try to do, but sometimes just cannot.