I'm a 33 year old male who's suffered from migraines since my teens. From my teens to when I was 24 i had the odd migraine always accompanied by A visual aura, however due to the low frequency i wasn't too bothered by them. Then since I was 24 ( the last 9 years) I've struggled with daily headaches often with migraine features.
The daily headaches are usually quite mild (3 out of 10 pain) and generally just A distraction that I can cope with. However I frequently get flair ups which involve visual aura (they look like the after image of a camera flash or after seeing a bright reflection) that resolve after about 5 minutes as well as occasional temporary loud ear ringing and hearing sensitivity as well as much worse head pain (6-8 out of 10). The headache pain is quite general in my head and not unilateral like I read is typical for migraine, and I also experience significant neck pain with the headaches. I also get pain behind my eyes with both the mild and more severe headaches. I've so far been unable to identify much in the way of triggers other than stress and too much/little sleep.
I usually either wake up with a headache or the headache starts within 30 minutes of getting up and then proceeds to get worse through the morning and remains most afternoons. The headache almost always improves significantly during the evening which gives me some relief at least. I've always wondered if this is a clue that is important for determining the cause of the headaches??? Anyone else experience this? During the morning I almost feel on edge and somewhat restless and wonder if whatever is causing this feeling is also associated with the headaches.
I've had a head and neck MRI in the past 18 months and they were clear though unfortunately I've since had an exacerbation of my tinnitus and hyperacusis symptoms (see below) since the MRI, but that's another story...
I've tried amitriptyline, pregabalin and sumatriptan in the past all of which have had no effect on the frequency of severity of the headaches. I've followed David Bucholz's heal your headache diet as well as tried a gluten free diet, both of which have not helped either.
I'm currently taking 500mg of Solgar's cheated magnesium every day as I've read that that magnesium supplements may help migraineurs. I've taken this for a month and not noticed any improvement but will continue for at least another 2 months. I will soon try feverfew but wanted to try the magnesium in isolation first. I'm not taking any other meducation.
As a side note i also suffer with tinnitus and hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) both of which are related to loud noise exposure about 4 years ago. The complication here is that both get worse when I'm suffering from a migraine. These conditions have also made me hesitant to try other medications (Topiramate) due to tinnitus being a potential side effect.
Anyway, apologies for the long post. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice or suffered anything similar. I'm particularly curious as to why the headaches would improve in the evenings but maybe this is just "one of those things" for me with this condition.
Thanks and all the best 😊
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Poppycat1234
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I can definitely relate to the stress and lack of sleep triggers. Out of curiosity, have you had a sleep study done? Just wondering if that has any correlation to timing of when they start. So sorry you've been dealing with this for so long.
Hi BitBrokenBrain. I've not had any sleep studies done but have wondered if they would show anything. I'm based in the UK and have found getting help further to what I've already tried really difficult on the NHS. Maybe this is something I should pursue further given the timing when they start. Thank you.
I've had chronic headache since age 19, which would sometimes turn into migraine. Root cause is scoliosis and related muscle strain and nerve overload in neck and shoulders. I'm 50 now. Started Aimovig (I'm in the US) more than a year ago and have had miraculous results. Migraines (previously would take 18 triptans per month) are really not an issue for me now, other than menstrual. But even those now respond to the triptan where they didn't before. The Aimovig even improved the chronic daily tension type headaches. I take fewer aspirin-free excedrin and I don't walk around with a sore neck and the general headachey feeling that I always used to have. And they do not progress to migraine anymore, unless I were to ignore them and not take excedrin.
Do you clench your jaw while sleeping? That may be a reason why you would notice the headache in the morning.
Something you might try is Diclofenac Sodium Topical Gel 1% (prescribed). If my neck starts to ache from inflamed blood vessels, rubbing this on will calm it all down in about 15 minutes, which also prevents a migraine. Ice on the sore neck areas was always helpful, if unpleasant. It would make the pain worse (ice cream headache/brain freeze type pain) but if I put the ice on and off enough times, wherever it would hurt in the neck area, it would eventually ease and shrink the blood vessels back down. Early would prevent or delay migraine. Doing it during a migraine would temporarily ease the pain even if it didn't make it go away.
I'm sorry you are suffering. I hope you find something in here helpful.
Hi headachequeen, thank you for your detailed reply. I'm glad you've found something that really works for you; chronic pain is exhausting.
I've heard of Aimovig in passing previously but not read up on it much and never been discussed with my health care providers. I will have a read in more detail about it.
I've often wondered if it's my neck pain causing the headache or vice versa and never really had a definitive answer. My hunch is that it's the headache causing the neck pain. I have had some physical therapy in the past and didn't find it useful for my headaches though it did increase my range of motion in my neck a bit. On the contrary I know I've given myself a headache in the past by having my neck /headache in awkward positions, so it's difficult to know.
I've wondered about the jaw clenching during the night in the past. I'm really not sure. Some days I know my jaw gets out of alignment as when I chew I get a clicking sound but not been able to relate that to the headaches. I did get my dentist to have a look at my jaw alignment and he said it was ok, but it wasn't clicking on that particular day so who knows?
I really appreciate your help. At the moment I feel I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place between the headaches and coping with the tinnitus and hearing sensitivity. I guess it's a case of trying to rule out possible causes one by one.
I was treated for TMJ but it never helped my headaches. I did clench at one point and would wake up with raging headache and sore jaw. I trained myself over time not to do it; to wake myself up and relax my jaw. sleeping with dental appliances in your mouth also helps not to clench... sometimes prevents it (mouth guard type) and sometimes you just don't want to bite down on metal (retainer) so you notice when you start doing it.
I've had great treatment for my scoliosis in the past ten years but it can't be fixed completely and the tension it causes won't stop. So thank goodness for Aimovig. But you might consider seeing a really good physical therapist to evaluate your neck and alignment. Maybe you have something more fixable going on. (Chiropractors move things around, but they go back. A good PT helps you train your muscles to a) release what's happening and b) build muscle to keep things in their proper place.)
My neck pain has always been caused by the headaches. Inflamed blood vessels are very uncomfortable.
I'm afraid ruling things out one by one is the only way to do it. It's frustrating. Keep at it.
I'm really struggling to tell if the neck's the problem or not. The way the bad migraine headaches come on is that the headache comes first then I feel a squeezing sensation in my neck. The migraines with aura seemingly appear out of nowhere without any obvious cause but this is no doubt not unusual for migraine sufferers. This leads me to think that the neck pain is more likely a result of the migraine but I should get my neck checked out regardless.
I can relate to pretty much every symptom you have described which truly are in the realms of proper migraine. Recently however I've been having a more general pain like you describe which doesn't necessarily fit my normal migraine pain, but does seem to trigger the other symptoms.
I believe I've figured out it's down to muscle knots in the area nearing the bottom of the should blade area (in my case on the right). It got so bad the other day I booked a massage and basically said work an hour just on that spot...I could actually feel the pain across the front of my head draining back across my skull, down my neck and fading away, I kid you 'knot'. The visual symptoms also 'drained away'. I sit at a desk for about 13 hours a day and I think my posture and right arm position holding the mouse is what's causing that area to be bad. When I say I felt it 'draining away' I mean actually physically draining away, like some kind of blood vessel was being cramped and then relieved or something.
Regarding other 'normal' migraine occurrences, along with the magnesium I take b2 and co enzyme q10 - definitely improves the frequency and severity. I was also on propranalol which had a similar (and stronger) effect, but with some (not scary, just tiring) side effects. Might be worth looking into if you're desperate to try anything like I was
My shoulders are often tense too. Sometimes I find myself subconsciously raising them in a tensed manner that I'm unaware of until I consciously think about it and focus on relaxing them again. Although I don't find the shoulder pain as bad as the neck pain i have noticed shoulder massages help with both somewhat but usually only temporarily. Having read some of the overbooked in now strongly considering going to see a chiropractor or psychopath to see if I can get any lasting relief from them.
Hoping you continue to get relief. And yes, feeling somewhat desperate to try and improve my current situation so considering anything as it stands!
Hi , are your headaches 1 sided or all over ? As I suffer from hemiplegic migraine but also trigeminal autonomic cephalgia too & it sounds similar to what your experiencing, hope you can get it sorted soon as hun x
Hi Mollymoo12, I'm not familiar with those conditions so will have to research them. The headaches are almost always quite general throughout my head but there is always pain behind my eyes, in my neck/base of head and forehead. I hope you are getting some relief 🙂
Hello Poppycat. I'm sorry to read about your daily struggle. I do have as yourself, this morning/evening cycle almost daily. Get up and my head gets more and more sore to the point that I think I am on the way to getting a migraine. Even if I don't take any triptan, for some reasons the headache then gets better and by the evening, I am quite comfortable. Then repeat the next day! ;(
I have read that it is a feature of migraines to start while you're sleeping. It has to do with the brain resting. Around 4 am is actually when it starts. I have myself some issues with my neck. Just to let you know, I have read and have been told several times that you may well have an inflammation of the occipital nerves going through the back of your skull, however, no Xray or MRI will ever show anything. The pain behind the eyes is quite typical I believe. I have every day this burning aching pain all over my scalp and I believe that it is what they call occipital neuralgia.
I find ice quite a good thing when I feel that the pain starts getting out of control. It doesn't surprise me that you were given Sumatriptan. I find that quite infuriating that GPs give this to everyone. It is the oldest and 'roughest' triptan of all. This stuff used to make me feel so sick and when the effect wore off, the migraine was always back with a vengeance.
I am going to sound very patronising, sorry, but you need to research as much as you can about your symptoms and the medication given to you. You have to request to be sent to a specialist to get a proper diagnosis. One of the thing that helped (and still helps me) is to keep a diary of everything I do, eat, drink, medication, even the weather, level of stress, etc.. and I jot down my level of pain on that day (write details about your pain). I have never really found a trigger, however, it really gave me the feeling that I was empowered to do something about my daily struggle. You need to believe that you are stronger than your pain.
About Aimovig, sorry, but it is £500 a month in the UK.
Thank you so much for all the help in your post. I've also read about the migraines starting early in the morning before you even wake, this is probably what's happening some of the time for me. I've tried a diary before but maybe I need to be more detailed as you describe.
I am so pleased to read your post as it describes my symptoms exactly. I take co-codamol in the morning which takes the pain off, but I worry that this might be a bad plan. I have too many headaches and sometimes 24 hour migraines, when nothing works, but I don’t suffer like some of the people who post here. I will try from the neck up, as it were! Many thanks.
This might sound a bit basic, but are your pillows right for you? I often wake up with a headache if my pillows have 'collapsed' in the night, or I've moved them in some way in my sleep, or I've slept in an odd position. Actually, I don't wake up with a headache as such, rather, the headache wakes me up quite often in the morning. Worse, if I sleep somewhere else and one pillow is not enough, but two means they're too high to accommodate my neck. From my own experience, I suspect the headache is coming from your neck, rather than the other way around. MRI and other scans are of limited use unless they find something relatively serious that's a problem - a technically 'normal' scan does not mean it isn't your neck, and a lot of headaches are caused by muscle tension in the shoulders and/or neck.
You can get specialist 'neck pillows' - they look like ordinary pillows but might be shaped in a particular way, and some people find those very helpful. I haven't tried one myself, but my sister swears by her rather expensive one.
I do get migraine headaches, but they are always one sided - I've recognised that a more generalised headache present in the morning is always to do with my neck, or neck/shoulders. I'd recommend paying to see a good cranial osteopath periodically, so long as there's no evidence of serious disc problems or osteoporosis. A good one will be interested in reading your scan reports prior to treatment and should ask for the main points of your general medical history.
Good suggestion regarding the pillows. This is something I've also experimented with and now prefer a lower pillow. I don't think it's made much difference but it's one thing ruled out.
Thanks for the suggestions regarding the cranial osteopath. I do suffer with some neck stiffness which I've tried to combat with stretching exercises but don't find they've helped all that much. Occasionally (maybe 2-3 times a year) i 'pull' a muscle in my neck that leaves me with extremely restricted motion in one direction ( not always the same direction) and is very painful. Usually at this time I get a flair up of migraine symptoms too so perhaps I should investigate my neck further.
Hello this all sounds familiar. I feel for you. I’ve tried lots of things and not really had much success. However I’m having a good patch mostly. I’m taking migraine stop from Australia, lots of vitamin B 12, 1, 3 and multi B and Frova a long lasting triptan and Naproxen 3 times a day off and on. I’ve just started acupuncture again. It didn’t work the first time but you never know. Good luck.
Glad you're doing well at the moment. Thanks for the suggestions regarding vitamins. I have often wondered specifically about B12 levels as some of my symptoms match that of a deficiency but my GP says my levels are OK. I should probably request the actual levels as apparently you can experience symptoms of a deficiency even if you are within 'normal' levels.
The most recent research shows that migraines are not the sole cause, but that there are other issues that cause you to get migraines.
I recommend treating or dealing with your neck pain first it will help your migraines a lot.
A few more suggestions, there is also a theory that the reason we get headaces at night is becuase our body goes to long without food. So a dime suggestion, try having a snack right before bed. Like peanut butter or almond butter or anything that can help you through the night.
It is great that you started the magniaium ( there are at least 4-5 different types) but I would recommend taking it 3x a day. Not 500mg all at once. I take 100mg when I wake up again at lunch, then before bed. Right now I am only at 300mg so if I feel I need an extra dose I take another early evening.
I would also recommend ice behind you neck to see if that helps.
One last thing that has really helped me is pepermint. I now drink hot pepermint tea when I need it and it really helps prevent migraines.
Also the triptans I take are 100mg pills, I also have it in an injection so if I take one triptan and it doesnt go away I inject and this keeps me from going to the hospital.
Hope these help! One last thingI have been listening to the Heads Up Podcast to help me. They are migraine Specialist from the UK. Amazing! Ma y back episodes to listen to.
I like the one about the snack before bed. I do sometimes find that some of my migraines start if i delay a meal so perhaps this is something investigating further.
I think we discussed magnesium in a different thread so thank you again for your information about that.
I'll have to listen to that podcast, knowledge is power with this condition it seems!
Onthemove1971, thank you again. Your first sentence is absolutely right. I must admit I've not acted swift enough in the past and put up with the pain but recently I've been making a concerted effort to try and change things.
I've been trying the chelated magnesium for just over a month now (500mg spread over the day) if I don't see any improvement in the next month I think ill try the magnesium glycinate.
Regarding water, I've dropped all other drinks other thank water for the last 12 months, don't think it has changed much but had terrible withdrawal from caffeine for the first week!
Glad you've found things that work for you and really appreciate you sticking around these forums to help others.
My experience is like yours. I don’t remember how I heard of it, but I’ve started following a website called Stanton Migraine protocol. It’s changed my life in 6 months.
Hi Winnie77. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll be reading up on this tonight. Do you mind me asking, when you say your experience Is like mine, are there any specific similarities? I'm just wondering if people with the same symptoms are likely to benefit from similar treatments.
Hi Sorry to hear about your migraines and all the suffering you are going through. I suffer from migraines, too and have since childhood but they weren't diagnosed properly until my 30s. If you aren't seeing a neurologist who specializes in migraine I would recommend this. Im in the USA so not sure how the health system works in UK and other countries. My headache neuro has told me to drink 2 liters of Gatorade to replenish electrolytes because migraines dry out your body long with taking 2 Advil and 1 /2 tab of ativan as an abortive. I also take 480 mgs magnesium oxide at night because it calms the cns down and 1 mg ativan at night to sleep. Im underweight so proper nutrition is so important. Ive read that vitamin B2 from the Einstein Journal of medicine and biology in 2016 helps too. Of course everyone's body is different. No reading or watching tv in bed and per neuro no ipads or mobile phones in bed. Keep bedroom on the cool size temp wise. Well, these are the things Im trying since I have 2 migraines a day. I tried Amovig when it first came on the market and I was ill with flu like symptoms and my hair fell out in clumps for three months and it didnt help me. It has to be self injected in your body and its quite expensive. Good sleep hygiene and proper nutrition are key. I hope this info helos.
Hi Lipstick2020, thanks for taking the time to post your suggestions. Sorry to hear you are also suffering.
I've read about vitamin B2 otherwise know as Riboflavin too; it's on my list of things to try!
Is the no reading or watching tv in bed to do with neck posture? I used to do this and quickly learned it was a trigger for me and I assume it's to do with neck strain so interesting you mention that.
I've dropped pretty much all drinks now apart from water in order to reduce my stimulants but thanks for the Gatorade idea I'll have to give it a try.
Hi- According to my neuro, the no reading or tv watching in bed is to train the mind and body that the bed is for sleeping and not to stimulate the mind and body with activities. But if it triggers you of course you wouldnt want to do it. If you can see a neurologist, his or her advice would be best but hope this helps.
I saw that you already got a lot of tips on sleep, medication or supplements. And from my experience I can say that you will just have to try out what works for you.
I just wanted to add some more long-term strategies. I know how it sounds and that many people prefer to ignore it but I looked into psychosocial approaches for chronic headache management for a project I am working on.
And there is actually really good scientific evidence on strategies such as hypnotherapy, yoga, meditation or mindfulness.
I for example did a mindfulness course and saw some changes. Of course it depends on your triggers for example (mine often is stress) and on the cause. However, even if those strategies do not directly target an organic cause (if there is one to be found), they are a good support in managing the regular pain.
Would love to hear if you have tried any of these.
I understand your points regarding the psychological approaches. I've not delved into this side of things very much in the past so it may also be worthwhile looking into. Furthermore, as I mentioned in my opening post I also suffer from chronic tinnitus and CBT and mindfulness are both clinically proven to help with the distress the condition causes. Also meditation is often recommended to help reduce the stress the condition causes so all may be good options especially if I can kill two birds with one stone.
Stress definitely has an effect on my headaches so all of the above may have a positive effect.
Hi Chronichead, I read your comment with interest. Could you tell me more about your project on the psychosocial approaches for migraine prevention? My headaches also seem to be aggravated mostly by stress and I've been looking into techniques advocating learning how to "unlearn your pain" as described by Dr. Howard Schubiner. I'd love to hear more about new ways of looking at pain and how to approach it slightly differently. Any comments would be most welcome. Many thanks, Clydelle
Hello Clydelle , I am happy to hear about your interest in psychological approaches.
We are currently focusing on children, translating those approaches into mobile games to make it more enjoyable for them.
But what I can tell from our research there exists really good evidence for those methods also working for adolescents or adults. For example: Mindfulness (there are MBSR courses, I did one myself and it helped reduce stress), Yoga and gentle physical exercise, Meditation or Hypnotherapy (did not try this myself but there are great studies about its effectiveness). Hope this helps, any more questions, just let me know or send me a direct message
Hi, no I haven't though it is something I've considered. I've read about people getting short term relief from it but not so much in terms of lasting relief.
I’ve just started some treatment with a chiropractor, for the sake of why the hell not to be honest. I do feel a lot better within myself after a week, I can’t speak long term though.
But in my assessment I learnt a lot and with your symptoms of neck pain I think it would be worth getting an initial consult and x-rays. Not obliged to continue on with the treatment.
I was also going to suggest a chiropractor. My symptoms sound identical to poppycats, severe neck pain, pain and pressure behind your eyes and head pain. Our migraines sound the exact same.
I started to see a Chiropractor much like the one Bradgtfc13 has suggested, with proper X-Rays etc, for the last 4 years now and after about a month or so, it has completely changed my life! I no longer get the pounding migraine/neck pain for hours and hours. No more throwing up, and the frequency has dropped significantly. I go every 2 weeks wether I feel I need to or not for a realignment and to stay on this track.
In my opinion my migraines have stemmed 100% from my neck being out of line. I also make sure to drink 1/2 litre of water/ice tea/etc an hour before bed. This provides me the proper hydration to get through the night, a lot of my migraines seemed to start when I am dehydrated over night.
Anyways I hope this helps.. like I said you could have been describing my migraines in your first post, so I hope these similarities mean similar treatment will work. Take care.
Hi Twigee thanks for the info. Glad to hear the chiropractor has helped you. Living every day with headaches is tiring and wearing today the least so any relief is always welcome.
How many times did you as the chiropractor in the first month before you started seeing results?
I went once a week for the first month or two, and now I go twice a month. I can’t tell you how much it has helped.. I was TOTALLY against going to the chiropractor, like it FREAKS ME OUT STILL haha the snapping and popping, but it was literally the only thing I hadn’t tried yet (massage, acupuncture, IMS, yoga, meditation, you name it) and my friend who also suffers from migraines convinced me to go! I thought worse case scenario I die, best case scenario, they relieve my headaches. Glad I can say I haven’t died yet from having my neck/back adjusted. It still sounds awful, but works!
I hope you find relief with yours, they are horrible and no way to live. If nothing, you have sparked a lot of people talking. About what has helped them, and hopefully you, and others, can drawn on all of this great knowledge
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