Headache

[Mavary]

Hi!

I just wondered if anyone’s migraines have changed?

I used to suffer with really bad migraines having sometimes to go to bed and not being able to stand the least chink of light or sound.

My migraines which I presume is migraine has changed to a headache and feeling ill with it.

I get phases where I’ll get these headaches and I’ve had them now for about a week on and off. I have had them before on and off for a while. I had a bad one yesterday which made me feel quite ill. I carried on doing things but got to the stage where I thought I’ve had enough and just wanted to go and sit down. I took my temperature thinking oh my goodness I might have Covid or something and it was fine. But No! today my headache is gone and I got up feeling much better. I feel a bit weak and tired with pressure in my head but that’s how I’ve always been after migraine.

I took my naramig which usually works within an hour for me but still had this headache all day and I took a couple of paracetamols with not much change. I couldn’t say it’s a ramping headache it just seems to start at the front and just makes me feel as if I have flu or something without the cold symptoms,

I haven’t slept well for a week or so and I imagine this is what started it off but last night I went to bed earlier than usual and had a good nights sleep and I think that’s why I feel better.

Has anyone else experienced a change as they’ve got older?

[dagmarafairley]

Hi.

You have literally described my current situation, but I'm afraid I don't have any answers for you. I've been suffering for migraines for over 20 years , I'm 39 years old now and I always had only a " classic" migraines - when I can't function at all for day or two , staying in bed with a cool pack around my head. For the last few months I've been experiencing a lot ( few times a week) more headache like migraines just like you described where I can still get up from bed and do thinks. I discussed it with my GP but the moment I use word "headache" he ignores my issue cos in his opinion this is "only a headache" . You may get more sense from your doctor Keep in mind that sometimes tablets we are taking to prevent migraines may actually cause headaches / migraines.

But answering you last question - yes , they do change as you’ve got older ( like in my case).

Wishing you a lot of migraine free days ,

Dagmara x

[Mavary in reply to dagmarafairley]

Thanks .

My Dr did say quite a while ago that it was cluster headaches. I only remembered when I saw your reply. Ive been getting a headache every day for a week or more. For two days it made me feel quite poorly. I’ve coped much better today. Still with a mild headache though.

[Dellajoy]

Hi Mavary I have found that my migraines have got a lot more frequent and at one time they were only on the left side of my head and mad end very sick. As I've got older and hit the menopause they are happening more frequently and can be on either side of head and take a lot of medication to see off. I find aspirin better than paracetamol and intake it at the same time as my triptan (frovatriptan) on the recommendations of my neurologist. I'm hoping once through the menopause they may get less frequent. I take daily propranol and amyltriptilyne at night but still have 2 days a week with migraine. I can really sympathise with your situation because it stops you from living a normal life and I feel angry at times that I can't seem to find a solution. I hope you find some medication that suits you.

[Mavary in reply to Dellajoy]

I’ve been on the change since 2006. I still get loads of hot flushes especially if I’m tired or poorly. The Dr told me I may always have them. But! The migraines have got better and like I’ve said now have become headaches but I’m still getting the side effects like feeling washed out as if I’ve been ill. I’m thankful that the really bad pain I used to get is gone. It’s a good job that I’m not getting too many bad heads now. I used to get right side pain that was horrendous. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. My Dr prescribed naramig for me that luckily was the right drug for me. Within an hour the pain would subside but again I would feel washed out for a couple of days. It’s strange how no one drug can get rid of migraines. I think we are all on different ones.

[Pingez]

Hello. It's funny that you should mention changing headaches because this has also happened to me. I've had common migraines from my 20's (I'm now 65) experiencing the textbook symptoms of pounding headache, needing to keep absolutely still for hours, vomiting etc. As the years rolled by a few different things started to happen and these have caused significant stress. Approximately 12 years ago, I started experiencing weird sensations in my brain, difficult to describe, but like a fluttering, accompanied by transient loss of balance, but very short lasting ( fractions of a second), but occurring multiple times a day. Many brain scans and tests later these were put down to migraine related problems. I decided that they weren't going to kill me and I just got on with life. They lasted 6 years and then stopped as suddenly as they had begun.

Then I began with "the headache ". It actually coincided with some treatment I had at a physiotherapist's so for a long time (years) they were attributed to tension headaches. My doctor was convinced that they were tension headaches and I must admit I had to agree with her because they were nothing like my previous migraines. They were not so bad at first, a drilling pain under my left eyebrow. They started every day about 14.00 and went on until 22.00. I took tablets to try to get rid of them but they seemed impervious to anything I took. They weren't terrible but they blighted my life because they were every day. Then they started earlier and earlier, until they became almost none stop. Occasionally either Anadin Extra or Sumatriptan might work, which encouraged me to continue trying painkillers every day. Nothing seemed to work (amitriptyline, propranolol, pizotifen, GON block). Physiotherapy, acupuncture, myofacial therapy, rolfing, you name it, I tried it. In desperation, I went to the National Migraine Centre where I was assured that this was actually migraine, even though it didn't feel like it. By this time I was getting the ice pick headache at the top of my head and at the back of my head, along with my old friend the pain under the eye socket.

Nothing would improve, I was told, until I stopped taking tablets so, as I'd now retired from work, I decided to embark on a detox program, starting on 31st May 2019. What followed was the hardest thing I'd ever done, and tested my courage and resilience to the absolute limit. I was determined to succeed because I knew it would help in the long run, so I persevered. Without tablets, the full extent of my problems were completely exposed and which I had masked with painkillers and triptans over the years. As I say, it was the hardest thing I'd ever done (vomiting for days even after sips of water, fainting, my husband thought I'd had a stroke). I'd like to say that after the 2 months of detox that everything resolved, but I'd be lying. The first 3 months were the hardest, and I managed only by taking the occasional triptan when things got so bad I couldn't bear it. I was expecting a miracle and it didn't happen. Then I tried just managing by having no more than 2 tablet days a week and managed to get into a 4 day headache, followed by 3 days off kind of weekly routine, which lasted for about 6 months ish. Gradually as I got mentally and physically stronger, I determined to get down to 1 tablet day, which I tried to keep to but without much improvement. However I was still driven to rid myself of headache medication, because I'd read somewhere that every triptan you take, increases the probability of another headache. I now take nothing for my headache, but take the occasional Ibruprofen for sciatica. It's only in the last 4 weeks that I've begun to notice a change. 4 day headache, 6 days off; 4 day headache, 13 days off; 4 day headache, 6 days off; 3 day headache ( this has never been known-3 day headache, and the 3rd day was so mild it hardly counted).

So, could I be on the right track after all this time? Who knows. The reason I started writing this was because I agreed that migraines change over time. Well it might change again, who knows. I'm just hoping that it keeps changing for the better.

All of us who suffer from this terrible affliction deserve a bit of luck. We all bravely face this problem with courage (sometimes), and despair ( yes, many times I have longed for a loaded gun at the side of my bed). We all have to try and find our way through this rotten maze of pain in the best way we know how. I've chosen to tough it out and I hope that eventually it pays off. Sincere best wishes to all of you in your battles with this lonely condition. X

[Mavary in reply to Pingez]

I’ve actually come across this before. If you take painkillers long term your pain can become worse. Taking it in the first place is a saviour but having to take them all the time can be to your detriment. Weaning yourself off can be horrific too. I’m lucky that I’ve never had to take a lot of painkillers. Paracetamol or aspirin doesn’t touch my migraines. I would be just as well to eat sweets. That’s why I was so pleased with the results I had from taking naramig. Within the hour my pain was much better. I can cope with feeling under the weather but I can't cope with the pain of a really bad migraine.