Night migranes

[Mary1959]

I've been waking up at the same time each night 3.10 with migrane, I take Triptan which eases it and sometimes manage to go back to sleep. I wear a mouth guard and apply a head cooking strip before I go to sleep. Has anyone else had similar? I've just started Topiramate.

[Pippwin]

I hope the topirimate will help...it helped me for a while ,but if it doesn't, or if you get bothersome, keep pressing the doc for a better preventative.

As well as a preventative, it's worth trying to trip your migraine out of its regular habit! I used to find that taking anti inflammatories ( naproxen) for a few days was good and also taking a triptan at bedtime should mean the migraine doesn't come on in the night and breaks the cycle.

Another tip is to take a triptan which has a longer effect. They tend to be less likely to lead to rebound migraines. For example frovatriptan. Sumatriptan has a few hours working and then the next migraine can start building up, do.if you're prone to chronic migraine it's not very helpful.

All the best!

Pippa

[Mary1959 in reply to Pippwin]

Thanks Pippa, I've had sumatriptan but they did wear off quickly, I'm now on naratryptan which are better but work for about 6 hours. The naproxen don't work but cocodamol help if taken same time as triptan. I worry about running out of triptans, as I get 18 a month but I'm getting nice and every day at the moment. I also take amitriptyline at night. I'm having my jaw checked by the dentist to see if that helps and have started taking magnesium tablets. I'll try taking triptan before bed and see if that helps. Thanks for replying, take care sue x

[Pippwin in reply to Mary1959]

I also found 400 mg vitamin B2 made a difference alon with Magnesium. The trouble with cocodamol is it can cause rebound headaches.. so that might actually not be helping in the long term.

If topirimate doesn't make a significant difference, candesartan is good sometimes. And if you are not getting any joy from what the GP can offer, I strongly recommend going to a migraine clinic where they can prescribe CGRP preventative which might be far more effective for you. It is annoying the way we have to take strong drugs with side effects which are designed for other illnesses , when there are actually some newly designed drugs which target migraine! Hopefully the next generation won't have such an awful protracted battle.

Really wishing you well Sue.

[Mary1959 in reply to Pippwin]

Thankyou so much pippa, it's lovely to chat to someone who understands. I will take note of what you've said, if I don't get relief soon. Hope you keep well and as migrant free as possible best wishes Sue x

[Xandi2 in reply to Mary1959]

Hello,Sorry not helpful but be really careful of medication overuse headache. You're supposed to have I think 10 triptan use days - this means if you take 2 within 24hrs it counts as 1 day. With codeine it's less, 4 I think. Once you get MOH it's difficult to get rid of and it might mean not being able to take those pain relievers again. It's not nice so please read up on this as it's best avoided. Migraine sufferers for some reason particularly suffer from this. Our GPs are not clued up on this and migraine specific Dr's are. Good luck with the topmirate and wishing it helps. Alex

[Mary1959 in reply to Xandi2]

Thankyou for your advice, I'm trying to avoid cocodamol and taking magnesium and B2 vitamins. Also trying the night coffee remedy. Anything's worth a try x

[Sprout]

Coming from a computer diagnosis background, whenever I saw problems that recurred after roughly the same amount of time, it nearly always traced back to 'user error' [unplugging PC and plugging in kettle to make a cup of tea] or more often environmental issues [magnets, heat, cold, dust, smoke, fans etc etc].

Your message shouts 'same place, same time' which suggests to me, after a certain amount of time exposed to 'something' you get a migraine.

Example: I used to get one every Wednesday morning, turned out the people that clean the communal areas were using an odd chemical on the floors and the odour from that would trigger my migraines, I spoke to them, explained, they changed chemicals and it no longer happens.

You didn't say if the 3:10 am migraine started recently or suddenly, so this may or may not apply.

I'm assuming you sleep in the same bed and bedroom every night and go to bed at roughly the same time

Have you considered environmental triggers?

If not, try sleeping in another room [if possible] if this works...

Did you change anything in the bedroom?

New mattress, bedding, decorated, carpets, plant, any change at all, it may be something insignificant like changing the scent in an air freshener.

IMHO it sounds like you have something in your room that is a 'triggering' your migraines

Do you know what your 'environmental migraine triggers' are?

Strong smells, certain scents, light[s]?

Check the room for anything you know that aggravates your migraines.

I wish you the best in finding an answer.

[Mary1959 in reply to Sprout]

Hi thank you for all your advice, it's trial and error at the moment, I'm trying to cut out different things that could be triggers. I've moved into another bedroom and I'm giving up my half hour reading which usually helps me sleep. I'm drinking lots of water too. I've had migraines for over 30 years but but only this night problem since beginning of December. I'll take more of all your suggestions thank you . Best wishes Sue x

[Cat00]

Personally I wouldn't take a triptan before bed every night. Really you should only have 6 triptan days a month with 2 extra other painkiller days a month in order to avoid rebound. If you are chronic then you'll have no pain relief for the rest of the month. You'll need to give the topirimate at least 6 weeks, if not more, to work. I reckon really it takes more than a couple of months before you right off most migraine meds.

If you want to apply for a CGRP antibody you need to have trialed, and failed, three preventative meds first. If they feel you have not given one of these drugs a fair go they may suggest you go back on it first for longer or at a higher dose.

[Mary1959 in reply to Cat00]

Hi cat, thanks for your reply, I've been on diazepam, Florentine, setraline, propanolol, amitriptyline, conformal, imigran and naratriptan over the last 30 years. I've given them all a good go. My doctor says the next step is a neurologist. It's difficult for me, as I'm the sole carer of my 94 year old dad, so can't just go to bed when I need to, hence the need for pain relief. I'm sure I'm taking too many but I just have to get through each day. Thanks for your advice.

[Cat00 in reply to Mary1959]

Ahh I've talked to you before. We all have reasons for wanting and needing painkillers more often than is helpful in the longterm. I can't go to bed either and I have migraine about 18 days a month. That doesn't change the reality of medication overuse headache unfortunately. Being needed doesn't change the science.I don't think Diazepam would count as a migraine preventative, I don't think Setraline would either. Naratriptan and imigran are acute treatments so also aren't preventatives. Never heard of Conformal other than as cancer drug so couldn't say about that. Propranolol and Amitriptyline would though, so with Topirimate that would be 3, so you would get access to more options after that at least.

[Mary1959 in reply to Cat00]

Hi Cat thankyou so much for your reply, the conformal is cocodamol but predictive text took over lol. I'll persevere with topiramate and see what hapoens. I'm also taking magnesium and B2 tablets, so doing my best. Hope you're having a migraine free day best wishes Sue x

[Cat00 in reply to Mary1959]

Yes cocodomol definitely won't count as a preventative and neither will the Fluoxetine but with the Topirimate you'll be up to 3 anyway and if your GP can establish you are not taking too many painkillers then you are more likely to get access to a neurologist and therefore to the more expensive meds.The chances are you are waking up in the middle of the night with migraine because of the stress of being the sole carer for your father. After hormones the biggest driver of migraine would be stress. Its also the hardest thing to change of course, sadly.

You are already doing the right things by going to your GP, it's good to get these things on record because if things get worse down the line you have a written history of how long it's been going on for. Good luck with the topirimate.

[Mary1959 in reply to Cat00]

Thankyou Cat, that's good to know, I am under a lot of stress, but sadly that's life sometimes. I'll battle on with the topirimate x

[Mary1959]

That's cocodamol and fluoxitine

[Wrexham16]

Hi I suffer from chronic migraine but a few years ago I started waking up a couple of hours after going to bed (same time every night) with what felt like a migraine but eventually was diagnosed as hypnic headache which responds to different treatment. I still suffer with migraine but the hypnic headache is under control so at least I don't have the extra issue of knowing I'm going to have a problem after a couple of hours of sleep. Worth asking about.

[Mary1959 in reply to Wrexham16]

Ooh thanks for that I'll look into it, all options gratefully received. Hope you're having migraine free day best wishes Sue x

[troy04 in reply to Wrexham16]

Yes, Hypnic headache is most likely case here, although it should not last for more than 4 hours. It is often treated (preventative) with Lithium Carbonate but Topiramate also works sometimes.

[Mary1959 in reply to troy04]

Yes I've just read up on it and it fits exactly! I'm going to try the coffee before bed first. Thanks

[1518]

I too have had chronic migraine for over thirty years and your medication journey is sadly very familiar. I’m so sorry that you’ve yet another thing to deal with. Like you I started and still suffer from the migraine waking me up in the night, although not as sever as a “normal “ migraine it’s very annoying. I spoke to a doctor at the National Migraine centre and she suggested having a strong cup of coffee or a caffeine tablet just before going to sleep as it was maybe a hypnic headache although she did say that migraine very often starts in the early hours anyway. I thought if I took caffeine before bed I might never sleep again so started having a strong cup of coffee first thing in the morning and it does ease it off and doesn’t progress to a full blown migraine. It went away for a few months but has just started again so I am contemplating the caffeine tablet before bed but I’m a bit wary. I hope you find some relief soon.

[Mary1959]

Thankyou for your reply, I've heard this before but never tried it but I will now. I've never heard of hypnic headache before but will research it now thankyou. Wishing you a migraine free day Sue x

[bennevisplace]

Good luck with Topiramate. Ramping up to 100 mg/ day, it helped me for several weeks then stopped working. Increasing to the max dose of 200 mg just produced weird side effects I couldn't handle. Other folk report varying success with Topiramate, many report unwanted side effects.

Adding low dose Amitriptyline (1 tablet before bed) seemed to dampen down the headaches a little, but its main benefit was a good night's sleep. Maybe try it?

[Mary1959 in reply to bennevisplace]

Thanks, I'm taking 2 a day at the moment, increasing over next 2 weeks, I also take 50mg amitriptyline at night. I told doctor, if the pain was in my arm or leg, I'd gladly have it amputated to get rid of the pain. Take care x

[troy04 in reply to Mary1959]

Taking Amitriptyline in the evening (1.5 to 2 hrs before bed) is most effective than taking immediately before bedtime (sleep).

[Mary1959]

Thanks Troy, will try that.

[Wrexham16]

I've just read troy's post about hypnic headache not lasting 4 hours. Mine could go on for hours. Coffee before bed was a miracle and most hypnic headache sufferers apparently sleep normally after drinking caffeine before bed but sadly it started keeping me awake so eventually I switched to melatonin. My neurologist said that the NHS would never pay for it because you need a lot so I just buy it myself. it is very cheap. You have to experiment to find the right dose so hopefully the caffeine will be the answer for you. Caffeine tablets are just as effective. Hope it works

[Mary1959 in reply to Wrexham16]

Thankyou, I can't wait to try it now. I m not sure how strong the coffee needs to be? I'll try anything and everything, hopefully between us migraine sufferers, we'll come up with a solution for everyone x

[Wrexham16 in reply to Mary1959]

Hi I did a lot of research on the caffeine content of various types of coffee. Before I gave up on caffeine as a solution I got to the point where I couldn't face actually drinking the liquid so I switched to pro plus tablets. I found that 2 of those tablets worked as well as the coffee and that was 100mg of caffeine. If you google the coffee you have you will get a good idea if that is enough or if you need to find another brand. Hope that helps x

[Mary1959 in reply to Wrexham16]

That's great thankyou x

[Discodog]

yes I have the same experience- after 6 weeks of topiramate this has started happening. It’s along with the hunger feeling and sickness that’s started recently. So frustrating- more migraines and needing to use the triptan s daily for the past few days. Feel washed out and weird. Starting to wonder if topiramate will work now. How long have you been taking topiramate?

[Mary1959]

So sorry to hear you're feeling poorly. I've only been on them for 2 weeks so haven't really given them a chance yet. I've been feeling light headed and dizzy but not sure if that's just migrane. I've started taking B2 tablets and magnesium tablets which are supposed to help. Only been taking them couple of days so don't know if they will help. Apparently, once you've had 3 preventatives, which I will have, with the topiramate, you can be referred to a specialist. Worth considering if you have. Take care and hope you soon feel better x

[Discodog]

thanks Mary. After 4 days the migraine stopped. Will continue with the topiramate to give it a good go. The nausea has stopped so maybe a side effect? Who knows?! Up to full dose for me now. What type of magnesium are you trying? Hope it helps.

[Mary1959 in reply to Discodog]

Hi discodog, hope you soon see a big imrovement. Unfortunately, I had some bad side effects on Wednesday night, I felt dizzy , faint and sick and my heart was racing, I rang doctor and he said, these were side effects of topiramate but could get worse for me, so he's put me on 75mg amitriptyline at night instead and I've managed 2 decent nights sleep. I'm now just taking the amitriptyline and a naratryptan if I get a severe migrane. Since stopping cocodamol and propanolol, I've experienced trembling but think this should pass. I tried the B2 tablets but had bad reaction to those, so just take 375mg tablet of magnesium each day. I'm clinging on to the hope that this won't last forever. Take care, and good luck x

[Discodog]

I have friends who do well with amytriptyline- it helped me sleep well but did nothing for the migraine! I hope it helps with yours.

It’s a struggle at times isn’t it?

I think I’ll try the magnesium supplements - is that glycinate? I bought citrate powder a while ago and have since realised this may have been the wrong type!!!

Good luck 😊

[Mary1959]

Thanks I hope so too. My magnesium tablets are called magnesium+vitamin B6, I think they are low dose, I got them from local chemidt, only £1.49, but if they help, id pay £149! There's nothing in them except Magnesium and low dose B6 vitamin. Take them with food though, as they're big and can give you indigestion. I'm trying to focus on things to look forward to, so I don't get too down, but it's hard when most days are painful. Take care, from your migraine buddy 🤗

[Discodog]

thanks for the info and good luck with the amytriptaline and magnesium. 🤞for you

[Mary1959]

You too x

[Clara_Bell44]

Yes! Mine always start between 2.30-3.30 am. They rarely ever start during the day time. It’s very strange, as I’ll often go to bed feeling fine, then I’m woken with that all too familiar pain. I can set my clock by it. My neurologist doesn’t seem concerned by regular use of Triptans. When this happens for a protracted period (last time, I had daily head pain lasting in excess of 6 weeks) I either try 2 weeks of daily Naratriptan. One morning and one at night to ‘switch it off’. Alternatively, I have taken a month of Indomethicin 3 x daily. In the meantime, I also take high strength B2, Feverfew and Magnesium (go for ionic as it’s much better absorbed) It does help!

[Mary1959]

Hi Claire, sorry you're also suffering with night migranes. It's horrible isn't it. I get them at 3.10=4 oclock. If I take a triptan, I can usually go back to sleep and feel ok in the morning, but if I don't take triptan, the migrane goes on most of the day. It annoys me, when people day, you shouldn't take more than 6 triptans a month, but when you're in excruciating pain and can't sleep for it, it's very hard to not take a tablet which you know will ease it and allow you to sleep. I've stopped taking cocodamol, as that can be addictive, but ibuprofen don't work on me at all. I'm going to try physiotherapy to relieve muscle pain in my neck and shoulders, and having my ears syringed tomorrow to see if that helps. I'm also thinking of trying acupuncture. Thanks for the tablet advice, it's really lovely this site, to realise you're not on your own. Take care x

[Clara_Bell44 in reply to Mary1959]

Hello Mary, I am exactly the same. If I take a Triptan in the night, I’m almost guaranteed to shake off the pain and feel better when I wake again in the morning. If I don’t, I end up not being able to go back to sleep as my head hurts so much, and the pain lasts all day leaving me feeling washed out. The neuro that I have seen didn’t seem particularly concerned about medication overuse when it comes to triptans. He has advised me to do this if I have pain. It will be worth investigating if you could take triptans daily (which I’ve done) for 2 weeks daily at any one time to hopefully switch off an episode.

I hope you have some success with the physio. Another thing I find useful is head lymphatic drainage. Have a look on YouTube on techniques. It takes me 5 mins or so and I do this morning and night to help. It’s quite relaxing too! x

[Mary1959]

Hi clara=bell thankyou for your reply, are you sure we're not twins! I think I will try taking triptan each day to try and hopefully change the pattern of migranes. I've been to physio, and he said my neck and shoulders were so tight and that wasn't helping. He massaged them to try and make me relax but I've now got bad headache from it. I'm going to go back next week to give it a chance. I will look at lymphatic drainage (I've never heard of it) , I'll try anything if it helps these awful migranes. I'm so sorry you're suffering too, but just remember when you're awake in night in pain, you're not on your own. Take care x

[Clara_Bell44 in reply to Mary1959]

I’m so sorry you’re suffering with this too. Luckily, I don’t meet with any resistance when it comes to prescribing triptans. I just follow the neurologist’s advice, and take them daily for a couple of weeks to reset myself. I have to hold down a full time job, and it’s impossible for me to function without pain relief.

Give the head lymphatic a go. I had an appointment with a health clinic recently. The consultant there explained it like our brain goes through a ‘car wash’ at night while we sleep. It gets bathed in cerebral fluid and washes out all the metabolic waste. If there’s a blockage somewhere in your lymphatic system, this might not be as effective. Hence the self lymphatic massage to help. It might sound a bit ‘out there’ but I’ve found it’s helped me.. like you, I’ll give anything a try.

It’s good to know we aren’t alone in our suffering, and we are all here to help x

[Mary1959 in reply to Clara_Bell44]

I'm going to deffinately give the daily triptan a go, just to give my head a rest. My doctors pretty good and will give me what I order usually. Thanks for the advice and explaination, it makes a lot of sense. I've not seen a neurologist yet, doctor says that's the next move if I'm no better by end of march. It must be awful keeping a full time job. I don't work but look after my old dad and I'm his only carer. Will let you know if I come up with any new things to try, hope you have good weekend and good luck for tonight x

[Clara_Bell44 in reply to Mary1959]

it’s worth pushing for a neurologist most definitely. Wish you luck with managing this awful condition. Here’s to a pain free night! x

[Mary1959 in reply to Clara_Bell44]

🤗 hope so x

[Tracey001]

Hi Mary, my migraines usually start during the night too, plus I wear a mouth splint and thought it might be tooth grinding that might set it off. However I also discovered that when I play hard exercise and sweat a lot I can set off a migraine during the day and concludes that the link with my nighttime migraines could be overnight dehydration. I’ve therefore started taking a sodium/sports drink before bed which I think helps. I’ve also recently had my amitriptyline increased to three tablets as I’d had 10 days of migraines by Mid January. The amitriptyline at least now ensure that the sumatriptan works whereas before it had no impact at all. I hope some of this helps. It’s no fun at all ☹️

[Mary1959 in reply to Tracey001]

Hi Tracey, sorry you also have migranes. I've started taking a glass of water and a couple of biscuits to bed and if I wake in the night, have them. Some things seem to work for a while, then just stop! I've started physio on my shoulders and neck and he says my muscles are very tense, as I'm a worrier. I've found if my migrane s really got hold, I take Triptan and 2 cocadamol which seems to work. I've found exercise makes it work, I love walking but it seems to cause a throbbing head. I've got phone appointment with doctor but not till 21st. We're low priority in the eyes of the doctors. Hope you're having good day today x