Migraines

[Kaveh]

Who else gets them, and what do you do to stop yourself from hitting yourself in the head with a claw hammer to make the pain go away?         

[IZ]

The s/o gets them.  I can honestly and thankfully say I've never experienced one.  Although..I'm sure some of my allergy-related episodes are very similar.  She can tell me two days in advance when ones coming.  I massage her neck and forehead and pretty much keep my distance when they occur. 

[NAKID]

Caffeine...

[roy-nexus-6]

ok, I'm not joking about this... but apparently sex (and orgasm) undertaken just at the onset of a migraine can stop it. Been some research on that.

If I feel I migraine coming, I bale from wherever I am, take two asprin, and sleep to reboot my system. Usually stops it dead. 

[NAKID]

It's not necessarily the sex, it's the release of serotonin caused by the climax. Masturbation should work as well...

[ROBsS4R]

Go find a Picnic Table 

[darylbowden]

I get them horribly.  A few things I've learned/tried over the years.

#1)  Eat well, stop drinking  alcohol and always exercise.  When I am following this routine, I'm wayyy better off.
#2)  Take your medicine as soon as you start to feel one coming on.  Me, I take IM Imitrex, so as soon as I feel one coming on I give myself a shot.
#3)  Sleep well.  Lack of sleep/crazy hours will kill you.
#4)  If you're having a truly bad one (that Imitrex or whatever SUI you take isn't helping with), the only thing that will cure it is sleep and the only way to sleep is to take some serious painkillers. Over the last 5 or 6 years, I've been to the hospital a handful of times where I've had to go on a Morphine IV to kill the pain enough to sleep (although usually 3-4 Vicodin will do the trick). 
#5)  YOu'll laugh at this, but earlier this year I did the botox in the forehead thing that has been talked about so much in the journals lately.  And I gotta tell you - it works.  It's not covered by insurance, but it's only ~200 bucks and lasts 3 months a pop (and compared to the cost of Imitrex 200 bucks is nothing).  I suffer from serious migraines as in debilitating, multi-day migraines and at different times in my life I've gotten them as often as 6x in one month.
#6)  When you're in your "prime", they are the worst.  For some reason, the more "active" your brain is (and this is usually in your 20s-30s), the more prone you are to having them.  I found that the ages of 22-26 were the worst for me.
#7)  Cold compresses on your eyes.  I keep about 10 of those freezable eye things in my fridge at all times.  When I get a migraine, I grab one, head into my pitch black room and lay down.  As soon as it warms up, I switch them out.

That's about alL I can think of right now...

Oh, and make sure that you're seeing a Neurologist who specializes in them.  It makes a huge difference.  Before I met my current Neurologist, I was seeing my GP who was pretty much goddamn useless.  It's a very specialized field and the good ones make a big diff.

[SKOM]

My SO also gets them. I have been fortunate enough to never have one.

Apparently the cure is to get upset with me for no reason    j/k.

[VisceralReaction]

I can tell when I am getting one and I head home, take 4 Excedrin, go to bed with earplugs and my blackout eye covers.
Usually after a couple hour nap I am OK.
If I don't do this, I'll get a full blown one and the light hurts and nausea etc. I sympathize with everyone that gets them.

[Statler]

and learn which meds are likely to give you rebounds.   Chart your headaches and look for more frequency...sometimes it's the meds and it's time to swap up meds or actually lower dose.

[TiAvenger]

in highschool I took Zomig.  Felt one coming on, popped it and 30 min later no migraine.

Downsides:  if you took it for a regular headache, caused a migraine

EXPENSIVE, my doctor was cool, he gave me 25 6 pill trial packages, lasted me several years.

[oregunduc]

ok, I'm not joking about this... but apparently sex (and orgasm) undertaken just at the onset of a migraine can stop it. Been some research on that.

If I have a good migrane sex is the last thing that i want to be doing... unless i don't have to move and it can be silent and pitch black.

The only thing that works for me is to avoiding light, avoiding noise and sleep.  I have not taken a pill yet that has done shit to take the edge off a migraine

[darylbowden]

I have not taken a pill yet that has done shit to take the edge off a migraine

Have you tried the IM Imitrex?  It's the only way that really works for me.  About 10 minutes after i give myself the shot, I feel much better.

[El Matador]

ok, I'm not joking about this... but apparently sex (and orgasm) undertaken just at the onset of a migraine can stop it. Been some research on that.

If I feel I migraine coming, I bale from wherever I am, take two asprin, and sleep to reboot my system. Usually stops it dead. 

Yup, I get them and they're pretty bad..

If you have a gf, ask her for a Bj. After that, go to sleep in a cool, dark, silent room. You'll wake up refreshed. It really is the best medicine for it, and I have tried every med in the market.

It seems wierd, and you'll probably have a hard time explaining it to her, but it really does the trick...

[Ducatista]

If anyone who gets migraines is also diabetic, there may be a different way of getting rid of them.  It might not be migraines for the same reason that everyone else gets them.  I'm not sure how it works, but some diabetics have problems with neuropathy.  It's basically pain that occurs in a place in the body, and usually the same place every time.  Some get it in their feet.  Some get it in their elbows.  It doesn't make sense where it appears.  My mother gets it in the form of a migraine and takes a first generation antidepressant, amitryptline, which has been very effective at preventing them.  The antidepressant doesn't work well for what it was designed to do, since its effects are short and one of the side effects is drowsiness, but she takes one before bed.  It puts her to sleep, all the mood altering effects happen while she's sleeping, and she no longer gets migraines.  Just be careful if you do take it.  Overdose, even if fairly minor, is usually fatal, and there is no treatment for it.