get 5/6 migraines a week, have got worse over the years i get the visual disturbances & sometimes go blind?

Question

have tried all tablets with doctor, am now going back through them to see if anything will work. cannot work because of this, i dont go far as i only rarely get a warning that one is coming on. people even my own partner still says 'oh your always ill its only a headache, even though i lose my sight have terrible pain, lose balance, throw up , slur words and am in the worst phyical pain i have ever been in when i have one. i have hundreds of triggers from light off a windscreen to the smell of oranges to tasting coffee. and no i dont claim any money off the state as i would love them to go and i would love to get a job so that we could have the nice things in life, like meals out, holidays, instead of worrying about how to try and avoid the next one, cant afford alternative therapy. can anyone suggest anything sensible that could help?

i wear my dark glasses, i dont drink or eat anything that causes them, i dont go near smells like perfumes or strong smells or flashing lights or bright lights, i am only 38 i have had them since being a child but these have got drastically worse over the last 18 months.

Answer 1

go back to your g.p and demand a brain scan.
something is not right!!!!
unless you are just a worrier, and worry over the slight list thing, this can bring on major headaches, or you may just be under alot of stress. probably worrying about these headaches, will give you stress.
demand your G.P conducts further tests on you, or ask for a second opinion, it is your right.
good luck

Answer 2

Oh god I really understand, and feel for you. I too suffer from migraines, and sometimes just feel like sticking my head in a bowl of ice. They totally disrupt my daily life. So, this is what I did about it. Went to my dentist and got a mouth guard to stop me grinding my teeth at night. Also had an x-ray and discovered that I had a jaw problem due to the removal of a wisdom tooth. I now see a cranial osteopath once a week, and she does work on my head, neck and jaw. Now my migraines have reduced to twice a month, rather than 5 a month. I also take feverfew from the health store, an alternative to painkillers and do yoga once a week to help with tension and stress. If anybody tells you that it is just a headache, hit them over the head and then tell them what a migraine is. Good luck honey.

Answer 3

That sounds rough. Besides the triptans, Excedrin Headache also works well.
Most of the non-drug migraine therapies I know of have to do with avoiding your trigger. Have you kept a migraine diary? Some women get migraines because of the hormonal changes menstrual cycle. Other therapies say you should eat a good diet, regular sleep, practice relaxation therapy, and cognitive therapy.

Answer 4

Have you tried any holistic approaches to your migraines? Such as acupuncture or massage? I'm a massage therapist, and I've had a lot of clients that have really been helped by massage. And I've heard acupuncture is great too. Other than that you can use hydrotherapy. There are some great ideas on the site listed below. Hope this helps! And you should def. get a 2nd opinion :)

Answer 5

i'm sorry to hear of your migraines ( i hope thats all they are) my wife of 27 years suffered terribly from "migraine" and one day she left for work as normal and came home as normal, after dinner she went to the kitchen to wash dishes while i cleaned the living room, 5 minutes later she came in and fell in a chair, then to the floor , she had suffered a subarachnoid haemmorage which killed her in a few minutes and the doctors told me she could have had this at any time as it was due to a weakness in a blood vessel she had probably had since birth, so please if you have had increasing pain and loss of vision go to your gp and get an urgent refferal to a neurologist, as this could very well be the same thing, and dont let your hubby trivialise it, make him see how he can help and support you in this
as i said i hope migraine is all that it is, i would hate to think of another person suffering in this way

Answer 6

Sounds terrible, I get migraines too, but no where near to that extent, and find that meditation helps me a lot (if you can concentrate enough to do it, that is!).

Going back to your GP and getting tests or a second opinion is always going to be a good thing in a situation like this though.

Answer 7

You must change your doctor at once. The one you have is clearly missing something here. This sounds very much like hemiplaegic migraine, which can cause temporary paralysis to one side of the body. There are a number of causes, and this needs checking by a neurosurgical clinician as some causes are serious. Please do this at once; you may be saving your life.

Answer 8

Thats awful for you. I have only had one migraine in my life where I was sick and blind, I couldnt imagine having that 5 times aweek.

cant you see a different doctor? Ask for a second opinion or to be reffered to a specialist. You shouldnt have to put up with this.

Answer 9

You need to book an appointment with an optician who will check out whether or not there is a problem with your eyesight as such.You do not say how old you are but I suspect that you are not very young. You need to be more firm with your GP and ask for tests.There appears to be some powerful allergic element in all this . You really do need to get proper diagonis

Answer 10

Have you tried Syndol? They were recommended to me by a neighbour who also has terrible migraines, (touch wood) mine seem to have become far less frequent, but Syndol is really the only thing that has worked for me, all the prescription drugs just made me sick.