migraines

katemariesf

I've had a brutal migraine for over a week off and on. I went to a dr's on duty over the weekend but they couldn't give me anything. My obgyn told me to take Tylenol which also doesn't work. I've tried coffee, head massage, pressure points, ice pack, heating pad. No luck. Anyone else feel my pain? I hope the end is near!

TurtleMeg

I had one the other day and had them when I was first pregnant. Lots of water and sleep was the only thing that helped...and help is minimal honestly. Mine were so bad they made me throw up. I definitely feel your pain! Good luck

ChrissyD1203

When I get a migraine the only thing that gets rid of it is to sleep it off - which stinks if I get it in the morning at work!

peppercorn16

They are absolutely miserable, I am on the tail end of one right now, and have been getting them for 48-hour stretches almost every week! It is seriously one of the worst things I could imagine, and it is hard to remember that it is for a good cause lol. Here's what I do:
Rub vick's vapor rub under the eyes and on temples
Ice pack on forehead
heating pad on the back of my neck
2 tylenol and 2 benadryl
Drink peppermint tea
SLEEP

I also found a video on youtube with migraine relief music that actually helped me this morning. It is worth a shot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4JafbX3WQg

nanamp

Acupuncture?

Emott13

I'm not sure what your schedule is like and what kind of freedom you have to crawl away for a bit, but my uncle (who is an actual MD, not just my crazy uncle, promise lol) always told me: at the first sign of migraine (like, if you get any warning signs like the "aura" or anything) take 2 Tylenol, chug something with caffeine whether it's coffee or coke, and try to immediately take a nap in a silent, dark room with a cold cloth over your eyes. If you have a LO at home already the napping bit may be impossible but the caffeine is the important part- it supposedly actually counteracts whatever physical mechanism they think causes migraines. I have had migraines and,knock on wood, they haven't hit me in pregnancy yet, but I can only imagine having that on top of the other crazy pregnancy symptoms I'm sure we've all got right now. You have my sympathy and t&p that they don't stick around much longer!

Edited to add: unfortunately, apart from meds like imitrex, which we can't use while pregnant, he said there isn't much you can do to relieve a migraine that has already hit.

ak215

I suffered from migraines for a long time and there are a lot of different triggers out there. Hormones, weather, too much sleep, not enough sleep, dehydration, food, caffeine, the list goes on. I've had them again this week, but I know it's because I'm not getting enough fluids. Drinking a gatorade helped me (though I hate drinking it because of the junk in it). But it did help replenish the electrolytes. I also used my Rescue Gel (MW approved) on my neck, which helped relieve some of the tension.

Regarding caffeine and migraines... you have to be really careful. If you are drinking caffeine and stop suddenly, you'll get a migraine. It can also effect sleep which can effect migraines. But the biggie is if you get migraines regularly, do not treat them with caffeine or medicines that have caffeine. The caffeine will give you temporary relief and then will follow up with what's called a rebound migraine, usually worse than the first. 

Given the pregnancy, it's likely horomones and/or dehydration, but if you want more information that might help, I highly recommend "Heal your headache, the 1 2 3 program". Also if it's a result of your neck, a chiropractor might be able to help. Hope you feel better soon!!

Cricket99

I've had migraines for years and the only thing that can usually touch them is an excedrin migraine followed by a nap. Unfortunately, excedrin has aspirin in it. Right now if I get one I take some Tylenol with caffeine, usually a full coke, go to a dark room, put a cold (as cold as you can stand) cloth over my eyes, and put on a white noise app I have on my phone that plays a gentle rainstorm. As a PP said, if you even start to feel one coming on and are not in a situation where you can go sleep it off, a couple of Tylenol and some caffeine will usually stop one in its tracks for me. Good luck and I hope you feel better!

rebekahyael

This happened to me last week. Coke in a bottle the next day finally cured me. Started going to acupuncture too - it was so brutal I was not willing to risk this again. Good luck.

BethP321

They get bad enough to that I actually throw up sometimes. I'll wake up with one or they just come by when I'm not expecting. I can feel my heart pulsing in my head... my entire head. It's not fun at all. And I'm just the worst sourpuss when I'm in the middle of one. A nap, for me, surprisingly makes it worse. I need my full 8 hours to bring it down or I just have to wait it out. Call me crazy but I'm trying to avoid taking any sort of medication (including Tylenol) that I can. I haven't taken a thing so far for my migraines, I'd like to see if I can make it last.

matry

although a post above warns about caffeine, I find it (thankfully) works for me. However, I don't drink caffeine normally, even while not pregnant, so I imagine that makes it's effect stronger. For some reason, I find a chai latte works best. If I'm not near a cafe, I keep a couple bags of black tea (tried green tea once and it didn't help) in my bag at all times just in case. I still end up sleeping a lot and am often tired and meh the next day but have been able to stop the pain and nausea so far. Weirdly, I rarely had aura before I was pregnant and now three of the four migraines I've had while pregnant came with aura. Maybe it has to do with the extra blood? At any rate they suck and I hope we all don't get any more.