Anyone got any tips for knocking a migraine when medicine doesn’t seem to be enough?

Hey there!

So I’ve had a migraine that has been going for a couple days now. Nothing entirely new, but it’s frustrating. Dark room, low noise, tried sleeping it off, taken multiple medications for it including my Ubrelvy which normally knocks it. It took the edge off, but now I’m going on day 3 with the migraine with no perceivable end in sight.

Anyone got any tips that normally helps them to knock their migraine that’s worth considering? Normally I don’t care too much as I’ve put up with them for years, but this one has me all nauseous which makes it that much more miserable.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Sorry for not seeing the responses on this sooner. I went back to bed afterward and mostly stayed in bed and holy crap the responses blew up. I also called my neurologist and told them about it much like some of the advise that others have mentioned, and they started me on a round of prednisone to help. Fingers crossed it gets rid of it. Seems to be helping, but only time will tell. If it doesn’t, I’ll see about giving some of these a try. Thank you so much!

Facelikeapotato,
@Facelikeapotato@lemmy.ml avatar

I’ve never had one last that long, so I second commenters saying to check in with a doctor. However, my go-tos are caffeine (usually chilled cola), paracetamol and ibuprofen, placing a cold wet cloth over my eyes and/or the back of my neck. In addition to darkness and quiet, of course. This regimen doesn’t make my migraines go away, but it takes the edge off and makes them more bearable. I hope any of this helps you out, good luck!

ndguardian,

You’ll be happy to know I did check in with my neurologist, and she prescribed me a round of prednisone that seems to be helping. I did try most of those outside of the cold wet cloth. Others have mentioned ice packs, so between those, that all sounds like something that could be easily tried in the future. Thank you for that!

Facelikeapotato,
@Facelikeapotato@lemmy.ml avatar

No problem, I’m glad you’ve found something that helps!

skabbywag02,

Microwaved damp towel. Hot as I can take it. Meds don’t do jack all once it’s started. (Edit: cluster headache.)

ndguardian,

Ouch. I’ve never had cluster headaches (that I’m aware of) but I know a guy that gets them. Sounds absolutely awful. You have my sympathies.

skabbywag02,

Appreciate it;)

scrubbles,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

Everything everyone else said, but to really point out, if this headache is out of the norm for you GO TO A DOCTOR. I don’t mean to freak you out but my mom instilled that in me from early on. Headaches and migraines happen, but it you get a new type, a weird spot, or they last longer, or anything weird or different get it checked out asap.

I’ve known 2 people personally who have had aneurysms, 1 was lucky, the other not. Get it checked out to be safe.

ndguardian,

Fortunately I have been going to a neurologist for a while for these migraines and headaches. I’m on a couple different medications to help keep them in check, and fortunately I’ve had MRIs, EEGs and other tests to rule out potential major problems. I called her up this morning to check with her about it, and she set me up with prednisone which seems to be helping to knock it.

Unfortunately this isn’t even the longest lasting one I’ve had. That would be about 10 days, and that was miserable, so there is more work to be done to get it better under control.

scrubbles,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

Good, I’m sorry for the migraines, I know how bad they can be, but good on you for getting it checked out. First friend was in high school, got a sudden headache and just took a lot of aspirin, he didn’t make it through the night. Second collapsed in the shower and his dog ran to get his wife as she was stepping out the door, made it to surgery within minutes of it being fatal. I always encourage people to get new and weird headaches checked out.

Dinodicchellathicc,

I get chronic migraines that are usually triggered by certain foods, stress, lack of sleep, excessive drinking, and I also seem to get them when it’s most inconvenient. My go-to fix if i catch one comeing on is to pound an energy drink, take some tylenol and go take a nap. This works everytime as long as i catch it early. Like 30mins into feeling my headhurts but before it progresses into a knife in my brain.

How soon do you medicate after feeling a migraine start?

ndguardian,

Typically I medicate within an hour of symptoms coming up. I’ve dealt with headaches and migraines for a rather long time, so I’ve learned not to mess around when they start to pop up. And typically it helps, but every now and then I get one that is rather persistent.

Blizzard,

Weed

loaf,
@loaf@sh.itjust.works avatar

I second this. I only started smoking again a while back to stop migraines. Oddly enough, daily smoking has mostly prevented migraines from occurring.

Today,

Thc and cbd don’t help me, but cbg does. The oil from Lazarus naturals is good.

loaf,
@loaf@sh.itjust.works avatar

I may need to try that. I wonder if taking CBG daily would be a better preventative (and cheaper) than just buying certain strains.

Today,

There used to be a guy on r/hempflowers who did that and said it cut his frequency in half. I recommended it to a coworker and she said the same. Mine are only ~2x/month, so i just use it when they come on. Helps and i don’t have the spacey weird feelings like when i take prescription meds

ndguardian,

Unfortunately between a bad experience I’ve had with it in the past and the legal issues of it where I live, I’ll hold off on that for now. Might revisit it if/when the legal part changes though. Appreciate the recommendation!

Gerudo,

Cold head wrap in a dark and quiet room. The wrap ideally covers your eyes too.

ndguardian,

I’ve seen a couple others that have mentioned some other variation of this, and it seems simple enough. I’ll have to give it a shot. Thank you!

bran_buckler,

I get migraines triggered from sinus pressure. Do you know what triggers yours?

Because mine are often from sinus issues, treating that will often help relieve or prevent the migraines. Tylenol Sinus and Allegra D have been the two things that really work for me, depending on the situation.

Post Covid had me congested for several months, accompanied by a constant baseline headache and migraines every other day. Allegra D was really a godsend that got me through that time.

In any case, best of luck, I hope you find some relief!

ndguardian,

I know of a couple triggers for mine, but there are definitely others out there. I’ve been using the N-1 Headache app to track them to try to find a more comprehensive list of triggers though.

Fortunately my neurologist hooked me up with a round of prednisone and that is helping a bit, thank you!

pulaskiwasright,

Sleep, water, better eye glasses. And maybe coffee, but only if you already regularly drink it.

ndguardian,

Fortunately and unfortunately I am working on all of those. I keep my eyeglass prescription up to date, I drink water (though I could probably drink more), and I am going to see about getting a sleep study done because I am bad at sleeping. Coffee I try not to drink too much of, but I can always ramp that up too.

Mothra,
@Mothra@mander.xyz avatar

Hormones sometimes trigger migraines. I don’t know your sex and age, but you happen to be going through menopause this could be related.

I know this isn’t helpful but if ot keeps happening it’s something I would ask my doctor- to check my hormones are okay. And yes you can have hormones out of whack if you are male too.

ndguardian,

Fortunately/unfortunately I can confirm that it would be bizarre if I had menopause as I am both too male and a tad too young for that. 😆 Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to get hormone levels checked though, if for no other reason than to help identify a potential root cause.

Grenmark,

I’ve had good results from taking baths. My migraines are a bit weird but a bath often helps me quickly.

brunofin,

Sounds simple but yeah same here

MaungaHikoi,

My chemistry teacher taught me a trick that knocks the pain back for a little bit - cold head and hot hands. Basically, cool my head down with ice wrapped in a small wet towel, while heating my hands up somehow. It’s supposed to pull the blood away from your head which lessens the pain.

ndguardian,

I could at the very least see it being relaxing, which would help reduce stress which in theory could help. Do you just run a bath and get in, or do you put any special bath stuff in it? I’m more of a shower person, myself, so as silly as this sounds I don’t know how to prepare the “optimal” bath lol.

HobbitFoot,

Induce vomiting if possible. I find that provides some relief.

ndguardian,

I almost didn’t even need to induce vomiting. I try to avoid it because I absolutely HATE it, but I can see where that would likely have made me feel a little better.

MxRemy,
@MxRemy@lemmy.one avatar

I have migraines a lot like that too. My doctor won’t help with them so I’ve never tried prescription stuff for it, but otherwise, all the stuff people have suggested has helped me. I also have one other thing that sounds like totalll woo-woo “The Secret” style nonsense, but helps for some reason. I imagine my migraine as a jumble of tangled knots, and imagine very gently untangling them. It’s tricky because focusing too hard on it (or on anything really) just makes the migraine worse. I have to kind of do it in the lowest effort way possible. But when it works, it really really works! Almost immediately. My hypothesis is that what I’m actually doing is untensing a bunch of tense muscles in my face/neck/temples/etc that I don’t seem to have much conscious control over.

ndguardian,

Hmm…this almost makes me think it is acting like a sort of meditation. Given migraines can be triggered by stress, and in particular (after doing a little googling on my own) these long, persistent headaches seem to be linked to stress, I could see that being useful. I’ll have to give it a try. Thank you!

sofa-sogood,
@sofa-sogood@kbin.social avatar

I love one of those flexible blue gel ice packs sitting on the top of the head. I have a few, as soon as one starts to melt, I use another. I find the feeling invigorating and almost orgasmic. I don't think freezing the brain is harmful ...

ndguardian,

Hey, I imagine freezing the brain would be much more pleasant than the alternatives. I have a couple of those ice packs right now sitting in the freezer. I should give them a try!

feral_hedgehog,
@feral_hedgehog@pawb.social avatar

Might sound kinda dumb, but try dumping a bucket of (ice) cold water on your head.
The trick is to dump all the water at once and not gradually to get your body into a “I’m being attacked by lions!” state.
This is for instant relief. For gradual improvement try increasing your daily water intake - set reminders to drink a glass or two during the day and drink right before going to sleep and right after waking up.
Source: inherited migraines from my grandma and started getting them regularly around my teens.
Doing the above has made me nearly migraine-free except for when there’s drastic weather changes (when I get them with auras and everything 😵‍💫).
Good luck!

MyDogLovesMe,

I put my head under the tap with the coldest water. Inlet it run over my the base of my skull for minutes at a time. Within an hour, it was gone. I was shivering, but didn’t give s shit.

It was a shit-kicker of a migraine too. Day and a half before I tried the cold water thing. Puking. Sight-loss. Bad!

ndguardian,

I’ll have to give that a try. Seems like something that could be easily done. I’m currently on a round of prednisone per my doctor and it seems to be helping, but given it sometimes takes a bit for her to get back to me, this seems like something that can be done a bit faster. Appreciate it!

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