Any fellow migraine sufferers out there? I thought I would share my experience with migraines on the blog today, because it might help someone else. This is a fair warning that this going to be a two part post – because migraines are complicated.
Background
I got my first migraine my senior year in college. It was awful. But before that, I want to backtrack a bit. I have always suffered from headaches. If I’m not hydrated enough, I can get a headache. If I haven’t eaten enough, I can get a headache. If I don’t have my coffee early enough, I can get a headache. But I had always just taken an Advil and that solved the issue. It was a minor inconvenience.
I will never forget the first time I got a migraine. I remember getting a headache, and it just kept getting worse and worse. So, I figured I’d lay down. Lights would bother me – and any noise was almost intolerable. The pain was localized to one side of my head, and it was just throbbing. It felt like someone was taking a hammer and just going to town on my head.
I took an Advil, then another. Nothing was working. Then, the nausea hit. And for all of you who have ever had a migraine – you know this feeling all too well. Then, the vomiting. The only thing I could do was try to to sleep. My migraines would usually last about 12 hours – or as long as it took me to sleep them off.
A migraine is a wild ride. And these would be the same symptoms I would experience with each and every migraine after that.
Migraine “hangover”
When I would wake up the next day, I would have what I refer to as a migraine “hangover.” This is the experience of feeling just generally out of it. I couldn’t really go exercise, I wasn’t super hungry – and just felt generally lethargic. This migraine “hangover” would accompany every migraine for me.
Now, I’ve done a ton of reading since I got my first migraine back in 2008. Many of us have the same “hangover” feeling after you come out of a migraine. And many people have the exact same symptoms I have – in the exact same order.
Migraine triggers
After that first migraine, I ended up getting them more and more frequently. I went to a doctor, and this doctor had me keep a food journal to see if we could narrow down a food trigger. Then, this same doctor made me journal my entire day to see if we could identify any signs of overlap. We weren’t able to uncover any answers by doing these exercises.
Then, my doctor had me write down my migraine experience. Did I have any auras right before I got a migraine? We couldn’t identify any answers. As it turns out, I’m in the lucky group of people who do not have any triggers. No warning signs. My migraines come on quickly and without warning.
And I kept having them. For several months during my senior year in college, I was really struggling. These migraines would take me out for hours: I couldn’t attend class if I had one, and I was just generally useless until it went away.
So, I went to a neurologist to see if he might be able to help me. I was getting desperate. But, he really wasn’t able to give me any good answers. He was willing to do an MRI if the migraines persisted.
Looking back, my trigger was probably stress. Senior year in college is such a pivotal time in anyone’s life. I was in the middle of taking the GRE and applying to grad schools. I was worried about where life would take me once I graduated – and where I would end up. I was probably internalizing a lot of stress. And it was manifesting itself as a migraine.
Migraine Medication
The neurologist did want to try some medication before he would do an MRI. So, he put me on one of those medications that you are supposed to take as soon as you feel a migraine coming on.
The first migraine I tried with the medication was one of the worst one I had. It was almost as if the medication made me even more nauseous. It was such a bad experience that I didn’t try that medication again.
I went back to the neuro, and he prescribed a beta blocker for me. Studies have shown that beta blockers can be effective at stopping migraines in certain patients. It is also used to lower blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure. But, I was willing to give anything a try, so I went for it.
I’ll talk more about my experience on the beta blocker and where I am with my migraines next week. It’s important to note that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to migraines. What works for some, might not work for others. The symptoms I experience, might be vastly different from yours. I’m just here to share my experience!
Happy Friday, ya’ll. I’ll be back with Part II next week.
