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yep. i used to for my really bad headaches.

I rarely get them but my wife's family gets them on a regular basis (they have their own family Neurologist) so they are prescribed various drugs that they take. I personally avoid taking drugs if I can so any alternative method I can find I do (and the cold trick works better than any medication I've ever not taken).

Great copy and paste, care to cite your source because your missing a lot of information? LoL.

Where did you copy and paste this from?

A Good Resource from http://www.topmigraineremedy.com/

Hormonal shifts. Among women (who are twice as likely as men to suffer from migraines) changing estrogen levels are a common trigger. 
Stress. When evaluating the role of stress in triggering your headaches, keep in mind that stress can come from both negative and positive experiences. 

Stress relief. A classic migraine pattern is someone who works or studies hard all week, only to collapse with an intense migraine on the weekend.

Sleep disturbances. Missing sleep, getting too much sleep, napping, or even going to bed and getting up on an irregular schedule can trigger migraines for some people.

Sensory stimulation. Bright lights, especially glare from the sun, can produce a migraine, as can other visual stimuli, like flashing lights or eyestrain. Smells—both pleasant and noxious—are another common trigger. Second hand cigarette smoke is a well-known migraine trigger.

Environment. Factors you have no way of controlling can trigger migraines. These include changes in the barometric pressure as weather shifts, changes in altitude (which can mean in-flight headaches), and changes in temperature or humidity.

Exertion. Particularly if you're not used to vigorous exercise, over-exertion can make it more likely that you'll get a migraine. 

Medications. Overuse of some over-the-counter pain relievers can actually cause headaches. Pay close attention to your use of caffeine-containing pain relievers, since caffeine is also known to trigger migraines

Dietary triggers. In addition to skipping meals or fasting, specific foods and beverages trigger migraine headaches in many people. There are many different foods that individuals have identified as triggering their migraines. Some of the better-known dietary triggers include: 

•  Caffeine in coffee, tea, or colas 

•  Alcohol (particularly red wine, sherry, and beer) 

•  Chocolate, including hot chocolate and cocoa 

•  Tyramine-containing foods. Tyramine is a chemical by-product created by protein breaking down in aged foods, like certain cheeses. In general, the longer a food ages, the more tyramine it contains. Processed meats can contain tyramine, as well as nitrates and nitrites, which are also triggers for some people. 

•  Food additives. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a key offender against people with migraines.

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Migraine Treatment : from http://www.topmigraineremedy.com/migraine-treatment/
=============

There are a wide variety of migraine treatments. A partial list of remedies include: 
-- aspirin or acetomenophin 
-- triptan medications 
-- magnetic therapy 
-- biofeedback 
-- quiet time in a dark room 
-- narcotic injection 
-- relaxation techniques 
-- herbs such as feverfew or butterbur root 
-- chiropractic therapy 
-- acupuncture 
-- anti-seizure drugs 
-- consuming healthy foods 

---

Matt,

Sorry to hear you having such a hard time. I'm a migraine sufferer as well. I have been fighting them for about 20 years. I've been to many doctors and gone through every test available. I have also taken every drug on the market. I have even participated in experimental drug studies. None of the options worked very well for me. Many had terrible side effects.

Sadly, what you will find is that the medical community is still struggling to understand this disease. They have a few promising leads about some of the events that take place during a migraine but they have yet to learn the exact cause or cure.

Worst yet the symptoms and triggers aren't completely uniform for all sufferers. We all share many of the the same symptoms and triggers but, not exactly we all have variations that make our own struggle unique.

Here are the few things I recommend:

1. Try and learn/understand what all your triggers are, then avoid them like hell. Sometimes they can't be avoided and you will know one is on the way. Keeping a headache diary can help you learn what all your triggers are. Just right down a note whenever you get a migraine and write down anything you ate or drank before or if you were doing some kind of activity. At the end of a month you may notice some trends. This can also be helpful to show your doc.
   
2. Try to eliminate or reduce all stress in your life (this is a big one for me). I think people misunderstand what I mean when I refer to stress. People imagine big things, like a lot of pressure from their boss on a big project that is due yesterday, or intense worry about a family problem. These are very stressful things, no doubt. But, when I say stress, I include a lot of everyday very small things that most people wouldn't think of. Stress for me is anything that heightens your brain activity above a base line of say sitting still and meditating. Now, I'm not saying you need to become a vegetable and just sit still, in calm, relaxed, thought the rest of your life. I'm just saying all of the little things we do and experience each day cause tiny amounts of stress. I have found that the more of them I can eliminate or reduce the more stable or parallel I run along that (unachievable) stress-free baseline. Things like chaotic environments, long commutes, constant sensory input (loud or lots of noise, flashing lights) all of these things build up for me and will become triggers.
   
3. Commit to a regular, consistent sleep schedule. Ensure you the the right amount of sleep for you everyday and go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday.
   
4. You can try adding a vitamin B supplement to your diet, some people have dramatic improvement from this, for others (like me) its just one more little thing that helps a little bit more.
   
5. Acupuncture. This is the single most effective thing that has helped me. Acupuncture has worked better than any of the medications I have ever been prescribed. Now before you get all excited, this is no miracle "cure". Its just one more thing I do that helps me to manage my condition. I see my acupuncturist regularly, every three weeks. By the end of three weeks I can feel a sort of tension building in me and I know its time for another treatment. Another thing, if you decide to give this a try, it doesn't work immediately. I am not a new age, touchy-feely, spiritual kind of guy. I am very much a science, logic and reason motivated individual. I only tried acupuncture after I felt desperate and out of options. About two years ago my neurologist informed me that I had been on every drug available and asked "which one did you like the best?" Only when I figured I had nothing to lose did I give it a try. What I learned is that it takes a certain number of treatments to build up an effect. I started out going twice a week for about six months before I started to taper back my visits to my current routine. I think I first started to notice a change after the first month. Also, there are different types of acupuncture, Chinese and Japanese. I have used both and swear by Japanese. They use smaller fewer needles (you honestly cannot feel them going in or out they are so fine). Also, the Japanese practitioner just felt a whole lot less "mystic" than the Chinese one. Be prepared to try a few people out before you find one you like.
   

(2009-06-16, 08:29 PM)MattRogowski Wrote: [ -> ]I have pills that work a treat, they stop them even starting, but I ran out the other day and right now I've got my first migraine in weeks; the pills work but I can't stay on them forever.

This comment made me worry just a bit. I'm going to guess that the pills you are referring to are one of the many "triptan" drugs on the market. Personally, I taking Frova right now because it seems to last well over 24 hours which is something I need in order to get over an attack. If you have never heard of a "triptan" and you are instead taking something like vicodin or fioricet, then you really need to go ask your doctor about finding the right triptan for you and this warning is even more important.

In case your doctor hasn't warned you about this, it is really important not to take more that 6-8 pills (either a triptan or narcotic/codeine-based pain killer) in a month. If you take more than this amount you may actually be setting yourself up for one of two things (or both). First off you can start to build a tolerance and when you go off or cut back the pills you will get a "rebound" headache. Its the same thing as if you are accustom to drinking lots of caffeine and when you need a fix you get a caffeine headache that goes away as soon as you get your "dose". Well with the migraine or pain pill its the same concept only worse. The second problem with taking more than 6-8 pill per month is that you push your condition from acute to chronic. If your condition becomes chronic you will get more and more headaches and the pills don't seem to work as well. Imagine getting your worst migraine attack every single day and never finding relief.

One last trick that you also have to be very careful with is caffeine. Just a little caffeine can do wonders for a migraine. Especially if you are just starting to feel one coming on. Now, this also depends on your current habits. If you already have coffee or cola everyday this could be part of the problem rather than part of the solution. I use caffeine as a drug just like a painkiller I only take it when I think it will help my migraine symptoms, other than that I avoid it. Lots (or regular intake) of caffeine can work against you.

I'm no doctor so just talk about all this stuff with your doc and see what he tells you. I hope some of this was helpful and you find some tricks that work for you.

I get migraine headaches after every 3 weeks. That’s a sure thing to happen. I don’t know why but since finding out about that, I make sure I carry with me my med so that when I get the first signs (aura), I take one and it helps relieve me from the pain but have to fall to sleep. Without the med, I get the headache for as long as a whole day. What’s more painful is that OTC meds do nothing. Anyone else who may have noticed that there’s a pattern (a period of time) when the triggers occur?

(2009-06-23, 02:30 PM)whiteshadow Wrote: [ -> ]I get migraine headaches after every 3 weeks. That’s a sure thing to happen. I don’t know why but since finding out about that, I make sure I carry with me my med so that when I get the first signs (aura), I take one and it helps relieve me from the pain but have to fall to sleep. Without the med, I get the headache for as long as a whole day. What’s more painful is that OTC meds do nothing. Anyone else who may have noticed that there’s a pattern (a period of time) when the triggers occur?

Hi. If you think your triggers are bad, well mine is if there's a sudden change in the barometric pressure in the surroundings. Like, if it's about to rain hard, that'll automatically trigger my migraine. By the way, what do you take for the pain? I take fioricet for the heavy attacks and tylenol for the mild ones. Try a wet towel on the face too. That will help.

I actually use accupressure points when I have migraines but didn't think to mention it since I couldn't find anything on the web to backup my assertion. I use a pressure point on the bridge of my nose. A pinch and push action. It helps me a lot on the worse migraines.

I actually had one last night start up on me but before it got too bad I went to bed and was able to mostly sleep it off. I can still feel some pain but hoping I can avoid a full blown episode today. We'll see.

You should get more exercise. I know people who get them and they seem to think more exercise helps. That sucks you have them, I bet they are a b-word.

(2009-06-16, 08:29 PM)MattRogowski Wrote: [ -> ]Does anyone happen to know any migraine cures?? Not things like staying in a dark room, lying down, drinking water, even pain killers, no good, just curious if you know of any weird and wonderful way of curing them.

I've had bad migraines for years, at least 7, I have 2-3 a week, and I can't eat or drink anything when I have them, and they are always in a very specific part of my head. Does anyone else get them or know someone who does?? I have pills that work a treat, they stop them even starting, but I ran out the other day and right now I've got my first migraine in weeks; the pills work but I can't stay on them forever.

Serious suggestions, nothing like using chloroform to knock myself out or anything