Migraine or Hangover: How Do You Know?

hangover (Photo credit: xooorx)

As well as the dreaded alcohol induced hangover, it is possible to have a migraine hangover or postdrome, that is affected by a migraine.

It should be obvious if you tie one on (drink heavily) the night before and wake up in the morning with light and sound sensitivity, dizziness, nausea, and a headache, you are probably suffering from a hangover and not a migraine.



But what if you haven't been drinking at all and you find yourself suffering in a similar fashion to the alcohol induced hangover? You may be suffering from migraine hangover or an actual migraine.

Wikipedia describes a migraine as;

The typical migraine headache is unilateral (affecting one half of the head) and pulsating in nature and lasting from two to 72 hours; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light) and phonophobia (increased sensitivity to sound); the symptoms are generally aggravated by routine activity. Approximately one-third of people who suffer from migraine headaches perceive an aura—transient visual, sensory, language, or motor disturbances signaling the migraine will soon occur.

A migraine hangover is typically The effects of a migraine that may persist for a day or more after the main headache has ended. Many postdrome sufferers report feeling sore in the area where the migraine headache had been. Some also have impaired thinking, head pain, cognitive difficulties, gastrointestinal symptoms, mood changes, and weakness for a few days after the headache has passed.

So, what do you do to overcome the hangover? In many ways you may do the same thing as any other hangover. Read my previous article, Do You Have A Migraine Hangover?, for ways to overcome your hangover.

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Attack Your Migraine With Brain Freeze

I won't say "I told you so." But I will say that my article, 6 Ways To Attack Your Migraine Or Give You Brain Freeze posted in November 2009 touted eating ice cream as a possible way to provide relief from migraine.


See this excerpt from The Seattle Times, 4/16/11;


People's Pharmacy: Ice-cream cure for migraines

By Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.

Syndicated columnists

Q: You recently wrote about an ice-cream cure for a migraine. I am a lifetime sufferer. While in the throes of a multiday migraine, I ate ice cream too fast and got "brain freeze." My migraine disappeared. This has been my best remedy for about 20 years now, and I hope it will work for someone else.

A: Doctors call brain freeze sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. It can be very painful. It occurs when very cold foods or beverages like slushies or ice cream numb the nerves in the roof of the mouth.

So, feel free to have your ice cream. In fact, you have my permission to have an extra scoop!  I hope it makes you feel better.

 

Shot In The Back

Yesterday, I went for the second time to have a cervical epidural. An epidural injection puts an anti-inflammatory medicine into the epidural space, the space between the dura membrane and the spine and nerve roots. This is done to decrease the inflammation of the nerve roots and decrease pain. Neck pain can travel to the shoulders and arms as well as upward to the head.

The epidural injection may provide a period of pain relief for several months while the injury/cause of pain is healing or even provide permanent relief in some cases.

During an epidural the physician directs a small needle, using x-ray guidance, into epidural space. A small amount of contrast (dye) is injected to insure the needle is properly positioned in the space. Then, a small mixture of numbing medicine (anesthetic) and anti-inflammatory (cortisone/steroid) is injected. These are sent to pre-targeted areas that have been determined by you and the anesthesiologist prior to the procedure.

My first procedure, performed in October 2010, provided relief of my neck and shoulder pain for a little more than eight weeks, it seemed to also decrease my incidents of migraine pain. I had been suffering nearly daily pain before the procedure and that was reduced to a few pain free weeks tapering (? or increasing up to less than three migraines that lasted 1 to 6 hours each). This was still a great time for me up until the start of February.

Does anyone else have experience with this type of injections? I would be interested in how well they performed for you.

The video below illustrates how the approximately 30 minute procedure is done. If you don't mind seeing the real thing with real needles check out the link below.



Other Youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4KEunLfuU

 

Water Down Your Migraine Hangover

Water is an essential in our lives. So much so, that you can now buy, what used to be free, at almost any store you enter. Its even become important to many that they buy their drinking water and not drink from the tap. Water is an essential in keeping us alive. I have installed a water softener system that filters the water at my house, and really believe that my "home" water tastes better than store bought and much better than drinking straight from the tap. But I have drifted from the overall message.

During a migraine attack, water may be the last thing that you think of and can be forgotten all together. Drinking something to help feel better may be one of the last things on your list of migraine tools.

I find it to be as important to drink as much water as I can during and after a migraine attack. I don't just use it to wash down my medicines, but literally drink as much as I am able.  It is so easy to become dehydrated when I am suffering so much for so long. Being dehydrated can also lead to a worsening of my pain and migraine symptoms.

Just like an alcohol hangover, the migraine hangover can be "watered down". Water is also very important for beating the migraine hangover. Keeping up fluid levels in my body helps me to recover more quickly and keeps me from dehydrating. I try to drink at least 64 oz. ( 2L) of water each day.

In addition to the symptoms of actual dehydration, you may also have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or the feeling that you "can't keep anything down," All of which could be causing the dehydration. It may be that the lack of sufficient water is one of your triggers.

It's hard to get up and going after a severe migraine attack. But, drinking a lot of water, may help me get back on my feet faster. Dehydration is a dangerous situation. It is a lack of fluids and water that our bodies need to function. Symptoms of dehydration include;

• Dry or sticky mouth
• Low or no urine output; concentrated urine appears dark yellow
• Not producing tears
• Sunken eyes
• Overall tiredness
• Lethargic or comatose (with severe dehydration)

Sometimes the symptoms are masked by the migraine, so it is important to plan ahead. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times, and have as many refills as you want. :)

Do you have any other remedies for migraine hangover? Please share with your fellow sufferers.

 




Related Articles

• Migraine-Hangover Or Depression? (Againstthegraine.blogspot.com)

Botox Is Big News

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeNow that the FDA has approved botox injections for treating migraine, more people can have access to a treatment that may work for them. Having tried it before, I can tell you that the needle pokes hurt, but not nearly as bad as a migraine. Here's a video I found that touts botox injections as being ready for the general migraine population in as few as three years. Thank goodness it is approved now.

This video may be dated, but you can get an idea of how botox is administered. Dr. Silberstein who is interviewed for this video has been my doctor for over two years. Unfortunately for me, my migraines did not respond to the treatment. But, that doesn't mean that others cannot benefit.

If the flash video above doesn't work, try the link below
http://www.5min.com/Video/Treating-Migraines-with-Botox-175530369

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Life Changes That May Help With Migraines

Who wouldn't prefer a natural remedy for their migraines? Here are four life changes that could naturally reduce the number of migraines in your life. The practice of living a healthy lifestyle is difficult if you try to take it all on at once. Altering some bad habits may be what is needed to decrease the number and severity of some migraines.

Using natural remedies may be more effective than over the counter drugs and prescriptions. Some of the medicines taken as prophylactic, designed to prevent migraines, may even lead to more migraines and unwanted side effects. In most cases these natural changes can decrease the down days of most migraineurs.

Get More Winks
Everyone needs a certain amount of sleep each day. We each need to assess the amount we, as migraineurs, require in order to make it through the work week. It is very easy to get your days and nights reversed, when your body doesn't get enough sleep at night, or gets too much sleep during the day. Trying to make up for lost sleep may set off another migraine.

Sweat More
Everyone can benefit from exercise. Those with migraine may need to work up a sweat as much as anyone else, in order to relieve stress triggers in their lives. A simple 30 minutes of exercise, three or more times a week, will definitely help reduce tension and stress in your life. Endorphins, released during exercise, reduce pain and inflammation in the body. A little sweat can go a long way.

Eat The Right Foods For You
It's one thing to say, "Eat right", but the right thing for one person may be harmful for another. Eating breakfast and having meals regularly are good for you. Some foods may be a migraine trigger. Foods like bread and other sources of wheat glutens, citrus, onions, aged cheeses and meats, and processed foods may be triggers for some migraineurs and not for others. Take the time to test your diet for triggers and stay away from foods that cause you to have an attack.

Manage Your Stress
Stress is inescapable. Almost every moment presents some kind of stress. We need to learn to walk away, or deal with the stress in our lives. Learning to manage stress is one of the best ways to decrease the number and intensity of the migraines we endure. Try reading, meditation, moderate exercise, getting enough and the right kind of rest, and eating a balanced diet to reduce stress in your life.

Making life changes are difficult. It requires focus and discipline to make changes that become habits in our lives. Keep your perspective by looking at your changes one day at a time and carry them out every day. These changes may not be a total migraine cure, but they can only help in managing them in your life.

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Using Pressure To Relieve Migraine Stress

Sometimes you can get caught without your medicines, or want to try to relieve migraine stress without using medicine altogether. One way of quickly treating a migraine, is to use acupressure on various parts of your body, in order to relieve or lessen migraine pain. Acupressure is a safe way that you can treat yourself at any time and in any place.

Acupressure uses the same bodily areas as acupuncture without using needles. The force of your fingers is used to alleviate pain, reduce symptoms, promote healing and may improve organ performance. The pads of the fingers and thumbs is used to apply the pressure.

Force on an acupressure point is added slowly and directly to the point and then steadily increased until a firm amount is applied without pain. Never use enough pressure on a point that hurts and may trigger the increase of pain. Generally, force is applied to a pressure point until you feel some relief, or for not more than one minute at a time. Some points work better for some, than for others. Experiment with different acupressure points and their order, to develop a routine that works for you.

There are many more acupressure points in the body, but here are a few that help in relieving migraine pain.

The fleshy part in the web of the hand between the thumb and forefinger is one of the best known acupressure points. Apply pressure using the thumb and forefinger of the opposing hand until relief is felt or for a minute. Then switch hands and repeat. You may repeat the procedure on each hand many times as needed.

Two more points are positioned in the upper area of the neck. Locate these points by beginning in the middle of the neck at the base of the skull and moving sideways. Place your thumbs or forefinger knuckle into the indentation located one to two inches on either side of the skull and near it's base. Force should be applied in and up at the same time.

Here are a few links to sites with acupressure information;

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acupressure
2. Point Finder
3. http://www.answers.com/topic/acupressure
4. http://altmedicine.about.com/od/acupressure/a/acupressure.htm
5. http://www.acupressureonline.org/

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6 Ways To Attack Your Migraine Or Give You Brain Freeze

No one enjoys a migraine attack.  The best course of action to prevent an oncoming attack is to be the first to attack.  Don't wait until you are honestly and truely in the thralls of a fight with the monster, we call migraine.

1.  Practice meditation - Take 5 minutes to perform some form of meditation. My favorite, is to channel blood flow to my hands. This is sometimes called the "warm hands" technique. I just tried my 'hand' at creating and sharing an .mp3 file on my blog. This recording will give you the basic idea, if you can get past the sound of my voice.

Warm Hands Meditation MP3

2.  Take your abortive medicine! If you have one, take it immediately. Even if you only 'think' the monster is in the house. Better safe than sorry, and if it works, you could be without the migraine onset, and recover several hours that may have knocked you down, for who knows how long.

3.  Ice packs on the point of the pain or the back of the neck.  The ice pack is the first tool to be used, to decrease inflammation in everything from a sprained ankle, finger, or bruising, to the migraine.

4.  Pressure point manipulation is another way to keep a migraine at bay or stop it entirely.  This can be done by a chiropractor, acupuncturist, or in some limited ways, by yourself.  The most common form of self pressure point manipulation is to take the thumb and forefinger of one hand and squeeze the fleshy part of the other hand, between the thumb and forefinger. I’ve been told that if the migraine is on the left side of the head, start by squeezing the right hand. It doesn’t hurt to do both sides, either.

5.  Prayer. This is really the first thing I do. My first preventative. I start each day in prayer and specifically ask for healing, and a pain free day. I also say a prayer when I feel the first signs of an oncoming attack, as I am sure many do.

6. Eat some ice cream! Sounds silly, but this has worked for me more than a dozen times for an attack that started like a 2x4 to the brain pan. It may be because the ice cream may numb the roof of the mouth and may work in the same way as the ice packs. Brain freeze may be a good thing after all.


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Related Articles

• Highlights from the last 3 Months (October 2009 edition) (headacheandmigrainenews.com)
• Beat the Brain Freeze and Stop the Ice Cream Headache (fitsugar.com) 
• Migraine: Using Natural Remedies (againstthegraine.blogspot.com)
  

Invisible Illnesses; We Know All But The Cause And The Cure

I had a nice 'little' conversation through Twitter and email with a new friend last night. She is looking for help with her migraines and I hopefully gave her some good places to start this part of her migraine journey. Part of what I told her was this;

There is a relatively very short list of people who are experts in our disease. Whether it be migraine, Fibromyalga, or another Invisible Illness.  In most cases, we may know more about that disease than the people who are treating us.

There is no doctor, counselor, or other medical person, who is working on our cases 24/7 for us, except us, as individuals.  We each need to learn as much as we can, and each take the helm and tell the docs what you know, want and need. We need to gather as much information about our symptoms as possible.

We are the only ones who can be responsible for our medical treatment. In other words, We are the ones with the pain. We are the ones that know everything about our illness except, the cause and the cure. With better documentation and directed information in the right direction, we can help our care- givers help us.

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Recovery Process

February of 1999 saw me home recovering from surgery meant to fix my "Dain Bramage".

Before leaving the hospital for home, my wife shaved my poor misshapen zipper head, so that the left side matched the right. I never allowed anyone to take pictures of my fez monkey hairdo.

Now, it was time to start the recovery process, and determine if the craniotomy had helped or hurt me. I was so determined to get rid of the migraines, I would have done anything and did. Now, I had to pay the consequences. I'm not just talking about a bad haircut, either. Soon after returning home, I started to have small seizures, that the anti-seizure medication didn't effect.

I began having episodes where I would stop talking mid sentence, and stand or sit with a blank look on my face. Sometimes, it was like blacking out, where I would fall to the ground and wake up just in time to feel the floor meet my head.

I began having episodes where I would stop talking mid sentence, and stand or sit with a blank look on my face. Sometimes, it was like blacking out, where I would fall to the ground and wake up just in time to feel the floor meet my head. Sometimes I would even repeat myself, without even knowing I had done it. I would have aphasia and not be able to talk, although, I could write what I was thinking. I would lose motor skills on my left side, and could speak in sign language using my left hand, but not my right. My aphasia might happen several times a day, and my whole family got used to Daddy phasing out or blacking out in the middle of doing something.

Luckily for me, I did not have any problems while playing recreation league basketball. Unless you count getting hit with an elbow and driving home with a concussion. Unluckily for me, I found myself lying down in the shower too many times too many.

**************************

I have recounted these stories of my 1999 brain surgery and recovery in order to give myself some peace, and maybe provide some information that would help someone else. I have not tried to recount every experience or discuss each decision as right or wrong. Everyone's life is their own, and each of us must make our own decisions. I did get nearly eight months, migraine free, but I don't think that I would make the same decision today knowing the other problems that were associated with the operation. Hind sight is 20/20.

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Craniotomy After Glow

I awoke in the ICU, after my craniotomy, very confused. I think part of my confusion was the fact that I was alive. I don't know why I had resolved to accept that I might not survive the surgery. I guess I was prepared to get rid of my migraine pain, no matter what it took. If it took, the Lord taking me home, then so be it.

I was also confused by the sterile and stark nature of the room, I woke up in. I honestly didn't know for some amount of time, if I was alive or dead. Morphine can do that to you.

It turns out that the surgery went extremely well. The neurosurgeon was able to remove the cyst. When they happened upon the AVM, unprepared to repair it, they cauterized it on both ends with the thought being that it would be absorbed by the body over time.

Neurosurgeons obviously spend a lot of time in school to learn their craft, but I submit that they should also get their beauticians license, if they are going to shave your head before surgery. I had asked if I should shave it before going to the hospital, and was told by my doctor, that he would take care of it in pre-OP. I awoke post-OP with my entire head shaved, except for a baseball sized circle on the side of my head, where it had lain on the table. I felt like a monkey with a fez. It took several embarrassing days before the staff would let my wife shave the tassel off.

Needless to say, my post surgery after glow was not very endearing. My face appeared mottled yellow and blue, I had a long zipper (stitches) from the center of my front hairline around the hairline to my ear, a black eye and a fez. Yes, I was on the road to recovery.

Monday, June 8, I will finish with "Recovery Process". Please come back for this final true story installment or click one of the links on this page to subscribe to my blog.

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Arterial Venous Malformation

Arterial venous malformation, or AVM for short. An abnormal connection between veins and arteries; that is what they found hidden under an arachnoid cyst in my left anterior temporal lobe. I was having surgery to remove or fenestrate the cyst, but they found more when they operated.

I was "Dain Bramaged"!

I had been joked with, all my life, because of my crazy antics. But, it turned out to be true. Not only did I have the arachnoid cyst, but also an AVM. Of course we did not know this before the start of the surgery.

Before the surgery, I had and MRA with contrast. A magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), is a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer that produce detailed images. It is obviously less invasive than a catheter angiography. For whatever reason, my test did not show the AVM lying beneath the arachnoid cyst.

Entering into the surgery, I was scared but resolved. I had a feeling that I wouldn't wake up, but I had hope. Being a Christian I was certain that my God would take care of me, no matter what the outcome. I updated my Will, and created a list of all the information that my wife might need.

I had taken the time to order a bouquet of candy flowers from a specialty shop, and wrote a letter to my family explaining my love for them and my hopes for their futures. It was set to arrive at the house two days after the surgery.

I had a quiet calm that morning (even before I was given "something" to help me relax). I resolved that no matter what, I would awake to a new day, a new beginning. As the anesthesiologist asked me, "Are you ready to take a little trip?", I answered, "I'm not going nowhere with out my lugga."

Please come back Friday for the conclusion of this story, or better yet, get my feed automatically by choosing one of the options to the right.

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Ice Cream

I've been at war with my head all day. I woke with a migraine. I went to bed (the first time tonight) with a migraine. Actually, I've been to/in bed several times today, trying to sleep away the pain.

I made it through church and lunch today, with much prayer. I didn't eat much and couldn't stay up long enough, this afternoon, to watch my favorite show on Tivo.

I took all my meds, took a hot shower, and gave myself two shots, during the course of the day. I used an ice pack and a heating pad. All, to no avail. I went to bed early, tossed and turned from one side of the bed to the other. I couldn't find a comfortable position and nothing seemed to be able to help.

Then, I ate some ice cream.


-- Andy

Migraine: Subdural Remedy May Help

I have seen a couple of different stories about subdural implants to control nerve function and pain. Several months ago, I saw a story about a man in Chicago and how the Mayo Clinic had inserted an implant to control the firing of nerves, which helped him to regain the fine motor skills he had lost due to head trauma and migraines.

I couldn't find that particular story online, but I did find this story. I think it may be relevant to me, due to the fact that the patient had a head trauma that caused the start of his migraine headaches.

My family jokingly, but lovingly, sometimes calls me "Head Trauma Honaker". I like to play as hard as I work. I always give 110%, even if it means diving in head first. I have had many head traumas and concussions during my 47 years. One particular occasion ended with me falling about 20 feet from a tree and landing on the left side of my head. I never felt dizzy, no nausua, no blurry vision, just a stiff neck, so I didn't go to the hospital. This trauma may actually have aggravated my condition, because after that my migraine frequency and pain levels increased several fold.

I had brain surgery to remove an arachnoid cyst in my left anterior temporal lobe in 1999. I had been telling my doctors for many years (with pinpoint accuracy) the point of origin of my migraines. It turned out that was exactly where the cyst was.

Brain surgery is never easy, no matter what the procedure. I recovered enough to go back to work in about four weeks. I don't think I have ever fully recovered from it though. Maybe a subdural transmitter might be something that would help me. Maybe not.

I do know I would prefer it to the "clapper" that my wife wants to have installed. She wants to be able to clap her hands and have me turn off or on, at will. I don't agree with this procedure.



--Andy