Chronic migraines and headaches
Chronic migraine symptoms include:
- Frequent headaches
- Hypersensitivity to light, sound and scents
- Nausea and vomiting
Migraines and Me
I’m not quite sure when it all began, my headaches became more frequent; almost near daily then I’d have migraine attacks that also became more frequent too. A lot of the time my migraines would come with an aura.
Medication have helped to reduce the number of headaches and migraines I experience as well as having less or not as intense auras with my migraines. I take a mixture of both preventative medication and also medication which I take when I have a migraine attack. It took a long time to get a referral to a migraine neurologist and its taken a while to get onto the preventative medication. The next possible treatment option for me is to have Botox injections. Thankfully my MRI scans have come back clear but at the same time you want it to show something to explain why I get all these headaches and migraines.
Sometimes headaches and migraines come on for no reason other times they are brought on by my triggers such as certain foods: anything in the onion/garlic food family and wheat/gluten (I have Coeliac), too much visual stress such as overwhelming screens, flashing lights, emotional stress, and tiredness - these are all things that can trigger a headache or migraine for me.
With my migraines I can experience an aura. The aura is visual symptom or hallucination and for me I often feel like a light I being shone in my eyes, or I see black and white dots that look like fireflies floating around, my vision also blurs or I can have temporary vision loss in my left eye. I also have other headache/migraine symptoms such as pain, nausea and hypersensitivity. On a couple of rare occasions I’ve also experienced loss of motor function such as weakness or temporary loss of movement.
It is hard living with frequent headaches and migraines. I recently had to come off one of my preventative medications due to low blood pressure so my headaches and migraines have increased again. It does stop me from normal living sometimes and the nausea I find really difficult. I’m glad I have less auras due to medication as they’re awful to experience. My life comes to a complete halt when I have a headache as I get such bad confusion and the pain is awful. Migraines are worse as I just have to lie still in bed in very low lighting. They have a knock-on effect with my M.E. too and a migraine can take me days to recover from especially if it’s a migraine that lasts for a few days.
Alongside medication I’ve found other things that help. I like my Koldtec headband where I can insert reusable ice pack and I find this gives me good relief. Equally the 4head stick is good too. I find massage therapy helps too, Hollie will include a migraine head massage into my treatment when I see her. I’m all for holistic care and not solely relying upon medication. Managing my triggers also really helps, like avoiding certain foods and stress and my energy levels.
on for several days. I also must emphasise that there’s
