Migraines :(

For me, they are connected to blood sugar spikes or drops (if I eat a lot if sugar, or not evkiugh food(, also screen use/eye strain, and light sensitivity (so I now have glasses, reading glasses, and the best sunglasses I could find that are polarised).

All that has helped hugely

• Agreed.  Ibuprophen is useless.  I once dicovered that tylenol and Mountain Dew headed off a migraine if I caught it early enough.  I usually have to pass out after taking them, and when I wake up, I'm fine.

I am just now researching the connection between autism spectrum disorder and migraines (and GI disorders).  I am 55, I've had migraines since I was 8 years old, and am realizing that all this time, I have probably had some version of autism.  Too many symptoms to list here.  I have taken Imitrex for migraines with good results.  And both are also associated with GI problems, which I am also researching.  I just read "Super Gut" and have been making my own yogurt with specific probiotics.  Good results so far.

I am on Amovig injections which has reduced my migraines by almost half, I have around 15 migraines a month now. Its still debilitating but not as severe as it used to be when I was having them daily; I am praying that scientists find a miracle cure! 

The Cefaly device looks like a Tens machine for your forehead then? But as you say blinkin expensive! 

I agree Anadin Extra (Aspiri, Paracetamol & Caffine) is the only thing that works for me (Ibuprohen is useles) but too much Aspirin gives me stomach ache And like you the post headache days, I feel totally washed out like if I've been on a long night drive

Well I think I'll ask try some Triptans which, you take as an attack starts.

Luckily, I don't get Aura's b,ut my vision gets blurred and my nose gets blocked up. My heart thumps harder and faster (so taking beta blockers helps).

I did try taking Topiramate, but still got Migraines (never lost any weight either!) :(

I have always had the classic migraine...aura, sensitivity to light, extreme vomiting (i cant move at all, even just my arm as i vomit). They gave me anti sickness meds but they didnt help. I've been given strong pain killers by a neurologist but they havent helped. The tramadol I reacted very badly to. I then had another type of migraine called hemiplegic....slurred speech, loss of the use of the left side of my body, confusion etc. The latter migraine was why I went to the neuro and had an MRI. I was found to have chiari (hind brain hernia). The only thing thats ever helped is the cefaly device but its so pricey. My old device lasted 3 years (£250 plus the pads are £20 for 3) its a device you put on your forehead and it feels like your brains being massaged inside your skull! it reduces and sometimes completly removes my migraine. My child also gets migraines sadly

I've had migraines since I was 10, my dad gets them so definitely a genetic component (all the inherited medical conditions in our family seemed to have culminated with me from both sides...migraines, asthma, GERD, as well as autism). I'm more likely to get them around my period but not always and other things-some wines, exposure to flashing and strobe lighting, tiredness-trigger them too. Their frequency fluctuates, anywhere from a couple a month to 1 every couple of months.

I find if I take aspirin early, it stops me developing the headache and pain so I don't need to go and lie down in a dark room, but often I will still be spacey and have aura symptoms (my vision focus goes weird-I had one a while ago where I couldn't work out why I had managed to miss something I was transcribing on my laptop, until I realised I had this weird blindspot and literally couldn't see it-sometimes I get an odd taste in my mouth or pins and needles in my face and my coordination gets worse than usual) so won't be a lot of use to anyone anyway. Also, sometimes taking painkillers just results in it coming back persistently over the following days (it will usually go away eventually but sometimes it's like it's better to just have the migraine and get it over and done with). The headache phase of mine has never really lasted more than a few hours, it's the post-drome that's sometimes worse; at least I need a really good sleep, but at most it can sometimes be 2-3 days of feeling exhausted and depressed.

Edit: Meant to also say, my dad hasn't had a single migraine since he got put on beta blockers for his high blood pressure in the last few years; not as in, the high blood pressure was causing his migraines, but beta blockers can be used to treat migraines so it's like he got a bonus out of taking them! So they're obviously really effective for him.

I've been locked into a chronic vestibular migraine since September 2018—"chronic" because there is no cessation of symptoms, only "bad" and "worse". I've found withdrawing completely from life has helped and medication has not, although emotional stress and sudden noises (like people slamming doors) still seem to make it worse.

Have you come across The Migraine Diet? https://thedizzycook.com/whatishyh/ Apparently it can help, but I eat a lot of this stuff anyway because it seems to moderate my meltdowns, allergies and hypersensitivities.

JohnS said:

HG Wolff characterised migraineurs as: ambitious, successful, perfectionistic, rigid, orderly, cautious, emotionally constipated, and driven"

Yes, the perfect description of someone with Asperger's! I think you're onto something there... 

I don't think I have problems with cream and cheese - but I've not done the experiment.  

I've noticed the sunlight only needs to be an intense flash - like when opening curtains - but it seems to light the fuse which turns into a migraine - maybe a couple of hours later.

I suffer from extreme anxiety but I give the impression of coping ok (masking/auto-pilot mode).   My stress levels are most noticeable with my sleep patterns - my brain loves to over-process things at 2am.

Oh yes part of the infamous three "C's" Chocolate, Cheese and cream. I too didn't get Migraines until I was a lot older and suffering from pretty constant anxiety (my Autism causing the Anxiety).

Another thing I read was that people who get Migraines are very sensitive to "external stimuli" eg in your case bright sunlight... 

I never used to have migraines until I had viral encephalitis a few years ago – now I get them regularly.       They start with a visual aura – a blind spot in the centre of my left eye that I notice when I can’t see what I’m looking at – a sort of blurry circle that hides the word I’m looking at on the page.     Within a few minutes, that changes to a ‘c’ shape that is painted in the dazzle camouflage pattern that is oscillating.    

When I’m aware of the blind spot, I’ve learned to take 250mg Naproxen (I’m prescribed that for something else) and as that enters my blood stream, it makes the aura dissipate within about 20 minutes.

If I don’t take the Naproxen, the aura gets bigger over about 40 minutes until it becomes a big flashing dazzle pattern – just before the splitting headache starts.

I haven’t identified the cause of the migraines – it seems to be linked to a sudden bright light entering one eye only – like when the sun appears from behind something.

For some reason, chocolate seems to be a factor too.