
Migraine Headaches Support Group
Migraine is a neurological disease, of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head and are often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea.
A migraine level you've managed before, you can tolerate at home for 72 hours. Then you need to be seen to have the cycle broken.
Sometimes migraines with vomiting, you may need to get re-hydrated in the ER. You can go in and see about getting some saline and some compazine or zofran.
Besides that risk - the longer you let it go to be untreated, the more likely you are to be caught in a pain cycle with the nerves firing just because.
Then like I said, sometimes it is necessary for IV rehydration. If you get to a certain point, you'll have a harder time being able to shake the migraine if you can't keep down anything, blood is oxygenating the body properly, meds for home use can't stay in your system.
I don't mean to propose that the ER is the one stop fix-it shop. But sometimes it is the middle of the night or on a weekend. And sometimes we can't get in for an appointment with our neuro or regular doctor. Or sometimes we don't have an urgent care clinic or an all night walk-in in the area, only an ER.
Cluster headaches are a completely different diagnosis than migraine. Excruciating, but like you said - it comes and goes. Migraines will generally last a minimum of a few hours untreated, clusters may last minutes - off and on - during the day, but people have jumped off of bridges and tried to knock themselves out by running into brick walls when they have them (that was on Dateline once, that poor guy). I am in admiration of your pain tolerance.