Welcome to the group. Nope my headaches never follow those patterns. I get a tingling head sensation with an hour I have a full blown attack unless I take an abortive.

Hi Oceans: My migraines don't follow yours either. I get an intense pain starting on one side of my head and I have to take my alternative measures (frozen gel packs, hot shower with heavy pulsating shower massage shower head; etc.) and if that doesn't work, then I have to take the prescription migraine meds.

If I get the intense pain and nausea at the same time, then I have to take the migraine meds cocktail (that contains the anti-nausea med) and that will be a killer migraine so I can't mess around with alternatives. With that one, I may try to get maybe two bites of a plain hamburger patty (no bun) and a drink of diet cola (and I can beat the cola with a fork to get the carbonation out of it and make it flat). I feel like if I put protein and a bit of caffeine into my system, many times it seems to help the prescription meds to act faster.

If I am out and don't have my prescription meds, I take a few bites of a plain burger, have some sips of a diet cola and take an Excedrin for Migraine and sometime that keeps it at a low level and it never increases and sometimes goes away.

Wow!! Really interesting feedback from both tekwriter & astimegoesby! Thanks to both of you. I know that many sufferers of migraines are going to have different symptoms or symptoms that follow a different pattern but it's weird how different they all are.

My initial 3 questions were just weird "happenings" for the past few years. Symptons that were just out of the ordinary.

Typically what happens to me is I get a visual disturbance, I can't see objects directly in front of me. Say I'm looking directly at someone's face, I only see 2/3's of them. Picture looking at a pie graph & only seeing 2/3's of it. That's my visual disturbance. Then I get a wormy flashing light visual disturbance that really messes with my vision. Not good time drive during this time so my job tends to make me wait until this is gone before I can home.

Then after that the visual part is gone, my vision is normal & the numbness to my lips & fingers come into play. If I have a migraine on my left side then my right fingers go number & vice versa to the right side.

After the numbness goes away. Then the pain comes, like I said before lately the pain only comes about 40% of the time.

Well take care to whomever reads this!

Wow - to go 13 months without a migraine. I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven. I keep thinking that in Heaven there will be no more migraines. That I'll be able to do stuff I used to do. I can sometimes help my migraine pills along with a cup of coffee. That's what the active ingredient is in those OTC painkillers anyway, so instead of giving my money to Bayer, I give it to Folgers.

Talia, that's funny, your remark about giving your money to Folgers. Thanks for the laugh.

My symtoms DO mimic yours. my first migraine also was at 14. My main trigger is bright light. Some of the flourescent lights in stores can be a trigger, as well. I probably have other triggers, but am not sure what they may be.

As far a frequency, I usually have a couple a month. I have noticed that I I seem to have suscepticlability cycles. I have gone as long as 4 months without one (this is rare for me). I have also had many cycles when I can have one every other day!

Like you, I always get the aura. At the first sign of this, if I put on sunglasses, it can stop it from progressing any further (not always). if I don't get the sunglasses on quick enout, or this doesn't work, the aura will cause my eyesight basically to go away completely for a short period. I don't go anywhere without sunglasses anymore.

I don't get the nausea much anymore, but used to get it really bad,

I always get some pain, but most times this is minimal. I have had pain so bad that (at the time) I would just as soon died. Whatever pain I get cannot be minimized by anything that I have found. As I have gotten older, the pain seems to have lessened, but a new sytom has started to emerge.

Right before I am to get a migraine, I will get (for lack of a better word) just plain stupid! someitmes I will say something completely different than what I am trying to say. My wife has caught on to this, and when I say anything remotely dumb, will ask me if I am getiing a migraine. Sometimes it's simply me say ing something stupid.

I have stared to get some arthritis in my hands, but I am sure has notheing to do with my migraines.

It is very interesting to see someone match my symtoms as closely, as you do.

Folgers? I recommend Peets. Excedrin? I highly recommend LipiGesic M. FINALLY, a first-line pain reliever that is all natural, and doesn't result in the typical side-effects associated with the prescription meds that I've taken over the years. And it is far more effective than either Excedrin or Advil, even with a Folgers chaser.
For me, headaches attack from the right side, behind the eye, and move forward. That's the usual pattern. But as soon as I feel it coming on, I take the LipiGesic M (sub-lingual), The spread stops, and the pain reduces down to a level 1.

I looked up LipiGesic M on the Internet. My doctor had recommended that I try Feverfew but I didn't have any luck with it. I asked my other migraine group if they had tried it, but no one had. Do you think it is the combination of feverfew and ginger and being sublingual that works so well for you? I'm interested in why it works for some but not for others. I'd like to know about your experience with this herb combination.

I also wanted to mention that another big problem I encounter is this:

My migraines are also triggered by milk/dark chocolate or alcohol/wine/cooking sherry. I have been amazed how many people shave chocolate to put in recipes and even if you mention ahead of time your allergies, they forget and don't tell you. Also many use wine or alcohol in sauces and cooking and some cooks are very protective about their secret ingredients, which could be actual rum or chocolate and that's a killer migraine for me.

I'm getting so I'm not accepting dinners with people because I know people don't do it intentionally but when they start using my trigger ingredients it usually is an emergency room visit for me because no prescription migraine medication works on a migraine from those triggers.

P.S. I discovered that by law, milk/dark chocolate candy must have a chocolate liquor in it (I don't believe it is alcohol based) and that may be what I am allergic to. I am NOT allergic to white chocolate and I love the white chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups.

@Taliasher,
I was told by a co-worker to take my usual OTC & slam it with an ice cold Coke! My OTC is Exedrin Extra Strength. I did this for a good 2 years & it would work about 70% of the time. Amazing I thought!

@lemanns67,
I'd love to give an accurate account of what my triggers are but it's so frustrating to go, "AHHH HAAAA I found my trigger only to find out it was just coincidental"! I remember cutting out all foods with any marinara sauce, so basically all Italian food, not a big deal I'm not a huge Italian Food fan being from the West coast. But I do like my occasional Pizza, but I gave it up for like 3 years. During this time I also gave up chocolate (not a big deal), sour cream, and Coke (this was prior to suggestion of slamming the soft drink with my OTC). I still got the migraines.

So i just ended up adding back what I thought were my triggers & I don't see any particular difference in frequency. The only trigger that HAS stayed pretty consistent believe it or not is anything with a decent dose of Molasses in it! Many treats have molasses in it, cookies, ice cream, pancake syrup etc. The most recent attacks I've had I was eating Mud Pie ice cream.Mmmmmmmmmthen after my migraine I checked the label. MOLASSES!! Dang it!!!

I'm going to try putting on my shades as a suggestion from Lemann67!

By the way, so far I've had a migraine, Thursday night (no pain), Friday starting at 10am major pain! Saturday nothing, Sunday migraine aura only, Monday after work aura + pain at around level 3 out of 10. I've only had this happen with multiple back to backs one other timeit was right before going a whole year without a migraine so maybe I'm in luck!!!

Talk to you later! Hope every had a pain free day!

Oceans11--did not see anywhere how old you are. I've definitely had years of patterns like you--long breaks between, times of chronic, sometimes lilttle--sometimes great pain following auras, etc. . I get the same aura that you described. I am 67--first migraine rememberance around 5. Bad pain during hormone years. Now pain has lessened, but patterns persist. I found recently that dehydration was a huge trigger for me. I am drinking much more water now, and have had less migraines. No coffee in morning because that dehydrates. Someone also told me to drink tons of water when migraine first starts.

@susydhont,

Hey susy, I'lll be turning 44 Friday.....booooo!!! LOL No I'm happy I've made it this far at least!

Yes, I read once that as we get older for whatever reason the pain tends to subside, but not in a straight line of decline more like ocean waves coming in & out but continuesly moving backwards in severity.

This is definitely what I'm experiencing.

Hi,

I am also new to this.

I have some similiarities to you, but am am almost exactly the same as you, Lemmans67. I felt like I was reading about myself.

I get migraines with auras. Mostly triggered by light. I must have shades to go outside. I start to talk funny just before the aura comes on. It's terrible. I'm a teacher and at work I jumble up words when I'm about to have a migraine. The kids laugh, but I know what's about to happen. Then an anxiety attack starts to happen because I worry that I can't get to my maxalt before the aura starts and I know that the pain will set in and I won't be able to see. Once that happens I need to sit in the bathroom for a half hour until I can see again because I can't be with my class.

I also find that fans attached to a light trigger a migraine.. anyone have that?

Plus, Lemmans, just like you I have stared to get some arthritis in my hands.

hi and welcome to the group..I joined a while back and Im still trying to figure out my migraine stuff. I am in the middle of a 10 day run of bad days...its not that I have a headache, its that I feel dizzy and nauseous and sensitive to sound and light. sometimes its just enough to make it miserable to have to work and function and sometimes its full blown under the covers with the trash can by my side because Im going tothrow up...Dr changed med to topamax to try for 2 months...feeling defeated and depressed. and feeling very sleepy too...

@ adeen, sorry you feel defeated and depressed. That's a terrible feeling. I hope this board can at least help you feel that you are not alone. That is why I joined. I found that I was feeling that noone at work, or my friends really understood me. Again, I hope you feel better.