my mum gets them a lot and ive started to get them alot recently as well but not as bad as her!

I have only had like 1 or 2 and yes they are painful!
I live in a city with A LOT of pressure changes and a lot of people who mvoe here get very sick and horrible headaches from it. Thankfully I was born here and I am used to them...but sometimes, when it's realyl bad outside I do get bach ones too.

I have daily headaches, due to my allergies and a chronic condition that I have...it's not fun, but I've learned to live with them and I've learned what helps to relieve the pain.

I don't get migraines TOO often, probably only a few a year, but they're TERRIBLE. I have to lie down immediately in a dark room and pretty much stay as still as possible.

I have them, but my sister has a much more terrible case -- when she was younger, one neurologist actually thought she might have a brain tumor or something else serious because her migraines were just off the charts. Mine are more typical, and I get them a few times a year.

i got them all throughout highschool. rendered me immobile at times. as soon as i left to college they mysteriously stopped. . . hmm.

I get at least one migraine a month right before my cycle starts. Obviously mine are hormonal. I sometimes get one in the middle of my cycle too. Thankfully so far excedrin migraine works, provided I take it in time. My middle daughter was diagnosed with migraines about 4 years ago - she gets a couple a year. It's possible they'll get worse as the gets older, or she'll outgrow them. I certainly hope it's the latter. I didn't start getting migraines until after the birth of my 4th child.

I get them all the time and take IMITREX now. lifesaver.

i get them more in the spring/summer time...meds don't help. hot shower and a dark room is best for me.

I get them, and was recently told by my OB/G (as i was having my annual exam the day after a migraine, and told her so) that certain types of migraines (migraines with aura) are associated with a

SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE RISK OF STROKE

if she is on hormonal birth control. So, i'm using this as a chance to tell everyone reading that if you get migraines and are on hormonal birth control, it is best to speak with your doctor to determine if hormonal birth control is safe for you. Some other types of migraine (without aura) are not associated with this exceptionally high risk, but you should consult a professional.

Wow, thanks for the warning Spincycle! That's pretty scary!

Not to offend anyone, but if Excedrin Migraine works for you - it's likely not a migraine. For the most part, pain medications don't work on migraines as they are a neurological problem and not an injury/strain problem.

I used to get migraines quite a few times a year.. and maybe it was a coincidence but after I eliminated dairy from my diet they went away.

However, it was also around the time that I quit taking hormonal birth control too. So it could be because of that or a combo of both.

maybe it's not a migraine, since it goes away with advil, but i get "terrible headaches" once a year. the pain wakes me up from my sleep and i can't lay down or move or do anything without my head throbbing so hard.

I've never had a single headache in my entire life. I wonder how rare that is? I feel pretty lucky b/c my mom and sister both get headaches and migraines regularly.

they are spurred by diet choices. eat healthy.

I dont really know..but I do know is that I have had some terrible headaches before. Not sure if they are 'migraines' though

I got them when I was in Jr high. They would start with my feet going numb then the numbness would move up my body until I couldn't feel half my face. Then the pain in my head would start. It was so scary, I had to have MRIs, EEG's, but it never showed them anything out of the oridnary. I haven't gotten them in a while, thank goodness

i get bad headaches sometimes if i have eaten any fast food with MSG, or white wine. Those two things will kill me the next day. Pain medication does not work, and neither did Imitrex when I tried it. Thankfully, I know what to avoid now so they happen less.

"Eat healthy" won't necessarily do the trick, but thanks. Mine are triggered by soy, the phytoestrogens are problematic for me (but are not otherwise hormonal) and by barometric pressure. Peanuts are also a trigger but those are my only dietary issues. Other than that it's a crapshoot and there's no controlling the weather. Mine are also atypical, they're occipital (above my neck) rather than above my eyes.

"eat healthy" wont do it. i eat super healthy and i get migranes. mine are mostly hormonal, come on when i am super stressed or when the weather changes suddenly. there is no known "cause" for migranes which is why there is no real "cure". i've recently been taking imitrex and that seems to stop the progression, but i am still left to deal with whatever pain i had before that

I got my first migraine while taking a test in ninth grade. I couldn't concentrate at all! And there was no nurse at school that day.

I agree with KiddyInd. I get migraines frequently and I can't take anything over the counter. I mean, I can...but it doesn't work. I use Fioricet and Relpax.

I will get blurry spots in my vision when one is about to hit.
I would get them so bad I had to go lay in a blacked out, noise free, smell free room. At times it was so bad I would throw up from the pain. Then the pain would just get worse. I wanted to cry but it would hurt too much. Thank goodness I don't get them like that anymore. I still get bad headaches from stress & insomnia, but I haven't had a full blown migrane in a few years. When I did have them Imitrex helped some. I got them so bad I had to have my head scanned to rule out a tumor/pressure in my brain.

Migranes are awful!

Yes, I've only had one and it was so bad that my boyfriend called an ambulance and I got taken to the hospital. I didn't know what was going on, and I started hyperventilating on top of the migraine. It was a horrible experience, and I hope I never have one again.

Soy is not necessarily health. Also, there are many definitions of healthy. You need to remove the trigger foods, add stress reducing lifestyle habits (i.e., yoga, meditation, etc). It is not natural to have them - therefore, they are prompted by lifestyle choices and they are preventable.

I don't get them often, fortunately, but I get the full aura. The last time I got one - last fall - it had been about 7 years since the last one. I thought I was having a stroke, and my husband drove me to the ER. Very, very scary.

I posted this question in the Migraine Sugars group over two months ago.

Yes, I have chronic Migraine DISEASE. I have chronic daily migraine attacks. Currently, I have the most crippling attacks I have ever had in my life and I have them 6 out of 7 days a week. I have what is called a Transformed Intractable Migraine - one that is constant but varies in severity. I've constantly said this here on PopSugar that if you have Migraine Disease or think you do - DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE or SELF-TREAT. If you really have this disease those actions will worsen the disease. You MUST see a neurologist for treatment and see them on a regular basis for disease management. Migraines can and DO cause stroke, coma and death.

Why does my neurologist think I have Transformed Intractable Migraine? Because I listen to all the "non-medication" it's all in head people and never got proper medical treatment and preventative medication when I was in my pre-teens and beginning to have more frequent migraines. People would always tell me to meditate, take Tylenol or aspirin or other OTCs or go rest in the dark and all those actions did was teach my brain to lower the levels of stimulation that it can handle and that these vascular disease take over.

Now I have to quit my job for public safety reasons though the city does not actually care if I continue (I don't want to hurt anyone because I suffer another crippling attack behind the wheel. I have to try to find another employer who will provide full medical insurance and accept that fact that I suffer from a disease that has no cure, a disease that people don't really believe is a disease because they think "it's just a headache", a disease that no medication can touch, that could potential kill me on the spot at work, and that alters my personality and ability to communicate clearly at the most inopportune times. Moreover I may actually at just 36 years old I may have to give up my drivers license because my migraine disease is so bad that I have temporary bouts of sudden blindness, silent seizures and several vertigo attacks.

I went from being the little girl who just had a "headache" to the girl who had maybe one migraine a year to two a year, to two a month to days, weeks or months of the same throbbing, pulsating migraine that cannot be resolved with any current medication = it never goes away.

I wish I had never listened to people who said "it's just a headache". I wish that I had gotten medical help from a specialist a long time ago because maybe I wouldn't be going through this now. I have vowed to not let my nephews fall into the same "it's just a headache", "eat healthier", "exercise more" trap. For my family migraine disease is familial - every one of my siblings has it to some degree, my nephews have it, my nieces are showing signs, my aunts and uncles have it, my mother had it, and my mother's biological mother had it and died of a brain aneurysm as a result of there not being any treatment back in 1933.

And 28 million Americans are known to suffer from Migraine Disease but the American Academy of Neurology estimate that the true number of Americans suffering from migraine disease is actually around 58 million. How exactly that is only a few people is beyond me. Those people who suddenly drop dead of stroke or brain aneurysms with no previous warning are believed to be people who are showing the end consequence of untreated vascular disease of the brain as known as Migraine Disease.

KrisSugar if Imitrex didn't work on your headache then it wasn't a vascular headache - migraine attack. Imitrex constricts the veins and arteries inside the brain, which is where migraine pain is derived from rapid vasodilation (veins and arteries in the brain opening as wide as they possibly can and triggering overstimulation of the nerves in the pain and therefore pain).

It's very possible that you had a cluster headache which sucks just as bad as a migraine attack but is centered around the aggitated nerve receptor in the brain. There are specific medications for those suffering from cluster headaches vs migraine attacks.

Also someone else said they have Menstrual Migraines and take Imitrex but still have pain - there is a specific migraine abortive medication for women who suffer from Menstrual Migraines. It's a vasoconstrictor, pain reliever and is suppose to target the other associated problems that go along with a MM. Menstrual Migraines can be extremely intense and don't always respond to regular abortive meds because the brain to over-react to your increased hormone levels. The medication is called Frova, it's covered by most insurance companies.

Like spin, I was on birth control for 5+years and had horrible migraines almost every day and never put it together that it could be because of the pill. I went off the pill 2 years ago, and no more migraines! I wish someone told me sooner!

Wack I was waiting for you to chime in. I just knew you would be able to dispel the myths out there. I know yours are getting worse too. My ocular symptoms have been getting worse lately, but hasn't struck me more than about once a month or so.

Like she said folks, it's not all about the headache either. There are MANY symptoms.

Let me clarify what I meant - I'm not implying that migraines are caused by hormonal birth control pills in some or all cases. I'm specifying that those of us who get migraines with aura and are on HBC have an increased risk of stroke. For some, perhaps migraine is triggered by hormone changes or HBC, but the real warning is that if you have migraines and are on HBC, see your doctor to evaluate your stroke risk. the combination of HBC and migraine with aura is associated with higher risk for stroke - be safe and get it checked out.

Wow, some of your stories are really scary. I've never experienced a migraine, thank God. I have gotten bad headaches in the past, mostly from eyestrain or strong fragrances, but never anything like what you guys describe as a migraine. My mother in law gets migraines sometimes, and when she does get them it's a big deal...most of the time, my father in law has to put her in bed and she has to just stay there until the pain goes away. And yeah, Advil or any other normal pain medication just doesn't help.

I wonder if there's a genetic component to migraines...no one in my family has ever suffered from them.

Wackdoodle - I'm very sorry about the degree of your condition. I have crippling attacks, as well, but luckily I isolated my triggers early enough and got treatment. I used to get attacks nearly every day, so I have an idea how horribly disruptive it can be.

I think the biggest misconception is that migraine is a headache. Head pain is just one symptom of a genetic neurological disease that causes a slightly altered structure/growth in the brain stem. Many people get migraines, but they are undiagnosed because there is no head pain. For me, the loss of muscle control, vertigo/blackouts, neuralgia, aphasia, and photosensitivity are the worst. My "ice pick" headaches only last for an hour or so at a time. V. painful, of course, but blacking out in the middle of class is slightly scarier.

Regarding HBC, I met with my neurologist yesterday and he cleared up something that confuses a lot of people. Migraines are not hormonal. Menstruation can be a common trigger, but it is not the hormones that trigger them. HBC can be a wonderful treatment. (BTW, my neurologist also informed me that migraine doesn't cause anything life threatening within the brain, just attacks... not strokes.) My other triggers are certain foods with high concentrations of tyramine. However, there is no universal trigger. The only way to isolate what brings on an attack is to journal and be vigilant re: early symptoms. Things like the weather can trigger an attack.

Stress does not cause migraine attacks. Stress/tension headaches suck in their own right, but I'm sick and tired of being told that relaxation will get rid of the disease. People don't really understand that it is not curable, only manageable. It's fairly insulting to tell a person with migraines to meditate or relax. It just demonstrates their ignorance of a horrible disease.

Also, depression can be a common symptom... just something that hasn't been mentioned (as far as I could see).

Spincycle - there is an increased risk of stroke with any hormonal manipulation. Not specifically with HBC and migraine. That is a miseading correlation.

I'm actually getting one right now. My first in awhile. I had them very often growing up and missed a lot of school, but they got less frequent in my 20s. Thank god. They are horrid and I certainly hope the headache I have now stops before it reaches full on migraine status. i'm starting to feel nauseated.

i've had one and it was hideous. 'had' to be at work (in my mind, the world would have stopped turning if i hadn't of gone in) but i had what i thought was a serious headache. one of my co-workers mentioned i looked awful and i told them i had a headache - after a bit i couldn't focus my eyes and felt really dizzy - had to run outside to puke and then my co-workers pointed out (when i described my symptoms) that i had a migraine. i was an idiot and tried to keeping going at work but after another puke a few minutes later i admitted defeat and let one of them drive me home. it was the WORST feeling, i seriously hope i never get another one.

Nope, I have not. I get horrible stomach problems instead. So it equals out.

I've had a migraine to the point where I threw up. I don't get them frequently thank goodness. My dad does though and has been on numerous preventative medications and whatnot.

My sister and I both have migraines and we have identified many opposite trends (with the help of neurologists). We can't take the same medication, can't eliminate the same foods, can't use the same DIY techniques or lifestyle changes. We both get annoyed when someone assumes that what works for them must work for everybody. I agree with a lot that has already been said, but I want to re-emphasize how different one person's case can be from someone else's.

i just found out that low iron can lead to these. also, if i feel one coming on and take a night time cold medicine and then get in a steaming hot shower right away for like 10 minutes and steam and put water pressure on my face, then go to bed (total darkness/quiet)for about 5 hours i can beat it. usually mine are about 24 hours of pain/vomiting and then 24 to recover (i feel very week and jittery) but if i do the medicine/shower/sleep thing it's over w/i several hours.

oh, one more thing. one time a friend gave me a pill she had for migrines and it worked but literally felt like it numbed the part of my brain ONLY where it had hurt and i felt like the back of my head was open. very weird. it was like i could feel the different parts of my brain, creepy.

The meds do CRAZY things to people... the one I'm on now has left a horrible taste in my mouth, made my throat sore, and my face numb. It's horrible... esp. since it isn't actually helping my attack symptoms!

I had them for a while but acupuncture cured them.

ebgirl - not to keep beating the subject to death, but nothing can cure migraines. Acupuncture may be useful in preventing attacks, but the disease is lifelong.

I go through phases with mine which leads me to believe they're seasonal. I have them just like what you described Hootie, where I am forced into a pitch black room with no sounds or smells. You have to hold back crying because it just makes it worse, and during these times anything I've eaten comes right back up. It's debilitating. I know once I get one, the rest of my day is shot because there's no going back from that point. I'll usually be alright once I wake up the next morning though. I just try to sleep through them. As for the cause, I live in a strange climate with rapid fluctuations this time of year (below freezing one day, 80 degrees the next LITERALLY) and I think that's the main culprit.

I'm at the gym 4-5 days a week and I eat a very healthy diet. I don't take birth control and I don't drink alcohol often. Based on my lifestyle it makes it easy to identify triggers because my diet and exercise are so tightly controlled (I'm very disciplined). I've learned that lack of sleep can trigger regular headaches which develop into migraines within a few hours. Stress is a trigger for me as well.

I've inherited my migraines genetically. I have been suffering with them for about 20 years. Every day I too have a headache that can develop into a Migraine. At first, my doctor would load me up with Vicodin and Fioricet with Codeine and several other narcotics. I then became tolerant which led to addiction. I checked myself into a well-known Headache Clinic and went through withdraw, it was a nightmare because while I was "getting clean" I was not able to have any abortives. I was violently ill for days and days. After a few weeks in the Treatment Center, I was placed on a myriad of abortives and preventatives. Mind you, I had (at the time) a toddler to attend to (she's 10 now) but I was also suffering from over medication - I didn't realize it of course because I was out of it. Literally. I would black out, very scary. My husbands very supportive family took care of me and my daughter and demanded answers from these doctors. I blacked out while driving and totalled our family car. My daugher was in the car and I don't remember anything other than waking up in the ER crying and confused! I thank God everyday that no one was hurt physically, the guilt I feel as a mother is overwhelming to me and I still get choked up about it. In my opinion, at that point, the doctors FINALLY realized they could be looking at a lawsuit waiting to happen and finally agreed I was overdosed. They have cut down my preventatives and abortives and I'm doing pretty good. I know what injections to administer and what point they are needed, etc. It definately has changed my life completely, I may not be able to go to concerts or other loud events, drink socially but I know it sure beats the alternative of not living life at all. I realize this is a long story but I just wanted to share because some people in my life don't understand what it's like to ne restricted from tyramine foods, chocolate, wines, etc. If they have a headache, they take 2 advils and they are fine. I wish I could say the same.

I typically get one or two attacks a year that require a trip to the ER because my self induced injections do not work. So when I loose vision in my left eye, I know that's my clue to get to the ER for help.

Lesson to be learned, be careful of that doctors give you, you can without realizing it - become addicted.

Holy crap....only 15% of Americans get migraines, but according to this survey, only 16% of us are migraine-free! That is truly bizarre....

Stress relief and healthy lifestyles can help, for certain, but as so many above examples have indicated there is no guarantee. I've been practicing yoga since before I started getting migraines, I get massage; I also use preventative meds and abortive meds. Every migraineur needs to find out what works for them. Spring and fall tend to be difficult when barometric pressure is a factor (in many parts of the country) because of the constant changes and storms.

I've only had complete success with one triptan (Maxalt) and partial relief with another (Relpax) the rest were either worthless or caused rebounds. It all depends.

This is the definition of migraine for those that don't know if their headaches are considered migraines:
migraine
(n) : a severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual disturbances

I've only had one REALLY bad migraine, to the point where I thought I was going to die and welcomed it to escape the pain. I get very mild migraines (in comparison) occasionally, but I can tell they are coming and I take something before it gets too bad. Luckily, OTC meds work for me.

Actually MandyJoBo that's not a very complete medical definition of migraine. That's more of a layman's simplified definition. The medical definition is far more extensive and varies by whether it is a Neurological association providing the definition or a General Practioner's group providing the definition.

Example - for GP's the definition of Migraine is:
Migraine: Usually, periodic attacks of headaches on one or both sides of the head. These may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity of the eyes to light (photophobia), increased sensitivity to sound (phonophobia), dizziness, blurred vision, cognitive disturbances, and other symptoms. Some migraines do not include headache, and migraines may or may not be preceded by an aura.

For some clinicians studying the causes of migraine the definition is:
An often familial symptom complex of periodic attacks of vascular headache, usually temporal and unilateral in onset, commonly associated with irritability, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhea and often photophobia, attacks are preceded by constriction of the cranial arteries, usually with resultant prodromal sensory (especially ocular) symptoms and commence with the vasodilation that follows.

And for Neurologists is definition is:
Migraine headache: The most common type of vascular headache involving abnormal sensitivity of arteries in the brain to various triggers resulting in rapid changes in the artery size due to spasm (constriction). Other arteries in the brain and scalp then open (dilate), and throbbing pain is perceived in the head. The tendency to migraine is inherited and appears to involve serotonin, a chemical in the brain involved in the transmission of nerve impulses that trigger the release of substances in the blood vessels that in turn cause the pain of the migraine. These nerve impulses cause the flashing lights and other sensory phenomena known as an aura that may accompany a migraine. Not all severe headaches are migraines and not all migraines are severe.

As you can see - the definition varies according to how involved the group is in the treatment and care of migrainuers. Note the general medical definition never mentions that migraine disease is a vascular disease, instead it implies that it's simply a really bad headache with some really unpleasant side effects. Well that's known not to be the case with regard to the disease. It is a vascular brain disease and that is known to be fact. The pain that people feel and the other symptom are the result of a series chemical processes occurring in the brain and dilating the blood vessels to the maximum and over-stimulating the nerves in the brain. Some migraine attacks do not involve any headache or head pain whatsoever.

As Scully has told us and I know personally this disease for some goes beyond just head pain into other disturbing realms - all of them are part of having the disease and the brains functions. It's absolutely frightening to be driving and suddenly everything goes blank and your brain just shuts off. Unfortunately, its happened to me at work and in case I didn't say it I drive a bus for SF public bus system - MUNI. I have blacked out behind the wheel of my 40,000+ lb bus while the bus was moving but no one got hurt, no vehicles were damaged - only my peace of mind was destroyed by the "what ifs". As I've said before MUNI does not care if I have this disease or that it's potentially life-threatening to the general public. Inside MUNI migraine disease is not a disease it's just a headache and just an excuse used by many drivers. But when I went beyond MUNI and informed the City itself of my health issue - they understand the gravity of the situation and want to see if they can transition me to a position where it will not be a life-threatening hazard. They cannot understand why MUNI has never pushed for me to get off the road and why they've never reported that I have a chronic health issue to the City.

Anyway, the thing right now (at this moment) I know I am still suffering from a major attack BUT I have no head pain (headache) at all. Instead I'm having severe vertigo, slurred speech, my nose is running but only one nostril, I'm overly loquacious and I'm hypersensitive to smells and touch. The BF is not happy because I cannot bear to be in the same room with him, so I asked him to leave. This is a dangerous situation because hey I can function right now but at any moment as has happened in the recent past my vision could go out and down I'll go. Hoping to miss any sharp or hard objects on the way down.

To put it simply as my doctors have a migraine is not a headache. And a headache is not a migraine. However, a headache can be a symptom along with many other symptoms of the disease called migraine. The definition of migraine disease is a complex one, the result is easy to understand though - it just sucks.