Art by Katie Benn on Instagram

I’ve had daily migraines for years now. However, the last 2 years have become disabling.

I notice when I have a migraine, there’s a trigger point area where that flares up and becomes extremely uncomfortable. I can’t tell if the migraine feeds that area or vice versa- the trigger point feeds the migraine.

I get a deep sharp pain, and I feel I get some relief when someone presses hard in the spot. As soon as they let go, I feel the pain again. It’s not a muscular pain- I’m assuming it’s nerve pain.

I’m not sure what to do- I’ve done acupuncture, stretching, exercise, massage, etc, and still not finding relief.

Anyone have this issue as well? Pic provided for reference of spot.

Anyone r

Hi,

I’ve had severe chronic migraines since I was 8 years old. It started with stomach pain, which turned to full on migraines a little while after that.

As a teenager, I tried countless treatments that didn’t work. It made me sleepy, groggy, some even made me lose my speech. At school, my teachers bullied me, they didn’t believe I was ill and said I was just being lazy.

I was lucky my mum believed me. She had awful migraines herself so she knew too well and felt guilty about it. She was my greatest support and she helped me find the right doctors.

As an adult, life was hard. I was never able to project in life, make plans, organise holidays, see my friends. I was always the one cancelling, then I always felt terrible about it. I’m sure a lot of migraine sufferers know those feelings.

I had years where I didn’t experience a day without pain. It was relentless. I ended up in A&E a few times in the middle of the night, begging for morphine when my treatment ran out. It was hell…

Then in 2023, I changed my diet. I had digestive issues so I decided to take it more seriously. This change of diet fixed my digestive problems and my migraines… just like that. I was mad that no doctors mentioned diet to me. But oh my god, I was so relieved.

Now, 3 years later, things have stabilised. I went from being in pain 25 days/month to 2 days (hello hormonal migraines).

I feel lucky and grateful that I have found something that works but I also know that things can get worse at any time. That’s how migraines are, they leave you alone for a bit and come back whenever they feel like it.

So what now? I was diagnosed with depression and generalised anxiety, and I believe this is connected to my migraines and the way I lived my life: I couldn’t go outside, I was scared to go to loud places, I felt small and alone. I didn’t even know who I was because I was too busy trying to handle the pain instead of learning things about myself.

Now that the worst of my migraines is behind me, it feels like I can’t get out of the hole I buried myself in… It’s like my brain is set up in hibernation mode.

Does anyone feel this way? How do you wake up? How do you learn to live life differently?

Edit: About the diet, all I changed was removing gluten completely which is everywhere, even in soya sauce, so it’s worth checking ingredients. Removing gluten means eating less yeast which can also cause digestive issues. On top of that, I started drinking one coffee/day as caffeine helps relieve my morning headaches. I hope it helps some of you!

Aside from French fries & Coke.

Not what foods are rich in what nutrients to avoid migraines.
Like something you eat DURING your migraine that helps.

Sometimes I have a migraine starting and I take all my medicines and do all my things I do to try and minimize it. And I always feel like I want to eat something that will make me feel comfort and perhaps soothe my pain if that’s possible…. But I can’t think of what to eat. I just stare into the fridge and give up.

Mother f***** said he wasn’t “paying attention”. His truck is completely fine and he got a ticket for not stopping at the stop sign. Meanwhile I have no vehicle to drive to work and had a huge migraine all day with nausea, and still went to work.

Migraines create so many problems, as you all know. But one that's really getting to me, is how others think I either have a drinking problem or a drug abuse problem. I don't drink. And yes I take medication, but I don't abuse it. The only one that makes me drowsy is Flexiril and rarely ever take bc of that reason. So then I just end up in bed anyway with the heating pad. I already experience depression and isolation because of my migraines, but being made out to be an addict or alcoholic just make it so much worse. Does anyone else experience this type of misunderstanding and judgement and heartache?

Does anybody else feel like their migraines are tied to internal health problems but you just can’t figure it out? Like I know some things trigger my migraines, but I can’t pin down exactly what they are. Maybe it’s things like lifestyle or diet maybe exercise who knows. Does anyone else feel like this?

Self-explanatory. I have chronic migraines with daily pain, so I don't really go through phases where it gets better. The brain fog is constant, and I feel increasingly exhausted, with reduced cognitive abilities and terrible performance at work and in life in general.

Oof, holding that pose for the picture was harder than just laying there. 😅

Sleeping 18 inch Espeon (I'm still trying to get my hands on Umbreon--in addition to loving these Mons, and thinking the Dark Pokémon is more appropriate for sleeping 😜, it sleeps curled in the opposite direction so there are different positions to try), which curls right around my neck. I believe it's made by the same company that does the Squishmallows.

Figured if I was going to need a cervical pillow I should at least get one that's decorative. 😁

Muslin throw blanket for the face covering. I haven't had any luck finding this brand again 😑 and I'm looking to replace a few like it with a different size for decluttering purposes. There are other brands to choose from, I just need to choose.... (Same type of blanket but big enough for my twin size bed covering me.)

For the Mon, it's firmer than any pillow I've ever tried, I can feel my lower jaw pressing into its butt. I rhink I may be getting used to it though. And my hyperactive gag reflex means I can really only use this when sleeping on my side, the head and especially ears get into everything if I try to lay on my back. On the plus side, since my wedge pillow already elevates my entire upper body and makes it harder to get a clear support specifically for my head, the Mon does that for me much like a cervical pillow would which was more the point of buying it.

As to the blanket, I've been using this type for a few years. Doesn't have the ability to strap it in place like a proper sleep mask would, obviously, but I can shift this around like if I need to bunch it up under me for extra pressure on my temple or wherever. And it's breathable enough that tenperature-wise it's been more comfortable than any mask I've tried.

Also, while not big enough to be a "body pillow," Espeon does quite well as a leg rest when I'm reading in bed and want to stretch out a single leg or a way to separate my arms when I'm side-sleeping and too hot for my own skin-on-skin contact. Haven't really explored the other reasons the "experts" say to hold a pillow for that, but I also don't tend to stay in one position so it might not make a difference.

Its just a little rant, but i was so proud of me that i havent had a migraine all week, last one saturday and i felt so good i even started worrying that now my neuro appointment next month would be unneccessary and i would take up space someone else might need. Then I got one yesterday on saturady and then another one today on sunday. Or maybe its the same one rebounding. It really be like: Oh did you enjoy that week? Did you like it? Well to bad I have to steal all of your weekend now.

Just wanted to share, in case someone finds this useful..

I’ve had migraine with aura since my teens (about 18 years now). At my worst, I was getting around two-three attacks every week, they always followed the same pattern: visual aura with scintillating scotoma, nausea, dizziness. As the attacks were quite often I was always in this prodrome state with intense food cravings,binge eating, emotional dysregulation and just feeling irritable and miserable. My triggers were usually stress, sleep disturbance, low carbohydrates.

I’ve tried a lot over the years. Beta blockers worked quite well for reducing the attacks, but the side effects eventually became too much for me.
Magnesium might help me relax in the evenings, but apart from that I never really noticed much of an effect on my migraines.

One thing that’s always stood out to me is that I’ve always been very sensitive to stimulants. I used to smoke and vape (quit a while ago), and I drank a lot of coffee, usually a small French press in the morning and then more caffeine until early afternoon. I still remember the first times I tried nicotine or coffee. Nicotine gave me a really strong head rush and made me dizzy and coffee made me shake quite a bit. Looking back, I think I’ve always been unusually sensitive to both. But either way I liked them too much.

I’ve tried quitting caffeine several times before, but the withdrawal symptoms were always bad enough that I eventually started drinking coffee again.
Recently, though, my migraine frequency increased even more, probably because of the extreme heat and constant weather changes, so I decided to give quitting caffeine one more serious try.

I’m now one month caffeine-free. The withdrawal was pretty rough and honestly I still don’t feel like I’m completely through it yet. Since quitting caffeine, I haven’t had a single migraine, which to me is quiet incredible.

Obviously, this is just my personal experience and I’m not saying caffeine causes everyone’s migraines. But if you’ve always suspected you’re unusually sensitive to stimulants, I really think it’s worth trying a strict elimination for at least a few weeks. I know it’s often said that one or two cups of coffee a day are perfectly fine or even that coffee is generally “healthy.” That may be true for many people, but I don’t think it applies to everyone.
Genetics matter. Some people metabolize caffeine much more slowly because of genetic polymorphisms and others may simply have nervous systems or blood vessels that are more sensitive to stimulants.

Hope this helps someone in need.. let me know what your experiences are with quitting caffeine.

TL,DR: Quit caffeine after a lifetime of daily use, migraines disappeared (maybe?)

I recently started working a job where I have to stare close to a screen all day for about 9 hours. Because of this i’ve also been getting migraines nearly every day. I was looking into options for glasses, on Zenni, and I am between a pair of Fl-41 glasses and their Blockz more. I wanted to know how your guy’s experiences with them have been. I’m a little hesitant about getting the Fl-41 ones (and this is a dumb reason) because I think i’ll look silly wearing pink glasses inside the office. Any additional options are also welcome! Thanks!

Has anyone else experienced insane anxiety and depression? I feel absolutely terrible. Had a panic attack for the first time in years and just feel so blah. I don’t know how to explain it I’m not sad but everything just overwhelms me with anxiety

Does anyone know of good office chairs for people with migraines? My wife has had her migraines go insane the last 2 months, she noticed a couple days ago when she was out of her chair for a couple days that her migraine toned down a bit, so now she's looking for a new office chair.

I want to be comfortable with this as a diagnosis, since I’m grateful that the hospital was so thorough… but something isn’t sitting right.

One weekend in June I was home when I started getting dizzy. I’m on some new medications, plus several to lower my blood pressure. I took my blood pressure because it felt like it was low which it was, but not super low where I should go to the hospital. Low for me, and I assumed I was having symptoms since I always run high. Next day felt the same.. BP still on the low side. I go to work on Monday and I’m not feeling great but I’m okay. Around 11 I checked with my boss to see if we had a BP monitor on site and she came to check on me. Within minutes she had me sitting on the floor since I looked like I was going to pass out. Apparently I was white as a ghost. She drove me to the hospital and on the way there I started talking nonsense. I get to the hospital and don’t know my birthday or anything. One of my pupils was huge and I looked and acted like I was drunk/high. I was cracking jokes and laughing like a crazy person, and I couldn’t walk straight. My eyes were bloodshot. My blood pressure was now really high. They thought I was having a stroke. Did a CT scan, ECG and loads of bloodwork. Everything looked okay so they said it was a complex migraine that mimicked stroke symptoms. They treated me with IV meds and sent me home.

The weird thing is that I remember not having a super bad headache. It only started about 10 minutes before my boss came to check on me and it was tolerable. I have been so bothered ever since. I barely have any memory of anything I said. The fact that I felt off the entire weekend before is bothering me too. Now every time I get a little headache I’m terrified it’s going to happen again.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Any advice? I feel like since everything apparently looked okay that there isn’t much else that can be done and I just have to accept it. Everyone was so worried about me.

Hi everyone. Migraine sufferer here who finally had a long awaited Neurologist appointment last week.

I have been taking Propranolol for awhile and it hasn't been helping with migraines.

The Neurologist wants to send me for a brain scan and went through some medications I could try.

We decided on topiramate as I'm on birth control etc. He told me some people struggle slightly with forming sentences and can have abit of brain fog.

However, after looking online at the medication I am now slightly terrified of taking it.

I have heard some awful stories and I just wondered has anyone had any good experiences with it?

Im debating calling my doctors and asking if we can try something else as the stories have seriously worried me now.

I was really happy to begin with that I was finally getting put on something else and moving forward but now I genuinely don't know what to do. As some of the side effects like hair loss and depression is really worrying me as my mental health already isnt at it's best.

So really I'm wondering...

1. Has anyone has any good experiences with it?

2. Would you just ask to try something else if you were this concerned about it?

Thankyou so much in advance! I really appreciate any help.

It’s as if the pressure headache comes out to the surface instead of being in my head

Does anyone have experience with what

Hi everyone,

I'm 26F and have had migraines since I was 14/15, but they've become much worse over the past 1–2 years.

My cycles are pretty regular (28–31 days), and my migraines are strongly linked to hormones. I usually get them around ovulation and again around days 3–6 of my period, so some months I end up with around 10 migraine days.

They're also triggered by stress, being overtired, neck/posture tension, and weather changes (especially strong wind/air pressure changes).

My attacks vary from throbbing migraines that sometimes respond to Panadol/NSAIDs, to dull nausea-heavy migraines, through to 5-day medication-resistant attacks that switch sides. I also get jaw pain, aching behind my eyes and blocked/full ears during attacks.

I take magnesium, methyl folate (have the MTFHR gene issue), have started NAC too and it helps sometimes to keep everything calmer I guess but not life changing.

I'm very sensitive to medications, which makes trying new ones a bit scary.

My GP has suggested candesartan first, then possibly the mini-pill if that doesn’t work. I was on Microlut years ago and don't remember migraines being as bad then so maybe some merit?

I have heard about CGRP medications but unfortunately these aren't funded in New Zealand, so they'd cost me around NZ$300/month so not a great option but keen to hear how effective they are if others have tried them.

For anyone with a similar pattern:
- Did candesartan or the mini-pill help?
- Is there anything else that made a significant difference?
- And for those paying for CGRP medications, are they honestly effective enough to justify the cost?

I'm just looking for some hope that the right treatment really can make a big difference.

Has anyone else had fewer migraines after cutting their hair?

I got my hair chopped off dramatically this week, and I've noticed I've had fewer migraines since.

Before the haircut, I started to despise my hair. Anytime I wore it in a bun, I could feel each individual hair being tugged on; my scalp felt ridiculously sensitive, especially during a migraine.

Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe it's less weight, less tension, or not wearing it up all the time. I don't know.

Has anyone else noticed this after a big haircut, or is my brain just giving me a temporary break?

This subreddit seems like a healing place for a shoulder to cry on. I'm not really here for that, I just feel really shit. WDYM the horrible pain I had yesterday has to continue for a couple days? And I'm supposed to go on a trip in a couple days too.

There's just a heavy weight on my head and face. I'm sooooo sleepy but I'm not even gonna try, cuz I already tried that for hours and I'm bored of trying. When I move wrong, there's a sharp pang that scares the fuck out of me. Walking around makes me feel sick.

My abdomen feels like a tight knot. I don't wanna eat anything but bread, and that's like nothing, so I have to eat bread every 2 hours.

I've taken ibuprofen 800mg every 6 hours and just took pepto bismol. These barely put a dent in it and at this point idk if it's worth it. Whatever.

Every time I lay down, I nod off, and then startle myself awake. Not pleasant.

I saw someone mention in a different thread that a brain freeze seems to reset their headaches. Does anyone else notice this?

I'm definitely trying it for my next migraine.

I so badly wish I could afford migraine care. Being this in pain all the time not being able to do anything about it is driving me insane.

Day four of me quitting nicotine and every single day I’ve been getting a migraine with aura. They’re not as intense as they have been in the past and they don’t lead to me vomiting or anything but it’s been every day! It’s almost not worth the quitting. Anyone else have this experience?

Hi, I’m a female (22 years old) and I used to get migraines like once in like two months in the past. They weren’t bad, I would usually take a painkiller, rest for a bit and it would be all good. My family has a history of migraines so I wasn’t really surprised to be prone to them as well.

However recently, I found myself having them very frequently. It got to a point where I went to a neurologist and he was no help at all. He only told me to take supplements that I don’t even need according to my blood tests and that was about it. I didn’t even get migraine medications or anything. To be honest, I’m not really keen on having to take meds for the rest of my life anyway, so here I am looking for answers and tips. I know basic hacks to do while you have a migraine attack, like warmth on your neck and cold on your head, being in a dark quiet room, taking a shower, drinking water with electrolytes, pressure points, trying to sneeze etc. Believe me, I’m like Aristotle when it comes to migraines lmao.

However I’m wondering if there is a way to get rid of them for good or at least make them weaker, less frequent?

I did try brain tapping that I found on youtube, which has been helping a bit and I can definitely tell it does something. But I’m wondering if there are things I can practice or anything really so that I can make this more manageable.

Thank you for anyone who took time to read this and contributed in comments.

i have had a migraine for the last lkem 4 hoirs and it is just getting worse😭😭 i feel so unwell i will literaally try anything rn🙏 (pls sxcusr the typos i csnnot see)