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[erbie]

So I used to get migraines before I was pregnant with my now 3.5 year old kid. I didn't get a single one while pregnant, and at least until she was 18 months old. I've only had about 3 or 4 since then. Until 2 weeks ago. I have had four in the last two weeks, including one last Friday and one today. And they start with the fun ocular/ophthalmic/

Comments

[lietya]

You're on a version of the Pill, right? My doctor said that migraines were a possible side effect of that; I *never* had one until I started it. So for it to vastly increase the frequency of yours is not unheard of. Don't freak out yet. :) Wait 'til the neurologist tells you to!

[erbie]

Yeah, but I've been on it for 5 months. You'd think it would have shown up before now.

[lietya]

Took about 4-5 months for it to manifest in me. Not that I know more than your doctors, but it's a possibility.

Have you tried Excedrin Migraine or something similar when you get the aura?

[erbie]

I just take ibuprofen with something caffeinated and that's been heading off the huge pain. I still feel like my head is being compressed in a vise or something, but the pain is bearable. Excedrin is just acetaminophen (sp?) with caffeine, right? Ibu works better for me. Tylenol never did a thing for me.

I'll talk to my Gyn about this too. I really can't go off the pill at this point. Frequent migraine auras have nothing on endo pain.

[firynze]

Migraines, for many women, are hormone-related. Your hormones may have steadied out in such a way while you were pregnant and steadily nursing that you just didnt' HAVE migraines. Now, you may be back to the old badness, only worse because you're no longer used to it.

*hug*

See the neuro, ask about preventatives. There's a number that aren't terribly side-effect-laden but really do the trick.

[erbie]

I don't mind the aura so much, it's kinda cool. And if I take ibuprofen when I first get the aura, I don't usually get (much of) a headache. I'm just worried that I'm having strokes or an aneurysm or something else bad like that. I'm already on three daily meds, I really don't want a fourth. And I'm going to be trying to get pregnant in August, so I really don't want to start anything. I've never had them badly enough or often enough to go on a preventative. (Until now?) And my hormones should be evenish, with the pill.

[wickedrad79]

I've been getting migraines for as far back as I can remember, like when I was a small child. Instead of getting opthalmic pressure or visual aura, I get a "gustatory aura"... a weird taste in my mouth. In addition to the sensitivity to light and sound, I get really sensitive to smells, too. I'm already predisposed to vomiting easily, always get nausea with the migraines, and of course there's this weird taste and trouble swallowing, so anything in pill form wasn't a good option. I finally got a prescription for the Imitrex auto-injector pen thing. I get some freaky-deaky side effects at first, but it works relatively quickly and is better than enduring several hours with a migraine. However, it costs SO much more than the other forms of Imitrex and many other options. It is a good thing my migraine spells spread out a bit.

[erbie]

I tried the inhaled Imitrex a few years ago, and I HATED it. I actually would rather have the headache than the Imitrex. I'm hoping that I'll get pregnant in the fall and not have to worry about the damn migraines for another 2.5 years or so.

Ugh, you get older and you start falling apart. In the last 3 years I've developed endometriosis, Gastroesophogeal Reflux, and now my migraines are coming with an aura and more frequently. And we can't forget the Spring allergies, which may or may not be part of hte problem with the migraines. Fun!

[erbie]

I've heard of the other-than-visual aura things. I had an auditory one the other day too. I can't imagine the gustatory ones. I also get the light and sound sensitivity, but mostly when I have the actual headache. Friday and today, I've managed to head off most of the pain, so I didn't get the sound and light sensitivity so much either. I also *kow* don't get the nausea. Before pregnancy, it was just the pain, after a short warning (sometimes) of a twitching lower eyelid, and the sound and light and chewing sensitivity. Now I get the aura too. Though the aura is kinda cool, if you're not freaked out that you're having visual distortions, and you know what it is.

[wickedrad79]

Yeah, the inhaled Imitrex made me throw up. I hated that stuff. It was the bitterest tasting stuff in the world, and you were supposed to shoot it up your nose, and it drips down to the back of your throat and tongue where your bitterness tastebuds are concentrated. And no matter how much water I'd drink afterwards, it wouldn't go away for hours. I have a ton of those hanging around in various drawers because I stopped using them. I've only used the injector twice so far, but I definitely like it better than the spray