Go to your doctor or if your symptoms continue to be this severe head to the ER- Migraines are a severe medical condition and can cause stroke in some Migraineurs.

I have a family history of migraines of my grandmother is one of seven girls and three of them died from strokes which have been attributed as Migrainous Strokes by my aunts doctor who has been looking into our family history to determine a course of treatment for her. I've also had cousins and other extended family members who have died of Migrainous Strokes and many more who have suffered complications because of them.

Our entire family suffers from a rare type of migraine which has an extended aura and neurological effects, and most of the traditional migraine medications cannot be used in our case. I get migraines about three times a month, and about every couple of months I get one that is bad enough to land me in the hospital. When I have my migraines, I can tell they are coming on because I loose feeling in my left arm and have aura symptoms in advance. I know when this happens I have a few hours to find myself a quiet dark place. I am extremely sensitive to light, sound, smells and touch when I have them and I experience extreme nausea. In the worst cases I loose motor skills and cannot walk or speak. Twice they have caused siezures.

I am under orders from my doctor to check myself in anytime I have the headache symptoms for more than a few hours because of the chance that I could have a siezure or a stroke.

That's terrible.  My sister gets them so bad she vomits  The only quick remedy for her was when I would put pressure between her thumb and index finger. (The meaty part, not just the webbing) Or pressure on the ear lobes, it can be uncomfortable if you have pierced ears though.  If either of those failed she would take Excedrin for migraines.

I have basilar migraines.[neurogenic symptoms abound] There are many differnt types of migraines. No migraine can cause shortness of breath according to any site I can find. [johns hopkins, neuroweb, mayo, etc.,...]
Shortness of breath with a severe headache and fatigue can actually be several conditions including the beginnings of viral pneumonia.
There is also a nasty virus going around here in Ca. Several members of the family have it,[my turn right now.]
It causes severe headaches, deep fatigue[feels like a drugged sleep], weakness, and shortness of breath. Have to use inhaler several times a day.
Once the headache begins to die down[about three days], people are getting nausea, some with rashes, aches and pains, more fatigue and rotten breathing trouble.
Drs are saying to use inhalers or steam as needed, rest and drink lots. It is a virus.
If I were you, I would go to a good dr and make sure you dont' have it, or something else, should this continue.

FYI-SOME migraines can cause stroke. most are the classic variety and dont' cause any trouble but rotten symptomology.

Good luck and feel better Hon.
Joyce

EDITED TO ADD>... what med did you take? Even if you never had a reaction to it, it is possible to get one. Got to rxlist.com and check out the possible side effects. Breathing thing might be one of them. Check with your doc to make sure you should have it again.

I used to get them all the time and then I got a divorce! Seriously, I can't remember having one since then, except when I'm dehydrated from drinking too much.

It seems like everything can potentially be a trigger...food, sleep habits, stress, hormones.

Try to figure out what it is that may be triggering it. Make sure to write down exactly when you have them and what you ate before, did you sleep well, exercise before, etc. You may find a pattern in there somewhere. Cut out anything that may be a trigger and then add each thing back in one at a time to see if that was the cause. It sucks that the meds aren't working well for you

Hope you get to feeling better soon!

I get them too. Mine started after I turned 40. My first one I actually thought I had a slight stroke. I lost feeling in one side of my face and arm. I had all the tests done and I'm fine. Mine are tied to my hormones. I have a 3 week window and I never know when  in that 3 week time frame I will get it but I do. I was also told mine might go away with menopause,we'll see. I don't wish migraines on anyone,and I hope you feel better soon.

My daughter gets them - generally around her period and depending upon what she eats.  She can not eat sodium nitrate or MSG or sorgum.

Patty

Quoted: My daughter gets them - generally around her period and depending upon what she eats.  She can not eat sodium nitrate or MSG or sorgum. Patty

That's when I get them too, Patty.  A few days before the onset of my period.  They make me sick to my stomach, too.  Usually excedrin migraine will at least take the edge off, but even vikes or furinol won't make them go away completely, they just have to run their course.  I also get vicious sinus headaches, and I'm very prone to sinus infections.  My doctor told me I have "very petite nasal passages".  Great.  The only thing petite about me has to be that.  So I deal with that on a daily basis.  I literally wake up with a headache every morning.  But it's controllable with ibuprofin.  Which lead probably lead to an ulcer, but it's always something, isn't it?

my mom was having pretty bad headaches, associated with her period, several years ago

ive noticed i have a dull headache, which is difficult to get rid of , the day before my period starts, for the last few months

nothing like what you ladies describe, though  

Mine is around my periods,but within a 3 week window and I never know when it will land. Either the week before,during or just after. I'm so blessed.

Quoted: Here's a question - how do you know when it's bad enough to go to the hospital? !

I think it is different for everyone. My doctor would like me to go in sooner than I usually do; but I usually go in if I can tell that I am going to loose motor function completely (because if I can't talk, I can't tell people when I do need to go in, and I know that for me this is a precursor to siezures; and it also scares my husband when I can't talk) or if it lasts long enough that I know it is going to be a status migrainous attack.

Quoted: Anyone get migraines?  I had one so bad today that I honestly thought I was dying, and the medication that normally works for me all the time did nothing.  On top of that, I kept dozing off only to wake up gasping for breath.  I'm a little freaked out.  Advice?

Have you ever had a CT scan or MRI?

Quoted: Quoted: Have you ever had a CT scan or MRI? No.. when I first started getting migraines as a teen, they did an EEG to rule out epilepsy (worried about my aura symptoms) but it came out normal.  There were some who were surprised that I did indeed exhibit brain activity, but that's another issue.

I think I would ask for a CT scan, to rule out any anomalies, but then I'm pretty paranoid about headaches these days

I was getting frequent 3-day long debilitating migraines  (nausea, vomiting, light and sound sensitivity,  auras) and went to a specialist. He told me to give up chocolate, wine and cheese (all fermented). I went to a new doctor instead. He gave me  a perscription for one of the new TRIPTAN drugs (naratriptan, sumatriptan, etc... there are several). Now when I get the first symptom, I take one tablet. If after an hour there is no relief starting, I take a second one. Within an hour I usually am feeling better...within 3 I forget about the headache. I can drive and perform other critical functions, including pie.  Those pills returned my life to normal instead of the hell I had before.

I used to laugh at people that had "Debilitating Headaches", until I had my first migrane; three days of light sensitivity and nausea made me a believer.

I hope you feel better soon.

Imitrex (sumatriptan) is your friend.  The shots are MUCH more effective than the pills or nasal spray.  My physician said if that didn't solve the problem, he had some narcotics that would make me forget about my headache.

Quoted: Quoted: Imitrex (sumatriptan) is your friend.  The shots are MUCH more effective than the pills or nasal spray. Hmm... you're the second person I've heard that from.  I might have to test it out.  Do the shots knock you out or have other side effects?

No side effects that I've experienced.  The pills just don't work for me, and the nasal spray isn't much better.  I can take the injection and be back on my feet in 15-20 minutes.  I think that the effectiveness of the triptan drugs is directly proportional to the rate of adsorption; an injection delivers the dose all at once.

Quoted: No side effects that I've experienced.  The pills just don't work for me, and the nasal spray isn't much better.  I can take the injection and be back on my feet in 15-20 minutes.  I think that the effectiveness of the triptan drugs is directly proportional to the rate of adsorption; an injection delivers the dose all at once.

Wow - I wish that it would work for me that way. Imitrex is actually one of the drugs that make my attacks worse. Thus far none of the drugs have worked for me, but they've got me in clinical trials for some new ones.

Hence the importance of figuring out what triggers them. The meds are hit and miss...

Quoted: Quoted: Anyone get migraines?  I had one so bad today that I honestly thought I was dying, and the medication that normally works for me all the time did nothing.  On top of that, I kept dozing off only to wake up gasping for breath.  I'm a little freaked out.  Advice? Have you ever had a CT scan or MRI?

You need to do this ASAP!!!!

I lost my 40 year old girlfriend back in January due to a brain aneurysm.
She was constantly plagued with severe migraine headaches, but never
sought any treatment.

Do not ignore a potential problem! GO NOW!!!

Quoted: Quoted: Imitrex (sumatriptan) is your friend.  The shots are MUCH more effective than the pills or nasal spray. Hmm... you're the second person I've heard that from.  I might have to test it out.  Do the shots knock you out or have other side effects?

For about 2.5 years, I had severe facial neuralgia, which would kick off terrible migraines.  The only thing that worked for me was Imitrex injections.  One of the possible side effects is anxiety attacks.  Sometimes after an injection I couldn't sit in one place for long, or I would feel like I was having trouble breathing.

Luckily, my problems just stopped but they never found the cause.

My first migraine they did a MRI to make sure there was nothing else going on.

Good luck.

I have had migraines since I was nine years old. I usually get really bad nausea and even have thrown up a few times. I have the symptoms of a few different types of migraines. When I was in high school the doctors tried to find medications to help me but none worked. Now I just take tylenol and ibuprofen and it dulls the pain enough that I can function.  Migraines run in my family and I just hope and pray that my daughter doesn't get them.

I know someone who has had migraines since she was a toddler at least.  After years of testing, they discovered that she cannot process potassium.  This causes the migraines in her case.  She told me that migraines require medicine to alleviate inflammation in addition to pain.

------ANYONE------
   with persistant migranes should get a CT scan or MRI immediately.
The imaging technology is there, take full advantage of it.  I work with several
doctors and they are like mechanics in the sense that they will invaribly all
have a different diagnoses based on their own interpretations or experience.
And since what you don't know could kill you, a second opinion is a novel idea.

All the women on my mom's side have them...my grandmother was taken out of school in 8th grade because they were so bad, and she has had quite a few mini-strokes as she gets older

Most Migrains I can head off with Excedrine at the first signs, trying to relax, taking my hair down if its up and all that but, sometimes there is nothing that can be done but endure it. The bad ones are the kind you just want to curl up in a ball and die, but thankfully those ones only come rarely...normally once I think "I don't remember what that feels like" and then I get one...



ETA: You might want to check out the "eat right 4 your blood type" book and just look at what the no-no foods are for you blood type.  One of those might be unbalancing your system causing the migrain.  Most (not all though) painful experiances with our bodies are caused by an imbalance somewhere:  food, environment, parasite, etc.

My wife used ot get them, she woudl ahve to go and and get a shot for them... I get them more and being a man self medicate, I find that repetitive impacts where the pain is eithe rmake it hurt less or knowck me out (I used to use a hockey stick or baseballbat until I got married..... I am nto allowed anymore) codeine or percocet are also favorites of mine for migraines

Quoted: I used to get them all the time and then I got a divorce! Seriously, I can't remember having one since then, except when I'm dehydrated from drinking too much. It seems like everything can potentially be a trigger...food, sleep habits, stress, hormones. Try to figure out what it is that may be triggering it. Make sure to write down exactly when you have them and what you ate before, did you sleep well, exercise before, etc. You may find a pattern in there somewhere. Cut out anything that may be a trigger and then add each thing back in one at a time to see if that was the cause. It sucks that the meds aren't working well for you Hope you get to feeling better soon!

IMO, this is excellent Advice.

Also, are you DOING the flaxseed oil like I suggested? The role of EFAs (essential fatty acids) especially the omega 3's (best known source is from flaxseeds) in the development of a migraineis VERY likely QUITE important, but has not (like with MOST omega 3 deficiency disorders/diseases) hasn't received much research "attention". Considering the significance of platelet aggregation (stickiness of blood cells) and the role of arachidonic acid metabolites in  the mediation of the events LEADING to the prodromal reduced bloodflow to the brain (cerebral ischemia) of migraine, manipulationof dietary EFAsare likely VERY useful.It has been well demonstrated that reducing the consumption of animal (saturated) fats (they produce arichodonic acid along w/omega 6's) and INCREASING the consumption of fish (wild, NOT "farm-raised") fish, will SIGNIFICANTLY change platelet and membrane EFA ratios and DECREASE platelet aggregation.

Frankly, I believe through YEARS of research, and personal experience, THIS IS the "underlying cause" I used to get one about every day to every 3rd day on average, depending somewhat upon other factors, as I started the flax, I saw a slight decrease that kept going lower, now I MIGHT get one to "start" once in 2 months during good seaons, and ONCE a month in bad, but out of the last dozen, 1 "Excedrine Migraine" pill kicked those in 1/2 hour or so, one took 2. and about 1/5 hours. (I STARTED w/one, when that didn't work in an hour I too the second). OTHER factors CAN (and likely WILL) AFFECT the potential for a migraine to occur, but the deficiency of omega 3's IS the UNDERLYIN cause.

IOW. a tire loosing air, MIGHT be because it is OLD, and "balding", but it's the NAIL/screw that you ran over REALLY "causing" the MAIN problem. (Not a GREAT analogy... but I'm a bit "off" today ;)

OTHER "aggrivators" can be:

low serotonin levels
foods: food allergies, histamine releasing foods, histamine containing foods
alcohol, especially red wine
Chemicals such as: nitrates, MSG (monosodium glutamate),Nitroglycerin
Withdrawal from caffeine or other drugs that constrict blood vessels
Hormonal changes: Ovulation, menstruation, birth-control pills
Too little or too much sleep
Emotional changes: stressful situations, or strong emotions such as anger
Muscle tension
Weather: barometric changes (especially RAPID changes) or over-exposure to direct sun

Also hate to say it, but at the "top" of the "foods that most commonly induce migraines" is cow's milk.

In the Egger et al study: 67%, in Hughes et al study: 57%, and in the Monro et al study it was 65%.

Next highest was wheat:52%, 43% and 57% respectively.

Then Chocolate (likely caffeine related):55%, 57% & 26%

Then Egg: (sort of) 60%, 24%, 22%

So I'd start with those, to see if they seem to be/are a problem.

I can list the others if you don't see an issue w/those foods, if you'd like. Let me know.

A friend of mine used to make tea out of an herb (I'm pretty sure it was feverfew) that she was convinced helped prevent migraines. Might have just been a placebo effect, but may be worth a try.

Quoted: I know someone who has had migraines since she was a toddler at least.  After years of testing, they discovered that she cannot process potassium.  This causes the migraines in her case.  She told me that migraines require medicine to alleviate inflammation in addition to pain.

Seriously, flax oil is an anti-inflamatory, a GOOD one, I could get all technical, but as I already pretty much already DID that, I'll refrain, unless you want the "particulars".
Quoted:
All the women on my mom's side have them...my grandmother was taken out of school in 8th grade because they were so bad, and she has had quite a few mini-strokes as she gets older



The flax also reduces the incidence of strokes/mini strokes because of the reduction of platelet aggrigation. FWIW. However if anyone is on COUMADIN (blood thinner) you will want to check w/the doc as in: "I'm going to start taking 2G/flax oil a day, as it is a BLOOD THINNER, do you need to adjust any of my meds for my safety?" (if you ask if you can DO the flax, they will say "no" because that is EASIER than checking in their PDR (Physicians Desk Refrence) to see how they should adjust your meds) the ONLY drug interactions I can find is STRONG blood thinners, such as coumadin (I hope I'm spelling that correctly).

Quoted: A friend of mine used to make tea out of an herb (I'm pretty sure it was feverfew) that she was convinced helped prevent migraines. Might have just been a placebo effect, but may be worth a try.

Well, feverfew IS an anti-inflamatory...and there has been some suggestion that Feverfew imay inhibit chemicals that cause the blood vessels in your head to spasm. (and actually reduce spasms in general). But IMO, this is treating SYMPTOMS not fixing underlying PROBLEMS. However, perhaphs, I'd need to check my PDR for herbal remedies first though, to check side-effects and possible drug interactions, if anyone is seriously considering this possibility. I'm not HYPER familiar w/feverfew as I am of other herbs, but something is "niggling" that it might not be a great idea, maybe can cause mouth sores?? I can't recall, exactly....

Mrs GoGop gets migraines all the time, and has started some new medicine the doc gave her samples of. I'll try to find out the name of it tomorrow and post it up. She's zonked right now and I don't know where she keeps it.

Doubt this will help, but what the heck...

I moved to Texas from Germany, and started getting bad HAs.  Was going through the marriage from hell, which turned into the Divorce of Financial Ruination.  Doc said, "Migraine," and that sounded good to me.

Pain meds didn't help much.  I only took 2 or 3 of the Midrin he gave me, then flushed the rest.

The Phenergan he gave me worked the best - 25mg PO knocked me out - plus stopped the nausea, and brought the HA down to a manageable level.

I was getting about one HA a month, and I couldn't really work (construction).  I went back to the Doc (Int Med) a little more than 3 months ago, and pretty much told him I was gonna start kicking some behind if someone didn't figure out why I had these HAs.   Plus, we don't get any sick days from work, and they were getting angry.

He did another CT scan - everything was OK.

The doc had recently read an article about very bad sinus HAs getting mislabled as migraines.  He started me on a double dose of Claritin, told me to not use a ceiling fan when sleeping, and to turn up the AC (warmer) in the house.

I haven't had a HA in more than 3 months.

In retrospect, I can see why the Phenergan helped with the HA - it is an antihistimine.

Best of luck.

(hope I edited out all the bad words proir to posting...)

This is Mrs. GoGop.
What all medications have you tried. Do you have any allergy problems to other medications? I cannot take Ibuprophen,ketaprophen etc. One bad for the stomach. Cancels out blood pressure medications.

I have taken maxalt,topamax which can cause you to loose weight. It is also used for folks that don't want to go the route of lap band,or gastric pass maker.

Imitrex oral and shots. When I get them you are sensitive to sound,light,vomit,double vision,smells, etc. I have tried over 25 different kinds of medications. I have several allergy problems to meds and
I have alot of health issues. I would ask the doctor for a blister pack 2 tablets samples take only one a day. See if that works if it doesn't then move on to the ZONEGRAN (Zonisamide) capsules 50 mg.
One per day samples as well to see if they will work. The other starter kit is the same ZONEGRAN but in 100 mg capsules which are red/white.

Stress,caffeine,MSG is usually in chinese food and it causes trouble with folks that have blood pressure problems. If you were waking up and fighting for air to breathe look at the print out sheet and look at the adverse effects you could be having an allergic reaction.

Also try Webmd.com click in migraines and it will give a whole profile of causes and effects of them depends on each person what medications are being used. You can email a pharmacist and go back and forth for any additional help. Webmd.com is one of the best sites for medical problems.

I did the neurologist thing as well. The last two meds I listed by the time I use the last 100 mg starter kit I should never get migraines again. Something new and it has been a break through for most migraine suffers.

I am in pharmacy and a Certified Pharmacy Tech lll and go for my Law Exam. I have had so many different problems with health migraines I have just learned to live with them for now. This new medication is working but it will make you sleepy.  

I know coffee and tea can dehydrate you and bring on migraines in some folks. Drink lots of fluids,sports,drinks,etc. I can relate to you and hope this helps.

Try the website first look it over and it will have a tool bar for the medications they use and it will give you everything on side effects, and adverse effects you don't want. Think about the side effects which is worse the migriane or the side effects?

Wish you well and hope it gets better and God Bless have a great day and week. Email GoGop anytime.

Mrs. GoGop Or Ellie May on Missouri Whitetails.
I am the deer processor,duck,turkey, all game for GoGop.