Saturday, 15 January 2011
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Pregnancy and Migraines
For as long as I can remember, I have had migraines. It took my mother two years to convince my doctor I had them. He finally prescribed me propranolol (or Inderal) when I was ten years old.
Yes, that’s right ladies, I was on a blood pressure medication since I was ten years old; this drug has a side effect that prevents migraines.
Of course, the medication did not prevent all of my migraines. In fact, most my life I let the ignorance about migraines bounce off me as if they were just your everyday headache.
At any rate, by the time I was in my mid-twenties, I wanted to prepare my body to take care of these migraines naturally by staying away from all triggers – which as you know, is impossible. Neurologists recommended against it, my doctor was not happy with my decision, but I slowly weaned off my medication.
For the past four years I have been struggling. My days pass by in pain, my productivity goes down, and my Imitrex (reactive drug, rather than preventative) intake goes up. My pharmacist boyfriend encouraged me to get back on the propranolol.
I have already noted that the propranolol is helping, but obviously I will not be taking medications while pregnant. We are planning on starting our family in about five years; I will be about thirty-three.
There have been times my migraines feel so horrible that I am crying over a puke bucket feeling like I will never be able to do it. Do you have any similar stories, believing you would not be able to survive pregnancy because of your chronic migraines?
Please, if you have been pregnant and suffer from migraines, can you please help me? I have been doing a lot of research, but I want to hear testimonies. My mom said she had a 9 month “on-the-verge-migraine” It was a constant throb, but it never elevated to the intense pain. My aunt actually had a migraine while giving a natural child birth and said the migraine hurt more than giving birth!
Have you had a similar background to me? How did you prepare yourself for a possible 9 month migraine? Did you find anything that helped ease the pain?
I am already planning on staying away from every possible edible trigger, but is there anything else I should know? Is your sense of smell even more sensitive when pregnant? Did you happen to notice the severity being more or less than when you were not pregnant? Have you tried bio-feedback and if you did, did it help?
I quite possibly have a million questions, so anything you can let me know, I would greatly appreciate.
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About the Author
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- From: ecstatic_tranquility@xanga
- About Me: I have learned that I want to follow the Lord with all my heart, daily, with every moment.
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Comments (22)
I have never had migraines but being that I am 11 weeks pregnant, I have begun suffering from tension headaches which are typically normal during the first trimester. With my first pregnancy, I never remembered suffering from headaches, though that was 4.5 years ago, so I became worried and started researching. While reading some articles, I noticed that it mentioned pregnancy can actually help to relieve migraines for women who suffer from it. Though, I don't know the validity of this information, I thought it was interesting and maybe can help to ease some of your concerns.
@babixk1umzy@xanga - I don't have scientific backing for it, but my migraines did stop during both of my pregnancies. I threw up for 8 & 9 months, respectively. My back & hips killed me, and my blood pressure skyrocketed during the second one. But no migraines. I take Imitrex, but didn't need anything while I was pregnant.
Your sense of smell is DEFINITELY stronger when you're pregnant. Although I haven't had any migraines, I have been getting more headaches which my doctor said is a normal part of pregnancy. Smell definitely plays a part in that for me...some smells just trigger a headache for me so I try to avoid them. The other thing that I've noticed is that I need to be careful with how much I sleep. Although I'm constantly tired now, if I get more than 9 hours of sleep a night, I wake up with an awful headache. If I can I also take a 1 hour nap during the day to make sure I'm not oversleeping at night.
The only things I can suggest to help with headaches in pregnancy is keeping yourself hydrated, staying away from anything that could trigger a headache (smells, food, oversleeping, etc), and (if your doctor allows it) you can take regular strength Tylenol during pregnancy but NOT two at a time.
Hope this helps!! :)
I've suffered from migraines since I was a kid too, and got worried how I'd deal with it when we'd gotten pregnant. I suffer from Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertetion, and Imitrex is my drug of choice as well - have you tried their new med, for th elife of me I can't think of the name of it now, but it's Imitrex with Naproxen. Anyway, to be honest I had few migraines when I was pregnant. I had less than a handful actual migraines, the others were that on-the-verge headache. My OB prescribed me Esgic (I thin kthat's the name) for the on-the-verge ones, and it worked for me. I knew that there wasn't much that I could take for the migraines, and it all worked out in the end.
I'm not a chronic migraine sufferer (like my mom), but I used to get an incapacitating migraine a couple of times a year. I didn't have a single one during my pregnancy though. I had normal headaches more often than before I was pregnant, but they usually responded to Tylenol, especially if I took it right away. In fact, I didn't have another migraine until my period returned 7 months postpartum. I've never been on any prescription meds for my migraines though, so I don't know how much my experience will help you. Still, I went much longer while pregnant/nursing without a migraine. I hope you will too!
I very rarely get migraines while not pregnant, but they are the bane of my 1st trimester. Every week or so I would get one that was simply debilitating. My OB/GYN prescribed something that was pregnancy-safe. It basically had tylenol, caffeine, and one other active ingredient. It did nothing.
During my second pregnancy, I learned that slowly sipping on Mountain Dew takes the throbbing out of my eyes and from there I can at least function (though not comfortably). That's the best treatment I've found yet.
Honestly though, drinking LOTS of water (Not juice, not lemonade, not soda - which is hard for me) helps stave them off better than anything else, with decent sleep being next in line.
You might have a pinched nerve in your neck causing them. I would recommend getting a truly trustworthy chiropractor (hard to find, but worth it once you do) to see if he can help. Mine can knock out a migraine so quickly, all you can do is sigh and thank him...and they return less often. Every friend I have goes to him and they all report that. I'll give him a try next pregnancy when I have migraines again.
@babixk1umzy@xanga - Thank you for posting! I have heard that, too. I know many women get their migraines as a result of their menstrual cycle - so that makes sense. I just had my "period migraine" (I call it) - so, perhaps I will have 9 less migraines while pregnant! : ) Thanks again.
@kristinabean@xanga - Thank you for sharing! I believe someone in my family (who typically suffered from migraines) had a migraine free pregnancy. I can definitely handle throwing up without a migraine! haha.
@CecilliaMarie@xanga - YIKES! I guess I only assumed the sense of smell got more sensitive, but I suppose I wanted a confirmation :)... I hate being so sensitive to smells. Thank you for the sleep advice! I am definitely going to keep that in mind when we start planning.
@MrsEOD_2004@xanga - I actually have hypostatic hypertension... wonder if they could do some research on how it all correlates with the migraines. :-p I have heard of that drug, Topomax? Is that the one? I figure, imitrex does get rid of my migraines, so I figure why try anything else. My Boyfriend talks about topomax a lot (again, he's a pharmacist). He also recognized the drug you were refering to for the "on the verge" headaches. I am DEFINITELY going to be asking my doctor about that one. Thank you!
@mevlink@xanga - Thank you... I keep telling myself that perhaps they won't be as horrible when I am pregnant... I have "practiced" by not taking medications to see what happens, and they just get worse. When I was a kid, I had a chronic one once a week. I would come home from school and go straight to my "sick room," throw up all night, and by 6am, it was gone and back to school! I don't get them as often as when I was a kid, but I definitely don't bounce back like that. I will throw up all night, and feel somewhat relieved, but then it's almost as if another one comes back! I decided to stop "practicing" enjoy non-pregnant life, and see what happens. :-/ Thanks again for your input. I'm keeping my fingers crossed : )
@smile4iluvya@xanga - I love the "it did nothing." : ) That's typically the boat I am in for migraines. SOMETIMES, very rarely, if I catch it within the first minute (typically, I'm still in denial that it'll be a migraine), if I take an advil (or the like) I won't get the migraine. I kind of made an agreement with myself that I won't take anything when I'm pregnant, because I have a feeling nothing will work. Someone else mentioned something I'm going to check out with my doctor... I wonder if it's the same thing. Plus, caffeine is one of my triggers : ( THANK YOU for the random soda advice. Migraines are SO weird. I've noticed Fiji water helps prevent them, so my guy will be spending half his income on that when we're pregnant, haha. I'm definitely going to have to remember to stay hydrated, that you for enforcing it! My friend also mentioned a chiropractor. It may be quite possible, because when I was younger I only had migraines on the left side... when I went to college (writing a lot of papers and spending half my life on the computer)... I started to develop a crick on the right of my neck - which now evolves into migraines. Thank you for making me more aware... This is probably something I will now check out when I am pregnant.
I have been getting migraines about once monthly and since I was about 6 years old. The first three months of my first pregnancy I constantly had a migrane. During that time all the helped me was eating fruit and laying on my couch all day under a blanket. Theres really not much I could do to prevent or help it. :/ I have only been getting tension headaches this time around, but I havent found anything that helps that either... Good luck.
@alayshaj@xanga - thank you for your honesty. I have a feeling that is what is in store. My friends think I'm crazy (planning FIVE YEARS in advance), but none of them get migraines... I have noticed that all of my "relief" positions probably won't be very doable further along in a pregnancy... so, I have been trying new ones. But, under a blanket is where you may find me :)
One of my worst fears is having migraines during pregnancy. My husband I plan to start family in about a year, I get severe migraines weekly. (I have gotten them frequently since about age 6.) I just recently decided to take on my migraines and headaches without any medications, the weather is a huge trigger for me, and I have no idea what to do when those migraines happen. I guess we should wish ourselves luck...
@xpika1x@xanga - good luck to you in your planning. I just texted my mother the other day that people really don't understand: I'm more fearful of the migraines during the pregnancy than the natural child birth that I hope to have! I'm sure you feel the same way. I really wish the best for you and hope you find something that will naturally relieve your migraines. Best of luck!
@ecstatic_tranquility@xanga - To you too! I totally understand the fear. I'm trying out a chiropractor soon, lets hope it helps!
I was on Topomax for about 5 years or more actually. *lol* I will say that it did help keep them at bay - they were awesome when we ewre stationed near the coast a few years ago, and again now that we're back. BUT, I think it killed my sex drive - or the combo of it and my BC - and I didn't realize it until I came off of it before we tried to get pregnant last year. I don't remember tha tbeing a side effect listed, but I do know that it got better when I got off of it. My old doctor who prescribed it to me first, his MIL got on it and dropped 25 lbs becuase it changed the taste of her food. I wasn't that fortunate, and my food taste never changed, but it is recorded to help with weight loss in a lot of people. My mom was actually theone who turned me on to it, she got on it to help with her migraines and epilepsy, and it didn't help too much with hers so she got off of it. I think it's just one you need to try to see if it helps or not. I loved that it helped with mine, especially in the spring when the pollen kicked up like crazy (and agin with the bariatric pressure now that we're back on the coast), but I like my sex drive more. *lol* I may go back on it in the future, but for now I'm off of it since I'm still breastfeeding. Hope you're able to find something tha tworks for you!! :)
I actually work for a couple who are Chiropractors (one of whom is a new mom). I know that she encourages women to be seen through out their pregnancies and after (she grew up being seen by a chiropractor as well).
I have been under chiropractic care for over eleven years now, and I can honestly tell you that every time I had a major blinding migraine it was because something was wrong with my spine. As soon as I saw my doctor (chiropractor) it went away. I was also in a major mountain biking accident, I had whip lash to the spine (top of my neck all the way down to my tail bone) and all the ER doctors could do was prescribe T3's for me....for the rest of my life (or as long as the pain lasted). Thankfully my mom stepped up and refused. That started my commitment to making sure my health is taken care of. Treat the actual problem and the symptoms will then be cured.
I would look into seeing a chiropractor, see if you can find one that has a focus on women & pregnant women at that. Do not be worried about the stories you hear about Chiropractors, if you can find one that perhaps a family member or a friend is seeing then that's great. You should also feel comfortable with them. If for whatever reason when you have your initial consult you don't like the "vibe" then that's fine, find another one.
Hope that helps :)
I'm the same way...suffering from sinus headaches, tension headaches & then just your straight up migraines nearly every day. Now, i'm 16 weeks pregnant, not on any of my migraine medications, & though for the first month i just had morning sickness, my migraines have now come back full force, & to be honest they're KILLING ME. I don't really know what to do about it, considering most migraine medicines are extremely unsafe during pregnancy. I took Nortriptyline at night for it, which helped a bit before the pregnancy, but when they put me back on it during, it didn't help at ALL, & i had a heavy bleeding scare & cramping around the same time. So I said screw this, & stopped taking it completely. Now i'm just taking Tylenol all the time...& honestly it barely does a thing. If anyone has any great remedies i'd love to hear them, but sadly I don't have much advice to give as i'm struggling myself.
@MrsEOD_2004@xanga - thank you :) Oh boy - do I know the pressure - ouchy! Sometimes even when a storm is coming in, my head is throbbing, and when it passes (it never completely goes away on its own) but the pressure in my head goes down... migraines are so weird.
@preferablyablonde@xanga - thank you for sharing. a couple people recommended a chiropractor and the more I hear it, the more open I am to it. I did start getting the on both sides (rather than just my left) when i got this crick in my neck in college, so it would make sense for half the migraines i get! Thanks again... Oh, and Tylenol 3? That's no good. My boyfriend interned at a hospital that just gave migraine suffers morphine... I completely agree with you!
@lonely_girl505@xanga - thank you for your honesty... I have a feeling I will be in a similar boat.. I am so sorry to hear what you are going through though. I truly feel there would be more action in the medical field if more doctors would accept how miserable than they are, rathen than focusing on the fact that they are not life threatening. : ( I really wish you the best with your pregnancy. My mom keeps telling me that you can get through it knowing you want your baby to be safe - which of course I will - but that doesn't make me any less fearful of the pain of a migraine. Good luck to you and be blessed.
I don't have migraines all of the time, but I do get them. Usually due to lack of sleep, stress etc. Oddly enough, I did not have any while I was pregnant either time.
It seems like your case is quite clinical and unmanageable without medication, and that's unfortunate. If smell is a trigger, then being pregnant will magnify that tenfold. Sense of smell increases GREATLY when pregnant; smells that didn't even phase me while not pregnant made me gag when I was.
I hope you are able to find an alternative to manage your migraines and deal with pregnancy. Good luck to you!
I had migraines occasionally before I became pregnant (I'm now 27 weeks). I started seeing a chiropractor because I was having the same headache constantly daily, starting in month 4. The chiropractor I am seeing is really good and has certification in the Webster technique, which is developed for pregnant women.
My daily headaches are gone! My chiropractor is a lifesaver because now I'm not using any medication to handle my headaches because they are non-existant at this time.
My older sister had a nerve block done several months ago to help control her migraines. She loves it. Its temporarily permanent, if that makes sense. And a friend of hers was prescribed a lidocaine patch while pregnant to dull the sensation in addition to the nerve block.
I have also heard wonders about acupuncture. I'm seriously looking into both of those in about 5 years when I would like to start a family. I'm currently on trazadone, an antidepressant, for mine. Not approved for pregnancy, and probably not for breastfeeding.
But I am right there with you ladies in the boat. Before I started the trazadone, I was taking Midrin (tylenol+caffeine+something else) for migraines before, and when caught early enough, worked just fine. Until the day I felt like my brain exploded and the almost month long migraine started. I am now completely controlled on the trazadone, and am dreading the 9 months I know I will probably have to come off of it.
I did a research paper on alternative treatments for migraines during my Bachelors for nursing. Yoga is also supposed to be a great relief, probably because it controls stress. There was quite a bit of research on acupuncture as well.
I will be having a talk with my neurologist in July after I get married about what he thinks about pregnancy + migraines. We are not planning kiddos yet, I would like to finish my nurse pracitioners first, but accidents can happen and I want to be prepared.
Good luck to everyone. =)
I am 38 weeks and have suffered from migraines since day 1 of this pregnancy. I have had them in the past but I am told that I am in the unlucky 25 percent who have an increase in migraine severity and frequency. The best advice I can give is to make your bedroom a sanctuary. DH put up light blocking window treatments and went through several brands of scented candles until he found one that didn't make vomit. When I have a migraine I can at least be in a calm room that doesn't add to the pain. As far as being scared to take pain medication, if you are like me you will not be able to keep that up for long. My OB and I discussed all the risks of preventative meds and typical treatment (i.e. imitrex) and I decided to go with a narcotic pain reliever that I take as needed only. It is scary to think that my baby is exposed to this med but my OB assured me that hundreds of thousands of women have taken pain medication without harm to LO. In fact, OB was insistent that being without pain relief could cause harm (in one attack that landed me in the ER, my blood pressure rose to 160/110). We went with the "happy mama, happy baby" theory along with typical risk/benefit analysis. I realize that many moms feel that taking so much as a Tylenol is abhorrent but I had to do what was best in my situation. My baby boy is not here yet but I he is a very healthy size and VERY active so I do not believe he is suffering any ill affects. When you decide to become a mom and if your migraines do increase, find an OB who will be sympathetic and not dismiss the severity. My OB classified me as high-risk for the migraines so I could be seen every 2 weeks rather than monthly. Good luck to you and stay optimistic as many women have less severe migraines during pregnancy!
NOTE: I was given an MRI to check that there was not another cause of my migraines and I have been evaluated for preeclampsia very closely so expect some extra tests as a migraineur mom.
hey guys....my name is jenna...i have been suffereing with migraines since i was and am currently 25. they are chronic and always result in my throwing up for hours straight. when i was about 9 or ten i began taking excedrin to cope with the acute attacks. after several months by body became immuned and took sadly almost 4 pills at a time to get the migraine gone. most of the time the excedrin didnt even work and then i began throwing up blood from the massive amount of asprin intake. Anyways, i then began taking zomig 5mg. i took the for about 11 years when i began taking Elavil daily and Treximet (its a new pill of imitrex and naporxen combined). Elavil helps me sleep and in fact i can easily sleep 12 hours straight. this has helped since i am an agitated sleeper and would often wake up with a migraine. if you suffer from migraines, you know the ones you wake up with are the worst as you have been marinating in pain while you sleep for hours and the excrusiating pin you finally wake up to is far to sever to cope with meds. i cant truly say my migraines have lessened or less severe. they are fluxuating and personally every one is horrible to me. i cant classify on a 1-10 scale because if i didnt take medicine for accute attacks a "1" migraine will ineviatably turn into a "10".
Anyways, my husband and i were recently married last july and anticipate having kids next summer may 2012 when i graduate from college(i was in the navy for 4 years and just finishing my degree). i would love to get off my meds now to prepare, but with the stress of school and my degree my number one priority i will ocntinue to take my meds until i graduate. we just recently began a hunt for an OB in our area to begin the process. i have been told my numerous doctors that it is important to get off my medicine atleast 3 months before trying. i was told that after medicine for 17 years, it is important to flush it out of your system before concieving.
i fear this process so much. no one truly relates to it unless they endure the pain attached with migraines. my husband who has watched me "die" in bed all day, hurled over the toilet and demanding quiet still truly does not understand the magnitude of stress that is encompassed in suffering from this disease.
i know this process is going to be tough and as a women feel defeated and helpless. i am addicted to my medicine and want a baby more then i can explain. writing this just makes me want to cry and makes me feel inadiquite as a woman. i need advice, words of encouragement, anything!!!!!
I got regular headaches all my life and when I was pregnant I had bad mornign sickness all 9mnths and back pain but no headaches. its been a month after i had my daughter and ive just started to get super bad chronic headaches