Migraines after practice

I did have an MRI after my last one. The neurologist said it is migraines, and that they are not happening frequently enough to warrant meds. He did give me something to take during, in the event it happens again. Bright sunlight reflecting off anything can cause temporary blind spots, and I too think like you, "here we go again." I just tell myself, give it a few minutes to settle before panicking. Off to the pool for me...

The headache wouldn't be bad, it's the aura, confusion, tingling in fingertips, lips, etc that I dread. It is like having a stroke. . Interesting - almost sounds like a hemiplegic migraine. I get them too, but more classic - typical prodromal fuzzy headedness, visual aura (fortification), light sensitivity, nausea, and then the pain.... I was getting them more frequently before I started swimming regularly, but occasionally a workout will trigger them. :( I just use abortives since I don't get them enough to warrant prophylactic meds. But they can still take me out for a couple of days. The best feeling is when one finally breaks. Ahhhhhh... Bottom line, migraines suck. I agree with whoever suggested keeping a migraine diary. There are so many possible triggers that keeping a log might be a good way of identifying a few likely culprits, and once those are identified, a good way to see which are the best to avoid (by themselves or in combination) -

Abortives describe medications that are used as needed to abort the problem once it starts. So for migraines, typical abortive meds are in the triptan class (e.g. Axert, Imitrex, Zomig, Relpax, Frova, etc.) but other prescription or OTC meds can be used, too, like NSAIDs. Axert and benadryl work well for me (in combination with sleep, usually). Preventives are usually prescibed meds that one would take daily to prevent the migraine from ever starting. Typically these are prescribed if you have more than 4 or so per month. The things your trying (e.g. NSAIDs before a headache, resting, drinking water) are preventive efforts. I'm glad that you're trying some things that seem to help, but sorry this one didn't seem to be the whole answer for you. Keep trying! Now I understand. Thanks. I've had Imitrex (knocked me out too much and roo painful) and Relpax (worked so-so). I have never heard of Axert. What is it? And I've done Topomax. It didn't help and the side effects weren't worth it. I'm going to keep trying. Next Monday we start our 2 hour summer practices. I go M, W and F for 2 hours but in a better pool. We'll see how it goes.

Interesting - almost sounds like a hemiplegic migraine. I get them too, but more classic - typical prodromal fuzzy headedness, visual aura (fortification), light sensitivity, nausea, and then the pain.... I was getting them more frequently before I started swimming regularly, but occasionally a workout will trigger them. :( I just use abortives since I don't get them enough to warrant prophylactic meds. But they can still take me out for a couple of days. The best feeling is when one finally breaks. Ahhhhhh... Bottom line, migraines suck. - I agree. Migraines suck! What are abortives? Sat I did my first 2 hour practice in weeks. I took 2 NSAIDs before, drank a lot before and rested half way through the workout. The headache wasn't as intense as in the past but I still got one. Still a work in progress to cure.

I agree. Migraines suck! What are abortives? Sat I did my first 2 hour practice in weeks. I took 2 NSAIDs before, drank a lot before and rested half way through the workout. The headache wasn't as intense as in the past but I still got one. Still a work in progress to cure. Abortives describe medications that are used as needed to abort the problem once it starts. So for migraines, typical abortive meds are in the triptan class (e.g. Axert, Imitrex, Zomig, Relpax, Frova, etc.) but other prescription or OTC meds can be used, too, like NSAIDs. Axert and benadryl work well for me (in combination with sleep, usually). Preventives are usually prescibed meds that one would take daily to prevent the migraine from ever starting. Typically these are prescribed if you have more than 4 or so per month. The things your trying (e.g. NSAIDs before a headache, resting, drinking water) are preventive efforts. I'm glad that you're trying some things that seem to help, but sorry this one didn't seem to be the whole answer for you. Keep trying!

Now I understand. Thanks. I've had Imitrex (knocked me out too much and roo painful) and Relpax (worked so-so). I have never heard of Axert. What is it? Hi there - Axert is in the same class of meds as Imitrex and Relpax. I personally like it a lot better than Imitrex which also knocked me out too much. I find Axert much less sedating and it worked better than Relpax for me. When my migraines were much more frequent, I was on Topamax for a while. Worked well at first but the side effects were too much (typical - foggy brain, hand tingling... the weight loss was nice :)... but mostly the difficulty word finding was the biggest problem) Anyway, how did your practice go this morning?

Seriously folks, these meds address the symptoms. Check out the root cause. ??... I'm guessing you didn't read the thread because that's where it started.... headache logs, etc... but if you did, I didn't realize we had to limit the discussion :) If it were only so easy... but truth is that root causes cannot always be discovered, and even if some triggers or causes are identified, they can't always be avoided. Glad you were able to find your solution and that it was so easily treated. lining the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies... heh, heh... Thanks for the chuckle - are genetics labs are that much different? :)

Hi there - Axert is in the same class of meds as Imitrex and Relpax. I personally like it a lot better than Imitrex which also knocked me out too much. I find Axert much less sedating and it worked better than Relpax for me. When my migraines were much more frequent, I was on Topamax for a while. Worked well at first but the side effects were too much (typical - foggy brain, hand tingling... the weight loss was nice :)... but mostly the difficulty word finding was the biggest problem) Anyway, how did your practice go this morning? I'll ask about Axert. Thanks. I had similar experiences with Imitrex and Relpax as well as Topomax as you. No swim today. I was out late at a meeting last night. I'll be back in tomorrow morning and off Friday as I'm going to the Neil Diamond concert tomorrow night. Time to :banana:

Seriously folks, these meds address the symptoms. Check out the root cause. I have no more issues with headaches once I got my genes tested and addressed the issue with supplementation. With this new frontier you owe it to yourself to get your genes tested and to go get a good analysis of them. Headaches were an early sign for me of a bigger issue. My body was telling me that there was something off. I was foggy, out of it for the most part, and just started forgetting things that I should not have at my age. It was so depressing that by chance I got my genes tested due to the recommendation of a nutritionist and now I'm feeling incredible. You can get your genes tested through www.23andme.com. It's cheap and easy. Lot's of good info. But to go further you need a professional set of eyes who can look for SNPs and markers that are related to headaches. This can be fixed without lining the pockets of the drug companies. Just my .02 and I mean no offense to anyone who loves drugs.

I said it was my opinion. I mean no offense. I just don't give much credence to meds anymore. Have a great rest of the week TPost2 None taken at all! Thanks - and happy swims to you :)