Twitching like a crackhead

shannonalise

I have a problem with chronic headaches/migraines and the ONLY remedy for me is extra strength Excedrin Migraine. I take four at a time. I know that's awful and my liver is probably melting, but seriously... it's unbearable. Does anyone else have chronic migraines? What do you do? Excedrin doesn't always work for me, but it does usually. It also makes me twitch and feel silly and loopy.

sunflower1998

Yes!  And I love Excedrin Migraine if I catch it early enough.If not, I have to take a Zomig prescription pill - at a whopping $20/pill!

shannonalise

Sunflower! $20 a pill? Daayam! Does it work? I don't have insurance, so I'm kinda stuck with OTC stuff. And voodoo witch doctor remedies.

[Deleted User]

I have a perscription from my dr. I can't remember the name of it though. They melt in your mouth (not in a yummy m&ms way).

alixzafiris

Got see a doctor and get a Zomig prescription. I use those when it's really bad or either Syndol (from the UK) or a few Advil Migraines at like... 2 hour intervals. So basically I'm in a drooling coma

shannonalise

Cew.... mmmm.. sounds delish.

ChubbieBunnie7

Did you know that Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin are the same thing?  It's just a marketing ploy.

julezlee

I'm a big idiot who still hasn't gone to the doctor about my migraines, so I stick with the Excedrin and sleeping.  One of my friends gave me a Maxalt to try the next time I have one.  BUT I quit coffee and other caffeinated drinks 2 months ago and haven't had one since. Whit swears by sex and a coke. 

missy68

Shannon, you may have added rebound headaches to the mix. I had this problem. They can feel just as bad.  The twitchies are probably from the caffeine in the Excedrin. I ended up seeing a neurologist. He put me back on a daily medication for mine, and I watch my tylenol/advil consumption.  He also gave me a pain medication prescription, but I can have no more than 15 a month to avoid the rebound headaches (and I use it for headaches and back problems). Try heat (or ice) on the area where you have the migraine pain and lying down.There are herbal remedies out there too - I'm not familiar with them.  I take Treximet as a rescue medication. It's Imitrex combined with a strong dose of Naproxen (Aleve).Good luck, and feel better soon.

shannonalise

Alixa, thanks! I'd love to be in a drooling coma when I get headaches. I hate when they're so bad I can't even sleep because my eyeballs feel swollen and sore and the pressure from my eyelids is too much. As ridiculous as that sounds.

laladypoet

I get them sometimes when my glasses prescription is no longer strong enough. I take excedrin migraine at those times.

sunflower1998

Yeah I have really shittastic insurance, so it's super expensive.I tried the dissolvable pills, but they made me more nauseous than I already was.

shannonalise

Chubbie, I think one has caffeine and the other doesn't... Either way, they both work about the same for me. Excedrin tension headache works for me too - but only if it IS a tension headache. Otherwise, it doesn't put a dent in the pain. Missy, thanks for the suggestions. What's a rebound headache? I've never heard of that! Thanks for the ice suggestion too. I hadn't thought about that.

cdeshane

Have you tried Imitrex? They have pills and shots.

cougarette

cew, is it maxalt melt?  My doctor gave me those to try and I really liked it.  I think I need to get a prescription.I take a beta blocker every day to help prevent them, which it has.  I usually get 1 or 2 menstrual migraines a month and the occasional one every now and then.  It's not nearly as frequent as it used to be though.When I do get them I take Exedrine Migraine but it usually doesn't work and I just try to sleep it off.

laladypoet

they both have caffeine, I just thought excedrin migraine had more?

shannonalise

Julez, I am also one of those idiots. Why do we do that? I drink coffee religiously every morning - if I don't, I get caffeine headaches! But I started getting the chronic headaches when I was about 8 years old, before the coffee. Either way, I should cut it out though.

alixzafiris

Oh I know that feeling, when I have a full-blown migraine nothing goes right. I lie down and feel like I want to barf, sit up and feel dizzy. It's not cool at all.

[Deleted User]

cew, is it maxalt melt? My doctor gave me those to try and I really liked it. I think I need to get a prescription.YES! I should have known a fellow cougar would know!

shannonalise

Cd, I haven't. I've been meaning to look into how I might get something that's rX strength without having to pay a million dollars for it due to my lack of insurance.

ChubbieBunnie7

Actually they both have caffeine, 75 mg to be exact.  Rebound headaches are form constant use of a certain medication.  When the drug action is over you get a headache, causing you to retake the drug. 

shannonalise

FI claims he's NEVER had a headache in his life. I don't understand that! He absolutely has NO idea how they feel. He tries to understand, but it's hard for him. When we get married, does that mean he might take share some of the headaches with me so I don't have to deal with them all myself?

pumpkinpumpkin

I suffer from chronic migraines. Severely. I've tried all the perscriptions for migraines (Zomig and others) and none of them worked. My doctor recently (=/- 4 months) perscribed me Amitriptyline to take daily, in 20mg. It's working wonders. It's used to treat depression (over a certain mg) and chronic pain (under a certain mg). I take it at bed time, and it also puts me to sleep, which is great, because when I have a migraine, it's hard to sleep.He also perscribed me Toradol in 25 mg to take when I do get a headache. It also works very well. I don't get headaches often anymore. Only with my menstrual cycle. I have one today, because I'm expecting my period any time now. I'll have one for a few days, unfortunately.

temerityjane

I've done Imitrex, both pills and shots, but it really only had a chance of helping if I "felt" it coming on. Otherwise, I could take it but would really just have to sleep it out.Thankfully, though, I haven't gotten a migraine in maybe 2 years now. For most women, as you get older, they decrease in frequency.My biggest problem with them, aside from the pain, was that my eyes would SWELL SHUT and that would last for a day or two more after the pain was gone. I could barely see.The only GOOD thing about the migraine was how I would feel right after it was over. Holy crap, the lack of pain made me feel like freakin Superman, bounding around and cleaning and getting crap done.

julezlee

My migraines started before I was a coffee drinker too.  But, for me, it seems like not having caffeine everyday helps.  I had putting off quitting the coffee for awhile because every time I tried I would get withdrawal headaches but 2 months ago it was totally easy and pain free to quit.  Weird, I know. 

shannonalise

Chubbie, that's awful! I've never heard of that before, but it makes perfect sense. I have recently tried to stop popping four pills every time I get a headache or feel one coming, but that's been because I want to keep at least some of my liver. The rebound headache thing gives me another reason to cut back. Now I sound like an addict.

LnDUBS

I take Axert, also $20 a pill (CDN). Works wonders!

shannonalise

Pumpkin, that sounds awful. I'm sorry. It's strange that this is the first thing that's helped you! And I am right there with you on the headaches that last for days. I hate the feeling of waking up and realizing "oh shiiit.. it's still here..." TJ, I have the swollen and painful eyeballs too, but yours actually swell shut!? That's insane! What does your doctor say about that! Is it a circulation problem? Vessels?

shannonalise

Julez, you've inspired me to ween myself from the coffee.

pumpkinpumpkin

Let me go on.... For those of you who do suffer, go see a doctor. It has changed my life so much. Now I know when to expect a headache/migraine, which has made my life so much easier. Words can't explain it, seriously. I've posted here a bit about my headaches. And after having heard from various people IRL and a few on here...STOP taking OTC meds. They become an addiction, and your body depends on them (like it would drugs, alcohol)...you might be getting a headache from "withdrawal" of said OTCs. I stopped taking Advil (which I honestly took 3-4 a day - I was spending over $100/month on Advil), and after the first 2 weeks, I already felt better. After visiting my doctor, he stressed the importance of staying off the OTC meds, and was fairly certain that I had a dependency on Advil. Seriously...I'm not trying to preach, etc. But there are no words to explain how much better I feel.

J&K10910

Maxalt works really well for me but it's pricey.  Even with my insurance it's $25 per melt and I usually have to take two if I get to the point when I have to take Maxalt.  I keep a stash of those for the really nasty ones, and take an Excedrine and a naproxen sodium together and lay in a dark room for the ones that are more manageable.The best thing to do is recognize the symptoms that you're going to get a migraine and try to head it off right away before it gets bad.  For most people, once they get to the point where they're compelled to take medication, it's too bad for most meds to work and they're pretty much screwed.  I can tell when I'm going to get mine because my neck and jaw tighten up, and I get a mild pulsing pain over one eye.  Sometimes I have auras--I know those are going to be bad so I take a Maxalt right away.  I don't fuuck around with trying other stuff then.