Posts by Gerald Johnson

I've been dealing with migraines since elementary school. As usual at that age, nobody takes you seriously—not my parents, not the doctors. At my first appointment, the doctor just sent me to an eye specialist because she assumed it was a vision issue, even though the migraine symptoms were crystal clear back then.
I'm 27 now, and the way these migraines manifest has shifted constantly over the years. In the beginning, they were accompanied by intense paleness and uncontrollable vomiting 🤮. Later, during high school, they turned into "weekend migraines," where I’d wake up every single Saturday with a massive attack. Then in college, I actually started getting migraines with aura but without the actual pain. A few years ago, things hit a new low when I’d go completely "foggy"—my tongue would get tied and I wouldn't be able to squeeze out even the simplest words. Those episodes could drag on for three whole days...
A couple of years back, I saw a neurologist, just like most of you, and went through every test imaginable. Everything came back normal. The diagnosis was vestibular migraine, and they prescribed me Maxalt, which I took a few times, but it didn't really do much. Sometimes Motrin helped. Obviously, everyone reacts differently to medication, so I guess you just have to try everything.
The biggest issue was how often they hit. There were stretches of two or three months where I’d deal with one or two migraines every week. It happened at work a few times, but the worst part was being solo on a shift—there was no one to cover for me, so I had to spend all eight hours on my feet. About eight months ago, I stopped doing sports entirely, and I haven't had a single migraine since.
Reply to post: That aura you described happens because blood vessels in the head constrict and then dilate—it's basically a "brain storm" caused by the brain reacting to a specific trigger. To get rid of the migraines, you have to identify that trigger, and the list of potential culprits is pretty long. I recommend reading the book "migraine and other headaches"; it goes into quite a bit of detail about how migraines function and what causes them.

Motrin rocks! 🙏

About 7 or 8 years ago, I tried Head & Shoulders for the first time—big mistake. By the very next day, my scalp psoriasis flared up hard. My dermatologist ended up writing me a prescription for this specific cream; you can't just grab it off a shelf at a drugstore, they actually have to compound it at the pharmacy. That little box of cream arrived around $27. After about a month, the psoriasis cleared up, and it hasn't come back since 👍

Ethan Hall10, thanks for the deep dive and all the advice—I’m sure some of this will actually be useful.
I have one question: how tight is the link between migraines and triggers? Like, how much lead time are we talking about before the pain hits? So far, my migraines usually flare up when the weather shifts suddenly—specifically during those big drops in barometric pressure—so I've been obsessively checking the forecast. In those cases, the migraine typically kicks in either the day before or at the latest, first thing in the morning on the day the weather turns bad. As for any other triggers, I haven't been able to spot a pattern yet.

boldbison26 said:Gerald Johnson, I have dealt with terrible issues at work due to migraines. I ended up changing jobs constantly because employers eventually grew tired of my condition. I know how difficult this is for you. In fact, I worked for years while managing everything privately at home out of fear that I might be fired. These migraines truly diminish one's quality of life, both professionally and personally. Partners also struggle with them. It feels as though no one truly understands.

Exactly! It’s nearly impossible to explain what a migraine feels like to someone who hasn't lived through one. The lack of empathy is everywhere. When they first started hitting me back in my teens, nobody took me seriously—not even my parents. They thought I was just making excuses to skip school, or blamed it on watching too much TV or some other nonsense...

Work is its own special kind of hell, though my boss (for now) is cool about my absences. But there have been a few times where an attack hit mid-shift when there was zero chance of finding coverage—so I just had to stand there and suffer through it. Just miserable...

I'm 26 now, and I've been dealing with migraines for about 12 or 13 years—though there have been some breaks here and there. It was at its absolute worst back in high school; I’d go through these stretches where every single Saturday I’d wake up with a migraine. It always starts with this tingling sensation in my left or right arm, which then spreads across my neck to my face, lips, and tongue. Then comes the visual stuff—sometimes it looks like "rain" coming in from the side, other times it's like a flash of light. That part lasts maybe 20–30 minutes, and then everything suddenly clears up, leaving me feeling okay for just a minute or two before the pain hits. It's always in the same spot, right above my left or right eye. Honestly? The aura is actually worse than the actual headache. A full attack lasts about 12–13 hours, and the next day I'm basically in a coma—any sudden movement makes my head throb, and I can barely even look at anything.

When I saw my doctor about ten years ago, she just chalked it up to vision issues and sent me to an eye doctor (turns out my vision was totally fine). For years, I had no clue what was happening until I heard this radio program specifically about migraines that described my symptoms perfectly. After that, I finally went to a neurologist and did the whole routine—EEG, color Doppler, etc.—but all the tests came back normal. As for homeopathy or acupuncture as treatments? This forum is actually the first time I've even heard of them. My neurologist just immediately prescribed Maxalt and didn't mention any other options. Well, a week later, I finally got to try it. Conclusion: worst migraine ever. I was stuck in bed for three days straight; the pain wouldn't let up for a full 24 hours, and I was vomiting every half hour. Is it possible that's a reaction to triptans? I haven't touched Maxalt since. I've noticed that for milder migraines, Nurofen helps—but only if I take it right at the start and, obviously, if I don't end up throwing it all back up.

I still haven't pinpointed a specific trigger, but it seems like they hit hardest in early spring and fall—basically whenever the weather is acting up and the barometric pressure drops. I work a lot of night shifts, so I'm constantly sleep-deprived and my eating habits are a mess because my metabolism gets thrown off. My neurologist claims sleep deprivation isn't the cause, though.

I've actually gone three weeks without a migraine so far. Before this, I had a month where they were hitting me every 2 or 3 days. I seriously thought I was going to have to quit my job. These migraines absolutely wreck my quality of life, especially my ability to actually work. I don't know how much longer my boss is going to be understanding about it...