This summer, I used to get horrible migraines - sometimes I felt so dizzy I could collapse. And walking felt like my brain was slushing around in my skull - I literally had to hold my head in place when I walked because it hurt so much. What I noticed is that I drank a lot of soda, which I normally don't do and I've read that aspartame (which I have a sensitivity to) causes migraines. I haven't drunk pop regularly for the past 2 or so weeks (maybe like 1 bottle per week) and the migraines are pretty much gone.

So I'd recommend cutting out pop and see what happens.

I have tons of experience with this topic.
I think if migraines are causing you a lot of problems, it is probably best to try Topamax with caution. I say with caution, because Topamax does have side effects. For me, the worst was memory problems. So, I think it is best to take the smallest dosage possible. Most folks probably (probably is the key word) would not have too much difficulty with really, really small dosages of the this medication. One could always do other things to make it work a little better. There are certain vitamins and supplements known to help. Butterbur and Feverfew for example are well known to help prevent migraines. The B vitamins. CoQ1- and Calcium Magnesium are also very good.
I would talk with the Dr. about taking a small amount of Topamax (25 mg or 50 mgs...something like this))
Perhaps go to the health food store and see what you might find. See if they have Butterbur and/or Feverfew. Perhaps take a small amount of these products.
Check out CoQ10, Magnesium, Calcium and a B50 tablet. Make sure you are at least getting the daily minimum requirements here.
Watch your diet...see if certain foods are triggers for you. Alcohol, diet soda, some cheeses, too much chocolate, ripe bananas...these all can be big problems.
I do hope you feel better soon.
I know how awful migraines can be.

Here's my two cents....have suffered migraines since about age 9, and the only thing that ever stopped the migraines in their tracks was when I started taking Doxepin every nite. Started about 8 years ago, and have been migraine free for about 5 years (except for stress headache). It is an antidepressant I think so no clue why it works but omg it saved me.

Another migraineur here; they started really bad (to the ER 4-5 times per month) when I was about 37, hardly any before that. I was treated by a neurologist at a migraine clinic. (FYI, I was told that when anti-depressants work, it's because they change the chemical balance in the brain; some old-fashioned antihistamines, the make-you-drowsy kind, also do that). None of the meds worked for me. By chance, I went to a chiro for something else, and I have only had two ER-migraines in the 10 years since (both times related to changes in the barometer). I still get milder ones that put me out of commission for a week, but at least without the vomiting, blinding pain, etc.

I also have a friend who stopped drinking caffeine; although not a direct trigger, she got rid of hormonal migraines. It seems unless you're lucky there's a lot of trial and error involved.

Oh that mine should also diminish or disappear with menopause (I'm 47 and crossing my fingers!)

Good luck!

HI. This is my first post but I wanted to see how other people were doing. I am looking at trying medifast. I haven't found anything on the web that says medifast will aggravate migraines, as of yet. I have used weight watchers in the past but its time for something new.

I have also had migraines since I was 9, and took til 21 to be diagnosed. I am currently taking topamax, toprol, and zoloft to control them with (as my Dr. likes to say ) "a touch of Reglan" that was just added. The only thing that takes away the migraine is Axert, a triptan, nothing else works for me. The Reglan really does make the Axert work faster, which is nice.

I'm hoping if I get my weight under control I can start pursuing naturopathic remedies and get rid of the drugs. We'll see how it goes.

I get them occassionally but Im not on any medications. I find it helps when I eat something before they get too bad but I often wake up with them and then its too late to eat to prevent. I usually just lay down in a dark room, though sometimes that does no goodsince the pillow feels like a rock and just makes it worse.

i'm not a regular supscriber to this group..however i use to be regular to migranes (several times a week)...i highly recommend being evaluted by a dr and a chriopracter both. I found that my C2 (the part of the neck that comes out of the skull) was shifted to the right. I rarely have migranes when i get regularlly adjusted (i have only gotten two migranes since starting my chiro visits 8 months ago). In fact, one time i got a bad migrane (and was way over due for an adjustment), i went to the chiro that day, got adjusted and the migrane went away. Many mingraines are due to malaligned spines. And trust me..i've always been leary of Chiros...but now i swear by them. find a good one that does the proper x-rays (one view that is especially important is a front view of the lower head but your mouth has to be open to properly view c2). I also think its important to get off all the caffine and artificial sweetners...i swear the artificial sweetners aren't good for you...but that's just my 2 cents.

The reason i recommend a dr visit is because migraines can be hidden issues. I have a friend who's mom suffered severly from migraines (would be down for a few days) and the dr never recommended an MRI (this was about 12 yrs ago when mri's weren't as popular)...she died of a brain anurism. So i do think if you have serious migranes..it could be food/dietary supplements but it could also be something more important.

Msfs-that sounds pretty serious all the drugs you are on for migraines. Have you had an MRI...if so..then i highly recommend visiting a chiropracter. Even if you've had them since a young age of 9...there coudl be a reason..the chiro i go to does children..they find that many falls/injuries kids have can cause misalignment of the spine. My spine issues were secondary to several falls of horses as a young child. I really think you need to serious look into a chiro. That sounds serious to be on all that med and nothing is really stopping your migraines. I only say this because i really think medicine is a bandage to migraines...i think many general practitioners overlook serious things with just meds...and trust me..i'm a medical professional that uses meds all the time..but if that much meds aren't working on your migraines...i think there's more going one.

i've been a migraine sufferer for years. at one point, i was getting them 3-4 times a week. i tried all the prescriptions and nothing really seemed to help. i finally settled on excedrin migraine and it seemed to dull the pain long enough to get through the day. i finally got fed up and went to an acupuncturist. after the first session, my migraines pretty much went away. now, i get them about 2-3/month. when i do get them, the acupuncturist recommended a "cocktail" of pills: excedrin migraine, coq 10, vitamin b complex, and magnesium. surprisingly, it works like a charm.

I've been getting migraines for about five years now, I was diagnosed with epilepsy around that time at the time I started to have seizures the doctors thought that the migraines were like the seizures being blocked by my meds and then causing the migraine. I haven't taken my medication in about eight months because of side effects and less occurrences of seizures, but the migraines seem to get worse with time. Luckily I only seem to have them around my menstrual cycle, this is also the case with the seizures, also over-the-counter medications seem to help 75% of the time, but it still is pretty rough.

I've had migraines since i was a teen-ager. i now take topamax and magnesium supplements and they help tremendously as well as nortriptyline to help me sleep and help control pain. i still get some migraines - weather and menstrual related - but they are much milder than before.

sure, i get side effects from the topamax - trouble recalling words, especially, some stinging sensations in my feet sometimes, and it does tend to make a person irritable too - but i have trouble thinking when I have full-blown migraines and am prickly to begin with anyway so I guess I'd rather have the drug side effects than deal with the pain of migraines all the time.

I take Relpax, which really helps once a migraine hits (it certainly doesn't lessen the frequency, though). I also took topamax, which seemed to work well at first, but later had little effect, so I went off of it. I have also heard that extended birth control can help for people who have hormonally related migraines, too.

Good luck!

Cheers,

J

Birth control actually causes me to get migraines. I’ve been on the pill pretty much continually from the age of 15 and have been suffering migraine's every since. I was put on lots of different medication, told to cut out dairy, not to expose myself to harsh lighting or sudden heat changes... all sorts of things. Nobody ever related birth control and my migraines together until I got pregnant and they stopped. Of course it may differ depending on the person, but it worked for me... now I only take the occasional paracetamol for a tension headache.