Hi LIZ . . .

I'm a migraineur and have been since sometime in my twenties . . . none of the meds have ever done anything for my migraines so I cannot directly relate. I do know that drugs in the same or similar class as Paxil can slow down weight loss a little -- I take Fluoxetine (Prozac) for other reasons. BUT . . . for me the thing that makes weight loss the hardest has little to do with migraines and everything to do with the fact that I'm a Type II Diabetic and almost every medication for that problem is notorious for causing weight gain.

When I get a migraine I just have to have as much quiet and darkness as possible -- I usually go to bed and pray for sleep until it runs its course. I often get an aura before the headache and if I can lie down while the lights are flashing (sort of an aurora borealis effect), I can often beat the headache. My worst ones are the ones I wake up with.

One slightly encouraging note -- don't know where you are in the race to Menopause, but that (once finally completed) did help to cut the prevalence of my headaches quite a bit. Retirement helped too, so there was definitely some stress at play as well as just the overactivity of the temporal lobes. My worst remaining trigger is drastic and/or rapid changes in atmospheric pressure (upward or downward). Wine and certain foods will still bring one on, but at least I can avoid those.

Good Luck to you . . .

Keep up the good attitude, Chickie -- that will help -- and do stay in touch. the support around here is phenomenal.

I've had migraines since my teens - mine have lessened since my dx with hashimoto's thyroiditis and on medication but I will still get them. No rx really helps for me either so I try to avoid them as well as I can with the proper rest, sleep, diet, avoiding triggers, etc.

I had migraines for many years. I took Topamax as perscribed by my neurologist. It is a medication but in lower dosages it is used to treat migraines that occur over long periods of time. I had no idea what my triggers were but once I took the medication the migraines stopped about a week or two later. Since then, I rarely get migraines and I am not taking the medication anymore. You should also look at your diet, your surroundings and your sleep habits.

I have had migraines since I was 18. Staying in a dark room and moving as little as possible helps,

I had menstrual-related migraines in my teens. They went away in my early 20's and they came back again (not just menstrual-related anymore) in my mid/late 20's.
I currently take propranolol which is a beta-blocker/blood pressure lowering medicine that helps with headache prevention. My blood pressure has always been pretty low, so it sometimes gets really low after taking the med. I need to make sure I don't exercise within a couple hours of taking it, or I tend to get really dizzy.
When I get the migraines, I'm pretty much laid-up (dark room, etc. as others mentioned), so when I have them, I don't exercise on that day & often on the day after because I'm really tired as they go away and I'm also concerned about it coming back if I over-exert.
I imagine they will get better as I lose weight and become more fit & healthy--I sure hope so!
Misty

I've had migraines since I started menses when I was 12 years old. About 8 years ago I finally had a dr believe me when I told them I have 3-4 migraines a week. They kept trying to tell me they were just headaches...really?!? because "normal" headaches don't require me to lay in bed without any sound or light nor would I vomit my head off. I am now, and have been for 8 years, on regular medication, Propranolol (blood pressure med) and Amitriptyline (antidepressent) combo and I rarely have migraines anymore. Going from 3-4 per week to 1 every 6-7 months was like a miracle! I know you are thinking blood pressure medicine?!? No, I've never had blood pressure issues but this keeps the blood vessels dilated in the head (they think headaches/migraines are caused by the constriction of blood vessels). But if I get a break-through migraine I just take an aspirin and ibuprofen with caffeine and its usually gone in 30 minutes or less. I'm not telling you that you should try this, I'm just telling my trick to get rid of migraines.

Oh, btw, before I got the combination of medication my previous doctors had all the blood work done, MRI, CT Scans, everything and it was all "normal".

I've had them ever since the day (Nov 28th, 1999) that my epilepsy hit me. Though apparently they may be cluster headaches (also known as "suicide headaches") instead. I'm on Lamictal for my seizures but was told it can help with migraines too (and bi-polar also). I still get them, and they don't seem to be tied to anything. I don't get headaches...calling them that simply due to the lack of a clear diagnosis as to whether I'm lucky and just have migraines vs. clusters...quite as often as I did before going on Lamictal, but when I get them...nothing helps. I overdose on Ibuprofen (you can take 4 instead of the 2...I've had MULTIPLE doctors tell me to do that), take Vicadin, have coffee...nothing touches it I just have to deal with it till it goes away.

My brother and I both suffer from migrains too. Ours are barometric pressure related, and are usually the worst in the winter. The only thing I've found that helps me and my brother is a herbal medication called Feverfew. Here's a link to some information http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/feverfew-000243.htm

It hasn't affected my weightloss in any way and it's the only thing that has made my life berable.

I was getting about 11 migraines a month.... lasting anywhere from a day to two to three depending..... I started on indural at a low dose as beta blockers are shown to reduce migraines in lower doses.... an off label use....

Now I get barely one migraine ever few months and when I do I take Relpax immediately....

Triggers.... not sure.... I have allergies.... and we think that my assortment of allergies doesn't help...flourescent lights are a problem.... bright lights like the sun in my eyes....

For me drugs like advil, aleve, motrin naproxin etc don't even touch them....

but the headaches or meds haven't affected my wieght at all....

s

Thank you for mentioning that...I totally forgot about it. I was planning on getting some a while back because I know it is good with fevers and is really supposed to be one of the best things for migraines...but I forgot when I was told mine might be cluster headaches (most likely won't touch them).