Have you had migraines before? What are they like?

[Amy10223]

Do you have the kind that are on one side of your head only? I am experiencing intermittent sharp pains on one side. I have had optical migraines with no pain, but this is different, so I'm debating on whether to go to an Urgent Care or wait until tomorrow to call my doctor. But I also don't want to take any chances, so I am going now. Migraines are different with everyone, and if you suffer from them, can you share what you experience?

Yes, I know this is not the place to ask for medical advice. I am just curious to see how common my symptoms are, sharp pains on one side only, this being my left.

[Red_Arrow]

When I was about 18 I had migraine headaches. First there would be blind spots that grew and were surrounded by a shimmering border that would grow. Does not matter if you look out one eye or both, as it is in the brain, not the eyes. After it grew, the pain would start. The pain would grow till you just want to die. Then the nausea. I don't think I ever threw up, but I felt like I was going to. It took hours to pass. A doctor diagnosed what they were and told me there was no medication that would stop them. Eventually I could sense them coming on and was able to relax and lie down if possible and stop them from completely blowing up. After many months the pattern changed and I would get the visual effects, but not the pain. Eventually they stopped and I never had them again.

During the period when I was having them, the only relief was when I sensed them before they hit I would l lie down (or at least sit with my eyes closed if I was not where I could lie down) and wait for the sensation to pass. No medicine would help.

[Amy10223]

Yours sound pretty strong, with the nausea and then the pain.. did you or do you see an aura before they begin?
I believe that's what I had, the blurring of my peripheral vision, like a kaleidoscope. This lasted 15 minutes. I had one headache the first time, but after that, none. It happened once after a surgery in the recovery room.

[Red_Arrow]

"First there would be blind spots that grew and were surrounded by a shimmering border that would grow." That would be the aura.

[Red_Arrow]

Thank you for MHO. :-)

[Amy10223]

Sure

[OneViewpoint]

Yup, from the time I was about 8-10 until I was in my late 40's / early 50's. At least one per week. Then they suddenly started being less frequent and eventually pretty much stopped. They can have different symptoms. If you haven't already, talk to your doctor about the Triptan class drugs. They are the only thing that ever worked for me. But, LOL they didn't come along until I was in my late 30's.

[Amy10223]

8 to 10 years old! So young. I never thought children could get them. I am not sure I was having a migraine that lasted 3 days. It was just sharp pain at the temple, and it was happening at night too. Glad yours are less now.

[OneViewpoint]

I had one, only one, that lasted 23 days. I think they call those cluster headaches. I had another that lasted 5 days was totally different. Vertigo. No pain. Everything was spinning. Couldn't walk. Didn't realize it was a migraine until it started to end and I got the usual pain of a migraine ended. I hadn't used the triptans all week because I didn't know it was a migraine. On day 5 I popped the triptans and it was over relatively fast. Both of those unusual headaches were near the end of my migraine period. And then they just stopped.

[jazzy34]

YES. They are AWFUL. For me, I have to be in my room and have my room REALLY cold and REALLY dark. Sleeping it off and medication does the trick for me. I've never had one so bad that I've considered getting medical attention, but I do know that migraines affect people differently. Anyway, feel better soon.

[Amy10223]

Thank you. I don't know what exactly caused my pain, but they were sharp and ongoing, and now they are totally gone. I hope you don't get those very often.

[jazzy34]

Oh my goodness. :( Were they able to help you at the urgent care you went to? And thankfully no. I usually have one when I'm PMSing.

[Amy10223]

Yes, at the Urgent care, I was able to get the input of a doctor who just examined me and my eyes to make sure my pupils were not dilated differently ( one pupil bigger than the other) and she asked questions. They did not have a Cat Scan machine there of course so she suggested for me to go to either an emergency center at a local hospital or another place if they continued. She also told me to wait a few days, and if they got worse, to seek medical help with my regular doc. At that time I did not experience the pain at all, except for in the waiting room. I didn’t want to go to an emergency department at a hospital because I didn’t want to wait all day. I did tell my doctor about it the next day, and she also told me to give it a few days to see if the pain got worse. Thankfully I haven’t.

[douride2]

I used to suffer from migraines. They were brutal. The noise heat sound light all made it unbearable. Is was like my head was in a vice & someone was hitting it with a large hammer. I wanted to dig a hole climb in & pull the dirt in behind me.

[douride2]

If it's still bothering you go to an ER.

[Amy10223]

I did go, and it happened that the doctor was not very concerned, because there was no nausea, dizziness or confusion along with it. If it continues, and it has somewhat died down some, she said to make an apt for an MRI. So, I am just letting my reg doctor know about it today.

[Bricealan]

@amy10223 A couple of times in the past. Once at my brother's home in Atlanta, and from the symptoms I was experiencing, he, being a nurse, suggested, "Migraine". The pain was all encompassing, accompanied by real feeling of nausea.

Went to an ENT for a sinus infection and asked him about the possibility of my pain being Migraine, and he said if it occurred again, he would refer me to a neurologist.

[Amy10223]

I hope you dont get those anymore. Thanks for sharing!

[Nikki1989]

Yes, I have. They are not just a headache; they cripple you to the point where you can't do anything.

[Amy10223]

Both my daughters had them, one even when she was about 16. I didn't think young teens could them then!

[Sevenpointfive]

i think i have, but it wasn't really as painful as people claim. it's more annoying so it's all you think and talk about. so when you hear them constantly talking about the migraine, they're giving you a migraine about a headache.

[msc545]

I've had some bad headaches but I don't think any of them were technically migraines as I understand those.

[Amy10223]

If they were so bad you wanted to lie down and do nothing, they probably were migraines. My optical ones were never accompanied by a headache, odd cough. Just sensitivity to light.

[msc545]

So the light sensitivity and severity are diagnostic in you. I do not have that, thank God.

[Bklynbadboy12]

No never thank god I hear they can be debilitating

[eagle1951]

they hurt