Local Friends Experiencing Intense Migraines

I started having migraines about the third week I June. Since then I have spoken with a few local friends who have recently been experiencing them as well. What is it that is either blooming or in the Sarasota atmosphere that is causing so many of the people that I know to have headaches? Just today three people that I know complained of having intense headaches. Don’t you think that’s very strange?

Working in a Doctors Office

Today I was working at a women’s care doctor’s office on Tuttle Avenue. One of the employees there was telling me that she has had little sleep the past couple of nights because of the awful pain that she is experiencing in the middle of the night. She referred to the headaches as migraines.

Local Christian Youth Group-Two Complaints if Headaches

Tonight was the youth group gathering at the church that I attend. There were two young men who were complaining about having a headache. One of them was in our small group gathering. As we first assembled to do a short Bible study, the young man asked if anyone had any aspirin. He then said that he felt a migraine headache beginning behind his right eye.

As the night progressed and we were having what we call game time, another teenage boy was lying down on a floor chair that you would play video games in. He had a strange look on his face as though he was in some sort of pain. When I asked him what was wrong he replied: “I have a migraine headache.”

This is very strange that in one day three of my local friends had migraine headaches in Sarasota. I am really beginning to think that something is wrong with the air that we are breathing. I realize that it is mid summer and migraines can be caused by heat, but it’s just too strange that I would have intense headaches and now several of the people that I know are experiencing them as well.

I’d be really interested in hearing if anyone else in the Sarasota area has been experiencing intense migraine headaches during the months of June and July.

Local Friends Experiencing Intense Migraines
Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review
People Experiencing Migraine Headahces in Sarasota
Medicine Under the Tongue for Headache Paine Relief

Placing Medicine Under the Tongue for Faster Pain Relief

Have you ever tried placing medicine underneath of your tongue to get it to absorb into the blood stream more quickly? If not, then it’s worth a try sometime, especially, if you are having the starting pains of a headache coming on.

As hard as this is to do sometimes because of the taste of the medication, I will bite a pill in half and swallow one of the two pieces. The other piece I place under my tongue to allow it to dissolve.

I very rarely am able to let it totally dissolve because the taste gets to be unbearable. Whenever I do this with pills, I always make sure that I have a full glass of water near by, so I can wash down the bitter flavor of the medicine. Some migraine medications such as Maxalt are made to be taken this way.

Maxalt comes in two different forms, one that gets placed underneath the tongue and the other just gets swallowed. The Maxalt that you place underneath of your tongue has a sweet flavor. I tried this particular pill, designed specifically to help people suffering from migraine headache attacks and it works really great.

So the next time that you feel a headache coming on, consider placing the medication under your tongue for a while and let some absorb into the blood vessels that run underneath of the tongue. If you do this, you will experience quicker pain relief than if you had just swallowed the medication with water.

Ask your physician if you can try a sample or two of the Maxalt. It is an amazing medicine designed to help people who suffer pain from having migraine headaches.
Dealing With The Fear of HeadahcesPlacing Medicine Under the Tongue


Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review
People Experiencing Migraine Headahces in Sarasota

How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review

In my fight against dealing with the pain associated with having migraine headaches, the doctor prescribed Imitrex. So, how well did the little blue pill work in relieving the pounding pain that I was experiencing behind my left eye a throughout the entire left side of my face?

I have to admit that they worked a lot better than what I had been taking which was Advil, and Excedrin. As I review the evening of when I first tried the medication, I was very happy with the results that it produced.

I was a little disappointed at how long it took for the drug to arrest the throbbing pain that had started while I was asleep. It actually took about an hour before the pain subsided after taking one Imitrex.

After the headache stopped, I was not able to go back to sleep because of something in the medication. I was in a dreamlike stat that made me extremely restless.

Once the migraine stopped there were no signs of pain for at least another 6 hours. I was very pleased with the results of this medication, but rather disappointed at how much that it costs.

The physician at the Urgent Care walk-in clinic on Fruitville Rd. had given me a few samples because I did not have medical insurance to cover the cost of the Imitrex, which by the way is about $18 per pill.

With the costs of two doctor’s visits, several prescriptions and paying for a CT scan, the thought of getting relief from the pain of the headaches at the cost of $18 per pill was not very appealing to me.

I have decided to rough it out as best as I can, with the hope that I will get well soon. The general pattern of these headaches for twenty years has been that they may last up to two months and then suddenly stop. While the migraine attaches are happening, I must exercise patients and accept the circumstances until they quit. If I don’t the frustrations combined with the sleepless nights and constant apprehension that a headache may begin will ruin the good life that I long to enjoy. The Imitrex works really well. It’s just a shame that it’s too expensive for my budget.
Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review

Getting Headache Pain Relief Through Massage

One thing that I have discovered to work really well to lesson the pain when a Migraine headache is beginning is using massage techniques. There are three basic locations of the head and neck area that I focus on when I feel the familiar alarm of a migraine coming on.

1) Over the eyes and the temple areas
2) All around the ears
3) At the back lower part of my head right where it meets my neck.

I never concentrate on any one of these areas for a long period of time. I usually work each section of my head and neck in one minute intervals, unless one particular area tends to bring more relief from the pain than the others. If that’s the case, then I’ll massage longer in one spot.

Over the Eyes

Just above my eyebrows is where I begin to gently rub. I usually massage from the center of my forehead all the way to the temples. I start out by applying mild pressure and after a little while I apply more force. I always use circular motions mixed up with horizontal rubbing.

All Around The Ears

Actually, massaging from the temple towards the ears and continuing around the ears is the area I like to focus on. Usually, I get the most pain relief while working the area from my temples to where my ears begin. I always continue pressing all around the ears until I hit the base of my neck. Sometimes I press hard and rub with deep circular motions and other times I just use all four of my fingertips and press down.

Where the Skull Meets The Spine

One either side of this area there are depressions. I like to massage just to the left and right of where the skull meets the spine. After starting with a mild beginning, I usually end up really pressing hard and giving myself a deep tissue massage to relieve the pain of a migraine headache.

Now, all of what I have explained about massaging the head when a migraine begins gets combined with taking some type of pain reliever. While I am waiting for the pain medicine to kick in that’s when I use the massage techniques to get temporary relief from the initial start of the headache’s pain.

Dealing With The Fear of HeadahcesPlacing Medicine Under the Tongue


Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review

Migraine Triggers-Paint Fumes and Benadryl

In an attempt to discover what it is that causes these unbearable migraine headaches to begin, I have noticed a few triggers that set them off in my life. It is always at night when I awake from a deep sleep that I get the worst ones. During the day I am involved with construction related projects and I have discovered a few things that cause the headaches to start while I am working.

There is one medication that I tried to take to help me sleep because for several days the migraines had been causing sleepless nights. Usually Benadryl knocks me out cold. Well when I tried it during a period that I had been experiencing horrible headaches I fell sound asleep, only to awaken to the most alarming migraine of the week. During that particular bout with the attack that lasted for a month I decided to not try the Benadryl again.

It was two years later when my next migraine attach hit me and I tried the Benadryl again only to have the exact thing happen again, a screaming, pounding headache in the middle of my sleep woke me again. So, at night Benadryl is a major migraine trigger for me.

During the daytime while working construction jobs, paint fumes, lacquer thinners, contact glues and other strong smelling chemicals can cause a headache to start. What I have discovered during the day is that I can always tell when one is beginning. This gives me time to take some medicine to bring it to a halt before it reaches its peak level of pain.

I have been trying to monitor various foods, but have not really had an earth shattering discoveries that would relate a migraine headache to any certain type of food. The two triggers that I mentioned, I can certainly connect them directly to being triggers for migraines.

Dealing With The Fear of HeadahcesPlacing Medicine Under the Tongue


Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review

Migraines Don’t Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do

For years my doctor treated me as a Chronic Sinusitis patient. IT wasn’t until ten years later that an ear, nose and throat specialist diagnosed me as having migraines. It was the strangest thing, every time I’d go see my physician because the headaches had started there was never any thick green mucus. All of my friends and even the doctor wondered where’s the mucus that acc0ompanies a true sinus infection.

If you’re having intense splitting headaches, around the sinus area and there’s no thick green mucus with them, you probably are experiencing migraine headaches. Being prescribed antibiotics to wipe out a sinus infection may be a waste of time and money.

Dealing With The Fear of HeadahcesPlacing Medicine Under the Tongue


Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review

Trying to Find Bupap Medication- Pharmacist Suggested

During one of my migraine headache weeks the doctor prescribed a new medication for me to try. They called in the order to the nearest Publix pharmacy. The prescribed med was “Bupap.”

It was about a half hour before the pharmacy was due to close when I arrived to pick up the medicine. For three nights prior, I had gotten very little sleep because of the pounding headaches. The young brunette girl in her mid twenties informed me that the Bupap was not in stock (available) and she quickly asked if I wanted some over the counter Benadryl instead. I instantly and firmly replied “NO! Can’t you call another place and see if they have it?” She informed me that the pharmacy was going to close soon, but that she would give it a try. So I waited.

After about four failed attempts to find the Bupap, she suggested that I let her order it and that it would be delivered on Monday. It was Friday evening and I had already lost about 12 hours worth of sleep the previous three nights. So I politely, but firmly replied, “No. Look at the bags under my eyes. I have not slept because of these stupid headaches and the doctor prescribed this medicine, I need it tonight. Please try some other places.” She agreed to try some other pharmacies in the area.

Finally there was success!

She was able to find the medicine at a local Walgreens down the street. While she was making the phone calls, she said that she had not seen this medication in a couple of years and that she doubted that it could be found.

I was a bit irritated when this pharmacist suggested that I settle for Benadryl. I was even more troubled at her suggestion of waiting to get the Bupap in a couple of days.

The funny thing is that after all of the hassle, the Bupap really did not help with the Migraine headaches that particular night. I have used the medication several times since and it has helped, but that night one came on like a freight train. The Bupap was no match for that migraine.

Dealing With The Fear of HeadahcesPlacing Medicine Under the Tongue


Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review

How to Deal With the Fear-Getting a Headache

I guess that the best way to be prepared for a headache is by having the proper medication. This is not possible for everyone suffering from horrible migraines. Because people cannot afford the expensive medications many people must deal with the fear of getting one.

Migraine headaches are debilitating and will render you helpless when they start. It only seems natural that people would be living with anxiety, even if they do have the proper medication that will stop one almost instantly.

When one of these painful physical aliments begins, it just causes you to stop in your tracks. You can hardly move. All you want to do is sit in a dark place and hunker down until the hurricane in your head is over. Because if this I end up wondering and worrying if I will get a massive headache when I am ready for bed.

So, how do people deal with the fear of getting an attack? For me, I have grown to accept that I may awake in the middle of the night with a pounding migraine. This helps me deal with it. It has just become a fact of my life.

Three things I know to do about a migraine headache.

1) Have good medication in the cabinet ready and waiting. Don’t waist it on the little ones unless you can afford to.
2) Massage pressure points. At our website about People in Sarasota with Migraine Headaches we have a video about where to massage your head when one begins. These acupuncture techniques in this video work.
3) Accept the situation because when you have done all you know to do you must just learn to live with the pain.

Learning how to live life without the normal 6 to 8 hours of sleep is difficult, but for those of us who suffer from these kinds of painful frustrations, it becomes a way of life that must be accepted. If you’re just starting to get them, try to get as many samples of migraine headache medication that your doctor will give you.

Learning how to deal with migraine headaches and the fear that compounds the problem is just something that you go with the flow. Actually, we are forced to because the come on unexpectedly in an instant.

People Experiencing Migraine Headaches in Sarasota

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend today about the migraine headaches that I started having in the beginning of July in Sarasota Florida. I was explaining to her about how I had visited a walk-in clinic and after several attempts to treat me for a sinus infection the doctor ordered a CT scan. The results returned negative for a sinus infection and the doctor insisted that I was experiencing cluster headaches or migraines.

My friend patiently listened to me telling her that I had been given Maxalt, Imitrex, Darvoset, and some other type of medication to help take the pain away at night and to help me sleep. Incidentally, the Maxalt and Imitrex both cost around $18 a pill.

I don’t haver medical insurance and have been struggling in this economy to stay busy with steady work so, the doctor was kind enough to give me several samples to try. They worked great, but when they ran out he did not have anymore to give. For a couple of weeks sice I've suffered through a few sleepless nights.

Once I finished the story she told me that a man that she worked with had been experiencing major headaches in the past two weeks as well. I began to wonder if the migraines were related to something in the Sarasota Florida climate during the summer time blooming season.

These migraine attaches are inconsistent. Sometimes I can go three nights without having any pain and all of a sudden; I’m climbing the walls gasping for relief. I also take hot showers and let the water stream over my head. This seems to bring temporary relief from the throbbing pain.Mind you, it is only temporary relief not perminant.

It's funny, I can tell exacltey when one is beginning and when it starts go go away I can tell in an instant.

The intense attaches happen mostly at nighttime. Once I am in bed and have fallen asleep, I awaken sometimes only an hour later with a pounding headache that is moving through, my head like a freight train. It hurts tremendously. They always happen on the same side of my head, just over my left eye. The horrible feeling shoots through the left nostril and works its way all the way down the side of my neck. If I touch my head, the intensity only gets worse. Sometimes the tears stream only out of the left eye, it hurts! Inside of my left nostril it feels like dry burning pain.

I’ve been in Sarasota most of my life. These migraine headaches started about twenty years ago. At that time the doctor treated me for a sinus infection with pain killers, antibiotics and nose spray. After having the headaches once to twice annually, my physician ordered a CT scan and it was determined that I was having migraine headaches. He had been treating me for cronic cinusitus for several years.

Dealing With The Fear of HeadahcesPlacing Medicine Under the Tongue


Migraines Don't Have Green Mucus-Sinus Infections Do
Trying to Find Bupap Medicine
How Well Does Imitrex Work After a Migraine Starts-Patient Review