Conference moira::parenting_v3

    you have my deepest sympathy for having to deal with migraine
    headaches.
    
    i never had a migraine until i was pregnant. i had about 6 of them
    in the fifth month...none before that and none since.
    
    i was sitting at my desk at work when i got the first aura. the
    print on the paper i was reading became distorted as if looking
    thru a prism and i lost peripheral vision. there was no pain. i 
    thought i was having a cerebral hemmorage. i went upstairs at the 
    mill to the clinic and they checked me out but didn't know what 
    it was. about 1/2 an hour later, it was like a knife was stuck 
    thru the middle of my skull and this lasted about 3-4 hours.
    when it was over i felt like i had run the marathon. the doctor
    explained it was a classic migraine.
    
    when it happened again about 3 days later, i was so desparate 
    (because they wouldn't let me take anything) that i consulted
    a hypnotherapist thinking that reducing my stress level by
    hyponosis would help me pre-empt this...i was thinking that
    i was going to have to live w/ this until the delivery four months later.
    [during the second attack, i had the worst nausea of my whole life].
    however about 3 weeks later they subsided.
    
    regarding the hypnotherapy....which some people use to cope w/
    migraines....i hadn't really got the self-hypnosis technique down
    correctly but i found somewhat and do believe that you can reduce your
    stress levels with certain breathing, etc...and meditative techniques.
    once the headaches stopped, i did not continue the therapy.
    
    
    i talked to other male and female sufferers who said all they
    could do was get into a darkened room as soon as the aura starts
    and they ride it out.
    
    i understand there is a well-known headache clinic at the Faulkner Hospital
    in Boston ... they may have some tips for pregnant woman.
    
    it got to the point i was staying close to home because you are so
    debilitated by the pain that you don't want to be in a strange place
    alone.
    
    i wish you the best in coping with this,
    joanne
    

    Yup that about describes them, however, there are a number
    of triggers. Stress is one of the biggest but not the only one.
    Sinus headaches can kick them off, certain foods (some people respond
    to all or some of the following: chocolate, wine and/or liquor,
    cheeses, nitrates, msg, cherries), straying from an established eating
    and sleeping schedule, or physical stresses. Also, getting
    the classical aura pre-symptom is only a very occasional thing for me.
    
    I am also glad for you that you have not experienced them since that
    time. (Just keep an eye out for yourself though, you've got a
    history now....)
    
    As you may have guessed, I can't really stay close to home -- the
    facility I work in moved just 6 weeks after I became pregnant - from a 
    five mile drive to a 25 mile drive. But yes, now the ONLY thing that
    will beat it once it escalates is 2 hours heavy sleep in my own bed.
    (then I wake up with the biggest craving for starches!). Suffice to
    say driving is WORK (and throwing up is so much easier to do now during
    pregnancy too!).
                                                                  
    Unfortunately Boston is a long drive from Ottawa, but I have been
    keeping up with my reading and speaking to people about the problem
    (part of the reason I have entered the note) and am trying to gather
    as much about it as I can. Thanks for the reply.
    
    Monica

    Boy, do I know what you're going through . . . I've suffered from
    migraines on and off since my periods started ages and ages ago. 
    Fortunately mine aren't as severe as some people's. . . oddly,
    during three pregnancies I had no migraines at all, but starting
    at about 4 months after each delivery, I have bad migraines,
    midcycle every month for about a year.  (I'm due for this month's
    any day now...) The first two times they gradually decreased in
    severity until they disappeared, but this time it's been 14 months
    and they're getting worse instead of better.  I hope it's not a
    new pattern.
    
    Anyway, here are a couple of things that sometimes help me when I
    start coming down with a migraine at work --
    
    Sometimes before the visual disturbances start, I get very cold,
    especially my hands.  Sometimes if I go into the bathroom and run
    hot water overy my hands and wrists for a few minutes to warm them
    up, and then have a big cup of hot coffee, it will help prevent
    the migraine.
    
    I've been told that many women find that avoiding will help
    prevent migraines.
    
    The terminal screen or flourescent lights will sometimes trigger a
    migraine in me, as will stale air or sitting too long.  Going for
    a walk out in the natural light and fresh air will often help. 
    
    I don't think there's any danger to the baby from the Tylenol.
    I've read about women taking it all through their pregnancies
    without any problem.  It is worrisome, but I think the stress on
    the baby when the mother is suffering is more dangerous than the
    effects of the Tylenol. 
    
    I can't drive when I'm coming down with a migraine -- I get a
    visual disturbance in which the edges of my vision look like
    they're squeezing together, and the other cars on the road look a
    little like pictures sliding off a wall and onto the floor.  If I
    had a long commute, I'd look seriously at finding a van or
    carpooling arrangment where I wouldn't have to worry about driving
    home. 
    
    --bonnie

    
    	I get migraines due to my jaw being inadvertently fractured during
    an operation. Apparently there is scar tissue that puts pressure on a
    nerve. Sometimes these headaches are absolutely dibilitating (my vision
    goes and my face can go numb, can't walk straight, etc.). Usually these
    headaches last for about a week. (at which point I am completely
    depleted and wiped out).
    
    	I am currently taking something called Midrin and it appears to be
    giving me some relief. My question is this; is all migraine medication
    (which constricts blood vessels) not allowed during a pregancy? (or at
    least discouraged?) Is there anything that can help a migraine (severe,
    not just a headache) that a fetus could tolerate? I've seen some of the
    other notes about lying in a dark room and taking Tylenol, but because
    of the severity and duration of my attacks that wouldn't even come
    close to touching the pain.
    
    	We are thinking about starting a family and are very excited but
    for me, the prospect of having one of these headaches and not getting
    relief is not very comforting.
    
    			Wendy

I know that Midrin is not recommended during pregnancy.  To take a look at 
how various migrane treatment drugs are viewed during pregnancy and breast-
feeding, pick up a copy of "Will It Hurt The Baby", published this year.

You might also look into alternative treatments like acupressure, acupuncture 
or breathing methods.

=ss

    I too suffered from migraine headaches.  Being pregnant increased the
    frequency of my headaches and my OB indicated that I could anticipate
    they would be worse from week 14 - 18.  She was right.  She gave me
    Fiorocet for the pain.  It along with quiet rest seemed to do the
    trick.  I luckly only needed to take two tablets during my whole 
    pregnancy....I elected to live with some discomfort rather than take
    the medication most of the time.
    
    Anyway, I'm now 5 weeks away from my due date (2/5/91) and I can
    happily report I have not had any migraines since week 17.
    
    Good luck....ask you OB/GYN for some advise prior to getting pregnant.
    
    Sharon
    
    
    re .5
    
    I thought "Will It Hurt the Baby" was a great reference book, however,
    I've yet to find any medication that has been recommended by my doctor
    listed in it.  Oh well....
    
    

    My migraines began during my first pregnancy - I honestly thought
    I was going blind because of the "aura".  They only started
    in my third trimester and continued for several weeks post-partum
    (sometimes several headaches per week).  During the pregnancy,
    I attempted (unsuccessfully) to deal with them with Tylenol.
    I didn't know that these were migraines - I mentioned headaches
    to the Dr, but since I also have high blood pressure, that was
    his more immediate concern.  By the time I could properly
    describe the symptoms and he diagnosed them as migraines,
    the baby was born.  I was given one type of med that you \
    put under your tongue (can't remember the name now), but it
    did not work.  Subsequently, they prescribed Midrin, which
    works fairly well for me, if I take it quickly enough.  The post
    pregnancy migraines have been significantly reduced - maybe one
    every couple months.  I became pregnant last February, and very
    quickly the migraines started up again, very severe and very
    regular.  The OB was going to give me tylenol with codeine
    with the next migraine, but at my fourth month I lost the baby
    so I was able to resume taking the Midrin.  Migraines also
    diminished.  We are now "trying" again and the only thing about
    the upcoming pregnancy I do not look forward to is the return
    of the killer migraines.  Any suggestions?
    
    The high blood pressure, BTW, is chronic and became quite high
    during the first pregnancy.
    
    Cathy Koos-Breazeal, Santa Clara
    

    There are a number of things people I know have tried to control the
    frequency and severity of migraines. Now, before you become pregnant
    again, you have the luxury of investigating some of them and checking
    with your doctor to see if these are viable treatments (if they work
    for you) during the pregnancy. Two non chemical methods come to
    mind; acupuncture or biofeedback.
    
    A friend of mine managed to keep the frequency down (she'd have 3 or 4
    a week before) during her acupuncture treatments. She said that once
    she stopped though, they did increase again.
    
    Another of my friends found that being taught the biofeedback technique
    eventually gave him the ability to surpress them within an hour once
    they developed. (This is one I plan to investigate myself after the
    baby's born, depending on how my pattern turns out).
    
    I am guessing that your high-blood pressure is also a contributing 
    factor since the typical symptoms of migraines involve quick 
    changes to the diameter of blood vessels (and to pressure) to the head. 
    
    For myself they seem to have eased up a little in the 2nd trimester
    now, and seem to have been triggered up until now by the onset of a 
    headache due to fatigue. Now, having learned this lesson, when I get
    a headache I immediately prepare to go home and sleep. This helps a
    LOT.
    
    There is a lot of research still going on concerning migraines, and
    the effect serotonin (the hormone responsible) has on the brain. I 
    guess we should all check up with our neurologists regularly, and
    eat pasta. (I don't remember if I had mentioned that carbohydrates
    in the form of starches actually help - potatoes or pasta does wonders
    for me when I am recovering).
    
    Monica