Hello everyone,
I am 13 weeks pregnant with our second child and have been having horrible horrible migraines. Most lasting 2-3 days at a time. I was the same way with our first child too. It seems to have been easier then because I could sleep them off! Now, I'm a stay at home mommy who babysits so that's out of the question! :) I've decided to accept the prescription my OB prescribed this time just hoping it would help. It seems to do the trick, but a few hours later the headaches back and turning into a full blown migraine again. He's prescribed me Fioricet- typically for tension headaches, but he wanted to do one step at a time. I'm not thrilled with taking prescriptions during my pregnancy though. Have any of you found natural relief from pregnancy headaches/migraines? I'd love to know some secrets!
Thank you and happy Sunday everyone!!
Thank you everyone for your suggestions and input! I too have been a migraine sufferer for most of my life- since I was 3. Seem about 10 years ago they abruptly stopped- that is until I was pregnant with my first child. Than after he was born they pretty much went again until now.
I increased the amount of water I was drinking yesterday and so far no headache! Perhaps I just wasn't hydrating myself adequately as some you mentioned? I also plan to take note of what foods I've eaten just prior to noticing when a headache starts to come on. I used to have to do this daily when I was younger too.
Thank you E.E. for bringing that up about Fioricet! I assumed that since my OB prescribed it for me he'd know what was best for my baby! That's shocking and I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even double check his recommendation. Until I can speak with him about this again at my next appointment I'm not going to take the Fioricet.
Thank you again ladies!
Try a dose of Tylonol, a Coke and a dark chocolate bar all at the same time! Worked for me! Good luck and hopefully those hormones will change as the pregnancy progresses!
I wouldn't take fioricet. My OB prescribed that then i looked it up on safefetus.com and it seems really bad for the fetus to take. I switched OB's and my new OB was astounded that the first OB had prescribed that. He gave me a prescription for vicodin which I only used a couple of times when I was in excruciating pain.
I have had migraines my whole life, but they were much worse during my pregnancies. I don't have much advice you haven't heard, but I wanted to let you know that after my daughter was born, my migraines have been SOOO much better. I have had 1 in the last 2+ years, after struggling with them my whole life. Hopefully they will settle down for you once your baby is born.
I am a migrain sufferer. I talked to my primary care physician prior to getting pregnant about different courses of action. He was at one time an OB/GYN and had good luck treating a patient with oxygen therapy for her severe migraines. We discussed that option if once I became pregnant the headaches were very bad. I was lucky that I was able to take tylenol and drink a coke which would knock down the headache to a level where I could function so I didn't try the oxygen myself but it would be worth a conversation with your doctor especially since the other drugs aren't working well. Best of luck to you!!
My husband gets terrible migraines too. From him, i have learned how to help avoid getting them. Also, through research of my own, i found that a Magnesium supplement helps stave off migraines. Feverfew works too...125mg dose daily, but since you are pregnant, i'd ask your Dr. about taking an herbal supplement. (Magnesium is not herbal). Artificial sweetners are a trigger, they contain asparatime. Chocolate is another trigger. Ironically, they say that caffeine is a migraine trigger, but in turn, once your migraine is already in full effect, caffeine can help ease your suffering! (It's helps to open up the constricted blood vessels in your brain.) Eating regularly & having small snacks in between meals helps. With my husband, if his blood sugar dips because of skipping a meal, or going too long between meals, he'll get a migraine. And, as many of the posters said, stay hydrated! Water is best, obviously. Good luck!
Search "migraine diet" in google. When I was pregnant, I really had to avoid food triggers with migraines. I only ever got them in pregnancy, and certain food triggered them, or made them worse! I also had regular chiropractic adjustments and did biofeedback therapy.
PS...I forgot to add, that B-vitamins and staying VERY hydrated helped.
When I was pregnant I had to avoid all dairy otherwise I would have horrible migraines.
There are a lot of things that can trigger migraines. I would do a couple of different things. First of all, really analyze the circumstances around your migraines. Are you getting enough sleep? Do you drink enough water? Is there a certain type of food that triggers your headaches (a friend of mine can't have artificial sweeteners)? Do your neck and shoulders feel really tight?
I, as well, suffered from severe migraines when I was pregnant with both my children. It was so bad with my second that I was taking Darvocet help with the pain. It was awful! I hated taking the meds, but if I didn't I was bed ridden. My oldest was a little over 2 at the time, so not great to be stuck in bed all day. Then I visited a chiropractor. I actually went for severe hip pain, but wound up speaking to him about my chronic head aches. He did some basic massage on my neck and shoulder and gave me an adjustment. OH MY GOODNESS! I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I carry a lot of my stress in my neck and shoulders, which leads to my headaches. I would REALLY suggest you find a really good chiropractor. Make sure that they will do a little bit of massage before they just start cracking and popping. Also, make sure they do an evaluation before they start adjusting. A lot of insurance plans will cover chiropractics now.
As an added bonus, it also helped with my blood pressure, heartburn, and back aches. I went until I was about 8 months pregnant. I was just too big to feel comfortable on the table.
You can also try upping the amount of water you are drinking. Dehydration can cause migraines. If that's the problem, medicine really isn't going to help. You need to re-hydrate your brain. Sometimes a few glasses of water followed by a caffinated soda will help.
I might be totally wrong, but I think a lot of migraine meds (at least the OTC ones) have caffeine in them. A little bit is ok, just don't go overboard.
