Migraines when waking up

Hi Liz, thanks for the reply that all sounds great what you've said and I might try some of them things to see if it works for me. Thank you

Your welcome

Sunnysky. 😊

Hi Joan, thanks for replying what is sleep apnoea? I do have occasionally sleep paralysis in my sleep, which makes it very difficult for me to get to sleep some nights. But thank you for your advice and I'll look into it. I hope you get sorted

sorry i took so long in replying, i hope your aura symptoms have cleared up a bit, i am still getting headaches when i wake up but not as bad as before, i have strted taking 10 mg of amitriptyline at night, and have recently increased it to 20mg. it works as a preventative for migraine and helps you sleep throughout the night, maybe it is worth mentioning this to your doctor as it may help with the aura you experience at night time. 

Sunny sky X

Hi Sunny sky,

Glad amytriptyline is helping. I'm a bit reluctant to try more medication after taking just one propranolol and nearly having a panic attack but I'll keep your suggestion in mind as I think the side effects might be less. Strangely my migraines have reduced of late and when they occur it's more in the daytime. I've been taking antihistamines lately and another forum member said she'd been prescribed them as a deterrent so that could be the cause. Anne X

Hi Anne, 

I sympathise with you, I was given propranolol as my very first preventative medication and the side effects I had was horrendous! felt like a walking zombie, and had horrible hallucinations. However amitriptyline has only very small side effects, and I have experienced none of them so far!! I'll keep you posted on how I get on, I hope you manage to find some medication or life style change what works for you. At the moment with the results I am having I really recommend amitriptyline. 

I have not heard that before with the antihistamines, how does it work? do they helping with preventing migraine or do they work as a pain relief when experiencing a migraine? I used to take them daily for hayfever, I never knew they could be used for migraine! 

Keep me posted on how things work out for you, I enjoy this website and all the blogs/forums on it as it helps me feel less alone and there's people on here who understand and relate to your condition/problems! I was thinking about starting my own personal blog about how health problems can affect your every day to day life and how I manage / cope with it all. let me know if this would be something your interested in reading. 

Sunny Sky X 

Hi  Sunny sky,

I think a blog is an excellent idea especially with a condition as varied as migraine. Your experiences can help others, it's why I joined this forum as my auras were so strange I just wanted others input. Got no luck unfortunately as suddenly experiencing smells that aren't there was just too weird! Re antihistamines the theory is that they just calm the brain's activity down  - people with migraine aren't able to switch off from all the info constantly coming in like ' normal' people which is why the brain just gives in and has a hissy fit ( apparently it's similar to an epileptic fit which is probably why my GP kept asking if I'd had seizures). I just realised after having taken piriton for 2 weeks that the auras had almost gone. I still get them but not as often and they're back to the usual zigzag patterns and dizzy spells and the phantom smell business has disappeared too. Complete accident that I came across it as a preventative.  Another reason why exchanging experiences helps. Anne X 

Hi Anne, 

I'm so glad that antihistamines have started to work for you, I usually take them every day but as the pollen count has been low recently I haven't been taking them. I'm going to keep this in mind and maybe start taking them daily to see if it makes any changes for me. I am quite lucky as I don't experience any visual changes with my migraines, however late at night when driving or watching tv, on my phone/laptop any bright lights really, it causes a hazy effect with my eyes. I have been to the opticians and they have gave me glasses to reduce the hazy effect from these type of lights. 

The only main visual change I get is when looking out a window at the sky (bright light again) or even looking at a wall, floor, or anything bright / white I see small stars / circles move, I get this all the time even when I don't have a migraine, I have mentioned it to the optician and they couldn't find a source to the problem, I just find it strange how I have it 24/7 even when I don't have a migraine. Did you ever experience any aura daily without migraine? 

Brilliant! I'm glad you like the idea of a daily/weekly blog, I'll keep you posted if I create one. 

Sunny Sky X 

Hi Sunny sky,

Not sure I'd  call it an aura but I am very sensitive to light and if I look at something that's strongly lit I get a lot of after images, when it's really bad it's like being stuck in a Kate Bush video! Also get bright lights shooting about at times so had a thorough eye test and nothing wrong apart from being given low mag reading glasses. Occasionally when I'm driving the edge of the verges and white lines go pink but think that's just an induced colour from seeing too much green. I tend to wear sunglasses most of the year to calm my vision down otherwise I think I'd get more migraines than I do. Last migraine was Saturday just gone and it happened at night again; was having a vivid dream where I was saying to someone that I had a left sided aura and how it looked, woke just in time to see it disappear out of my left vision. Do find it weird that my brain clocks what's happening and lets me know via a dream. Anne X 

Hi Anne, 

I experience that a lot, if I stare at anything bright when I look away I see a lot of after images normally green/orange/red blurs, feels like a blur patch over my eye! I can sympathise with you on that and how annoying it can be, I have been given glasses not to improve my eyesight but just to reduce the haze I get from car lights, traffic lights etc - anything bright really at night time. I also wear sunglasses when driving, maybe its worth mentioning to your optician about some glasses to reduce the haze/glaze from lights if it's turning into big problem for you? I haven't been given mine yet but I'll let you know how I get on when I pick up my glasses. 

I've never heard of that before, but I find it amazing how our brains work, and how its able to let you know during a dream that your being affected by aura. Have you tried taking any sleeping tablets? maybe just a small dosage so that you can sleep through the night without any disturbances? 

How many migraines roughly do you have a week? 

Sunny Sky X

Hi Sunny Sky, 

The glasses idea is worth remembering next time I have an eye test, I can manage fine with sunglasses during the day when driving but non magnifying glasses with anti glare coating would be great for driving at night. 

The frequency of migraines varies a lot with me, I can go 2 or more weeks free of them then get 2 a week ( the attack lasts 3 days). Just had a stinker of one yesterday, knew it would be bad as the left side of my face was pulling and getting pins and needles. My fault as I'm not taking piriton at the moment just to see if it was taking magnesium supplements that made the difference last time when the migraines reduced. I wouldn't want to take sleeping tablets as I don't really feel my auras disturb my sleep, it's not like I get headaches with them. 

Will be interested to hear how you get on with your glasses when they arrive. 

Anne X 

Hi Anne, 

I defiantly think mentioning the glasses to your optician is a brilliant idea, I wear sunglasses in the day but needed something for night time driving so I really hope the glasses help with it all. Do you suffer with pulsing migraines at all? yesterday I woke up with a migraine, the second I open my eyes I can feel it! (starting to drive me insane - I'm fed up of it) but I have a pulsing sensation in my head, any movement makes it worse, and I can feel my vision starting to disappear. Have you ever experienced anything like this? I am going to cardiology in November about another condition and they said the pulsing headaches could be from that but I didn't know if it was a type of migraine and if you've ever experienced it yourself. 

I hope taking the antihistamines have made an improvement, are you looking for any long term goal with your migraines or are you taking it a day at a time? I have been lucky in some ways as I haven't had bad migraines with aura every day, I only seem to get bad aura maybe once/twice a week, however I still have the pain of migraines nearly daily! I'm hoping that the amitriptyline sorts me out, as my long term goal is to have only one bad migraine a month rather than a week.. or in a perfect world no migraines at all! 

Hope you keep well throughout the week,

Sunny Sky X  

Hi Sunny Sky, 

No I've never had pulsing migraines as I've never had a headache with my migraines.  I do get bad headaches at times, real thumping ones that hurt with every heartbeat and somehow get into your teeth, but they're not migraines.  I get a days warning usually of a migraine which includes feeling spaced-out, pins and needles on the inside of my skull,  sometimes pulling on one side of my face. Once the aura starts I then have 3 days of feeling very weird and a bit sick before it ends. Judging by my family history this will get worse going into menopause and probably won't stop until it's over so maybe I'll be normal when I'm 60! 

So sorry to hear how often you suffer with the headache, really hope amytriptyline helps to control it. Also hope all goes well in November and you get some answers as to a possible reason for the daily headache. 

Anne X 

Hi Anne, 

Have you ever seen a neurologist if you have certain neurological symptoms such as pulling of the face and pins and needles? I only ask because as well as my daily/weekly migraines I have a condition called hemiplegic migraine. I first discovered I had this condition two years ago when I was taken to hospital by ambulance with suspected stroke. It was then discovered I had inherited the condition from one of my parents, therefore when I get certain migraines I have pins and needles and certain funny feelings down the side of my face, maybe keep an eye on how often you have neurological problems with your migraine. 

I understand completely what you mean about the thumping headaches and how it links with your heart beat! as well as getting the same pulsing/thumping in my head and heart I also feel it in my calves. 

Thank you Anne, I'll keep you posted with how the appointment goes. hopefully your migraines change for the better when you go through the menopause rather than get worse. 

All the best, 

Sunny Sky X 

Hi Sunny Sky, 

Yes I thought it could be hemiplegic, my syptoms are really mild compared to others and they do always correspond with the eventual aura. Reading posts on this site it seems clear that its common for migraines to change over a person's  lifetime and I'm having a lot of stress right now ( Dad died last year and Mum died suddenly at the end of July).  If my facial symptoms get worse I'll definitely get back to my doctor but have not much faith that I'll get to see a neurologist as nothing came of the doctor's letter last time I asked. Still can't hurt to ask again. Have gone back to piriton once daily starting on the 1st September and have stopped the magnesium as wasn't doing anything so will see if it was just a coincidence last time the piriton worked. Will keep you posted. 

Anne X 

Hi Anne, 

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad and your mum, no wonder your having a few strange symptoms could all be down to the stress of everything. It is worth mentioning it to your doctor in a hope you can see a neurologist, but then they don't really help you much!..

I was given a diagnosis of hemiplegic migraine and that was it, I was given propranolol but the side effects were effecting me daily so I came off that, my last appointment with the neurologist I was taken off all medication just to see how I coped with not being on anything.. and as you can see by this post it isn't really working. 

keep a diary of all the symptoms, time and where about this symptoms took place for example at home, at work etc. Because if you do get to see a neurologist this is really good for them to get an idea of everything your going through and the symptoms you have been experiencing. 

hope everything works out for you, and the antihistamines start working again. 

All the best,

Sunny Sky x