Causes of overnight migraine?

I have been having an awful time with those annoying migraines that creep in in the middle of the night. Then I wake up and the pain is often too far gone for my normal "first" meds to work.

I have tried to think of everything that may be causing them but nothing seems to work. I got a new pillow, one of those expensive tempurpedic ones that conform you your head and neck to make sure my neck was supported and not bending in weird directions. That seemed to help for awhile, but not so much anymore. Though it does seem to have deflated a lot, so maybe I need something new.

I've tried adjusting the temperature up and down in the bedroom.. I added a humidifier, nothing seems to make a difference. Is there anything else I can try, or is it just something hormonal that there's nothing I can do about? I am so tired of waking in the middle of the night and having to deal with pain! It has been an almost daily occurence for weeks now. Or maybe it's still sinus trouble? I thought I was over my sinus infection.. could it still be lingering?

Take a look at my postings. This is a big problem for many of us. Previous discussions, might help you.
You have my empathy..

Pen

Pillows do make a big difference for me. If I have the right one then it seems to help a little. I have a hard time finding the right one and when I do, they discontinue them,etc. If mine start to wear out(which could be in one months time), then I have to get a new one.

I also have a memory foam and find that it helps me from waking with a headache.

I read some place that if you are waking up, you neck alignment is either too low or too high and that may be causing the headache. You probably tried this already, but if you have not, you might try placing a folded up towel under the pillow to see if raising your head/neck level helps.

Check out "Following on Waking with Migraine."
And
"Has anyone tried staying awake all night"
.
Hope this helps.

Having lunch as my main meal and then a small dinner with non trigger foods has helped me.

You may also want to consider talking to your doctor about having a sleep study done. I got rid of a lot of my morning migraines when I found out I had sleep apnea. My oxygen level was dropping to 59% when I hit REM sleep. The lack of oxygen was triggering a lot of morning migraines for me. I still have a lot other times of the day, but the vast majority of my morning ones are gone since I started using the C-PAP

Thanks, all, for the ideas. Had a pain-free night last night, but nothing was different. So weird.

Kate, what kind of pillow do you use now? I was under the impression that the tempur-pedic one I had was not *supposed* to flatten out, but it does seem to have. Boo.

Brenda, I did have a sleep study a few years ago, and nothing was wrong, thank goodness. Glad you are able to get some relief with C-PAP!

I think it is two things, that can't really be adjusted. One being stress that creeps up while you are sleeping, and because you don't know you are tense, you can't release. Okay, maybe extra stretching before bed might help.

The other being an internal chemical/hormonal rise during the night and there is absolutely nothing you can do about that.

Angela

This business of overnight migraines kills me too. For all of the 35 years I've suffered from migraine, I've never had one happen during the day. Only when I wake up with a migraine will I have a migraine that day. I sleep at regular times. I have no apnea. I take Klonopin for anxiety. I eat a healthy light dinner. Yet, every other day, or every third day, I wake up anytime between 2 and 5 with the pain, and the day is shot whatever I do. I can't fathom taking tryptans every night before going to bed, just in case... I already take a benzo. I not only want relief. I want to crack this mystery! And, yes, I've read the other thread started by Pen. I could never stay up all night. I am one who must eat and sleep at regular times. When I stay up, I'm guaranteed a migraine.

fattoush wrote:I could never stay up all night. I am one who must eat and sleep at regular times. When I stay up, I'm guaranteed a migraine.

That's how I am too.

In fact, I had a neuro tell me that change, any change, is a trigger for migraines.

Becky

If stress while sleeping is the cause, vigorous exercise at night should help with sleep.

I think it is something chemical. Circadian rhythm or something. Lot of stuff going on in our bodies that time of the early morning.
I have no idea what i might be, but here is an article posted on my healing groups website. Maybe it might give a clue, if not, its quite interesting.

http://www.gentletouch.co.uk/articles/24_hours.htm