Has anyone tried staying awake all night?

Tonight, probably like last night, I finally go to bed with a much less painful head....
I think I need to become nocturnal....
When I awake tomorrow, unless some miracle happens, I shall have a level 9/10 migraine to deal with.

I have no idea what occurs in the night, but if I sleep in the daytime, which is rare I don't get a migraine....
Its a night thing, perhaps more than a sleep thing, something to do with the circadian rhythm maybe??

So I wondered, has anyone managed to stay awake all night and beat, this, or do they come anyway?
I do try, but I get very tired with the Fibro and always end up falling asleep.

If anyone has managed this and noticed a difference please let me know.
SOMETHING has to be the cause here, and I need to crack it.
I now dread going to sleep at night, and am so sick of medicating every day pretty much from waking...

thanks a lot
Pen

Sorry to say, but my migraines persisted throughout all of my night shift rotations, when I would keep my sleep pattern on all nights for weeks and months at a time.

So are you saying they came regardless of when you slept, or at night when you were awake....
Sorry to be thick, its 12.30 here in UK.
I am holding off going to bed because this is the best my pain has been all day....

My freind goes to the same neurologist I do, and she mentioned to him that she wakes up with a migraine a lot (as do I). He told her it has something to do with hormones, and that they flucuate between the hours of 4am - 8am. Not sure if he meant they dip or rise or something, but could probably google it or talk to your doctor...though I am not sure of the answer. What about taking a triptan (if you take those) as a preventive prior to going to bed?

Hi Pen. I have never stayed up all night but I have slept almost sitting up thinking it was the laying down that was causing them. It seems to help just a little. Mine all come in the night. We are expecting a major blizzard starting today through Saturday - over a foot of snow. Sure enough I woke up at 2:00 AM with a migraine coming on. I took a squirt of DHE and was able to get back to sleep and wake up fine. I don't hesitate anymore using medication. I used to think that I could go back to sleep and maybe be fine in morning or I would take OTC drug, but it never failed. I would wake up regretting not taking the good stuff.

I know what you mean though. I have been afraid to go back to sleep because I seem to be better awake. In fact, in all the years I have been having migraines I have never had one come on in the day. They all come between maybe 2:00 Am and 5:00 AM. There has to be some kind of explanation for that. Someone on this site once said it was some chemical change you have in the night and it is reacting to "triggers" from the day before. So, what do you do about that?

Also, come to think about it, I do not get them napping in the day time either--just at night.

Yes, the migraines persisted even when I slept all day and was awake all night, they continued to hit me worst at night, as is my usual.

Shoot, It's easy for me to stay up all night when a thumper is hitting. Nothing like seeing the sunrise through a medication induced fog...

hi pen have you tried taking the triptan just b4 you go to bed, so that hopefully you will not wake with a migraine and spend most of the day trying to fight it off? x

I stay up every Sunday night because of my once a week graveyard shift. So far I haven't had a migraine on the nights I work all night. But then I can't positively say that I would have had one had I slept instead. I'm not being of any help at all, am I? Sorry!

Chris

Not sure what to make of this. Yes have had Triptan before bed, but not sure how much it would help and cant do it often.
Also means the effect runs out later in the day.

3 times over Christmas gone to bed feeling better and woken with another migraine.
Happened just last night....so sick of it.

Really need an answer ...

Pen -I'm wondering if you can get something else along with the triptans. That way you aren't taking the same thing for the pain all the time. It would be a good way to test something else also.

My psych told me the migraines that come on in the middle of the night are due to anxiety. A person can have anxiety even when they're sleeping. I don't really accept this because I don't feel anxious when I wake up, just in severe agony. ??????

I often think it would be better to stay up so that you avoid waking up with a bad migraine. A couple of my triggers are insufficient sleep or a disruption to my sleep schedule, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Becky

I was wondering if I could stay awake thru about 4am given they usually come on about 3 I think....
Trouble is I am usually so exhausted after pain and medication, I fall asleep.
Isnt it horrible to dread going to sleep.....

pen wrote:I was wondering if I could stay awake thru about 4am given they usually come on about 3 I think....
Trouble is I am usually so exhausted after pain and medication, I fall asleep.
Isnt it horrible to dread going to sleep.....

Well I stayed awake until 3am and then fell asleep. I didn't wake with a migraine, but one tree does not a forest make...
Happy New Year.

Let's hope 2010 is going to be the miracle year. Read my post.

Have you considered sleep apnea? Or the position you sleep in? Those can be contributors to migraine.

Do you oversleep? That can often lead to a migraine for me.

Just some ideas. Good luck.

£eslie

I don't have to try to stay awake all night. It just happens. Sometimes it is because I already have one and can't sleep and other times I just have insomnia. The migraines come with or without sleep. Last night I finally feel asleep about 4 am... got 2 1/2 hours of sleep before the alarm went off. The migraine is gone but TN pain is about a 5-6.... past the annoying stage and into the pleeaaase stop burning stage.

I hope that not sleeping when you feel one on it's way works for you. That would be an easy fix. Do you dring coffee to stay awake to just stay awake without it? A caffeine shot sometimes helps ward off an attack if I catch it early enough.

Alli

I dont generally oversleep no. With Fibro its more likely to go the other way.
As for staying awake. I just cant sleep some nights.
I guess it is lack of activity, just not tired.
Coffee, never touch it, gives me indigestion and headaches.
Thanks.
P

I don't know if this thread had anything to do with it but I had an extremely difficult time last night, trying to sleep (and I am on a sleeping pill). I think I finally nodded off around 4 AM. I got up at 9:30, fed the cats, turned the TV on and slept til 2:30!

Now I am going to be really screwed up tonight. Oh, and by the way, my head was aching in the morning. It is still lingering but my meds are holding down the severity.

I hope things were better at your end.

£eslie