Changes over the years

How have your migraines changed over the years?

I was noticing the other day how strange it is how my migraines have really transformed over the years. In my teens and early twenties, my migraine pain was mainly focused in the corner of my left eye. Then somewhere in my twenties the pain seemed to shift over to the bridge of my nose. Now I've noticed that just in the past year or two, the pain has travelled down the left side of my nose.

I wonder if this is from possible nerve damage from repeatedly putting pressure on the areas that hurt (it often helps during a migraine to dig my nails into the spots that hurt). Or if maybe I'm also having sinus issues with my migraines. Or if maybe this is just the progression of the disease.

I've also noticed that I have a permanent slight drooping of my left eyelid. I actually wonder if I had some kind of mini-stroke, because it was really pronounced after a particularly bad migraine.. then got better, but I noticed it's never quite been the same.

Emily,

Absolutely! Mine are all because of hormonal changes I think. I'm not 100% on that but it would seem
like it at first glance.

I used to just get migraines once or twice a month around my periods. They all had auras to warn me.
Some weren't around my periods though, but they were extra (free of charge, I like to say lol) because
I always got my regular ones around the time, too. Never charted those the extras, I was really young.
They could be related to ovulation times. I'll never know now.

I got pregnant and they stopped. (I was thinking about staying pregnant my whole life but then watched
18 kids and counting and decided against it ) After I had my daughter, I've had migraines almost every
day since. Sometimes they come on and don't stop for days. I get auras now sometimes to warn me.
Not all the time anymore. I do get them a lot during the attacks though, which is kind of strange.

They used to happen on both sides. Now I experience most of the migraines on my right side.
The really bad ones hit on my left. Those ones don't respond to ANYTHING! No narcotics, no icepacks,
nothing. Thankfully, I haven't had one of those last for days. They are pesky but I have to say I hate
the ones on the right side more. They occur a whole lot more frequently and leave me down and out
for days. They have always been behind my eyes.

These ones after pregnancy are a whole lot more stubborn than the ones before. I used to be able to take
some medications, fall asleep for a few hours and be done with it. Now it seems like i've tried a lot and
not much is doing it for me. Hopefully me and Doc Genius will figure it out together.

my changes over the 6 years have only been time started and level of pain. They always go from left temple to right temple and are not as painful as 2007-2008 when they were mostly 8-9 pain

Mine have increased drastically in last five years, in frequency and severity.

During my college years I generally only got them the day after drinking. My Mom could never figure out why I would wake up fine, eat a big breakfast and two hours later be barfing my brains out. We just thought I was hungover, but finally figured out they were migraines.

I never had any with my two pregnancies. I loved being pregnant.

I've been on hormone replacement therapy for the past twenty years due to a complete hysterectomy. My neuro does not feel my m's are hormonal, since I'm on a patch and getting a consistent amount of estrogen (it is his feeling that it's the fluctuations in hormones that trigger the m's, not the hormones themselves). (I have gone off the HRT to see if that would help, but it made no difference in the M's and only turned me into a asexual witch).

Over the years I've gone from having a couple a month to over 20 a month. I seldom get a aura anymore, and I used to always get one.

It is still in the same place, behind my right eye, but now I also have neck pain with it.

I don't know why they have increased so dramatically. The stress in my life now is much less than it was in years past.

Interesting post.

Charlotte

Gosh I wish I was one of the lucky ones whose migraines went away with pregnancy! My migraines were horrible with both of my pregnancies. I would love to have more children.. but this is one of the things that is holding me back.

I have been getting migraines since my late teens (I am now 40). However, through college they were manageable with muscle relaxers and aspirin with codiene. I had my son in '92 and only remember one migraine while pregnant...after he was born the migraines gradually increased in pain level and other side effects as well as frequency. Thank goodness the triptans came out because as the years have gone on, I get more and more, usually anywhere from 8-12 a month.

My father had migraines (he is 74 now and no longer gets them), as did his mother and his grandmother. My father also had a major stroke a few years ago, which they tied to a PFO in his heart, which I guess in England they fix PFO's as a migraine prevention, stroke prevention. My grandmother and my great grandmother also had strokes (yep, same ones that got migraines) so I worry, the older I get, about the frequency, etc. I have been checked for PFO and thank goodness I don't have it.

Sorry, I digress. Anyway, the older I get the more migraines I get, not sure of the reasons though.

mine have changed. i think the medication combination has made a big difference.

7-8 years ago they were very, very sharp stabs and pain. i was actually dxed with clusters. i had a lot of pain that radiated up my neck to the top of my head (that's blood pressure).

occassional icepicks, and just overall right sided migraines. when i had my stroke, my brain pain shifted more to the left side of my head. the stroke was like i got punched on the left side of my head.

current pain is more global brain ache with ocassional stabs. some aura.