Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope • Hacker News Board

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#181

Post by shkkmo » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 1:36 PM UTC

vasco wrote: post #147

tkzed49 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depersonalization and derealization are truly awful. Having experienced them for non-psychedelic reasons, it's almost indescribable. Sometimes people say "seeing events in third person". My experience was that my consciousness and actions were completely disconnected from my observations of reality. Like, I questioned whether I had any influence at all over my existence. Basic, predictable events were suddenly uncert…

One wonders if that's how it actually is and the rest is just the brain fooling us into having control by way of rationalizing the actions we were going to do anyway.

Without the lies our brain tells our consciousness, we couldn't function. Even core stuff like the way that we see or our experience of choice, are dependent on our brain fooling us in some way.

Luckily, we an pretty good at being hypocritical. This allows us to learn and think about this stuff while still believing the lies.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#182

Post by wonderwonder » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 1:43 PM UTC

Foofoobar12345 wrote: post #99

I used to get frequent migraine attacks - there were times when I would be down 3 days in a week, just unable to be productive. A lot of it was induced by stress. I then tried something novel - I took some LSD. I had an intense psychedelic trip, dug deep into my psyche, realized I was a giant ball of anxiety. The anxiety's root cause was ultimately a fear of mortality (around the same time, my dad was going through a…

I had a similar experience but with simple Marijuana. I was getting migraines every week for months. Specifically my eye would catch light at some strange angle and it would almost burn itself onto my retina (massive light sensitivity). I was also highly stressed at the time.

I was laying in bed with a migraine on a Saturday early afternoon. Smoked some pot (I am not a day smoker, generally pretty sober during the day) and then sat down. I just told myself that this was stupid, I live an incredible life, have a family that loves me and its all self induced and I was done with it. Forced myself to get out of bed and just started moving. Trudged my way through it that day and have not really had a migraine since. This was years ago.

I have occasionally had that initial flash of light that tells me a migraine is coming (always while sitting down to work so I know its stress related). As soon as it hits, I close my eyes and just will it to go away. Has been pretty successful. A couple of times I have had to sit there for 10 minutes for the lens flare (for lack of a better word) to go away. This has happened maybe twice a year for the last ~4 years.

Not saying its self induced / stress for everyone but this worked for me.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#183

Post by jncfhnb » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 1:54 PM UTC

I get migraines with aura prior to storms

I’ll be damned if they’re not the result of some sort of swelling or inflammation of capillaries or the optic never or something. I can feel it in such clear detail.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#184

Post by dghughes » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:11 PM UTC

I recall about 10 or 15 years ago at work in the lunchroom it was me and maybe six younger people. Me age 40 them about age 20 six all said they have migraines I didn't, didn't know anyone who did. It seemed odd so many claimed to have migraines. I assumed they meant a bad headache not actual migraines but were using the term migraine to mean a bad headache.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#185

Post by auc » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:13 PM UTC

Our understanding of migraines seems to be increasing exponentially

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#186

Post by cf100clunk » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:15 PM UTC

cf100clunk wrote: post #102

usefulcat wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mom had migraine headaches pretty much all her life. For many years she had been seeing the same doctor for her headaches. Then she got old enough that she was on Medicaid, and she had to stop seeing that doctor because he didn’t accept Medicaid. So she found a different doctor. Different doctor prescribed a different treatment and lo and behold, her headaches pretty much went away after that.

My paternal grandmother was a migraineur, but back in the 1930s she was treated as a "hysterical" woman and given opiates. Her battles could not be overcome and she lived a short life. Thankfully the treatments have evolved.

Alors, I've been reminded that I should have referred to her as a migraineuse (feminine).

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#187

Post by assimpleaspossi » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:17 PM UTC

dghughes wrote: post #184

I recall about 10 or 15 years ago at work in the lunchroom it was me and maybe six younger people. Me age 40 them about age 20 six all said they have migraines I didn't, didn't know anyone who did. It seemed odd so many claimed to have migraines. I assumed they meant a bad headache not actual migraines but were using the term migraine to mean a bad headache.

Just a note to say I noticed this, too.

Kids these days.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#188

Post by slibhb » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:19 PM UTC

Foofoobar12345 wrote: post #99

I used to get frequent migraine attacks - there were times when I would be down 3 days in a week, just unable to be productive. A lot of it was induced by stress. I then tried something novel - I took some LSD. I had an intense psychedelic trip, dug deep into my psyche, realized I was a giant ball of anxiety. The anxiety's root cause was ultimately a fear of mortality (around the same time, my dad was going through a…

This is where pseudoscience comes from. You dropped acid and think it helped you but you probably tried many different things before acid which "didn't work". In all likelihood the acid had nothing to do with it; it was just a coincidence that your symptoms improved.

Also, it's common to have a lot of migraines for a period in your life and then stop having them. Or sometimes the reverse. I used to get very painful migraines about twice a year. Eventually that stopped. I still get migraines a couple times a year but they're quick "silent migraines" i.e. not painful, just annoying and disorienting.

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#189

Post by quackscience » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:22 PM UTC

slibhb wrote: post #188

Foofoobar12345 wrote: post #99

I used to get frequent migraine attacks - there were times when I would be down 3 days in a week, just unable to be productive. A lot of it was induced by stress. I then tried something novel - I took some LSD. I had an intense psychedelic trip, dug deep into my psyche, realized I was a giant ball of anxiety. The anxiety's root cause was ultimately a fear of mortality (around the same time, my dad was going through a…

This is where pseudoscience comes from. You dropped acid and think it helped you but you probably tried many different things before acid which "didn't work". In all likelihood the acid had nothing to do with it; it was just a coincidence that your symptoms improved. Also, it's common to have a lot of migraines for a period in your life and then stop having them. Or sometimes the reverse. I used to get very painful m…

Possibly, but there are a lot of people that self-administer LSD for migraines who say it helps tremendously. I'm also one of those people. Between occasional LSD and daily magnesium supplementation, my migraines are very infrequent these days.

https://www.science.org/content/article/lsd-alleviates-suici...

Re: Migraine is more than a headache – a rethink offers hope

#190

Post by ne8il » Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 2:29 PM UTC

ErigmolCt wrote: post #138

caitlinface wrote: post #70

I've suffered from migraines all my life. It worsened as I've gotten older. One day long attacks turned into three day long attacks. Then turned into five day long attacks. I've taken various preventatives and abortives over the years to varying success. It runs in my family so I never thought to see a neurologist for them. A couple years ago I had a bad string of them and my medicine wasn't really touching it, so I…

Did you have any side effects from the medication, or was it pretty smooth sailing?

I've been on Qulipta (a CGRP drug) daily for about a year now. It started working pretty much immediately, and I cannot think of a single side-effect in use, other than that you will have a withdrawal period pretty much immediately if you miss a dose.

Before that I've used Rizatriptan to treat rather than prevent (works well, but can cause brain fog, mood swings and GI issues). In order to get approval for the CGRP I had to try lower-cost drugs like Verapamil (a calcium channel blocker) which had no effects at all, positive or negative, and Topiramate, which is the single worst medication I've ever used. Compared to all of those, the CGRP is a miracle and has been life-changing.