I never used to wake up with migraines. Prior to visiting the neurologist - I would only ever start to get migraines in the mid afternoon. This change in pattern is one of the reasons I started seeing the neurologist. I have never woken up because of the pain, but I have woken up with pain - or been woken up and realized I had a migraine. For example, kid comes in in the middle of the night and wake me up and I have a migraine. Or last night, when my boyfriend came home from work at midnight, I woke up to the sound of him coming to bed - like normal and the pain was so intense I don't think I even picked up my head to kiss him.
I started reading a book yesterday The Migraine Brain (recommended by my neurologist). I have already read 3 chapter - very good information! One of the things I have read so far is that people with migraines know when they are going to get migraines even if they can't explain why or how they know. It gives a list of things to specifically look for - common symptoms that people experience before migraines to help you identify when a migraine is on its way. These symptoms can start anywhere for hours to days before the migraine starts. Last night as I was getting ready for bed I had that "know" sensation that I was probably going to have a migraine when I woke up (didn't expect it at midnight). The only symptom I specifically remember was a stiff neck and that I could not pop my neck on my own (usually I can pop my neck). Before bed I didn't get up to take my meds, which may have been part of my problem. I have been reluctant to do so because my insurance will only allow me 9 per month - so I don't want to "waste" them if I am not actually having a migraine. But I may be actually causing more problems. Reading from this book, it explained better how the triptans (migraine meds) work. They are not pain relievers. A migraine is a chemical change in your brain. The triptans actually work to counter the chemical change to get the brain back to normal. The earlier the triptans are taken, the better - like in that beginning "know" phase before the pain sets in.
So continuing with last night's ordeal. I did manage to get up and take my meds last night and go back to sleep. When my alarm went off this morning at 6 - still extreme pain (this sucks!!!) took more meds, and set alarm for 7:30 to take the lil person to school. Had to get up at 7:30 with that alarm. I hate that even my daughter notices when something is wrong. Took her to school and came back home and crawled into bed. Woke up around 11:30, but still laid in bed until around 12:30 - not ready to get up yet. The throbbing was gone, but still had lingering pain. Over the past few hours I have moved into the "hangover stage". Tonight I do have a massage and chiropractor appt scheduled.
Also I did order a weather reporter thing last night - it reports indoor and outdoor temp and humidity and also barometric pressure. I am going to start keeping track of these to see if changes have an effect on my migraines. This should be coming in the next week to two weeks.
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