Had to write email to "comments" asking them to consider adding Barometric Pressure Migraines to their list. These are real migraines, caused by weather, and can be one of the hardest of the migraines to prevent. Treatment is, unfortunately, strong pain meds, blood pressure meds, and in my case anti-vertigo meds. My neurologist of 18 years, who recently passed away and broke my heart, had been trying hard to get migraines listed, identified as a brain disorder, that can be so debilitating that some people cannot hold jobs etc. SSI needs to decide with each different case, whether a person can get SSI for this disorder. They vary to the extreme, some people get one or less migraines a month, then others, like me, have consistantly suffered from 2-3 a month, with the attack typically lasting 3 days. And I am not talking about rebound migraines either, I can easily identify those and take 3 advil for them and that works just fine. Weather: rain, storms, heat waves, what the barometric pressure gauge is, when it dips down below 30, I am on my way to hell for a couple of days. Many people suffer from this type of migraine. In Canada they have a toll free number for people to call to get the pressue gauge, storm predictions etc. This is important if you don't want to have to constantly cancel meetings or appointments. I know 2 days in advance that one of my monsters is on the way. What I don't always know until it hits is how bad it will be this time around. During the worst ones, I medicate but then also put myself to sleep with trazadone, because I simply cannot tolerate the symptoms, and sometimes, even with the pain meds, the electrical storm going on in my head, it cannot be quelled enough by the medication. Due to wonderful and compassionate professors, I managed to get through years of college, even though missing a lot of classes, I always stayed ahead with my work. If the teacher deemed that he/she was not comfortable having me take the final due to being absent so many times, I was always offered to present a relevant paper to write (25pgs) for the grade. Being a good writer, this was a generous offer from them and my stress would deflate immediately. Anyway, this is the first time today that I have been able to sit up long enough to write my input on this topic .I have been in bed for about 3 days now due to a monster migraine that blew in with the storm. Thanks for listening. If there are others out there who suffer from this type of migraine, would you please post? or email me and tell me how you deal with your barometric type migraine, okay?
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Q: Why are "Barometric Pressure Migraines" not listed in "Types of Migraines"-really bothered
Jhona,
"Barometric Pressure Migraines" aren't a type of Migraine. They can be Migraine without aura, Migraine with aura, hemiplegic Migraine, any type of Migraine. Barometric pressure is the trigger for many people. Migraine types are categorized by the type of symptoms and, in some cases, the area of the brrain most affected, not by what triggers them. Otherwise, we'd have food Migraines, sleep Migraines, perfume Migraines, etc. Does that make sense.?
Barometric pressure changes are one of my worst triggers. As we've found more effective preventives for me, they're helping prevent even those Migraines triggered by barometric pressure changes. Nothing is going to prevent all of them, but I'm finding that what prevents many of my other Migraines prevents those too.
I'm not sure what you mean about your neuroilogist "trying hard to get Migraines listed, identified as a braind disorder." Do you mean with the Social Security Administration for the purposes of disability benefits? Migraine is considered a genetic neurological disease by most people in the medical community.
Some people have been successful in taking Diamox when they know a weather front that is likely to trigger a Migraine is coming. Maybe you could discuss this with your doctor.
Teri
Hello Jhona;
I have suffered with Barametric Pressure migraine headaches for years. In fact, my family (notably my mother), does not understand them at all. I have to explain that if it is raining, hot, cloudy, or any type of barometric change, I will not be able to drive or function at all. I have been to numerous doctors and the only one that has helped signficantly is my family doctor out of all of them !! I disagree with the person that replied to your email because there are certain migraines and I do think that barametric pressure ones are unique ones and are a bit different than the ones that she described earlier.
I was actually searching in hopes to find a remedy that I wasn't doing, but it sounds like everyone does what I do: a dark room with sleep.
There are "certain" migraines, you are correct. But "barometric pressure migraine" is not, and never has been, a sub-category of a type of migraine, because changes in barometric pressures are a trigger event precipitating a migraine attack, and not a migraine attack in and of itself. I too am affected by the weather if the pressure begins to drop, but these migraines are no different than any of my other migraines, except for the ones cause by my menstrual period (and there is a specific moniker for these migraines, such as Pure Menstrual Migraine or Menstrually Related Migraine because they generally follow a specific pattern with hormone fluctuations and have a distinction as some of the most severe and harder-to-treat attacks). However, every one experiences migraine in different ways and the ones triggered by weather may be different for you in that they are more severe and harder to control, but this does not make them a different category of migraine.
Just as certain foods, smells, light patterns, and other stimuli forces our nervous sytem to react and produce the brain storm that is migraine, the same can happen with weather. It's a trigger, not a specific type of migraine, and can fall into the cetegories of Migraine with Aura (MWA) or Migraine without Aura. Migraines triggered by weather may be harder to treat because weather is, of course, unpredictable.
If you are interested in seeing the classification of headache disorders as defined by the medical industry, see the following website: http://ihs-classification.org/en/02_klassifikation/02_teil1/01.00.00_migraine.html
Migraine is the specific syndrome; barometric changes are the trigger event preceding the syndrome.
all i can tell you i dont know why they dont have it in there either but im the best weather person around summer ,winter,fall. i have lived with them for so many years that im use to them now there really nothing they can do for them and they trurey do not know what causes them . good luck and take care . my best case is dark room and sleep
Hi everyone,
yes, barometric pressure is a big trigger for me as well as having Intracranial Hypertension. I have been on many different drugs as well. I currently take Diamox and have tried to adjust the dosage to account for the pressure changes but this particular medicine for me has caused kidney stones and they are trying to get me off it and every time I come down on the dose the headaches increase. I do use abortives when the pain is unbearable but they are not of much help. I'm in a situation now that I just try to live with them the best I can and push them when I can because I can't stop living because I'm in pain. Hope that I've been of some help. I have more problems when it's a low pressure front verses a high pressure front. Take care and be easy on yourself.
I know your pain. I too Have these alful headaches. I know days ahead of time when a storm is coming. Up to a week before it even gets to me. I have fought with these from the age of about 8. For years I was told kids don't have headaches. Then at 16 was told I have allergys. But no one understands why my head hurts more before a storm. And it is getting wrose as I age. No one has been able to help me. So I keep securing for help. Feels good to know That there is help out there. Now I need to find it. Thanks LVN
LVanNest,
-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-•*Welcome to MyMigraineConnection!*•-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-
Barometric pressure changes are one of my worst Migraine triggers too.
For many of us, getting ourselves to a true Migraine specialist has meant finally finding the help we need. It's important to note that neurologists aren't necessarily Migraine and headache specialists. Take a look at the article Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? If you need help finding a Migraine specialist, check our listing of Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists.
Welcome again!
Teri
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Sorry for not replying for so long. my experience with neurologists has been bad. I have only recently found (in the past months) a doctor, not a neurologist, who has explained that migraines are considered a brain disease. Inclement weather is my trigger and my only trigger. snow flurries, impending rain, storms, super high humidity, etc. generate for me such incredible pain that I need to take demerol, and I also become extremely sick and bedridden for the duration, some cycles have me vomiting. They have become so much worse as I have entered menopause. I have been put on so many preventatives to no avail. I am trying Topomax again, but so far...I am totally disabled by this as well as being badly injured by 2 spinal surgeries. I don't know how I will make a living at this point. But thanks for the information, I have a lot more research in my future!
jhona