Does anyone else suffer from long (4-5 day) postdromes?
I've suffered from migraines since I was 11 (now 34) and I'm currently on Topamax to keep them in check but still get about 1 bad attack a month (visual disturbances, numbness, nausea, vomiting and of course the blinding head and neck ache). I've found with the years my "migraine hangover" has been lasting longer and longer, I feel brain damaged for days!! Can't concentrate on anything, words and names slip my mind and I forget who people are when I bump into them. It's very disconcerting. I also feel very down. Does anyone else suffer from this? It seems to last about 4 or 5 days.
Hi carrieL,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Having one migraine attack a month is quiet the accomplishment - good for you! It sounds like you are managing migraine disease very nicely!!
Postdrome typically can last for up to 48 hours, but I've spoken with other patients who seem to endure this last phase longer. Is this new and/or different from previous postdromes? If so, it's important to let the doctor know so he can rule out anything more serious.
Hopefully others will be along soon to share their experiences with you,
Nancy
The problem I run into is I don't know if the migraine attack is over or I'm experiencing postdrome. The pain may have subsided but the effects of the migraine are still there.
I hope this makes sense. So for me, I am sure this can happen. And I am assuming you are female Carrie, so it could also be a part of that time of the month. PMS and hormones can play have with this disease.Thank you for your reply Ronan,
That's a good point, I wonder if the first day or so of my particularly bad postdromes are in fact the tail end of my migraines, in which case the migraine is longer than I thought and the postdrome not as long.
Yes, hormones definitely hit me hard, as does dehydration, caffeine, MSG, citrus, alcohol, light sensitivity, strong smells (nail polish, paint, glue etc), stress etc... over the years I've managed to identify quite a lot of my triggers but somehow even with avoiding them as much as possible I still get hit by migraines. I guess I have other triggers I don't know about (and of course us females can't avoid hormones lol!!)
thanks again for the reply - hope you're well xx😀 You're most welcome.
I've almost given up trying to figure out what causes what. But the triggers you name are mine as well. Anything new is an "oh well" for me. I have the migraine and its effects so now I need to deal with it.
Thank you Nancy! You are right, once a month is not much to complain about compared to what it used to be like pre-topamax but (in the words of Martin Luther King) "I have a dream..." that all migraine sufferers will one day find a way to suffer no more lol!!
To answer your question, yes I seemed to shake off the postdrome period much faster (typically 24 - 48 hours) in my teenaged years / early 20's compared to now in my 30's so maybe it's something to do with age. Or the fact that my migraines have become more severe with age so it only makes sense that the postdrome has become more severe as well. The good news is that I woke up feeling much better this morning (day 6 postdrome) and my neurologist has suggested an increase in my topamax after a particularly bad spate of 3 migraines in the last 6 weeks so I hope to get on top of things again soon.
Thanks again for your reply, so happy to have found this site xx
regards
Carrie
