Barometric pressure & migraines
Hello all,
Unfortunately I've had a bad few days back to back migraine. But today took the cake. As much as I love rain falling and listening to it, I've had to be in bed most of the day today. As i was texting my husband who was at work (firefighter/paramedic) he asked me if I thought it could be the barometric pressure. Which is ironic because I took my boys (14,11, & 😎 to a picnic with water slides & a mom friend (Physicians Assistant) told me that it could be the barometric pressure causing my migraine. Due to the fact that she stated I didn't look well. I tried to hide it but sometimes your face says it all for you. With that do any of you suffer from episodes like this?? My poor boys know the drill when I'm not well and can take care of themselves. But I hate not being able to enjoy a Saturday pain free. Thanks for your input. I'm headed back to bed to get some rest so hopefully when I wake up the pain will be gone.
Take care all!!
Cyndi N
Weather changes affect a lot of us. Barometric pressure changes, wind speed, humidity, and even lightning can trigger attacks. It can be difficult to cope because we can't always control our exposure to this one. Some patients have found that taking Diamox the day before and during weather fronts can help. That requires you to watch the weather. 😀 Fortunately, there are plenty of weather apps for our mobile devices that can help us. Sometimes just knowing that it's a risk can help us plan ahead and prepare our family.
I didn't check the weather forecast yesterday because it was so nice outside. Then about 1:30 I starting having some prodrome symptoms (blurred vision, word loss, fatigue, muscle weakness). By 5:00 the migraine had come on full-force. A thunderstorm rolled in overnight and woke me up. It was then that I realized what triggered the attack. I got caught off guard and I know better! 😀
My suggestion is not to hide it. Your kids are old enough to understand what is happening and probably savvy enough to see through your attempts to hide the pain. Just be honest, treat the attack, and do your best. Kids are very resilient and the children of migraineurs tend to grow up to be very compassionate advocates.
Take care!
Tammy Rome
Hi! Weather and barometric changes have always been my #1 trigger. They've become my son's #1 trigger as well. He'll even call me to check and see if I've got a migraine when the weather changes. Ugh! The one thing we can't do anything about. I'm so sorry it's an issue for you too. Best of luck with it. 
my husband suffers from those barometric pressure changes as well. A while back he spoke to his headache specialist about trying a drug used for altitude sickness among other things called Diamox to help him better manage those variations. He tracks the pressure daily and takes the medication as needed based on the severity of the changes. It helps to reduce those types of attacks for him. It may be worth discussing with your doctor to see if it may help you and your son. Warmly, Cheryl migraine.com team
Hi Cynnewie75 & Tammy,
So sorry you had such a miserable day! Ugh. I hope you're feeling better now. My biggest trigger is the weather, followed by hormones. I don't know if it's the barometric pressure, temp changes, rain, or what exactly. But it can come in advance of the weather change - even as much as a day. Even when the meterologist doesn't mention rain in the forecast, my head can predict it. Isn't it disappointing when you have to cancel plans or leave something early?! Anger. Guilt. Sadness.
Thanks for mentioning Diamox, Tammy, I've never heard of that before, will check it out.
Just knowing that there are others who are suffering with me, makes me feel better (I hope that doesn't sound bad).That doesn't sound bad at all! Shared suffering eases the burden. Take care.
I often start getting a migraine 3 or 4 days before it rains. It really ticks me off too, because often the weather will be super nice Tuesday through Friday, yet I'm down with a migraine because its going to rain on Saturday! Not quite fair.
My family jokes that my head is much more accurate than the local weather forecasters, and unfortunately, they're correct.
This past winter, when we had so many below 0 days, and this summer, when we've had unusually cool temperatures leading in to 90 degree temperatures I've also noticed that these drastic changes in temperature also bring on a migraine for me. Has anyone else noticed that?
Julie
