My Sleep Related Migraines
Hi All.
I have started a discussion on this before but wanted start afresh with where I am now. Nowhere further with my migraines. I just adapt my lifestyle to prevent them. It will be 20 years next year I've been getting them regularly.
I had a particularly bad one last night and my neck also locked up. Had that happen 5 times now past couple of years, can't turn my head from side to side and getting a shooting pain on my left side of my neck if I try to turn it that way and from what Google says, that's migraine related too?
So my migraines are sleep related. In what way I don't know or don't know what's really happening to cause them. I get a migraine if I oversleep. I have to set my alarm to make sure I don't exceed 7.5hrs (seems to be the right amount for me.) but also, strangely, I get a migraine if I stay up too late so sounds to me like my migraines are circadian rhythm related doesn't it?
Anybody else get oversleep or sleep related migraines who can identify here?
I was gonna get referred to a neurologist 3 years ago then was denied last minute. Gonna speak to my doctor about them tomorrow cause they're debilitating and ruining my life and gone on too long now.
They wanted me go on Amitryptaline a few years back, anyone on that and has it helped?
Thanks!
I experience this frequently, particularly migraine with neck pain, migraine with oversleeping, and migraine with staying up late. I’ve had chronic migraine for 23 years. This is what I’ve learned: my neurologists were failing to educate me about migraine aura, sleep, and migraine triggers. Sleep disruptions and changes to normal sleep patterns can trigger migraine in migraineurs. For people with chronic migraine, we have overactive pain receptors in the brain, something like a disruption to sleep can be enough. Also, if you are a heavy sleeper, you might be missing your aura and waking up with the headache. That was my issue. Staying up late (if it’s not your habit but only occasional), may actually be part of your migraine aura—a surge of energy. Do an online search of ‘migraine aura symptoms’. There are many, from excessive yawning and deep fatigue to cravings for sweet or salty foods and feeling energetic. The neck—the occipital nerve runs through the base of the skull, over the head and into the face. Neck tension, “locked neck” , torticollis (which sounds like what you are describing) irritate that nerve and, over time, can lead to occipital neuralgia. It can be very painful. I have occipital neuralgia, and here are some things I do: don’t sleep by an open window with wind blowing on my neck, Put heat on my neck when I wake up with a migraine. It will help relax the muscles and ease neck tension. It really helps. Amitryptaline: docs like to prescribe this. It’s an old-school sedating antidepressant often used for fibromyalgia because it can help with pain (and it’s cheap). It was the second drug my doc prescribed. I don’t know if it helped TBH. Topamax helped and access to good abortives (triptans, anti-CGRP), and I get Botox and occipital nerve blocks. Seeing a chiropractor for my neck pain is probably one of the best things I do to deal with neck pain and migraine. I hope this is informative and that you feel better soon.
Thank you for your reply. Very interesting information. All very valuable.
What is an occipital nerve block?
I am not a heavy sleeper, I'd say a light sleeper but what I will say is 9 times out of 10 (I do get the very odd exception) once I'm asleep I NEVER wake till my alarm goes off and I never exceed 7.5hrs (seems to be my quota) and is exactly 5 sleep cycles and any longer I get an oversleep migraine.
I also get the pain in the exact same place, it can go to other parts of my head but only after taking paracetamol and I can point to the part where the primary pain is, left side of my head above the ear towards the back. I also sometimes get an itch on that exact location, it's strange. Only say 3 or 4 times during an attack (say 4 to 6 hours) but itches in that exact spot and I have to scratch it.
As regards medication, I take paracetamol and I did the other day and I may be completely wrong but I think that had something to do with my neck cramp. Just a hunch. Another reason for thinking this is, it has happened 5 times now in about 18 months and the last time before this time I'd had paracetamol then I think but can't specifically remember now, it was about 3 months ago but I think I did.Thanks so much for the wealth of info you shared here!! This is what makes our community so useful -- we can learn from each other. I'm just sorry that you didn't get the education you needed and deserved from your doctors. You've been given a lot of helpful info here so far! I also want to pass along some articles our team has written on these topics. Feel free to read them at your own pace.
Sleep: You have good instincts about this! Lots of people with migraine are triggered by disruptions in their sleep routine, and so a common tip is to go to bed and wake up the same time each day. Routine is key for migraine management.https://migraine.com/living-migraine/sleeping-trigger
Neck pain: Some people have a past neck injury or chronic issue that makes their migraines worse. Other research suggests neck pain can be from migraine itself:https://migraine.com/migraine-symptoms/neck-pain
I couldn't find a good article just about occipital nerve blocks, but some people have had pain relief by working with their doctor to do treatments with the occipital nerves on the back of your head. These can be injections, nerve burning, nerve stimulation, and sometimes even surgery. Here's a general link to our archives about occipital nerve treatment:
https://migraine.com/search?s=occipital
And here's our info page about amitriptyline. Every person is different, so it's hard to say exactly how it would affect you, even if other people had side effects. The only real way to know for sure is to try it, but you can always stop if it's not a good fit.https://migraine.com/clinical/elavil-amitriptyline
I hope these help you. Keep asking questions! -Melissa, team member
