Tell us about your symptoms and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

KarenM65's avatar image

KarenM65

Primary Badge Member
Profile

KarenM65's Status Updates

"Woke up very anxious and with a migraine. Lately the two symptoms have been together. Crying and panic attack is sometimes worse than the migraine. Now I just feel wiped out"

  1. I'm so sorry to hear you are enduring this. Waking up with a migraine in progress can surely make you anxious. I understand what that's like. Those times I get like that I really try to calm myself and just focus a few minutes on taking in some deep breaths as I plan out how I am going to manage the attack. Crying in many cases can be helpful but for some like me, it just compounds things and amps up the pressure in my head. It's different if my eyes are just watering. The whole migraine cycle can really wipe you out and I'm sorry you are also experiencing that aspect of the attack. I'll be praying that better days are ahead for you! Warmly, Cheryl migraine.com team

  2. thanks for the encouragement! Is really hard to have a panic attack and migraine. I can't sit still when I'm having a panic attack, and my blood pressure sky rockets. The migraine medication also makes my panic attack worse. Not sure what else I can take when one comes on.

  3. I'm honored to be able to encourage you! I've suffered from panic attacks since my teens and over the years I've found little tricks to help me through them. My husband will often 'talk me down' when I start spiraling out of control. I focus on my breathing and try my best to breathe slowly and deliberately. Sipping water or juice slowly also helps me. Taking time to rein in my racing thoughts by telling myself that they are not helpful or productive and diffusing them or replacing them with more positive and helpful thoughts is a really good strategy I've learned. I also have Xanax on hand to help take the edge off the physiological strain on my body too if I need it. It's an important thing to discuss with your doctor. They are there to help us manage our conditions. I'm always here if you need me! Warmly, Cheryl migraine.com team

  4. I wonder if panic attacks can trigger a migraine or the other way around. It seems like I've been getting both lately. I had a bad experience at the ER one time and it triggered a major panic attack. Now I think I associate the bad experience in the ER with what will happen again with a migraine and having to go into the ER. They gave me medication that actually caused me to have a major panic attack where I felt the room closing in on me and wanted to rip the IV out of my arm and run out of there. Everyone I think about that I get panicky. I don't ever want to end up in the ER again.

  5. thank you for your suggestions, I have learned to call a friend when I get a panic attack and it slowly fades away. But it doesn't always work that way

  6. I understand that sometimes we get caught in a situation where we wonder which came first. It's like the old chicken or the egg saying! I think it can work as both a trigger and also be a symptom. Having a bad ER experience is not uncommon and can leave us with PTSD for sure. I've endured a few bad ER experiences between my husband and myself. Here is a good article that speaks about just this topic.
    https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-and-anxiety-a-multi-faceted-relationship
    Migraine can have so many facets and while they may be similar to others they are quite individualistic. Sometimes urgent care clinics are a better fit and you can even call them and ask if they have a protocol in place to treat people who are suffering from a migraine attack. Generally, there is less commotion in the clinics vs the ER and the wait time tends to be shorter. There are many treatment options out there. My husband uses techniques he learned in biofeedback to help him during attacks as well as using mindfulness. I'm glad you have a trusted friend to talk to that helps you navigate your attacks. Please keep in touch! Warmly, Cheryl migraine.com team

  7. Hi Karen- Just checking in to see how you're feeling today and to let you know we're thinking of you. Also, I thought you might be interested in this video, posted by one of our contributors, , who also experiences panic attacks and migraine. The piece has some good community dialogue in the comment section as well: https://migraine.com/video/lets-talk-about-panic-attack. Warmly, Holly (migraine.com team).

  8. My heart goes out to you!! I also have panic attacks and they are definitely worse when I am under the weather. It's been a hard week here, too. By any chance have you considered therapy? It's not a miracle cure, but it can give you a better understanding of why the panic is happening and tools to deal with it. Sometimes "just breathe" isn't helpful! You may also want to consider talking to your doctor about medication, provided it doesn't interact with your current migraine regimen. Studies show that people who do therapy and meds together tend to have better success than just one. No matter what you decide to do, I promise you that you are not alone and we really do understand what you're going through. One step at a time, okay? Hope the rest of your week has been better and you can recharge a bit. Hugs to you -- reach out anytime. -Melissa, migraine.com team

  9. The sipping water thing is interesting and something I've never considered. My instinct when I panic is to hold myself tight and I can be very rigid ... but if I forced myself to drink water, I'd have to uncoil myself and focus on that. I'm going to give it a try. Thanks for this, Cheryl! -Melissa, migraine.com team

  10. thank you so much for your insight and concern. That means allot to me! The breathing exercises never worked for me, it only made it worse. But singing sometimes helps. And I need to keep reminding myself it will pass. Usually about forty five minutes long. But it feels like allot longer. When I have one I would rather die in that moment than continue life that. I'm not suicidal either . Is just that horrible of a feeling. Just life my worst migraines are.

  11. I have tried therapy. But I don't think it helped at all. I know that I'm afraid of being in pain, because my migraines can get pretty bad. And when I go to the ER my fear is that they won't be able to help me because they try all these different cocktail of drugs that don't usually work. And that increases the anxiety and panic.

  12. - I am sorry to hear that recently your anxiety/panic attacks are at an all-time high. I want to let you know that you are not alone. Mine have been exacerbated, causing more headaches/migraines/pain/inflammation than I wish to have. I have set up an appt with a psychiatric nurse in my area to get some help. She will be able to prescribe me some meds with minimal therapy for my severe anxiety. With all that is happening in the world, combined with my chronic illnesses, I find I am not coping well and need help managing. It's been tough, and have put it off for years, but I finally reached out. I send strength to endure and courage to reach out. Rebecca (comm advc)

  13. thanks so much. I'm sorry that your suffering as well. How the phychiatrist nurse can help. I do have meds like lorazepam unfortunately it doesn't always work. But it does help. I will think again about therapy. I have learned a few tricks that help alleviate an attack if panic. But no solution to ridding then for good. Or with my migraines either. I don't want to just accept that there's not something else that I can do

  14. I hear and share your experience in so many ways, and as you can see from this thread, you're not alone here. Regarding therapy, I have been to different people over the last 10ish years, and I feel that success has a lot to do with finding the right therapist. You need to find someone who truly understands your situation, needs and goals. There are therapists out there that specialize in chronic illness support. You might also want to try calling therapists or practices that work with veterans. Many veterans live with chronic pain, fear because of illness, or problems with medication not helping. If they won't take you because you're not a veteran, ask for a referral to someone who will.

    Additionally, you are always in control of your therapy experience ... if it's not working, you have the right to ask for someone else for any reason. PsychologyToday.com is a good place to start looking because you can read their profiles and figure out what their personalities and specialties are. It's like online dating! Ha.

    Hang in there. Keep breathing. I'm with you! -Melissa, migraine.com team