Very Intense Migraines

By jonr24

1 min read

I've had migraines for majority if my life. However, about once every couple months I get these extremely intense migraines. I just suffered from one again last night. I can't compare the level of pain from them to anything else I have felt before and it is such a helpless feeling because I haven't found anything that helps yet besides just riding it out in a dark, quiet room.

They're at the point where they actually hurt and throb much worse when I lay down, but if I stay standing or sit i get very dizzy and weak. Typically I throw up a couple times and release my bowels, and eventually just pass out from the pain and exhaustion. I get going to the ER or urgent care could help, but I'm never in condition to drive when these occur and wouldn't want to call an ambulance over. They have always gone away by morning, aside from the usual migraine 'hangover.' I have found they happen more commonly on days when I go out running and after I eat a light dinner later that evening, but that's not always the case. They start get light but after an hour or so they abruptly turn into a hurricane in the front of my skull.

I am seeking if anybody has any thoughts/ recommendations, or have similar experiences.

Thank you!

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

glassmind Member
I have very similar migraines. If I eat light/skip a meal/have a late meal plus exercise, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I have to recline as laying down exaccerbates vertigo but standing or sitting upright (or bending over or walking) makes the pain worse. The nausea, vomiting and bowel distress along with the pain used to send me to the e.r. I asked my primary care provider for onastradon (zofran) to have at home to avoid the e.r. trip and now have that. Now I can actually keep down the other medications I take. I have sumatriptan as an abotificant, but rarely "catch" the migraine in time for it to work and have also had an exaccerbation of symptoms (likely from serotonin syndrome, but my doc refuses to believe me that the sumatriptan makes some of my migraines worse despite its contraindication for migraine with brain stem aura--I get more than one kind of migraine.) I take clonozapam off-label by prescription for migraine as it allieviates some symptoms (palpatations, panic, etc) and facilitates sleep. Those are my personal three "go to meds". Usually sleep is the only solution for me. The earlier I notice a migraine and the sooner I sleep the better. Some migraines that have extreme gi distress I can find relief in taking magnesium or drinking copious amounts of cherry juice. Both of these lead to loose bowel, but the head pain allieviates. All other therapies only mitigate rather than "break" my migraines, but each of these I find to help even if only a small amount: dark, silence (or specialized migraine sound therapy if I am able to tolerate), cold air (never cold compress or shower), soft clothing (or nudity) as my skin also gets extraordinarily sensitive and touch exaccerbates the pain and nausea, and lavendar, frankinsence and myhrr aromatherapy. If I can get to it before the nausea is overwhelming yogurt sometimes helps with the pain and nausea (likely from the potassium). I am currently experimenting with increased potassium consumptiin as a preventative. I have found potassium aids in post migraine recovery. Reactive hypoglycemia can lead to migraine and this can happen if you wait too long to eat. It is something to consider. I've used the app Migraine Buddy for some months now and was able to determine that (among other things) exercise and light or missed meals is a precurssor to migraine and so am now careful to keep my blood sugar/salt/mineral levels more steady and only engage in light exercise. Best wishes for you in finding ways to avoid and therapies for your migraines. And may we all have many migraine-free days!
darcyshirley Member
I've gone through phases where I get migraines like this once a week or once a month. Luckily, right now, I've maybe only gotten them this bad 3 or 4 times in the last year (I switched my birth control to an IUD and that seemed to calm things down ENORMOUSLY!!). There have been months where I'd have to sleep sitting up because the pain worsened when I'd lay down. I also notice that early morning sunshine can be a trigger, so I have blackout curtains in my bedroom and most often sleep with a beanie pulled over my eyes. Going to bed and getting up at the same time everyday is HUGE and MASSIVELY helped my migraine severity decrease. I notice a big difference if I even have to get up a couple hours earlier than usual for some reason. I CANNOT skip a SINGLE meal or there are severe consequences. I keep a case of granola bars in my car in case my work keeps me late, and over the last couple years have really gotten into giant, calorie heavy (lots of protein!), smoothies for breakfast because they're quick and easy. I keep water with me EVERYWHERE. I avoid sugar or carb heavy meals because they seem to make my head upset. Stick to protein focused meals. If I have to have a "treat" I seem to do better when it's in conjunction with fat or protein (peanut butter cookies over gummy bears!) and only after I've had a meal. Same rules for alcohol. Limit screen time! No caffeine after 3pm. Listen to your body and take a break when you need it! When these super severe migraines happen though (I usually know it's going to be a 3 day event when sumatriptan doesn't work within the hour I take it), lately my strategy has been to hop in the shower and let the hot water run over the right side (it's always this side for me) of my head until the hot water runs out, force feed something filling (cuz I'm usually too nauseous to actually want to eat), then prop up a million pillows so I can rest propped up. Sometimes rolling onto the right side to put pressure on the right side of my head helps. Pain meditations help pass the inevitable waiting time!!! It's very very helpful to trace the boundaries of the pain and "reside" in the other side of my body that doesn't hurt. It's very exhausting, but it can help to reorient yourself and remember to wait it out.