Migraines

[traceyk27]

I just got my first cpap machine. Dream Station by Phillips with humidifier. Have been using for a week now and can only use about 3 to 4 hrs per night. I am taking mask off in my sleep.( I think its because at some point it starts blowing air very hard and Im having trouble exhaling. I have woken up a couple of times with it laying on my pillow next to me sounding like a wind tunnel.) Every morning I am waking up with a pounding headache so bad that I am sick to my stomach. If I sleep on my back I wake up feeling like the back of my head is going to explode. If I sleep on my side which ever side that I predominantly slept on feels like my head on that side is going to explode. Tried sleeping sitting up the past two nights and woke up feeling like the top of my head was going to explode. My script was for 5.0 but I adjusted it down to 4.0 max is 4.5 as per Doctors instructions because of the head aches. I am going to bed around 9 pm and waking up with mask off and and pounding headache at around 2:30 or so take an aleve and go back to bed until 4 am on work days 6 am on weekends not using the machine. Sometimes I wake up and literally rip the mask off because I feel like I can't exhale. I am wearing a mask that covers my mouth and nose as I have always had sinus problems and am a mouth breather so that was the type the doctor recommended. All the headaches aside I do feel better I am able to stay awake during the day and not nodding off at the drop of a hat.
Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated as I am about to give up.

[Slartybartfast]

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[MrsRinPDX]

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Unless you're losing your vision and having your visual field dissolve into patches of psychedelic flashing lights, followed by bouts of vomiting, auditory disturbances photophobia and generalized weakness, what you describe isn't generally called a migraine. That's a different type of headache with a different cause.

You are incorrect. Migraines take on different forms for different people; I've had mine for 35+ years and never had psychedelic flashing lights, auditory disturbances or generalized weakness. Ask a neurologist or see the latest survey at https://migraine.com/infographic/migrai ... 49a6ba8b4d.

That being said, they could be triggered by lack of oxygen or lack of sleep, and I agree that upping the pressure of 4.0 is probably a good place to start.

[Slartybartfast]

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[prodigyplace]

Maybe you're the one who needs to consult the neurologist. From Mayo Clinic:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20352072

WRONG!
My wife has had chronic migraines for several years Many times she does not have the "flashing lights"
She was diagnosed by the head of Neurology at University of Virginia. I think he knows more about migraines than you.

NOW who needs to consult a neurologist?

[Julie]

I think the OP's problem is high BP (at least at night) and while it's a vascular problem (like migraines). but what happens overnight is not the same as having migraine headaches in the daytime, often for a couple of days at a time.

[jnk...]

My script was for 5.0 but I adjusted it down to 4.0 max is 4.5 as per Doctors instructions because of the head aches.

It may be that you're problem with CPAP is that the pressure is too low for you, not too high. You may find that 6 cmH2O is much more comfortable for you than 4 or 5, and you may even find that pressure as high as 8 is easier to breathe with. In order to know for sure, turn off ramp and try higher pressure.

Docs often assume that lower pressure is easier for patients who are complaining about comfort, but the opposite is often true. It is counter-intuitive, much like how loosening straps, instead of tightening, can help leaks.

[zoocrewphoto]

I tend you get migraines during weather changes. With medication, I can lessen them or get them to go away. Otherwise, I have the worst pain, feel nauseous, and I am comfortable with the idea of dying. I just want to be unconscious. I have never had flashing lights with that type of migraine.

Now, I have had occular migraines, on a few rare occasions. No pain, just the flashing lights, usually in strings of triangles, kind of like those flags are car dealerships. They get so bad that I cannot see to enough to do anything useful. Usually, with those, I take a nap and they go away within an hour or two. Faster, if I take medication. The last one happened as I pulled into a parking spot when I stopped for an errand. My next stop was the vet, a mile away. So, I skipped the stop, hurried to the vet's parking lot while I could still drive, and set my timer to take a nap. I figured I could still attend the appointment with the ocular migraine and then wait until it passed to drive home. It quit after about 20 minutes, so I was lucky.

Sleep apnea headaches are different, and would start in the morning, and then keep going if I stayed in bed because my sleep apnea kept it going. Once I started sleep apnea, those stopped, so now I only get a headache a couple times a month. If I got up instead of staying in bed, they would clear up pretty quickly. If it doesn't clear, I know it is a weather headache.

[prodigyplace]

I tend you get migraines during weather changes. With medication, I can lessen them or get them to go away. Otherwise, I have the worst pain, feel nauseous, and I am comfortable with the idea of dying. I just want to be unconscious. I have never had flashing lights with that type of migraine.

Now, I have had occular migraines, on a few rare occasions. No pain, just the flashing lights, usually in strings of triangles, kind of like those flags are car dealerships. They get so bad that I cannot see to enough to do anything useful. Usually, with those, I take a nap and they go away within an hour or two. Faster, if I take medication. The last one happened as I pulled into a parking spot when I stopped for an errand. My next stop was the vet, a mile away. So, I skipped the stop, hurried to the vet's parking lot while I could still drive, and set my timer to take a nap. I figured I could still attend the appointment with the ocular migraine and then wait until it passed to drive home. It quit after about 20 minutes, so I was lucky.

Sleep apnea headaches are different, and would start in the morning, and then keep going if I stayed in bed because my sleep apnea kept it going. Once I started sleep apnea, those stopped, so now I only get a headache a couple times a month. If I got up instead of staying in bed, they would clear up pretty quickly. If it doesn't clear, I know it is a weather headache.

Some of my wife's chronic migraines seem to be triggered by changes in pressure/weather. Diet seems to be a large factor in controlling them for her.
She only drinks distilled water. We moved a couple of years ago so we can grow more of our vegetables to reduce added chemicals. Her migraines can only have the severity lessened or shortened many times.

[zoocrewphoto]

Some of my wife's chronic migraines seem to be triggered by changes in pressure/weather. Diet seems to be a large factor in controlling them for her.
She only drinks distilled water. We moved a couple of years ago so we can grow more of our vegetables to reduce added chemicals. Her migraines can only have the severity lessened or shortened many times.

Mine seem to come on right before the weather goes from weeks of sunshine to a good rain. Worse if it is stormy weather coming. Daily back and forth changes in weather don't seem to bother me. Just the big changes. No idea when I signed up to become a barometer. I so wish there were a way to eliminate my reaction to pressure changes. I suppose it is something to do with my messed up ears.

[Muse-Inc]

Magnesium is an alternative treatment for migraine. I used to get them, horrible, got knockout shots. For another reason, I investigated and determined I might be low. I started taking 600 mgms/day of magnesium citrate; doc approved and told me this was an alternative treatment for migraine. That was in 2001 and wow, I haven't had a migraine since! Got the aura twice but a can of diet Coke aborted the process that would end in a migraine. Worth investigating.

[prodigyplace]

Thanks for sharing. Apparently magnesium shots did not help my wife’s migraines.

[Muse-Inc]

Thanks for sharing. Apparently magnesium shots did not help my wife’s migraines.