Insomina / Tinnitus / Migraine - the intransignet enemies of your mind!!!

harman/kardon

From the Fatherland
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There have been already threads on these topics for sure in this forum so I am not really sure if it makes sense to start a new one.

Well - my idea is to collect - to link all of the facts and inspiring and supporting info available in AudioKarma and post them over here. Please folks post your various experiences over here. Let us try to create a helpful AudioKarma Insomnia / tinniuts / migraine tribe. I'm pinging for stories that mix the issues insomina, chroncial migraine and tinnitus!

Insomnia has become a more and more serious problem for several reasons - let us talk about these reasons as weel... Inomnia and tinniuts almoust killed me 18 years ago - let ous now create the ulitmat Ak tinnuts tribe and collect her any of helplful info.

Chris
 
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My migraine's are 100% stress related, and always work related. I seem to stress out when overwhelmed, I should add, after a good nights sleep, they are gone. My tinnitus is low level, and only bothersome at quiet times. As long as their is something going on in the background, TV, music, machine noise, fan, I do not even notice it.
 
Tinnitus plays a big part in my life since I was about 10 years old. I had both ear drums punctured in an accident and have had it ever since.
It goes from low a ring to a constant screaming ring as it is right now. Very seldom does it disappear but, having it so long I tend to ignore it most the time.
When I was a child I thought everyone had it not knowing what it was and never told even my parents about it. Being a truck driver for so many years
it did make taking a ear test for a DOT physical difficult but, I always passed with high scores. In fact, one time while taking the test I could hear the doctor and a nurse talking and cracking up down the hallway
.He came back to check my test results and told me I didn't do very well, that's when I told him I could hear them down the hallway and he said' You heard us? and gave me the test over and I passed with flying colors.I know this is going to sound strange but, even with the Tinnitus my hearing has always been exceptional and now it's to the point that the smallest of noises that most just ignore or don't notice really bother me even while watching TV and will keep me up at night if they continue. If I lay my ear on the pillow I can hear my heart pounding and have to only have my temple on the pillow so as not to hear it. I know I should be telling this to a doctor but, who can afford one anymore? Besides life's to short to complicate it with doctor visits.
 
My first recollection of tinnitus comes from about the age of four. I had an earache (one of many) and was laying on the couch with a warm oil in my ear and cotton in it. I asked my uncle what the ringing in room was. He said he couldn't hear anything. I said "I hear it in my ear." He put his ear right next to mine and told me he couldn't hear it. Everyone thought that was funny. It wasn't long before the ringing was bilateral. Now, at 74, the tinnitus is almost deafening. Strangely it doesn't interfere with enjoyment of music, although I sometimes wonder how music would sound without the competing ringing in my ears.

When death comes my ears won't ring, and my hands won't shake. That will be heaven. No hurry, though, Lord. There's just too much wonderfulness here to leave just yet;
And besides, my system is finally starting to sound the way I want it to.

Edit to add: insomnia is only an occasional problem. When it does come I grab an iPod, lay in bed and play solitaire until insomnia is defeated.. Haven't had a migraine since retirement. When one struck a cold cherry Coke helped tremendously.
 
My Migraines are also probably stress related but made more likely if I am tired, or perhaps have been reading too much. I haven't noticed much sensitivity to the normally implicated food triggers - red wine, strong cheese, orange juice, chocolate and so on. I do get fairly mild tinnitus, most of the time I only notice it when things are quiet around me. Thankfully I have never suffered from insomnia, except when something is really bothering me, which is very rare. I can get to sleep in 10 minutes after laying down in bed, then I sleep really heavily. :)

Regarding Migraine, there was a study done some time ago that indicated the origin of Migraine is a deficiency of a chemical in the gut of the sufferer. Most/all people can manufacture this chemical naturally in greater or lesser (tiny) amounts. But when something causes it to reduce, that's when people prone to Migraine get an attack. The solution for those affected? - regularly eat Natural Greek yoghurt, (must be the genuine article) as it is a prolific source of this chemical, and re-introduces it into the gut and attenuates or prevents the Migraine attack - that's the theory. I must say whenever I have had a bowel disturbance, I am much more likely to suffer a migraine attack, so there may very well be some connection - at least for me.

Lastly, I haven't heard it lately, but what really annoys me is people who claim to be having 'a Migraine' when what they really mean is they simply have a 'headache'. They should know that a Migraine is a 'no holds barred' 'all out' sensory assault, not just a headache however bad it is.

At it's worst for me a Migraine was a significant visual disturbance (stained glass windows effect), dying away slowly to be replaced by a gradually increasing searing headache, disorientation, an unpleasant feeling in the stomach, a sensitivity to light and sound, a reluctance to communicate with anyone, and sometimes real difficulty in speaking as well. Overall they would last around 4 hours - effectively knocking me out, followed by a feeling of euphoria - like having just stepped off a fairground ride, indicating that as some say it is a bodily 'safety valve' allowing you to function normally at other times. For days afterwards I can feel where the headache was, but it no longer hurts nearly as much - almost like a bruise. Luckily the effects are much less now that I am older, just the visual disturbance, and feeling 'out of sorts' for an hour or two, which I can usually fight through without anyone knowing. :)
 
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Lastly, I haven't heard it lately, but what really annoys me is people who claim to be having 'a Migraine' when what they really mean is they simply have a 'headache'. They should know that a Migraine is a 'no holds barred' 'all out' sensory assault, not just a headache however bad it is.

Quoted for truth and agreement.
 
Regarding Migraine, there was a study done some time ago that indicated the origin of Migraine is a deficiency of a chemical in the gut of the sufferer. Most/all people can manufacture this chemical naturally in greater or lesser (tiny) amounts. But when something causes it to reduce, that's when people prone to Migraine get an attack. The solution for those affected? - regularly eat Natural Greek yoghurt, (must be the genuine article) as it is a prolific source of this chemical, and re-introduces it into the gut and attenuates or prevents the Migraine attack - that's the theory. I must say whenever I have had a bowel disturbance, I am much more likely to suffer a migraine attack, so there may very well be some connection - at least for me.

Hmm, I use to get Migraines on a regular basis years ago when I would get low on sugar or didn't eat regularly. I think this is the answer.
Thankfully I haven't had one for years and hopefully never again, they were debilitating and the ONLY thing that would make it feel any better was a warm wash rag over my eyes while lying down and silence.
 
I experience migraines when the weather changes rapidly. Luckily, I have learned to manage mymigraines and they are usually not the I-want-to-die-now type. Usually.

The definition of a headache has evolved over the years, and the concept of a migraine also has changed. I remember getting headaches when I slept late while young. My father said it was just a vascular headache. Turns out, that is one type of migraine. I've had the condition all my life then.

Several years ago, before I figured out that I suffered from migraines, I got a CAT scan. I thought my headaches were related to sinuses because one of the symptoms of my type of migraine is perceived congestion in one nostril. When the capillaries in the brain expand, they pinch nerves and cause pain (usually one side of the head and often described as the sensation of having a spike or sharp object in that side) and the effect can also expand capillaries near the nostril or on nerves near there, giving the sensation of congestion.

Maintaining a small amount of caffeine in my body helps avoid some migraines. Caffeine causes capillaries to constrict, something bad for heart health in some but good for sufferers of migraines and asthma. I changed my diet long ago to avoid possible triggers. Known problem foods include cheese and anything with sulfites. I still consume those foods from time to time but am cognizant of their possible effects on me.

The only problem with caffeine is getting off of it. On weekends, if I do not consume caffeine, I can get a caffeine withdrawal headache which feels very similar to my type of migraine. Stress headaches sometimes feel similar to my type of migraine, but I usually can tell by which part of my neck and head hurt. Stress exacerbates migraines, of course.

Long ago, headache sufferers would tie a cord around the top of the head: This restricted blood flow to the head, essentially the same effect that many migraine medicines have. I have tried using a cord wrapped around parts of my head when having a bad migraine: It helps alleviate some pain to some extent but does not make it go away.

Rebound headaches are the worst. I thought perhaps I was having cluster headaches but discovered that taking migraine medicine more than two days in a row sets me up for a rebound headache as my body gets off the medicine. Those types are simply awful.

While living in the EU recently, I discovered through my doctors a new (to me) combination of drugs that seems to work well. Triptans alone will not alleviate my migraines, but 1000mg of paracetamol (acetaminophen in the USA) and 400mg of ibuprofen in combination with a cheap triptan (50 or 100mg) usually works. That specific combination of pain relievers was found by researchers to be very effective for migraines. It is a lot to swallow (literally), but it works and is much less expensive than most migraine drugs. Before I discovered the paracetamol and ibuprofen mix, the only thing that seemed to work was a type of ridiculously strong pain reliever that includes codeine.

There are a number of new advances being made in headache relief. The question is when those remedies will become widely available and, more important, at prices that mere mortals can afford.
 
I've had what is called 'Migraine Equivalent Syndrome' - basically the visual disturbance, but without the massive headache. I've only had half a dozen episodes in my life, for which I'm grateful. My wife has suffered from 'Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome' for several years now. Uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, that some researchers are now calling 'Abdominal Migraines'. She has regular, headache + visual migraines as well. Stress definitely is a factor, probably the major one. Once it gets going, only intravenous hydration and anti-nausea drugs will stop it. We've had mixed success with careful attention to symptoms, medication, and diet - but a year without an emergency-room visit turned out to be only a temporary reprieve. It's a wretched disease to have, and the only way to diagnose it is by ruling out all other possibilities - years of tests and procedures.
 
I've never had a migraine type headache in my life, and very few headaches period, but I had a scare recently. At work about 230am Sun morning, I suddenly had a thing in my left eye where it appeared that my eye was filling up with purple 3 sided objects with a jagged hole I could see through in the center. It scared the hell out of me and I started packing up my stuff to go to the ER. I went into the bathroom to make sure I had no signs of a stroke and to see if my eye looked ok. It all looked normal. As I was about to leave, it cleared up and I could see fine. I felt ok, so I decided to stay to the end of the shift, and I would call my eye doctor on Mon morning. I went to the eye doctor and everything looked ok, and he diagnosed it as an "Ocular migraine with aura". He told me to call my regular doctor and set up an ultrasound on my carotid arteries. At home, I was looking at "migraine auras" and I didn't see anything that looked like what I saw, but found some other things that explained a mystery that has lasted over 55 years. As I looked at images of "auras", I began to see things that looked very familiar. Apparently, I've had these since I was a little kid! This is the closest pic I can find of what I've seen in my left eye since I was about 5-6 years old:
Migraineaura2.jpg

Mine is reversed, with the "opening" on the right side. Mine are thinner, with more colors and many more "segments", and it pulsates at about 120 HZ! It's always in my left eye, and it's only visible when I close my eyes in a dark room. I've only seen it once driving and I just ignored it. I remember being like 6 or 7 and telling my then eye doctor that I saw a "flashing snake" in my left eye. He said, "I doubt it's anything to worry about!", so I didn't worry. I thought until I saw the image above and others that it was from rubbing my left eye a lot. I do rub my left eye a lot. Later on, I told my second eye doctor about what I saw, and he went, "Hmmmm!", and that was it, so I just never mentioned it again, until the latest thing. I never have any pain, so it's just an oddity. It amazes me that in 55 years of having them, I just now found out what they were.
 
My shaking hands went away after a few days of NOT DRINKING! Same for lower back pain!?!? Tinnitus is still bothering me but seems to have quieted down some. No more booze for me. Back to the addiction of chocolate milk.
 
I've had all three. All three are somewhat related, in that it involves your current state of stress. Alas, the three maladies are also vastly different. My Insomnia usually stemmed from intense stress from things that were happening to me. As an example, while taking my ARE exams for licensure (I am an architect in NY State), the intensity from studying a week before the exam was so severe that at one point I could not sleep for three days straight. For me, when I have this type of sleeplessness from stress, almost nothing will put me to sleep. I did whip the insomnia spell that I had at that time........basically I pretended to be asleep...it took awhile but finally I fell asleep. Realize also I've had sleeplessness from innocent intakes of caffeine that I wasn't aware of, coupled with stress.

Tinnitus is different. It can have many causes, but IMO it is basically a disturbance of the nerves in your ear that causes strange noises to be heard in one or both ears. My case of tinnitus I was finally able to track down: the nerve endings in my ear were disturbed by (not stress) cleaning with a q-tip. It was a long standing habit of mine to insert the tip inside of my ear canal. Doctors say that its a no-no. Once I realized this, stopped doing this habit, and allowed time to soothe the nerves in my ear, whala...no more ear noises. Take this with a grain of salt, as there are many causes of Tinnitus...known and unknown. I'm not offering a remedy, just a testimony of what happened to myself.

Migranes....I've had them as well. For me it was a combination of stress, lack of rest, (perhaps) too much caffeine, and some other factors. Rest was the cure for most of my migrane bouts.
 
I tracked my migraines down to changes in barometric pressure. Almost every time a front blows in I will get a building sensation of being "off," or the aura many suferers describe. Hitting back with Excedrin usually prevents or at least lessens a full blown migraine. But, sadly, aspirin also contributes to tinnitus, so a trade off has to be made. And in all honesty a little ringing in the ears(more than normal) is preferable to a debilitating migraine.
 
Migraines: No. Tinnitus: only bad in times of stress or depression. Having the TV or stereo on mostly makes it hardly bothersome. Insomnia: Yes, and severely so. This started around 2008 and has never recovered itself. I once tested myself about 5 years ago to see how long it would go on without taking sleeping aids. I stopped at 36 hours before I finally took an Ambien. For many years, I tried to fight it. It was a horrible fight. I tried to obtain help from UoFs Shands Hospital Sleep Center. What a useless waste of time. The fight went on for years until I changed doctors. My new doctor asked me why was I fighting the insomnia? She said to just take my Ambien and accept the insomnia. I took her advise. I still have insomnia and cannot sleep unaided, but my life is now unstressed without the fight. I take my Ambien at bedtime and I sleep well. No more fighting.
 
Here's a very close approximation of what my aural migraines looks like.
When I first notice them coming on, I chew an aspirin.
This seems to make mine vanish within a few minutes.
Screen-Shot-2015-11-03-at-11.25.35-AM.png
 
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