I get really bad migraines almost every monday (I work monday - friday. If I take the monday off work and am in on the tuesday, then I won't get a headache on the monday but will on the tuesday)!
I work at a computer, but more often than not spend at least as much time doing the same at home on the weekend. My diet doesn't vary between a sunday and a monday, I make sure I'm not dehydrated.
Migraleve does relieve it, but is quite expensive as I get through a lot and I'm a bit worried that taking pills isn't the best solution in the long term. Cocodamol (which I thought migraleve was) seems to reduce it to just a headache with nausea and a strong aversion to light while paracetamol, ibruprofen and aspirin don't offer any relief at all.
I'm suspicious that it's some sort of reaction to fluorescent lighting, though slightly concerned that I sound mad for even thinking it could be that! I've had this in three different work places now and it's becoming a real chore and probably quite dangerous given it starts to come on before I've driven home from work.
Any suggestions would be appreciated (I know I should be seeing the doctor and I intend to, but at the rate I'm going I'll never get there).
I get really bad migraines almost every monday (I work monday - friday. If I take the monday off work and am in on the tuesday, then I won't get a headache on the monday but will on the tuesday)!
I work at a computer, but more often than not spend at least as much time doing the same at home on the weekend. My diet doesn't vary between a sunday and a monday, I make sure I'm not dehydrated.
Migraleve does relieve it, but is quite expensive as I get through a lot and I'm a bit worried that taking pills isn't the best solution in the long term. Cocodamol (which I thought migraleve was) seems to reduce it to just a headache with nausea and a strong aversion to light while paracetamol, ibruprofen and aspirin don't offer any relief at all.
I'm suspicious that it's some sort of reaction to fluorescent lighting, though slightly concerned that I sound mad for even thinking it could be that! I've had this in three different work places now and it's becoming a real chore and probably quite dangerous given it starts to come on before I've driven home from work.
Any suggestions would be appreciated (I know I should be seeing the doctor and I intend to, but at the rate I'm going I'll never get there).
No suggestions but I have had the same pattern over the years and through different office locations. Monday headaches have always been pretty consistent for me. And today is my Monday, had yesterday off, and a headache.
Have you tried Syndol? This is cocodamol with a bit of caffeine in it to boost the painkillers, and an antihistamine which reduces nausea and also boosts the pain relief given by the analgesics.
If you go to your doctor, there are prescription pills (Such as Zomig and Imigran) which arnt pain killers, but which actualy stop the migraine - these would certainly be worth a try.
I beleive fluro lighting can be a trigger for migraines btw.
do you drink on weekends?
could also be the altered sleep pattern if you are sleeping in.
yes the lighting could be the cause too, I've often got migraines in supermarkets.
try feverfew, i find it helps prevent a lot of my migraines, I stopped taking it for a few months, now I'm on my 2nd migraine this month so might start taking it again.
Monday is the day I tend to get migraines too. It's from a change in sleep pattern from the weekend, most likely. Maybe test out getting up at the same time on the weekend that you do during the week and try that for a few weeks as a test. Then at least you'll know, even though getting up early on a weekend isn't fun! But you'd have to go to bed around the same time on the weekend too for the test to be accurate.
Fluorescent lighting, or lights that are too bright, are also a big trigger! I try to adjust to lighting slowly in the morning. If light seems extra bright, it's a sign a migraine could easily come. I try to use a nightlight while getting ready in the morning and ease myself into normal lighting. You should ask at work if it's possible to do something about the lighting. If it's causing migraines, and you have no control over that, it's affecting your ability to work at 100%, so hopefully they'll do something to help. I had some fluorescent light bulbs removed from the lighting directly above me at work, since the room was bright enough, and it helped. If possible, maybe you can bring a small lamp with an incandescent bulb to keep at your desk instead of overhead lighting?
Stress is also a big trigger, as you probably know. If you're getting migraines every week, you should ask about taking preventive migraine medicine. I take Lamictal and it has helped me a LOT!
I know that flurescent lighting does bother me, so I wouldn't be surprised if this played at least some part. It could be a mixture of your sleep pattern, plus the light, and some stress. My work building also causes allergies for a lot of people, so we suspect there is mold or at least a lot of dust. Then the allergies can make the migraines come about too.
I hope you are able to determine a way to help this. Please share if you do. I find it very difficult for others to understand why I occasionally have to take a sick day for a migraine. I feel that others judge and feel I'm just being lazy from a regular headache and they don't understand. With regular Monday migraines, have you had to deal with this?
I have exactly the same problem . If I take Monday off , the headache comes Tuesday, if I take a day off during the week , I get a headache again when I return to work the next day..
Ibuprofen and Paracetomal on their own no longer seems to help.
Anadin Extra Migraines and Headache seem to work well for me ( Aspirin, Paracetamol, and caffine)
I have had this for around 2 years now and can not work out the cause.
I work in IT so I'm at the computer a lot . It's can be a stressfull job , but even when I'm not stressed I still get it . I drink lots of water and do not sleep in at weekends.
Where do you get the headaches. Mine is always the back of the head , around the boney nodules that I think are called the mastoid processes.
I'm wonder whether my head is tilting down too much when I use the screen , but can not conclude on this.
would love to hear if you find a cause.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cs02rm0
I get really bad migraines almost every monday (I work monday - friday. If I take the monday off work and am in on the tuesday, then I won't get a headache on the monday but will on the tuesday)!
I work at a computer, but more often than not spend at least as much time doing the same at home on the weekend. My diet doesn't vary between a sunday and a monday, I make sure I'm not dehydrated.
Migraleve does relieve it, but is quite expensive as I get through a lot and I'm a bit worried that taking pills isn't the best solution in the long term. Cocodamol (which I thought migraleve was) seems to reduce it to just a headache with nausea and a strong aversion to light while paracetamol, ibruprofen and aspirin don't offer any relief at all.
I'm suspicious that it's some sort of reaction to fluorescent lighting, though slightly concerned that I sound mad for even thinking it could be that! I've had this in three different work places now and it's becoming a real chore and probably quite dangerous given it starts to come on before I've driven home from work.
Any suggestions would be appreciated (I know I should be seeing the doctor and I intend to, but at the rate I'm going I'll never get there).
Hope I can help. I don't take either of those medications. Seems they tried them years ago but i couldn't take them. I do have what's called extreme photophobia. It's an extreme sensitivity to light. Basically my bedroom is a dungeon. I don't work now. Sunlight is easier than artificial. I always wear shades. I do a lot of preparation before going into any lighted areas. If I have to go anywhere in the mornings I start with the lighting in my room and gradually work my way up to the lighting outside. The problem comes in when I was working or was in buildings and I am wearing my shades. The medication I have found that has helped me the most has for this has been my Topomax and the freedom my Dr has given me to take as I feel I need it. At night for my preventative I take Nortriptyline and have Imitrex when they are bad. I do have different shades of darkness that I keep for all types of lighting, mine is so extreme I even wear shades to drive at night because of headlights. As I tell everyone Web MD has a list of food that cause headaches. I put myself through a 60 day trial and error on all of the foods. Each one of them caused a headache, some small, some severe and some quite quickly. I hope I was able to help
I'm a college freshman this year. Before this year I've never had any major reoccuring headache or migraine. However, since school started I've been waking up every Monday morning with an almost dibilitating migraine headache. The worst part about it is that I have an 8:30 class that I've been missing a lot of due to this as I can't even get ready for class very well when I can't hardly even function for at least an hour after waking up. Being that the class is attendance based, I'm not doing overly well in it.
Its really strange though that this is the first time I've ever had this and its only on Mondays not any other, even the most stressful days, I don't have this kind of pain.
Oh God, I totally get this. I remember it being horrendous when I was in college and I was away for like a few weeks, then the first day going back I had a CRACKING migraine everytime. Since then it's obviously progressed to every Monday! I think with me atleast, it's to do with my routine changing and also the enviroment I am in, fresh air and non sugary things I find help the severity of my migraine calm down on that day, but man I can't get rid of it at all! No painkillers get rid of the Monday migraines for me.
I hope you find some relief soon. Update us too, I'm curious if you find something that helps a lot.
I have the same issue, except I get mine on Wednesdays. My doctor prescribed Relpax, but I'm to the point where I have to be near vomiting before I take the pill or it won't work.
I worked it out with my boss so I can have Wednesdays off, but I know people aren't happy about it. I don't know how long he'll let me do that.
My neurologist wants to put me on an anticonvulsion medication due to a blip on both of my EEGs, but I'm hesitant.
I only get migraines when I am taking thyroid medication. Apparently fixing one thing brings to light an underlying issue
I consistently get migraines on Mondays, and Mondays only (or whatever day of the week I return to work after the weekend). I work Monday to Friday. My usual bedtime during the week is 11:00 pm. My usual wake up time is 6:30 am. On the weekends I typically go to bed after midnight and wake up after 8:00 am. I also drink on the weekends, sometimes to excess (but rarely). I find that the more I change my sleep patterns over the weekend (or the more I drink), the worse my Monday migraine is. It seems that if I change my sleep schedule by only an hour, I still get a migraine. Or, even if I have only a single beer on Saturday night, I still get a Monday migraine. Could I be THAT sensitive to sleep pattern changes? I never used to get Monday migraines in high school or university; I'm 30 now, and these started about 5 years ago.
The symptoms of my Monday migraine are light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, fatigue, a strong desire to avoid ANY socializing, and the overwhelming urge to curl up and close my eyes and go to sleep. I am also very dehydrated despite drinking litres and litres of water. Even if I get 9 hours of sleep on Sunday night, all I want to do on Monday is curl up and go to sleep and not have to talk to anybody. It is difficult to work and be productive like this as I am a professional. Even if I get a good long sleep on Sunday night, say from 10:30 pm to 7:30 am, I have huge bags under my eyes and my eyes are foggy and I look like I didn't sleep a wink. Copious amounts of Advil barely helps. Caffeine barely helps. My Monday migraine starts pretty much wh as soon as I open my eyes in the morning, but gets worse as I get into the office.
I have been able to reduce the severity of the Monday migraine by forcing myself to wake up at 6:30 am on Sunday morning (i.e. make Sunday the new Monday). A couple of times it has worked great, which is why I believe that sleep patterns have a lot to do with the Monday migraine. But, strangely, I don't get a Sunday migraine when I use this technique as would be expected. Rather, on Sunday I'm tired from lack of sleep and nothing more. Perhaps there are other factors involved like dehydration, change in diet, alcohol use, anxiety, stress etc. Maybe all of these are responsible to a degree (especially anxiety and stress over the forthcoming work week...maybe subconsciously). I'm no doctor, so it would be nice if someone with medical qualifications could chime in on this string. I definitely eat fewer fruits and vegetables on the weekends while I eat tons throughout the week.
If I take 3 extra strength Advils then I can force some socialization and gain a little tolerance to light. If I manage to take a nap over lunch for 20 or 30 minutes then it helps a lot. By 5:00 pm the migraine has diminished significantly. If I manage to force myself to go to the gym on Monday night and get a good 1.5 hrs of exercise followed by a deep sweat in the sauna then it works wonders and the migraine is totally gone. On Tuesday I'm a new person.
Anyone else with a similar experience? Anyone have further insight into what triggers the Monday migraine? How to eliminate it?
