Practising with a Migraine

[plunkyplink]

I just had a Migraine for the past 3 days and all I could manage practising the piano for one of those days was for one and a half hours. It sucked! Anyone else out there suffer migraines, and what do you do? I ended up just taking it easy and not practising (sensitivity to noise). Yes, I took migraine meds and for some reason they only worked for about 4 hours or so.

[tompilk]

ive got a really bad headache now and i want to practise.. i might do it anyway...
Tom

[gorbee natcase]

Why would you practice if you feel like that, Go to bed or chill infront of the tv with the light out Don't think to yourself ("oh no I am missing out on practice" as you will end up with a worse headache thinking about it. And realy do you think your practice would be very fruitfull with such a burden as a migraine hope you feel well soon

[zheer]

Migraine is very serious, but i have good news for you, Doctors have found a cure.

[jas]

Why would you practice if you feel like that, Go to bed or chill infront of the tv with the light out

I agree. If you aren't well, you should chill out. I don't think watching TV in a dark room will help, though. Staring at one source of bright light in an otherwise dark room will only make it worse.

Have a bath and read a book, then see if you can sleep it off. That's the best non-medical advice I can offer!

Jas

[tompilk]

id rather chill out by playing the piano, i wasn't it that much pain... just a bit.. and you know tat it'll be alright tomorrow...
Tom

[jamie_liszt]

In a situation like that I don't think practicing would help, neither would watching TV let alone in the dark, Also I wouldn't feel like reading at a time like that. Sleep i guess!

[pianistimo]

i used to get migranes as a teenager at certain times.  there's different reasons for everyone, but i think mine might have been toxin build up and not enough good diet, exercise, enough water and less stress.  just taking medication doesn't always solve the problem.  sometimes your back can be out, too.  other times, it can be more serious and a sign that you need it checked out by a doctor (eye problems or brain tumor). 

pressure points are tremendous at relieving stress.  maybe that's why temple massage feels so good when you have a headache.

[rohansahai]

Migraine is very serious, but i have good news for you, Doctors have found a cure.

TELL TELL !
I get migraines too....It all starts with a slight throbbing in my left eye ...builds up, then for 5 minutes my vision goes haywire ...and then the headache starts ...and lasts the entire day!
I find it hard to practice with the migraine since as soon as my head shakes, I get a pinching pain again!
I've analysed that I usually get it when my stomach is empty ...but, sometimes I get it on other occasions as well ....really bothers me!

[zheer]

TELL TELL !

  Doctors now know that people who suffer from Migraine have a small hole in their heart, unlike non migrain sufferes. Therefore through this hole blood escapes without the blood being filterd for harmfull Toxins. this blood then travels round the body and eventually reaches the brain ( head ) this then results in chemical imbalance, the outcome is then Migrine. Since non migrain sufferes do not have a hole in their heart the blood travels through the correct bath , thus it is filtterd from harmful Toxins.

       anyway the cure is achieved by blocking the hole through surgery, thus no more blood escaping. It has been tested and it works. GOOD NEW FOR YOU. Well this surgery is available in London.

[contrapunctus]

  Doctors now know that people who suffer from Migraine have a small hole in their heart, unlike non migrain sufferes. Therefore, through this hole blood escapes without the blood being filterd for harmfull Toxins. this blood then travels round the body nd eventually reaches the brain ( head ) this then results in chemical imbalance, the outcome is then Migrine. Since non migrain sufferes do not have a hole in their heart the blood travels through the correct bath , thus it is filtterd from harmful Toxins.

       anyway the cure is achieved by blocking the hole through surgery, thus no more blood escaping. It has been tested and it works. GOOD NEW FOR YOU. Well this surgery is available in London.

Uh, thank you for giving a source. 

There is something wrong with what you are saying:

 "Therefore, through this hole blood escapes without the blood being filterd for harmfull Toxins." You are implying that the heart filters the blood and that if the heart has a hole it cannot filter the blood completely. I would just like to point out that the heart does not filter the blood at all, that is the kidney's job.

I am sorry, but this reason you stated for migraines cannot possibly be correct.

[pianistimo]

why?  different doctors say different things.  it sounds entirely plausible.  do you think he's pulling your leg.  or, do you think doctors are trying to make a buck off migrane sufferrers - making them endure heart surgery?  i thought that when you had a hole in your heart it was sort of life threatening and often repaired itself shortly after birth.  if it didn't, you either had surgery then or died. 

can you get another hole in your heart years later?  wouldn't you be sufferring a lot more than migranes.  just wondering.

[zheer]

Uh, thank you for giving a source. 

I am sorry, but this reason you stated for migraines cannot possibly be correct.

   The heart does pump blood round the body, but haw or where this blood is filterd, i dont know am not a doc, but if you want to go against the medical establishment in the Uk, then hay man what-ever blows your hair back.
 

[franziii]

With a serious study of yoga breathing techinques, one can lessen the severity of a migrane... of course, learn and practice these techniques when you are not already in pain.
If you are that dedicated to practicing the piano with a migrane, then practicing the techniques of pain control are within your ability to accomplish. Good luck !

[plunkyplink]

I saw something on the news about that hole in the heart and surgery fixing migraines. I forget how that works, exactly, but, I did a fair bit of research about how the heart works, and it doesn't filter blood for toxins, its function is to pump the blood and circulate it throughout the body. That was an interesting show, but I don't think I would undergo something as major as heart surgery and plugging tiny holes for migraines, that sounds way too risky. But, interesting suggestion. I also saw a news item about botox injections in the forehead seemed to help with migraines. That looked like something more doable. Anything can trigger a migraine, there is lots of food that triggers it, even exercise, and anything that overstimuates the nerves, like a trade show convention floor (I lasted about 5 minutes until I had a horrible migraine)

Migraines are awful though, sometimes I practise piano with a headache, and it distracts me from the pain. The last migraine I had when I posted that lasted three days, but I did manage to get 30 minutes to an hour of practising a day in. The rest of the time was spent in a dark room, with an icepack on my head and napping and eating bland, non-nauseating food, and counting deep breaths. Usually a good migraine med can nip the migraine in the bud, but I guess I took mine too late.

[berrt]

  Doctors now know that people who suffer from Migraine have a small hole in their heart, unlike non migrain sufferes. Therefore through this hole blood escapes without the blood being filterd for harmfull Toxins. this blood then travels round the body and eventually reaches the brain ( head ) this then results in chemical imbalance, the outcome is then Migrine. Since non migrain sufferes do not have a hole in their heart the blood travels through the correct bath , thus it is filtterd from harmful Toxins.

       anyway the cure is achieved by blocking the hole through surgery, thus no more blood escaping. It has been tested and it works. GOOD NEW FOR YOU. Well this surgery is available in London.

Zheer, you make very thoughtful comments in other topics, but this is pure nonsense.

B.

[zheer]

Zheer, you make very thoughtful comments in other topics, but this is pure nonsense.

B.

   The liver and the kiddny filter our blood for harmfull toxins. i will leave the rest for you to work- out.

[pianistimo]

botox injections.  EEEK.  i watch plastic surgery shows (for some bedevilled reason - probably curiousity) and that looks more painful that ANYTHING.  you are conscious and awake and someone sticks a long needle in your forehead, around the eyes, cheeks.  OUCH.  that would give me a migrane thinking about it.

i think you mean chinese accupressure or accupuncture.  don't they use smaller needles and they don't inject anything?  botox is really a poison.  i must have a morbid curiosity to watch the shows.  of course - for some - looking younger is worth any pain.  for me, i'd rather just grow old natrually and forget the pain.

i've found that aroma therapy is also EXTREMELY helpful for me in relaxation.  i used to not use it as much because my husband is allergic to many smells - but early in the day i might light a scented candle and it's like drinking tea (which i like to do more of now, too). the combination of enough fluids in your body - and doing things that calm your nerves now and then (rest, smells, taking care of yourself, exercise) does a lot naturally.  also, i find that dark green veggies are often ommitted in people's diets.  maybe it's all in my head - but when i eat spinach and salads i feel 2x's as good as when i don't.

[ce nedra]

No, no acupuncture, or botox, or heart filling medicines,

ibuprofen

or any variation of brufen or such...

It works.

[elephant]

I had regular migraines until a few years ago - I think one usually grows over it. I must say I don´t miss the blurred vision, the headache and the horrible nausea, but I also remember the feeling of having just been through an attack, kind of like having been born anew, seeing everything in the world with new eyes. Is this feeling familiar to any of you?

[henrah]

Doctors now know that people who suffer from Migraine have a small hole in their heart, unlike non migrain sufferes. Therefore through this hole blood escapes without the blood being filterd for harmfull Toxins. this blood then travels round the body and eventually reaches the brain ( head ) this then results in chemical imbalance, the outcome is then Migrine. Since non migrain sufferes do not have a hole in their heart the blood travels through the correct bath , thus it is filtterd from harmful Toxins.

 anyway the cure is achieved by blocking the hole through surgery, thus no more blood escaping. It has been tested and it works. GOOD NEW FOR YOU. Well this surgery is available in London.

If blood did escape through a hole in the heart, how is it meant to get back into the arteries/cappilaries to travel round the body up to the brain? This is confusing me. Certainly if people are having constant migraines and are fairly old (older than a couple of years that is) they would be dead if they had a hole in their heart, would they not? I can see some truth in that harmful unfiltered toxins are causing the migraines; but most probably from the kidney not functioning correctly, not blood escaping from the heart and somehow making it's way up to the brain without the help of the heart pumping it in the arteries.
Henrah

[plunkyplink]

Sometimes I do get that born anew feeling after a migraine! It's like, you weathered a storm and the sun has come out and the birds are singing, and you are so rested and ready to do a bunch of stuff, like practise piano like crazy! It's probably endorphins or something.  It seems my major, 3-day-long migraines are triggered by hormones, because I usually get them before or during my period. One reason I'm almost looking forward to menopause, maybe that will be the end of that.

Oh yeah, I was surprised and saddend that ibuprofen can be a migraine trigger, that's why I got naproxen from my doc, and also triptan drugs for the actual migraines, which reminds me, I got to make another doc apt.

Come to think of it, this forum can be a migraine inducing, with the white text on black background. It looks nice design-wise, but I find it's hard on my eyes. Not that I'm complaining... I think I'm too addicted to this site to not come back every day or so. The discussions on here, and the people here seem like real gems!

[bartolomeo_]

The "hole in your heart" posts, though well-meaning, are based in misinformation.  Migraine is a neurological condition.

I get migraines.

I have migraine medicine in my music bag.  I use Imitrex, which is one of the triptan drugs mentioned in the OP, though there are others that work.  All of them require a prescription, at least in the U.S.  I also have some stashed in a secure location at the church where I play, so that if a migraine starts during a rehearsal or service, I can treat it right away.

[whitemint]

Certainly if people are having constant migraines and are fairly old (older than a couple of years that is) they would be dead if they had a hole in their heart, would they not?

well my brother was born with a small hole in his heart... hes 20 now and still has it so i guess it doesnt kill ya... although, the doctor did say he wouldve been a few inches taller without it... lol i guess thats true because he is the shortest in my family.  but, i dont recall him ever having migraines