How common is simply a mild pain?
From the ages of 3 up to about 20, I suffered from episodic migraines without aura. Essentially, about once a fortnight I would develop a pretty intense pain behind (usually) my right eye and it would last until I went to sleep. There were no other symptoms at all, and the pain itself would be gone when I woke up. Note that the pain was not throbbing or pulsating, but constant. The main causes for these were too much screen or sun, not enough food or water.
Then, at the age of around 20/21, I developed chronic migraines. These migraines were similar to the episodes I had had growing up (a similar feeling and location of pain, and with no other symptoms) but would be much milder (the sort of pain I can go about my day with) and just much more frequent (at times, they are most days). This time though, there seems to be no immediate cause. For example, even on days where I look at little to no screen or sunlight, and eat and drink well - I still get one. Occasionally (about once every 3 weeks) one of these chronic migraines will turn into a bad episode (essentially the pain will increase to the point that I have to go bed).
I have tried most treatments through the NHS and found little to no luck (botox, beta blockers, sumatriptan).
From reading posts on this forum, and indeed speaking to people over many years (I am now 26), I have never really come across sufferers with the same symptoms as me. The pain is usually mild, non-pulsating and not accompanied by any other symptoms at all.
Does anyone have a similar case to me or have heard of one?
Any suggestions for treatments?
I would be really grateful to hear😀
Hi there! Thanks for reaching out with this question. I'm not a doctor so I can't give medical advice, but I can tell you that all people with migraine are unique. You might talk to 10 people and each of them may have some things in common, but have different triggers and treatments that help them. That said, your experience is valid. Migraine often changes throughout our lives and sometimes there's no clear reason for it.
One thought worth considering is that you may have a separate headache disorder -- there are several! This could be in addition to or instead of migraine. Have you been able to see a neurologist on the NHS? I know that can be tricky but we try to encourage people to see a specialist who focuses on migraine and headache disorders whenever possible.
Sorry I don't have a specific case to point to, but I have come to believe over my time here that just about anything can fall under the umbrella of migraine! All the best to you. -Melissa, team memberAs a migraineur of 60 years I can identify with what you are saying. For ten years I had abdominal migraine attacks where I had a peculiar feeling in my head accompanied by vomiting and diarrhoea. These episodes were approximately monthly between 01:00 and 05:00. It took me 3 days to recover. My doctor said it sounded like migraine but just treated the abdominal symptoms. At the age of 32 with 3 small children I started getting what I called my sledgehammer heads in addition to the abdominal symptoms. These would occur during the daytime. In addition to these I had many days where I felt as though my head did not belong to me. This was the phase where I did a lot of research on triggers and thought I had found mine but still occasional really bad attacks hit me. I found migraine specific OTC medication that worked for me and the postdrome period always lasted longer than the headache period. Now retired for many years really bad attacks are rare but more days than not my head is not really right. Actual headaches are rarely more than 4/10 these days but the postdrome period lingers whatever level of headache I have had. Strangely, lying down exacerbates my head pain so if I wake with even a mild headache I have to get up to prevent it from worsening. I have tried going back to sleep but the pulsating just gets worse. I actually find sitting outside with a mug of tea hugely helpful. I am sitting under my new golfing umbrella as I type. My husband thinks I am mad but then he rarely gets a headache if any description. If I had a big enough garden I would have bought an umbrella in a stand but at my age I can do without something else in the garden to trip over. Remember we are all unique and need to find our own pathway. I just wish social media had been around when I was younger so that I would have felt less isolated. Good luck with your journey. 🥰🥰
