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I grew up in West Los Angeles and for more than 40 years have suffered these head splitting migraines. The smog and pollen were easily stopped with over the counter allergy medication. Thankfully, there is little rain and thus, far fewer times the barometer drops quickly, but I also found that the allergy and BP Migraine interact. If I had taken allergy medication and started to get a BP migraine, the intensity was far less than it ‘should’ have been. If I am caught off guard and a BP migraine happens, many times I end up naked on the bathroom floor after vomiting and cold sweat has drenched me. I have to be in a cool VERY dark place and TOTAL silence, even the dog breathing in the next room, or a clock ticking in a bedroom can be deafening.
Years later I also lived in Honolulu, Chicago, Cincinnati, NYC, Denver, Boulder, Hong Kong, London and traveled more than 500K miles a year for work. Chicago was a nightmare for my migraines, meaning every other day they seemed to arrive. My understanding is with the ‘lake effect’ weather, the barometer can plummet in a matter of minutes, which it does frequently. Thankfully my office was in NYC, so I commuted each week back and forth. In NYC only in spring or late autumn did I start to get any migraines, and they were VERY MUCH less severe than Chicago’s version. Denver, Boulder, Cincinnati I could tell about a day in advance if thunderclouds would come in and knew to medicate myself before leaving for the office.
Currently I live in Palm Springs, California and due to the San Jacinto mountain range and the desert, most weather patterns bypass the area, giving us less than 4.5 inches of rain annually. I’ll get the occasional BP migraine, if I’m not paying attention to the weather channel. I’ve traveled to Honolulu dozens of times and lived there many years ago surprised that my migraines were few and far between. The difference is it rains every day between 9am-11am like clockwork, but the clouds form far out in the ocean and slowly drift in. Even with the variety of flowers, my allergies rarely acted up. Only reason I can surmise, the barometer does not drop drastically like in Chicago. Storms roll in from a distance vs being created over your head.
I’ve tried every combination to stop or lessen the pain. I don’t like taking ANY medication, since I rarely trust the advertising behind it and question long term side effect, especially if I take 4 Advil and 6 Tylenol in one sitting, to try and alleviate a sudden migraine. I was VERY happy that the Excedrin Migraine was back on the shelves, since it seems to work quickly and little need to re-medicate again later. For the allergy, side Chlorpheniramine Maleate, generic for Chlor-Timetron, is effective for me. Surprisingly, if I have taken it, I RARELY will have to use the Excedrin Migraine to stop that initial throbbing of the temples and eyes.
My understanding is the Serotonin-Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor found in Chlorpheniramine Maleate. The Serotonin and Norepinephrine are increased in the brain and I assume less pain is felt due to the BP migraine at onset. I am NOT a doctor, and do not recommend taking anyone’s word online without asking an expert opinion for yourself. I am only sharing what is working for me. There was one time, when I seriously considered suicide, so the pain of the migraine would stop. Since then, I have analyzed, read and examined every part of my life to stop these migraines from happening.
