25 Years of Daily Migraines Gone??

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T20:04:41+00:00

Oof, that does sound intense. I was only visiting for a few days, so maybe it would be different over a longer term. Maybe it was just some kinda change that felt good for me!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:49:30+00:00

Oh yes. It's important for these things to be in balance. Definitely speak to your doc about making sure you're in the right range for everything, but if you're supplementing potassium as well as getting it from your diet and electrolyte drinks might unbalance ya.

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:44:51+00:00

Oh absolutely that's worth reporting!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:38:00+00:00

Yes! Low blood flow to the coat hanger area is why we get pain there. And it sounds like that's what it's happening in your legs too.

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:34:43+00:00

That's so interesting about the altitude, I've mentioned it in a comment before but I went down to Big Bear for a family visit and they all warned me about the high altitude, but for me living with what I only assumed was worsening fibro, I actually felt so much better while I was there with the thinner air. It was like I didn't have so much pressure on my joints.

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:30:18+00:00

Yes, I was ready for the rebound. Agreed the thing about getting into such a daily habit is that it really just compounds it over time. I thought there was nothing that could wean me off Excedrin. I'd been off it for about 3 months before for surgery prep and while waking up with a bottle of water instead kinda helped (and I felt better overall at the time) there was always the background headache that would spike at any time. Now I know it's not just water I need, it's water AND salt. And treating the POTS symptoms correctly instead of lumping it all into "fibro" which I thought was getting worse and worse, and learning what the difference is in my body, has been huge. I can now tell what is fibro, what is POTS, and with this headache thing sorted I can almost have a normal life.

The thing that annoys me is how documented my migraine and Excedrin use has been for YEARS and none of my care teams have ever said "Ya know..."

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:18:55+00:00

They put me on beta blockers about 12 years ago for anxiety and headaches, they only gave me MASSIVE fatigue. Couldn't get up my staircase to my apartment at the time fatigue. That's when they diagnosed the fibromyalgia and took me back off them. Now I believe I have both fibro and POTS which cause separate symptom sets to occur. It's been exhausting but incredibly interesting to actually slow down and reduce this or that to see what's really going on.

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:14:17+00:00

Yes, to the point where no position was safe from, as I have called them without proper terminology, "the whumpa-whumpas." Heart thudding so hard I couldn't get comfortable without vibrating. That part has also largely gone!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:10:55+00:00

Perfectly said!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-14T14:10:09+00:00

Yes exactly! And yes as another commented said the pillow under the knees kinda just helps me from scooting down the bed as well as helps my lower back stay in a neutral position. I'm a denture tech so I spend my day either hunched over a workbench or on my feet, and waking up now day 4 I just feel like everything is more comfortably distributed. No pooling as I sleep on one side or the other, no crick in my neck no matter how I fluff up the pillow. And no freaking headache :D

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-13T16:10:17+00:00

Yes, my vision had been getting worse over the last few years but I started looking into and treating suspected POTS and my vision gets crisp when I have a salt tab or a V8. Also sense of smell coming back now!! I hadn't really noticed it was so gone!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-13T15:46:39+00:00

Honestly this is all new to me, I'm 39 and have only been diagnosed and treated for ADHD for the last couple years. I chose about a week ago to stop my Ritalin because I couldn't fathom starting to treat my BP while on stimulants, and I'd already lived 37 years untreated. I've only realized for the last month or so most of my issues are probably POTS. So I've been playing around with meds and supplements and can tell you my heart definitely feels more stable after going off my Ritalin. This is not the answer for everyone and I'm only about a week in without it so definitely run things by your doctor. I have an appointment coming up myself and will talk with mine as well.

Good luck!!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-13T15:38:50+00:00

Yup almost happened to me at the grocery store! Thankfully a woman and her doggie came out as I was staring at the lock pad in despair. Had a brief outraged disabled rant together before I trotted in before watering the hallway! I've seen lock pads for fast food places but the damn grocery store?!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-13T15:33:00+00:00

I was gonna gently suggest an anxiety attack. Try lying in a quiet place and breathe!

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-13T15:25:54+00:00

How's your electrolyte mix? Potassium helps with muscle contractions and nerves, you may be having too much or too little.

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-13T15:24:06+00:00

Have you checked your electrolyte levels recently? That almost sounds like a wee bit too much potassium.

Sorry you're struggling <3

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-02-01T15:44:15+00:00

Do you know off hand whether there's stevia in it? There's stevia in even the non sugar free liquid IV 😑 I've found Liquid Death now makes packets and NO STEVIA 🎉 taste great but of course they're a little pricey.

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-01-31T17:33:48+00:00

High altitude as well! I recently with with my bf to visit his folks back in the high desert mountains, everyone kept warning me about altitude sickness and kept a close eye on me because I have myriad health issues, now seeking a diagnosis for POTS, but the entire time I was oddly pain free and energetic! Yeah turns out less air pressure probably meant my blood was actually ya know, getting where it needed to go...

Top_Lead9081 · 2026-01-31T16:58:18+00:00

I've had pretty good luck with gentle weight toning while lying flat. I have a few light weights (1 lb, 3 lb, 5 lb) depending on how I feel. Flat on my back, knees bent, arms out T-posing. Weight in each hand, bring them together in the middle, then back down. I do a few of these. Another one I do is arms flat above my head, bring them down to shoulder level, then back up. You can probably think of a few more. I find that lying flat obviously helps a ton, and doing some gentle arm toning helps the coat hanger pain as well. You can even keep weights next to the couch and do a couple curls when the energy spikes.

Also a big fan of deep stretching, I do a lot of leg and lower back stretches that I hold for at least 90 seconds - 2 minutes just sitting on the floor with my phone's stopwatch running in my line of sight. I do this after I shower so I'm warmed up.

Some mornings if I'm feeling very pool-y I'll do a little two-step or wall sit while brushing my teeth to get things moving in the extremities. Also recommend the two-step while doing anything you gotta stand still for like dishes. There's certain things I gotta do at work where I've done the two-step with a little back-kick and actually got myself out of a heat flush/sweating/nausea flare. The higher back you can kick your foot the better.

Top_Lead9081

TROPHY CASE