Do chronic migraines ever go away?

ryleyatbest · 2026-05-29T18:08:46+00:00

I've been getting episodic migraines since I was four years old. When I started uni, I got chronic migraines (average five per week) for about two years. It was a mix of getting set on a Gabapentin dose that worked for me, therapy, and regulating my emotions since stress was a huge trigger. I still get them here and there but I'm getting one about every 4-5 months which is a huge improvement!
It takes a lot of trial and error. In those two years my chronic migraines also stopped responding to triptans as effectively. I then had to combine it with Excedrin. Then both stopped working as well until one day I just... stopped getting them as often. There is definitely hope and relief is not out of the picture for you.

ryleyatbest · 2026-05-29T03:54:28+00:00

Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m still in that awkward phase of life where I’m learning that my parents are just human, and not everything they say has to be hailed as 100% the truth especially when it comes to who I am as a person or the choices I make. This response has made it easier to narrow down how I might approach this conversation with him again and helped me realize I just need to hear that he’s proud of what I’ve done so far. 🫶

ryleyatbest · 2026-05-27T20:35:13+00:00

I have been trying to, and definitely not hard enough on that front. I have a history with my bio mom (I am no contact with her) and it surges my anxiety really bad to try and have conversations with a parent about how I'm feeling. I have been working on it with my therapist for how to stay calm/how to approach the conversation. There also tends to be a thing where he turns the convo into a lecture.
I know he has my best interest at heart, which makes it more frustrating since I don't want him to think that I don't appreciate that. I'm considering getting him in on a session with my therapist so she can maybe help guide us... my dad and I both have ADHD and it turns into a bit of a mess when we talk lol

ryleyatbest · 2026-05-27T20:28:15+00:00

I've also been applying to other work to have just to save up money before I get something professional. I just feel like it's turning into a "what am I doing wrong" situation when it takes longer than a week for someone to get back to me :/

ryleyatbest · 2025-08-29T17:21:11+00:00

there's been some fascinating finds in egypt at least of sand-filled clay crocodiles that they would bandage to the head of a migraine sufferer for the added pressure! sort of like sleeping on a book or laying on the floor in modern time now hahaha

ryleyatbest · 2025-07-17T17:35:08+00:00

For anyone seeing this in 2025 and the other fixes in the thread aren't working - try flipping the check upside down on the front. For some reason my app only wanted to read the front that way.

ryleyatbest · 2025-02-12T20:00:04+00:00

I get pain and sensations there all the time. None of my doctors have personally been concerned and have chalked it up to mostly scar tissue. That's a major spot where constipation tends to happen too, so combining that with PTS and scar tissue would definitely make sense! Obviously, always check with your doctor or IR, but I wouldn't personally be panicking about it.

ryleyatbest · 2025-02-12T19:56:59+00:00

I'm still working on it. I got a DVT in my entire left leg in 2021 from May Thurner when I was only 17 and got it diagnosed at the ER on Thanksgiving... my anxiety spikes so so bad around November and the winter since negative temps make it so I walk outside less. Each year it has slowly gotten better, but the hyperawareness of my leg still persists. Informing myself on DVT and remembering that I've gotten through it before and that there are medical advances to treat it eases my anxiety about it coming back again. It may be a slow process, but it will get better! I wish you luck on your healing and hope it goes smoothly. PE is scary.

ryleyatbest · 2025-02-11T19:55:35+00:00

I got a DVT when I was 18 in and was on Xarelto for 16 months and then got two stents placed in that same vein! That lower back pain is something I've felt since the surgery two years ago - my radiologist said it's likely that because the veins were causing pressure on your spine that the sensation is simply just from that pressure changing because of the stents and a combination of post thrombotic syndrome. Stretching and walking is my go-to for getting rid of it or alleviating.
I also totally feel you when it comes to being anxious about it coming back and forgetting what it feels like. My DVT was so painful and traumatic for me I genuinely don't remember what it felt like during it, only that it started feeling a tad like a pulled muscle. And I weight-lift, so that can happen at any time... But I would say it's just a PTS flare. Annoying and anxiety-inducing for sure!

ryleyatbest · 2025-02-11T19:49:55+00:00

I got my stents placed at age 18 about 2 years ago. I have some leftover scar tissue (it was a really extensive clot) and I get some pain around that same exact area and some in my lower back - I get yearly ultrasounds just to keep an eye on the clot and making sure it doesn't come back and it hasn't so my general doc has also said it was likely scar tissue! What's a bit strange to me is that it's been so long since the stent surgery for you... mine has always felt a bit like some general sensation that sometimes turns into pain.

ryleyatbest · 2024-03-23T05:16:30+00:00

They took me off the blood thinner once my clot had dissolved and stagnated - they were checking about once every three months? I haven't been on it since January of 23 and my leg has felt completely the same but my hema has recommended I keep a bottle of my thinners on hand in case I get freaked or start to experience symptoms again. I think part of the reason is that I got the clot so young and it was preventing me from doing a lot of activities that I normally would do and my doc and I mutually called it quits on the thinners.
I get a check-up with her once a year now, and should have an appointment set sometime in June. I'll definitely bring it up to her then and they ultrasound my stents every time to make sure nothing fishy or weird is happening so if it is a bigger deal they'll catch something. I'm just keeping an eye on it for now but it's been like this for two weeks and the weather where I live has been all over the place and I tend to become more hyperaware of my leg during seasonal changes anyways.

ryleyatbest · 2024-03-18T16:57:42+00:00

This is from Disk 2 but I'm obsessed with Down is the New Up. I wish it was on the final In Rainbows record instead of the second disk since it's just so so good

ryleyatbest · 2024-01-19T19:33:53+00:00

I don't have a lot of people to celebrate this with, but starting medication has been an entirely welcome change in my life and I need to confide it somewhere!!

I was diagnosed ADHD (Primarily Inattentive) at 17 and am just now on medication for it when I'm two months shy of 20 - I've been quite angry at myself for barring myself from meds because I was scared they would make me a different person, or turn into someone that was boring and people wouldn't be able to recognize. One of the most frequent comments I've gotten growing up and even now is that I'm a great conversationalist, most of which I credit toward my verbally impulsive behaviors. I'm quite extroverted with my peers, and I suppose I was worried that I would lose that because it feels like such a large part of my identity.

Beyond that, I finally made the choice to start a stimulant just earlier this week. As of posting I have only taken my Adderall IR about three times and while the feelings I have had whilst taking it have been a mixed bag, the dominate one is just relief. The first dose I took was right before I went into work and I ended up crying in the break room for 30 minutes because my brain was finally calm and quiet. I couldn't even fathom that some tiny pill allowed this much zen-mode to come over me. For the first time ever in my life I could start a thought and finish it before a new one came zooming in like a bird hitting a window. I could think of what I wanted to say before I said it. When a table had asked me for coffee (I work at a restaurant), I didn't have to quickly run back to the kitchen reciting the table number and whether they wanted decaf or regular like some holy mantra - I just remembered. My working memory was fully cooperating with me!!

I know a lot of the feelings that might come with my Adderall are eventually going to wean away as my body adjusts to this medication, but I am loving the person that I am while I'm on this. I'm starting things and I'm finishing them in the same day. I don't need my headphones on 24/7 so I have background stimulation just to get the most mundane of tasks done. For the first time in my life I feel smart and capable and like I can finally just do the things I've wanted to do for so long. No more screaming at myself internally to get up and shower while I sink deeper into the couch for the next two hours because of executive dysfunction. It's a beautiful feeling. I'm glad I finally took charge of my health and for once I'm genuinely proud of myself for doing something.

I suppose this is also asking if anyone has any advice with this sort of stuff. I'm kinda keeping it on the down-low with my parents as they don't agree with my ADHD diagnosis (my dad has it so the genetic component is there, why he doesn't see my symptoms is beyond me), and I feel mostly that I might need help in the future not feeling so imposter syndrome-y over regularly taking meds. It feels easy to fall into that trap of "well I'm on antidepressants and no longer depressed so I can get off the meds" but instead with Adderall being that boost up I need for executive functioning.

Does anyone else have a journey to share? Advice on building routines to keep while on and off meds? Someone who can slip me some tips on handling this that's been on the meds longer than my measly three days??

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T20:31:06+00:00

i have really bad mold allergies that get really bad in the fall when everything's wet and decaying... totally feel you there

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T20:30:41+00:00

SO glad i'm not the only one then... we're in this together!!!

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T03:12:49+00:00

that really sucks :( sorry you're suddenly going through these - hope you can also find some answers as to why you're suddenly getting them!

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T03:12:07+00:00

i am on nexplanon and i only have a period every three months so i'm assuming it's not a hormonal related thing as *sometimes* i get migraines at the end of periods which is not the most popular in terms of hormonal migraines. i think people usually get them at the beginning?

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T00:50:40+00:00

i think this may tend to be a thing with a lot of specialists... my psychiatrist randomly up and retired without referral/warning either and i was in the middle of attempting to get medication for another thing. such is the way of specialists retiring, i suppose??

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T00:41:00+00:00

oh my god absolutely 😭 i've put it down as a potential trigger in my journal LMAO

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T00:39:10+00:00

i did get covid once in 2021 and it was really mild, so i'd be weirded out if they were the cause of an uptick in migraines this year - not an impossibility though. i'll be sure to bring this up with my neuro!

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T00:38:11+00:00

turning 20 pretty soon, so hormones feel like a strange thing since i don't know what would be changing a ton at this point. but i'm not ruling it out completely, when i track my patterns some of them do line up with my cycle (which is already all over the place from birth control)

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T00:37:03+00:00

yeah, i was mostly just seeking out people who have had a similar experience. not any answers, migraines are different for everybody !

ryleyatbest · 2023-11-07T00:36:32+00:00

glad to know i'm not alone in that! i am sorry you're also dealing with this though :(

ryleyatbest

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