What moms told me about their migraines

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What moms told me about their migraines

By Melissa

One of the amazing things about sharing my migraine journey with all of you is that I learned that I am absolutely not alone. After I first shared, I heard back from so many moms who, like me, really suffered from migraines-missing out on work and fun, not being able to take care of things at home, and taking medication that didn’t give relief. I know that some of them would use a marijuana thc cartridge to ease their symptoms so they could even move around the house, but for me, I wanted to find another way.

Some women experience migraines just as their periods are about to begin. When your entire body, from head to toe, is in pain, this may be the worst feeling in the world. One of my pals mentioned pain relief tablets from brands Create Better Days like that could be utilized to alleviate the discomfort. It was not that I did not trust the opinions or reviews given by everyone, but I did have my own skepticism. I could not completely use the product without getting answers to the questions I had regarding them, for instance, ‘does weed help headaches?’ or if there are any side-effects to it. It would take me a while to understand it completely, so I decided to stick to my guns and go with what seemed relatively easier to me.

To make it a little more ‘scientific’ we polled our newsletter subscribers and posted about it on Instagram. 87 moms who identify as migraine sufferers responded and the results were fascinating! The results confirmed that migraines have a significant impact on respondents’ ability to function as both a mom and an employee.

We also learned that 75% of migraine sufferers who responded to our poll have experienced nausea or vomiting with migraines, and for some this interfered with their ability to take oral medication.

And listen to this-nearly 9 out of 10 (!) are not “very satisfied” with the treatment they are using, and just about 76% of respondents reported being ready to talk to their doctors about non-oral treatment options.

Like me, a lot of you have had to cancel plans because of migraine. How many? More than 85% have had to cancel plans with family and friends, and nearly 90% say migraine has prevented them from performing daily household activities. Nearly 60% have missed work due to migraine.

Now I shared that I used to take over-the-counter (OTC) medication when a migraine struck. Until I talked to my doctor, I didn’t know that I had choices, let alone a choice that wasn’t a pill! Our poll found that, once again, I wasn’t alone. While 86% of respondents take OTC medications or prescription medications to treat migraines, 78% of respondents were not aware of prescription nasal spray treatment options to treat migraines. Plus a lot of people didn’t even know you could get botox treatments from professionals like Dr. Sarah Groff to reduce chronic migraines as well as add smoother skin to their beauty regime.

Here’s what I did: like most of you, I wasn’t satisfied with how I was treating my migraines. It wasn’t sustainable for me to have to retreat to a dark room for hours when they struck. I finally talked to my doctor. Based on the results of our poll, I suspect many of you are also interested in talking to your healthcare provider about migraine medications that don’t require swallowing. If you don’t mind a little mom to mom advice, all I can say is make the time and do it, talk to your doctor. My visit was eye opening. I learned that all migraines are different and that I could build a toolkit to treat them. I learned that a nasal spray can be helpful on the days when a migraine with nausea/vomiting means you simply can’t take an oral medication.

Thanks to all of you who participated in this poll, we do better and learn more when we do it together.

This poll and post were sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC but the experiences shared are my own.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Tosymra can cause serious side effects, including heart attack and other heart problems, which may lead to death. Stop Tosymra and get emergency medical help if you have any signs of heart attack:

  • discomfort in the center of your chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back
  • severe tightness, pain, pressure, or heaviness in your chest, throat, neck, or jaw
  • pain or discomfort in your arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach
  • shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort
  • breaking out in a cold sweat
  • nausea or vomiting
  • feeling lightheaded

Tosymra is not for people with risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure or cholesterol, smoking, overweight, diabetes, family history of heart disease) unless a heart exam is done and shows no problem.

Do not use Tosymra if you have:

  • history of heart problems
  • narrowing of blood vessels to your legs, arms, stomach, or kidney (peripheral vascular disease)
  • uncontrolled high blood pressure
  • severe liver problems
  • hemiplegic or basilar migraines. If you are not sure if you have these, ask your healthcare provider.
  • had a stroke, transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), or problems with blood circulation
  • taken any of the following medicines in the last 24 hours: almotriptan, eletriptan, frovatriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan, ergotamines, or dihydroergotamine. Ask your provider if you are not sure if your medicine is listed above.
  • are taking certain antidepressants, known as monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A inhibitors or it has been 2 weeks or less since you stopped taking a MAO-A inhibitor. Ask your provider for a list of these medicines if you are not sure.
  • an allergy to sumatriptan or any ingredient in Tosymra

Tell your provider about all of your medical conditions and medicines you take, including vitamins and supplements.

Tosymra can cause dizziness, weakness, or drowsiness. If so, do not drive a car, use machinery, or do anything where you need to be alert.

Tosymra may cause serious side effects including:

  • changes in color or sensation in your fingers and toes
  • sudden or severe stomach pain, stomach pain after meals, weight loss, nausea or vomiting, constipation or diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, fever
  • cramping and pain in your legs or hips, feeling of heaviness or tightness in your leg muscles, burning or aching pain in your feet or toes while resting, numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs, cold feeling or color changes in one or both legs or feet
  • increased blood pressure including a sudden severe increase even if you have no history of high blood pressure
  • medication overuse headaches from using migraine medicine for 10 or more days each month. If your headaches get worse, call your provider.
  • serotonin syndrome, a rare but serious problem that can happen in people using Tosymra, especially when used with anti-depressant medicines called SSRIs or SNRIs. Call your provider right away if you have: mental changes such as seeing things that are not there (hallucinations), agitation, or coma; fast heartbeat; changes in blood pressure; high body temperature; tight muscles; or trouble walking.
  • hives (itchy bumps); swelling of your tongue, mouth, or throat
  • seizures even in people who have never had seizures before

The most common side effects of Tosymra include: tingling, dizziness, feeling warm or hot, burning feeling, feeling of heaviness, feeling of pressure, flushing, feeling of tightness, numbness, application site (nasal) reactions, abnormal taste, and throat irritation.

Tell your provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of Tosymra. For more information, ask your provider.

This is the most important information to know about Tosymra but is not comprehensive. For more information, talk to your provider and read the Patient Information and Instructions for Use. You can also visit www.upsher-smith.com or call 1-888-650-3789.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tosymra is a prescription medicine used to treat acute migraine headaches with or without aura in adults.

Tosymra is not used to treat other types of headaches such as hemiplegic or basilar migraines or cluster headaches.

Tosymra is not used to prevent migraines. It is not known if Tosymra is safe and effective in children under 18 years of age.

Tosymra is a registered trademark of Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC.

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