I find that the Alerts regularly arrive about a day late ... I have asked for information on just what the factors are that are being measured to trigger the MediClim Alerts, but have never received a reply. It would be useful information to have since I'd like to know what the preconditions are that trigger mine.

I am new to this site. I just signed up today. I too feel validated regarding weather affecting migraines. I have been a migraine sufferer since 9 years old. I still remember my first one. I am now 45. Until about 15 years ago I realy hadn't connected my headaches to the whether but I started getting them so severly and so frequently (up to three times a week for anywhere from two to five days at a time.) that I decided to document everything I ate, drank, and did in a journal to try and figure out what was causing them. By this point I had seen quite a few specialists, neurologists, etc and had mentioned the whether pattern thing to them. However, they were not totally sold on it as the cause. I had to have an histerectomy 3 years ago due to cancer and hoped that with this change my migraines may subside. However I haven't had that luck. I have tried sprays, injections and every medication on the market, including anti seizure drugs, antidepressants, and beta blockers. I have olso in the past tried botox injections, hypnotism, and acupuncture as well as natural remedies. I am tired of the same old, same old and hope to get some new ideas. About 90% of my migraines appear to be weather related. I get a few from severe stress also but it has to be severe stress like when my house burned down. I too get them when the barometer rises very quickly but more often when it is falling. The ones that wake me up in the night are the worst. I have severe vomiting with my migraines and this is causing a lot of problems for me. I am on a blood thinner due to open heart surgery for valve replacement three years ago and my vomiting is causing my INR levels or blood thickness to fluctuate which is very dangerous. As of right now I am on morphine pills and a perscription antinauseant because gravol did not seem to be strong enough. I would like to stop taking narcotics but at this point it is my only option. Anyone out there with some ideas to help me out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Karen from Brockville Ontario

Hi, I just joined this site. My mother has been a member for awhile (for arthritis), and she has been forwarding me the alerts for Migraine. They are so bang on that it's scary. 90% of the time when I get the email from her I've taken pills within half an hour. They're so accurate that when I get the email alert and don't feel any pain at all, I take the pills anyways. Today I signed up to get them delivered right to my inbox (sometimes there's a delay when she's not able to forward them to me right away). I live just outside Calgary, Alberta, and we get some pretty severe weather changes. We have this phenomena called the Chinook, which is a warm wind that blows in and raised the temperature drastically in a matter of hours. The barometer goes nuts when it comes in, and again when it goes out. Not all chinooks affect me, but many of them do (especially if they arrive during my period). I can get migraine that clings for upwards of 5 or 6 days :( It's always a surprise when a chinook arrives and it does NOT affect me! I moved here from eastern Canada 22 years ago. Before arriving in Alberta, I had never heard of a sinus pill before. I had migraines before moving here, but usually related to stress, hormones, and triggers (I was a smoker, am still a chocoholic). After years of experimenting with how to deal with the chinook headaches, I found the combination that works 90% of the time. It's one ac&c (aspirin,caffeine, codeine) and HALF a sinus-allergy pill. Not a whole one, and not just a sinus pill - it has to have that allergy component. I find this hilarious, because I do not have any allergies! But this is the combo that works, and believe me, I have tried everything! Well, not the heavy imatrex, or other prescription drugs. As long as over the counter stuff continues to work most of the time, I'll stay away from the prescription stuff... I also get migraine on days when there are no alerts. Today is one of them. I've got the weather page bookmarked, and see that our barometer is rising rapidly. That'll do it... Anyways, just wanted to say hello :) Lydia

I also awoke in the night , a patern for me also , but when I am awoken with one they are the very worst of all . the patern is daily for me but headaches occuring during the day Fiorinol helps but thes others are ruthless . The alerts are accuate but usually late for me . Someimes I feel I could write them . I have Zomeg spray and Axert but they do not work taken alone.

I'd like to hear from people in this area. How does the weather affect you?

I also wake up during the night with a Migraine coming on. I can usually feel the signs the day or night before it hits. The tingling of the right side of my head, the inability to focus on what I'm doing, often having a word in mind but not quite able to get it out without stopping to concentrate on it, and sometimes those dreaded dots floating around on the edge of my eye sight. All, or some, of that usually happens before I get the alert. Sometimes i'm not even paying mush attention to them, since they are such common place in my life, and then I get the weather alert and tie them all together in my mind and know what's coming!! But my experience has been that the alerts are extremely accurate. Of course, in our area you can feel the dampness and know the barometric pressure is changing and what a bad sign that is. But it sure is nice having confirmation that the weather affects Migraines. My Doctor agrees and that helps but people that don't have Migraines or Arthritis look at me like I'm crazy and just looking for an excue. Makes me want to scream. I'm hit with the double whammy of both Migraines and now Arthritis. Have had it in my lower back for several years and now starting to move into my hands. They both SUCK!

I have been treated for severe migraines through the headache and pain relief centre in toronto. They have helped me greatly. I have gone from having 3 to 4 migraines weekly to 1 every 7 to 10 days. They use a mulit-faceted approach, looking at diet, stress, triggers such as bright sunlight, flourescent lighting, etc. They offer nerve blocks, physiotherapy, massage therapy, naturopathy, nutritional therapy, and many more options. Check out their website at www.headachepainreliefcentre.ca. Very worthwhile!!!

I have suffered from migraines most of my life. What has helped me most recently is a very dillengent routine on all levels, physical, mental and emotional. Physically I avoid parmesan cheese, booze, smokes, and very little chocolate. I can't be out in the direct sun either - receipe for a migraine! I have to wear sunglasses and a hat at all times. This is not enough though and so my doctor recommended, bio-identical hormone replacement to balance my sex hormones (I've gone through menopause), many women have strong hormonal imbalances which can trigger migraines. She also recommended high doses of magnesium glycinate - it must be in that form for absorbtion combined with Alpha lipoic acid and Co-enzyme Q10. I take these twice a day every day. All this helped but not enough to get completely rid of them so I turned to Louise Hay's "Heal Your Body". I do the affirmations she recommends for migraines every day - especially when I feel the onset of a migraine. One affirmation I think is most effective is: I relax into the flow of life and let life provide all that I need easily and comfortably. Life is for me. Repeat this many times before during and after a migraine. It's calming and affirming and may speak to the migraine "personality". I believe it helps me more than anything but especially in combination with everything else. Keeping an even emotional state is also necessary, stay calm and breathe into the tension to release it. Nothing is worth getting a migraine over. The other thing I do when I feel I'm not going to be able to fight one off because of time and too many other things to do is to take 2 - 400mg caps of Iboprofuen. The tightness at the base of my scull will usually subside if I get it in time and make sure I'm doing the rest of the self care as described above. When I have a full-blown migraine I get into a shallow but super-hot bath - the feet must be in the hottest water possible. I do this over and over - some relief occurs usually. Or just soak the feet in extremely hot water while you have ice on your head and neck. Also go to bed with heat on your feet and ice on your head - and say your affirmations. It seems my migraines have made me become much more self-aware and may offer us a way to actually change ourselves for the better through self-attention. I used to take 6 sumatriptan a month + (sumatriptan is the generic name for Imitrex). I have reduced that usage to 6 pills every 3 months. A huge improvement but I won't be truly free until I can stop buying them altogether.. I live on Vancouver Island - weather changes are normal and so it's a challenge but worth the effort. This morning I started to feel that slight nausea and stiffness in the neck - like you can't find a comfortable position for your neck - and saw that - Medi-clim alert was waiting for me today! I have been doing my affirmations all day, drinking water and staying calm. I hope any or all of this info helps somebody out there.

Gypsy ... I'm new here too. I've found that sometimes I experience the migraines either just before and sometimes a day or so after the storms. I suspect it all has to do with the kind of storms. Mine are mostly worse when there is a lot of wind involved. Or very, very low barometric pressure. I too can't take many prescription drugs for relief. I have found though, that if I wake up with one (a relatively mild one) in the morning, I can take a couple of aspirin with a cup of coffee and am able to keep the pain from at least getting worse. During the night I'll use a couple of gravol and Tylenol ... again if it's a relatively mild one. I've also done a lot or research on foods and chemical allergies and have identified some of the main triggers that produce the very extreme migraine side effects. Right now I'm looking for more information on the effects of weather on Fibromyalgia. I'll be interested to hear others experiences.

I would be interested in hearing from other migraine sufferers in the Seattle area. With the recent ups and downs in the weather, I have had 8 migraines in 13 days, with varying degrees of discomfort. However, there have been NO alerts for this area. Anyone else?

It would be helpful to know what it is about the weather that triggers my migraines. As to accuracy - it's difficult to quantify exactly how accurate it is. I have found if the temperature rises rapidly that is correlated to a migraine. However, I just read a paper that migraines are very difficult to predict even for people who swear they know the pattern. It's really no better than chance alone. The frustrating part of migraine is that even if you can correlate it to weather, short of moving to another climate (?maybe Costa Rica) there are really no precautionary measures. Luckily Imitrex is very helpful for me. Laurie Edmonton, Canada

I defeated these middle of the night migraines by getting fitted for a night guard by my dentist - must have been grinding my teeth and there is a correlation - I do not have to wear it every night - now and then if my jaw feels sore in the morning then i begin wearing it for a week or so and break the grinding habit.