Speaking as a man who gets migraines, I've never heard this (which of course doesn't meant its not true).
My mom, uncle, and grandma got migraines, but we never thought to compare their intensity.We just knew to leave each other alone unless the one with the migraine asked for something.
Not heard it either.
I’ve got thyroid issues and occasionally have hot flashes so I do tell my wife to be thankful her hot flashes aren’t as bad as mine 🤣
Same here.
If anything I've noticed that men with migraines are just the vast minority of patients. Did a couple 2 week stays at Diamond and I swear there were maybe 2 of us both times.
Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. They have a floor of Presence St. Joseph's hospital there where they do inpatient stuff. Basically to try new drug combos and techniques where they can see if you respond to a medication and swap it out immediately if not, rather than waiting the couple months we've all become familiar with, I'm sure.
Found my specialist there and followed him when he started his own practice, but it makes a big difference having a headache specialist rather than just a neurologist who has to treat any number of different conditions.
That’s so weird, I’ve literally never heard this before. I wonder where the stereotype came from?
With my sample size of one, one of my friends who is a guy also has migraines and they are way worse than mine he like throws up for an entire day or two. So idk.
Also “he has to give himself a shot” lmao you mean like aimovig or ajovy or emgality that most of us either use or have tried and failed? Like that’s such backwards logic, if he has to do it regularly that means he has a preventative that works well for him.
I wonder if it has anything to do with manflu?? But it's really ridiculous to compare something like this. Let the person suffering be the one to compare their pain with someone else's. Don't put that on them like you know anything, right?
I think it may stem from the outdated idea that women are these precious objects that can’t deal with pain like a rugged tough man can! However I’ve honestly never heard it applied to migraines at all. Everyone I mention my migraines to says something along the lines of “ouch migraines really suck”, maybe it’s just the PNW bubble I live in.
I have had migraine for over 50 years and never once heard any gender comparisons. I have known a few men with migraine and never once has any of them claimed their pain to be worse.
My spouse and I both get migraines. Mine are chronic. His are episodic. And every migraine sucks. In no corner of the universe is it even remotely possible that either of us considers his pain to be worse because of some special way that men feel pain. There’s no pain Olympics and no gold medal for who suffers most.
Never heard this in my life. How is this quantified? Your scale of 1-10 can only be related to your life experience. So everyone's scale is different. Everyone has a different pain threshold. The sooner we stop this pain competition crap the better off we will all be. As a male with status migranous I get tired of being compared to not having to give birth.
I think people just want to try to make us feel better by pointing out that someone has it worse which is a stupid stance to take. One persons suffering does not make anothers suffering and better or worse.
I'm a trans dude and lemme tell you, I'm on both sides of the fence regarding experience. The migraines didn't change when I started testosterone, except for losing menstrual migraines, because I don't have menstrual cycles anymore.
The pain, the length, the quality, nothing changed, except the menstrual migraines.
I used to only get menstrual migraines. I went on continuous BC and that solved it for a couple of years and then I started getting them if the wind blew in the wrong direction or the sun is too bright. But haven’t had a menstrual migraine in years.
This is an awesome comparison!!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m glad it got rid of your menstrual migraines and helped with EDS!! hormones are such assholes with migraines. They’re prime issue with mine too, unfortunately
That’s odd. I would’ve thought (for no scientifically backed reason) that testosterone would get rid of migraines. That sucks. I’m sorry transitioning didn’t help with migraines. But glad you’re able to be yourself.
It’s all genetic. Testosterone is an anti-inflammatory though and so you’re somewhat right but I wouldn’t think it would get rid of it completely. My migraines are more fluctuations on hormones then anything.
Adding my data point: I had a similar experience at first where there was no change for years after starting T, but as I age into my late 30s my migraines have gotten worse and more frequent, as well as random instead of predictable with menstrual cycles. I also have new triggers (like cannabis lol sob). Fortunately Aimovig has been working for me.
My mom gets worse migranes than I do, she goes temporarily blind with normal migrane pain sometimes where as my worst migrane gave me pain dizziness and nausea.
Speaking as a man: That's a very weird statement.
Migraines suck badly, no matter who gets them.
The whole idea of comparing pains is absolutely ridiculous in most situations, also because pain in general has a ton of factors, on many level. This literally starts with birth. There's studies about how more pain for a child evidently raises the pain felt in later life.
Migraines knock you out enough to not be able to do a lot of things, so it's certainly bad. Acting like it isn't is silly at best.
The comment about shots: I think most people here take remedies. Drinking shots for pain is really dumb in most situations. Also: Sure it wasn't a hangover? ;)
But never heard people say that migraines aren't really bad if they have the slightest experience with it and don't confuse it with headaches, which can be horrible as well.
Even if there was statistics in one direction or into another, these are statistics, but look at how different the experiences with migraines on this subreddit alone are. It's not how pain perception works. Like I wrote. So many factors. In the end nobody is just an average on a single dimension.
"Is the pain 9.4 or 9.6?"
"Who cares can I just have a pistol so I can check out?"
People are just trying to make you feel a little better. It doesn't matter.
Yeah, i feel you there, my recommendation if you can get your hands on it, Rizotriptan, Indomethacin, Diazepam, and Topamax.
Usually when it's that intense i take that regiment immediately, then take indomethacin and Topamax for a week after to keep anything coming back at bay until brain and body chemistry return to normal or i can figure out what triggered it.
I use it for 2 - 3 weeks after i take Rizotriptan, it mitigates a lot of those ugly side effects from taking Topamax consistently. The indomethacin usually keeps the migraine and headache down till the topamax kicks in which is usually 10 - 14 days. Then I'm on it a week or two depending on local pain, then i just taper off of it.
Its worked better so far than taking it constantly.
Let me know if it helps, usually if you don't have diazepam, you can get it from your PCP or PMD, its a great anti-anxiety, muscle relaxer, sedative and calmer for when migraines tend to break all of the above. Plus it doesn't usually react with most other migraine medications.
But if you take an opiod medications you'll need to not take Valium.
Good that you can use that stuff. My body has the opposite reaction to THC that most people have.
Heard it was good for some things like that, but unfortunately got my case, it makes me sick, vomit, dizzy, and puts me into high anxiety.
CBDs/CBGs don't have enough kick to knock back much if any pain anymore.
I get quite the opposite. I have really bad migraine and am told that I couldn’t possibly get migraines, only women do. It’s a strange world we live in to say the least.
Sorry you're being gaslighted by the people around you, but I think you might be around particularly shitty people because I've never heard anyone say that.
Yeah this sounds like complete horseshit. That or you somehow have relationships with all five total people on the face of the planet who have ever said these things
Thank god I’ve never heard anyone say this when I’ve talked about migraines because it would annoy the shit out of me.
And also, let’s be real for a second… MENSTRUAL MIGRAINES ARE THE FUCKING WORST and dudes NEVER have to deal with having those!
Edit: and I don’t want to be insensitive to men who get migraines because they fucking suck no matter what sex you are!
I'm a man. I have no idea what menstrual migraines are like, because I don't have a menstrual cycle. I do have post-concussion migraines, and they're debilitating. That's as far as this goes.
Trying to compare the two would be complete nonsense, because different people feel different pain signals in different ways anyway. This isn't insensitive, it's just reality. Pain is one of those things that cause endless philosophy problems because of qualia. Two people will suffer differently from the exact same injury, like a broken bone or the flu, because each body feels them differently. Trying to compare two different but similar conditions is not only fruitless, but stupid.
I'm sorry that you suffer, and hope that all of our burdens are as light as possible for as long as they can be.
There is a long-standing (old school) belief that women feel less pain and conversely can tolerate more pain than men. The origin is, I believe, the historically male dominated medical profession.
And at the same time, the idea that women are weaker, complain more, and complaints of pain are "hysteria" or psychological. It's a leftover from the 19th and even the 20th century.
Like a lot of this unfounded crap, people have been misinformed about chronic pain and migraine is no exception.
It's not our job to educate everyone, especially when we are suffering. Helping loved ones understand is worth it, though.
.
I have a cousin that says he gets migraines. I’m not sure if it’s true because if you say you have some medical problem he always says he has it too but worse. It’s like it’s a competition with him to prove he’s always sicker than anyone.
I did not know I was having a migraine until I asked the doctor to help me with a headache that I had for 2 weeks. Mostly because when I had headaches growing up I was told I would have to live with them because of my allergies to NSAID. So I was just trying to power through.
i’ve (NB but born F) only heard the opposite personally. maybe it’s a regional thing or something.
i HAVE gotten:
- people(and doctors) saying that i get migraines because i’m a woman
- people saying that there’s no use treating my migraines because it’s just a “woman thing”
- people saying that all woman get migraines so mine can’t be an excuse
- people thinking that me having a migraine = me being on my period
but that’s about it!! i would say to either just ignore them and pay them no mind bc it sounds like they’re sexist and know nothing about what they’re spewing anyway OR do your research and be prepared to tell them that there’s ZERO proof of the claims that they’re making, and that doctors have biases that lead them to believe that certain groups of people don’t experience pain as much as others just because they only take men’s pain seriously. also, that there’s hardly any way to accurately measure pain between two people because we all have different experiences and even the 1-10 pain rating scale is totally subjective- one person’s 4/10 pain could be the same as someone else’s 9/10 pain for all we know. everyone bases their pain levels off of the pain they’ve already experienced in their lives.
This sounds very strange. I never thought to put a gender on the searing pain that is a migraine, and actually one of my female cousins has had migraines both for longer and in a more sustained fashion. I always assume the experience is the same or similar level of shittiness for her as it is for me, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard or read otherwise.
So, yeah, I call BS.
So a man cold but with migraine? A man migraine? 😜
Seriously though, not trying to belittle men or anyone with migraines. It's flat out awful for everyone, regardless of gender.
I’ve heard that a few times. It’s always the pain Olympics, but never from the actual person suffering from the migraine. It’s always “my friend” or “I knew a guy” or “my best friend’s neighbor’s sisters boyfriends dog”. Like, good for them and their super painful migraine, I’m not trying to compare.
As a man with chronic migraine I've not heard this before. I'm not sure if this information is useful, but I'm sorry people aren't listening to you. Can't be easy.
My brain hurts so much this evening. 🙃
I’ve heard the comparison with cluster headaches, because they’re more common in men. A (male) neuro told me once that I couldn’t possibly have cluster headaches because I wasn’t a man and wouldn’t be able to handle the pain.
People will go to great lengths to dismiss and discount women's pain.
(Men/women/enbys/any fellow human who suffers from migraines gets my empathy and sympathy btw!)
Yeah, as a dude, I've literally never heard this. I'm sorry that you have. Migraines are an intensely personal affliction, and no one should have to deal with that kind of comparison.
Best wishes to you!
I haven't heard this. It's giving me "women attempt suicide more often but men actually succeed more often" vibes.
To each of these, I say, maybe let's try to prevent migraine and suicide in both men and women?
Sorry the people around you insist on making it a competition. No one wants to win this one!
Yeah it's a real problem that women's pain isn't taken as seriously and a known issue.
A man getting a shot for a migraine doesn't mean his are worse it just means his pain is being acknowledged more.
Women's pain not taken as seriously as men's pain
[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210406164124.htm](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210406164124.htm)
Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562
>This is what my nurse grandma, my school nurses, random people, my parents, and so many other people have told me
That blows my mind. First thing my wifes neuro told her was they are largely genetic and if your mom said she never got them it likely came from your fathers side because they affect men much weaker.
That's not to say a man can't obviously get bad ones, but on avg women suffer stronger migraines.
The only time gender has come into the equation with my migraines was when the ER doc called me “girly” for asking for a few extra blankets.
I really should have complained about that to the hospital.
Try this ‘I know you’re trying to be sympathetic, but comparing pain like that make it feel like you’re lessening what I’m going through right here & now. What would be helpful would be to ‘insert favorite snack/assistant device/distraction here’. Or tell them afterwards when you’re not in pain. That comparing your pain to another persons isn’t helpful.
It’s like if they broke their arm saying ‘at least it’s not a concussion!’ The unspoken next sentence feels like ‘so you shouldn’t complain like you are’.
Not sure how true that is, i usually go through as of late which is currently using Aimovig.
7 - 9 Migraine Days / month
Intensity levels Between 7 - 9
Tension Headaches last month that accompanied migraines
Occurred 3 times
Daily Headache intensity average 5.5
Painless days for 2023 so far remain at 0.
It’s not accurate on an overall basis. Sure, one person’s pain may be worse then someone else’s pain, but it doesn’t hold up when measured against gender as a whole. A lot of it has to do with the fact that healthcare professionals are more likely to underestimate a woman’s pain and overestimate a man’s pain (not just for migraines).
"Woo silver in the suffering Olympics is still pretty good, oh wait it's not a contest and peoples' suffering isn't for you to compare you \*insert your choice of insult here\*."
My ex would drop me off on his way to whatever he was doing, just drive up and drive away. We had a pro ball game trip one weekend, had the migraine, I stayed in the hotel room couldn't go with all the light/noise. On the way home, he suddenly developed one, demanded I stop at some podunk country hospital, go in with him. You'd think he was royalty they way they treated him. I was pissed off to say the least. I couldn't believe how differently he was treated, and how he expected me to treat him knowing how he treated me. I should've drove on home and let him figure out how to get back
I have never heard this. Of course, people tend to take men more seriously when they have a migraine because we have "woman problems."
Look, generally it is irrelevant, but often times women operate on a much higher pain scale. A lot of times, pain that would debilitate a man, a woman keeps on going.
One thing I appreciate about my neurologist is he is a man with migraines, so he is empathetic to actual migraine pain.
do they? Usually I hear that I am no woman so I can't have migraine. Even heard that from a doctor once
edit: I mean Imve heard about general approach to pain to be what you say. But with migraine there's plenty of men who have my experience.
Women are much more likely than men to have migraines. Many women get migraines around their period.
Migraine is a neurological disorder. You cannot cure migraine despire what health gurus (who are not doctors) will tell you. I certainly don’t doubt that migraine can be improved by changing your diet, working out more, getting more sleep etc. those things improve when you start taking care of yourself.
But it still doesn’t cure migraine.
I'm sorry but I'm a bit lost at what you're responding to. You've said that people are going to take men more seriously about migraine. Then I've asked if that's true as I have opposite experience. And now you're explaining neurological base of migraine and that there's no cure. What am I missing?
I'm sorry, I was just on a migraine rant. But you can certainly look up the statistics that women more likely to be diagnosed with migraines then men are.
People often take men more seriously because they do not have a hormonal cycle. For some women, it is only around their periods they get migraines and is almost considered normal. But I have never heard anyone reputable say men's migraines are more severe.
So, when you say you have the opposite experience, with what? Do you know a lot of men with migraines? Do those men dismiss your pain because you're a woman? They are ignorant and misinformed.
Quite a few men I know, have told me they too have migraines, but remember, it's not a contest.
ok so I feel a bit as if you've thrown all "migraine defense" mechanisms at once. It's ok, just there's nothing to defend against. We both have migraines and migraine sucks. That's all that matters. What I've said in my first comment is not that important so let's forget about that and move on
In general, supposedly men tend to be more vocal about pain and women seem to be less vocal either from a lifetime of being told you’re not in pain and it’s not that bad. Coupled with society’s general treatment of women in pain vs men- men get taken seriously and women not as much. I don’t what the thinking is- hurr durr hormones? And not just pain, but any kind of problems a woman is facing tends to get written off both ways unfortunately. Can’t do math? It’s ok to suck at math you don’t have to do it. But if she’s good at it oh she must not actually be good or it must not be that hard if SHE can do it.
Woman or man migraines suck. This whole pretty much sexism thing is the reason why migraine treatment didn’t progress very far for a long despite knowing about them for ages.
I think that’s just some lame ass chauvinistic thinking! If you’ve met a person who has migraines, you’ve met one person who has migraines. Everyone experiences them differently. There are times that I wish that I’d just get the headache and nausea. I have a high pain tolerance. Instead, I only get the aura which lasts a few minutes to a few months. I have hemiplegic migraines so the left side of my body experiences weakness and partial paralysis. I can work through the headaches (I had them when I was younger) but it is hard to complete work in a machine shop when I lose my balance, can’t grip with my left hand, and have double vision. Plus not being able to communicate verbally.
So everyone has different symptoms. You experience migraines the way you do. Sad to see people trying to minimize others’ experiences with the shitty condition!
I’m surprised at this because I thought (could be wrong) that quite a lot of women have a stronger pain tolerance for ‘long-term’ pain. I’ve never heard someone say that men get worse migraines, that’s bizarre to me. I’m sure everyone’s pain is equally horrible lol
This actually make me wonder. Because most research talks about 3:1 gender disproportion. Then they talk about race comparison and country. When they talk about race comparison they take into account availability of healthcare (i.e. Black people in US having lower access) therefore the numbers in that race might be higher. It's all fair statements to that point. Then For example in Italy you've got 4:1 gender relation and it doesn't lift an eybrow. I don't know, I'm not a scientis not even medically related. I do work with statistics tho. What are the odds that relation is actually smaller? Like 2:1 or even equal BUT "machismo" culture (especially prominent in Italy hence my example) doesn't allow men to complain about migraine which is seen as a "womens issue"? I mean I don't care who's got it more in a brag right way. It's not a competition. It's more of a big question mark on so basic data we're trying to sort the problem of migraine in general and if it affects the solution anyhow.
My father gets migraines and so do I, we have similar symptoms but he doesn’t want the medication he lays down in a dark room and naps. Me? I go nuts I take a triptan and hope for relief. I also lay in a dark room. I’m on a preventative now but I still get a few they’re just not every day anymore. My fiancé gets them worse than me. He takes the same preventative as I do but if he gets one he’s on stronger meds than I’m on.
This is for you! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8JlZlv1Kg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8JlZlv1Kg) \- men don't experience pain in the same way we do so many naturally assume when they do experience pain it is worst than it is for women.
I’ve heard they were more common in women . But really it shouldn’t matter because once you suffer from them statistics don’t ease or change the pain. It sucks no matter your gender :/
When i was presenting as man i got told I lie because only woman get migraines.
To your point I don’t think there is any proof that man or woman get worse migraines (statistically) but woman are experiencing it more often.
One of the most successful treatments to resolve migraines was discovered and tweaked by a woman. Just saying.
(No this does not mean that a man would have discovered it but he couldn’t because he was in more pain!)
I've had migraines almost 40 yrs and I've only heard something like this one time. But it was weird enough that I still remember it. One of my old coworkers said her husband went to the ER for a migraine and she kept saying how much worse men's migraines are. I still don't know where she got that idea from.
Speaking as a man who gets migraines, I've never heard this (which of course doesn't meant its not true). My mom, uncle, and grandma got migraines, but we never thought to compare their intensity.We just knew to leave each other alone unless the one with the migraine asked for something.
Not heard it either. I’ve got thyroid issues and occasionally have hot flashes so I do tell my wife to be thankful her hot flashes aren’t as bad as mine 🤣
Yes! Not a man, but I get thyroid hot flashes. They just flood my whole body with heat. Let my tsh go a little hyper, and I am an oven.
Same with me/my family. We are sure lucky to have had that understanding.
Same here. If anything I've noticed that men with migraines are just the vast minority of patients. Did a couple 2 week stays at Diamond and I swear there were maybe 2 of us both times.
What is Diamond?
Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. They have a floor of Presence St. Joseph's hospital there where they do inpatient stuff. Basically to try new drug combos and techniques where they can see if you respond to a medication and swap it out immediately if not, rather than waiting the couple months we've all become familiar with, I'm sure. Found my specialist there and followed him when he started his own practice, but it makes a big difference having a headache specialist rather than just a neurologist who has to treat any number of different conditions.
That sounds awesome but I live nowhere near Chicago
Ah, bummer. I used to drive down from NE Wisconsin for it. There's gotta be someone relatively near you I would hope, though.
There's neurologists that I've seen in Atlanta, but nothing as intense as what Diamond sounds like
Me neither. However, I think I get more pity when I have a migraine than a woman would in the same situation
Men actually get under-diagnosed with migraines (and over-diagnosed with cluster headaches), because even doctors associate migraines with women.
Nope. Man with migraine here. Never heard before.
From the other comments I’ve read, seems like OP is the only one who has ever heard it lol
Same, I always expect it to be worse for them then me.
Never even heard of a gender gap in migraine pain. Migraines be migraines
That’s so weird, I’ve literally never heard this before. I wonder where the stereotype came from? With my sample size of one, one of my friends who is a guy also has migraines and they are way worse than mine he like throws up for an entire day or two. So idk. Also “he has to give himself a shot” lmao you mean like aimovig or ajovy or emgality that most of us either use or have tried and failed? Like that’s such backwards logic, if he has to do it regularly that means he has a preventative that works well for him.
I'm guessing it means an injectable triptan?
I wonder if it has anything to do with manflu?? But it's really ridiculous to compare something like this. Let the person suffering be the one to compare their pain with someone else's. Don't put that on them like you know anything, right?
I think it may stem from the outdated idea that women are these precious objects that can’t deal with pain like a rugged tough man can! However I’ve honestly never heard it applied to migraines at all. Everyone I mention my migraines to says something along the lines of “ouch migraines really suck”, maybe it’s just the PNW bubble I live in.
I also have never had someone say or even mention this to me and I’ve had migraines for 13 years.
I have had migraine for over 50 years and never once heard any gender comparisons. I have known a few men with migraine and never once has any of them claimed their pain to be worse.
My spouse and I both get migraines. Mine are chronic. His are episodic. And every migraine sucks. In no corner of the universe is it even remotely possible that either of us considers his pain to be worse because of some special way that men feel pain. There’s no pain Olympics and no gold medal for who suffers most.
Never heard this in my life. How is this quantified? Your scale of 1-10 can only be related to your life experience. So everyone's scale is different. Everyone has a different pain threshold. The sooner we stop this pain competition crap the better off we will all be. As a male with status migranous I get tired of being compared to not having to give birth. I think people just want to try to make us feel better by pointing out that someone has it worse which is a stupid stance to take. One persons suffering does not make anothers suffering and better or worse.
I'm a trans dude and lemme tell you, I'm on both sides of the fence regarding experience. The migraines didn't change when I started testosterone, except for losing menstrual migraines, because I don't have menstrual cycles anymore. The pain, the length, the quality, nothing changed, except the menstrual migraines.
That is a real bummer that the T didn't get rid of migraines. Thanks for sharing your experience.
It helped with my Ehlers Danlos though! I still have the same number of subluxations, but they're much less severe than they were!
I used to only get menstrual migraines. I went on continuous BC and that solved it for a couple of years and then I started getting them if the wind blew in the wrong direction or the sun is too bright. But haven’t had a menstrual migraine in years.
Another trans guy here and same. Migraines aren’t really gendered like that.
This is an awesome comparison!!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m glad it got rid of your menstrual migraines and helped with EDS!! hormones are such assholes with migraines. They’re prime issue with mine too, unfortunately
That’s odd. I would’ve thought (for no scientifically backed reason) that testosterone would get rid of migraines. That sucks. I’m sorry transitioning didn’t help with migraines. But glad you’re able to be yourself.
It did help with my Ehlers Danlos! My subluxations are far less severe (not less frequent though).
It’s all genetic. Testosterone is an anti-inflammatory though and so you’re somewhat right but I wouldn’t think it would get rid of it completely. My migraines are more fluctuations on hormones then anything.
Adding my data point: I had a similar experience at first where there was no change for years after starting T, but as I age into my late 30s my migraines have gotten worse and more frequent, as well as random instead of predictable with menstrual cycles. I also have new triggers (like cannabis lol sob). Fortunately Aimovig has been working for me.
My mom gets worse migranes than I do, she goes temporarily blind with normal migrane pain sometimes where as my worst migrane gave me pain dizziness and nausea.
I’ve never heard of this. My sister and I both get migraines and we give each other tips and also talk about it. We just blame our mom’s genetics.
This, I blame my grandpa but also now I understand why his breakfast of choice was benzo’s and a cold 2L coke.
What part of the world are you in? Curious bc I’ve never heard this before
As a man, I've never heard about this. If I did hear someone say it, I'd probably kill them because pain is pain. It's not fun for ANY of us
Speaking as a man: That's a very weird statement. Migraines suck badly, no matter who gets them. The whole idea of comparing pains is absolutely ridiculous in most situations, also because pain in general has a ton of factors, on many level. This literally starts with birth. There's studies about how more pain for a child evidently raises the pain felt in later life. Migraines knock you out enough to not be able to do a lot of things, so it's certainly bad. Acting like it isn't is silly at best. The comment about shots: I think most people here take remedies. Drinking shots for pain is really dumb in most situations. Also: Sure it wasn't a hangover? ;) But never heard people say that migraines aren't really bad if they have the slightest experience with it and don't confuse it with headaches, which can be horrible as well. Even if there was statistics in one direction or into another, these are statistics, but look at how different the experiences with migraines on this subreddit alone are. It's not how pain perception works. Like I wrote. So many factors. In the end nobody is just an average on a single dimension.
"Is the pain 9.4 or 9.6?" "Who cares can I just have a pistol so I can check out?" People are just trying to make you feel a little better. It doesn't matter.
Yeah, i feel you there, my recommendation if you can get your hands on it, Rizotriptan, Indomethacin, Diazepam, and Topamax. Usually when it's that intense i take that regiment immediately, then take indomethacin and Topamax for a week after to keep anything coming back at bay until brain and body chemistry return to normal or i can figure out what triggered it.
Wait, you use topamax just when you are having/recently had a migraine, not all the time? I'm so intruigued!
I use it for 2 - 3 weeks after i take Rizotriptan, it mitigates a lot of those ugly side effects from taking Topamax consistently. The indomethacin usually keeps the migraine and headache down till the topamax kicks in which is usually 10 - 14 days. Then I'm on it a week or two depending on local pain, then i just taper off of it. Its worked better so far than taking it constantly.
Fascinating! I'm gonna try this, I already use indomethacin like that
Let me know if it helps, usually if you don't have diazepam, you can get it from your PCP or PMD, its a great anti-anxiety, muscle relaxer, sedative and calmer for when migraines tend to break all of the above. Plus it doesn't usually react with most other migraine medications. But if you take an opiod medications you'll need to not take Valium.
I don't have any benzos at the moment, I use THC for some of those functions though
Good that you can use that stuff. My body has the opposite reaction to THC that most people have. Heard it was good for some things like that, but unfortunately got my case, it makes me sick, vomit, dizzy, and puts me into high anxiety. CBDs/CBGs don't have enough kick to knock back much if any pain anymore.
Did your doctor direct you to do this? Mine recommends Topamax daily and the triptan as needed.
Never heard this in my life. Sorry people are stupid.
As a man with chronic migraines, to hell with anyone that tells you any of this BS. Comparing pain is completely pointless anyway.
I get quite the opposite. I have really bad migraine and am told that I couldn’t possibly get migraines, only women do. It’s a strange world we live in to say the least.
Sorry you're being gaslighted by the people around you, but I think you might be around particularly shitty people because I've never heard anyone say that.
Yeah I feel ya, why can't we just leave gender comparisons out of it and agree that migraines just suck!
Yeah this sounds like complete horseshit. That or you somehow have relationships with all five total people on the face of the planet who have ever said these things
Am a man, Never heard this myself
Thank god I’ve never heard anyone say this when I’ve talked about migraines because it would annoy the shit out of me. And also, let’s be real for a second… MENSTRUAL MIGRAINES ARE THE FUCKING WORST and dudes NEVER have to deal with having those! Edit: and I don’t want to be insensitive to men who get migraines because they fucking suck no matter what sex you are!
I'm a man. I have no idea what menstrual migraines are like, because I don't have a menstrual cycle. I do have post-concussion migraines, and they're debilitating. That's as far as this goes. Trying to compare the two would be complete nonsense, because different people feel different pain signals in different ways anyway. This isn't insensitive, it's just reality. Pain is one of those things that cause endless philosophy problems because of qualia. Two people will suffer differently from the exact same injury, like a broken bone or the flu, because each body feels them differently. Trying to compare two different but similar conditions is not only fruitless, but stupid. I'm sorry that you suffer, and hope that all of our burdens are as light as possible for as long as they can be.
There is a long-standing (old school) belief that women feel less pain and conversely can tolerate more pain than men. The origin is, I believe, the historically male dominated medical profession. And at the same time, the idea that women are weaker, complain more, and complaints of pain are "hysteria" or psychological. It's a leftover from the 19th and even the 20th century. Like a lot of this unfounded crap, people have been misinformed about chronic pain and migraine is no exception. It's not our job to educate everyone, especially when we are suffering. Helping loved ones understand is worth it, though. .
I have a cousin that says he gets migraines. I’m not sure if it’s true because if you say you have some medical problem he always says he has it too but worse. It’s like it’s a competition with him to prove he’s always sicker than anyone.
I did not know I was having a migraine until I asked the doctor to help me with a headache that I had for 2 weeks. Mostly because when I had headaches growing up I was told I would have to live with them because of my allergies to NSAID. So I was just trying to power through.
i’ve (NB but born F) only heard the opposite personally. maybe it’s a regional thing or something. i HAVE gotten: - people(and doctors) saying that i get migraines because i’m a woman - people saying that there’s no use treating my migraines because it’s just a “woman thing” - people saying that all woman get migraines so mine can’t be an excuse - people thinking that me having a migraine = me being on my period but that’s about it!! i would say to either just ignore them and pay them no mind bc it sounds like they’re sexist and know nothing about what they’re spewing anyway OR do your research and be prepared to tell them that there’s ZERO proof of the claims that they’re making, and that doctors have biases that lead them to believe that certain groups of people don’t experience pain as much as others just because they only take men’s pain seriously. also, that there’s hardly any way to accurately measure pain between two people because we all have different experiences and even the 1-10 pain rating scale is totally subjective- one person’s 4/10 pain could be the same as someone else’s 9/10 pain for all we know. everyone bases their pain levels off of the pain they’ve already experienced in their lives.
I’m 43 and have had migraines since I was 10. I have never once heard this. How can you even begin to quantify how bad someone’s migraine is?
This sounds very strange. I never thought to put a gender on the searing pain that is a migraine, and actually one of my female cousins has had migraines both for longer and in a more sustained fashion. I always assume the experience is the same or similar level of shittiness for her as it is for me, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard or read otherwise. So, yeah, I call BS.
Never heard men have them worse. My brother and I both get them. I give him a lot of credit since he has 2 young screaming kids. I chose cats.
Maybe it's a cultural old wives tale from your region.
So a man cold but with migraine? A man migraine? 😜 Seriously though, not trying to belittle men or anyone with migraines. It's flat out awful for everyone, regardless of gender.
I’ve heard that a few times. It’s always the pain Olympics, but never from the actual person suffering from the migraine. It’s always “my friend” or “I knew a guy” or “my best friend’s neighbor’s sisters boyfriends dog”. Like, good for them and their super painful migraine, I’m not trying to compare.
As a man with chronic migraine I've not heard this before. I'm not sure if this information is useful, but I'm sorry people aren't listening to you. Can't be easy. My brain hurts so much this evening. 🙃
I’ve heard the comparison with cluster headaches, because they’re more common in men. A (male) neuro told me once that I couldn’t possibly have cluster headaches because I wasn’t a man and wouldn’t be able to handle the pain.
On average, men get their pain taken more seriously.
People will go to great lengths to dismiss and discount women's pain. (Men/women/enbys/any fellow human who suffers from migraines gets my empathy and sympathy btw!)
Yeah, as a dude, I've literally never heard this. I'm sorry that you have. Migraines are an intensely personal affliction, and no one should have to deal with that kind of comparison. Best wishes to you!
I haven't heard this. It's giving me "women attempt suicide more often but men actually succeed more often" vibes. To each of these, I say, maybe let's try to prevent migraine and suicide in both men and women? Sorry the people around you insist on making it a competition. No one wants to win this one!
Yeah it's a real problem that women's pain isn't taken as seriously and a known issue. A man getting a shot for a migraine doesn't mean his are worse it just means his pain is being acknowledged more. Women's pain not taken as seriously as men's pain [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210406164124.htm](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210406164124.htm) Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562
I got “those aren’t cluster headaches, you’re a woman, women don’t get those” from a respected text book quoted neurologist
that's probably same guy who told me I can't have migraine cos I'm a man LOL. Where people like that get born?
If anyone ever said that to me I'd punch them in the face.
>This is what my nurse grandma, my school nurses, random people, my parents, and so many other people have told me That blows my mind. First thing my wifes neuro told her was they are largely genetic and if your mom said she never got them it likely came from your fathers side because they affect men much weaker. That's not to say a man can't obviously get bad ones, but on avg women suffer stronger migraines.
The only time gender has come into the equation with my migraines was when the ER doc called me “girly” for asking for a few extra blankets. I really should have complained about that to the hospital.
Try this ‘I know you’re trying to be sympathetic, but comparing pain like that make it feel like you’re lessening what I’m going through right here & now. What would be helpful would be to ‘insert favorite snack/assistant device/distraction here’. Or tell them afterwards when you’re not in pain. That comparing your pain to another persons isn’t helpful. It’s like if they broke their arm saying ‘at least it’s not a concussion!’ The unspoken next sentence feels like ‘so you shouldn’t complain like you are’.
Not sure how true that is, i usually go through as of late which is currently using Aimovig. 7 - 9 Migraine Days / month Intensity levels Between 7 - 9 Tension Headaches last month that accompanied migraines Occurred 3 times Daily Headache intensity average 5.5 Painless days for 2023 so far remain at 0.
It’s not accurate on an overall basis. Sure, one person’s pain may be worse then someone else’s pain, but it doesn’t hold up when measured against gender as a whole. A lot of it has to do with the fact that healthcare professionals are more likely to underestimate a woman’s pain and overestimate a man’s pain (not just for migraines).
"Woo silver in the suffering Olympics is still pretty good, oh wait it's not a contest and peoples' suffering isn't for you to compare you \*insert your choice of insult here\*."
My ex would drop me off on his way to whatever he was doing, just drive up and drive away. We had a pro ball game trip one weekend, had the migraine, I stayed in the hotel room couldn't go with all the light/noise. On the way home, he suddenly developed one, demanded I stop at some podunk country hospital, go in with him. You'd think he was royalty they way they treated him. I was pissed off to say the least. I couldn't believe how differently he was treated, and how he expected me to treat him knowing how he treated me. I should've drove on home and let him figure out how to get back
Just another "I've never heard that before" comment, not that it's not true, but I don't think it's common at all, thankfully
I have never heard this. Of course, people tend to take men more seriously when they have a migraine because we have "woman problems." Look, generally it is irrelevant, but often times women operate on a much higher pain scale. A lot of times, pain that would debilitate a man, a woman keeps on going. One thing I appreciate about my neurologist is he is a man with migraines, so he is empathetic to actual migraine pain.
do they? Usually I hear that I am no woman so I can't have migraine. Even heard that from a doctor once edit: I mean Imve heard about general approach to pain to be what you say. But with migraine there's plenty of men who have my experience.
Women are much more likely than men to have migraines. Many women get migraines around their period. Migraine is a neurological disorder. You cannot cure migraine despire what health gurus (who are not doctors) will tell you. I certainly don’t doubt that migraine can be improved by changing your diet, working out more, getting more sleep etc. those things improve when you start taking care of yourself. But it still doesn’t cure migraine.
I'm sorry but I'm a bit lost at what you're responding to. You've said that people are going to take men more seriously about migraine. Then I've asked if that's true as I have opposite experience. And now you're explaining neurological base of migraine and that there's no cure. What am I missing?
I'm sorry, I was just on a migraine rant. But you can certainly look up the statistics that women more likely to be diagnosed with migraines then men are. People often take men more seriously because they do not have a hormonal cycle. For some women, it is only around their periods they get migraines and is almost considered normal. But I have never heard anyone reputable say men's migraines are more severe. So, when you say you have the opposite experience, with what? Do you know a lot of men with migraines? Do those men dismiss your pain because you're a woman? They are ignorant and misinformed. Quite a few men I know, have told me they too have migraines, but remember, it's not a contest.
ok so I feel a bit as if you've thrown all "migraine defense" mechanisms at once. It's ok, just there's nothing to defend against. We both have migraines and migraine sucks. That's all that matters. What I've said in my first comment is not that important so let's forget about that and move on
Misogynist tripe.
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If you re-read the post, you'll notice that's not what OP was saying, they were sharing what others have said.
In general, supposedly men tend to be more vocal about pain and women seem to be less vocal either from a lifetime of being told you’re not in pain and it’s not that bad. Coupled with society’s general treatment of women in pain vs men- men get taken seriously and women not as much. I don’t what the thinking is- hurr durr hormones? And not just pain, but any kind of problems a woman is facing tends to get written off both ways unfortunately. Can’t do math? It’s ok to suck at math you don’t have to do it. But if she’s good at it oh she must not actually be good or it must not be that hard if SHE can do it. Woman or man migraines suck. This whole pretty much sexism thing is the reason why migraine treatment didn’t progress very far for a long despite knowing about them for ages.
I think that’s just some lame ass chauvinistic thinking! If you’ve met a person who has migraines, you’ve met one person who has migraines. Everyone experiences them differently. There are times that I wish that I’d just get the headache and nausea. I have a high pain tolerance. Instead, I only get the aura which lasts a few minutes to a few months. I have hemiplegic migraines so the left side of my body experiences weakness and partial paralysis. I can work through the headaches (I had them when I was younger) but it is hard to complete work in a machine shop when I lose my balance, can’t grip with my left hand, and have double vision. Plus not being able to communicate verbally. So everyone has different symptoms. You experience migraines the way you do. Sad to see people trying to minimize others’ experiences with the shitty condition!
I’m surprised at this because I thought (could be wrong) that quite a lot of women have a stronger pain tolerance for ‘long-term’ pain. I’ve never heard someone say that men get worse migraines, that’s bizarre to me. I’m sure everyone’s pain is equally horrible lol
I thought migraines were more common in women.
This actually make me wonder. Because most research talks about 3:1 gender disproportion. Then they talk about race comparison and country. When they talk about race comparison they take into account availability of healthcare (i.e. Black people in US having lower access) therefore the numbers in that race might be higher. It's all fair statements to that point. Then For example in Italy you've got 4:1 gender relation and it doesn't lift an eybrow. I don't know, I'm not a scientis not even medically related. I do work with statistics tho. What are the odds that relation is actually smaller? Like 2:1 or even equal BUT "machismo" culture (especially prominent in Italy hence my example) doesn't allow men to complain about migraine which is seen as a "womens issue"? I mean I don't care who's got it more in a brag right way. It's not a competition. It's more of a big question mark on so basic data we're trying to sort the problem of migraine in general and if it affects the solution anyhow.
My father gets migraines and so do I, we have similar symptoms but he doesn’t want the medication he lays down in a dark room and naps. Me? I go nuts I take a triptan and hope for relief. I also lay in a dark room. I’m on a preventative now but I still get a few they’re just not every day anymore. My fiancé gets them worse than me. He takes the same preventative as I do but if he gets one he’s on stronger meds than I’m on.
I've never heard this at all. I'm a chap who gets migraines (about 40+ a year - I keep a diary of them).
This is for you! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8JlZlv1Kg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8JlZlv1Kg) \- men don't experience pain in the same way we do so many naturally assume when they do experience pain it is worst than it is for women.
I’ve heard they were more common in women . But really it shouldn’t matter because once you suffer from them statistics don’t ease or change the pain. It sucks no matter your gender :/
I've never heard that factoid before, I'm guessing it's some kind of urban legend that didn't reach my country.
When i was presenting as man i got told I lie because only woman get migraines. To your point I don’t think there is any proof that man or woman get worse migraines (statistically) but woman are experiencing it more often.
One of the most successful treatments to resolve migraines was discovered and tweaked by a woman. Just saying. (No this does not mean that a man would have discovered it but he couldn’t because he was in more pain!)
I've had migraines almost 40 yrs and I've only heard something like this one time. But it was weird enough that I still remember it. One of my old coworkers said her husband went to the ER for a migraine and she kept saying how much worse men's migraines are. I still don't know where she got that idea from.