Migraine

Hello all

I have at the age of 44 decided to start getting car sick
I always get a migraine afterwards has anyone else had this happen I am wondering if its the meds I have been on this year depakote at first then topamax. I am now on Zonegran. I call my neuro today for a check in and I am going to talk to him about it. I can be feeling fine until I get in the car to go somewhere and boom I am sick within 20 min.
Lisa

Hi, Lisa!

Do you still get car sick if you are the driver? I find that if I am feeling a little bit migraine-y, I will DEFINITELY get nauseated and the migraine will worsen if I am the passenger. Often, if I drive instead, the migraine does not come (and the nausea stays away, too!). Of course I NEVER try to drive if I am in a full-blown migraine! (This isn't safe for ANYONE!!!)

jenny

Hi Jenny

No it does not happen if I am driving which I try to do most of the time if I feel ok. I bought those silly wrist things to try for motion sickness so I will see if they help at all.
Lisa

I've gotten motion sick all my life...boats are the worst...and I find that the motion sickness does aggravate my migraines. Some of the worst migraine headaches I get are from being in the car . The first time I saw my headache specialist, he asked me about motion sickness and said it was really common among migraneurs. It's really interesting that you're just getting motion sick now at 44. I've always had it since I was a kid. I think it's a good idea that you plan on talking to your doc about this, just to be sure that it's not something more complicated.

I've never noticed that my migraine preventatives make my motion sickness better or worse. I'm on Zonegran right now and just took a 5 hour car ride to northern WI and got my fair share of car sickness/migrainy-ness unfortunately. I do generally use Dramamine if I'm anticipating getting motion sick (aka getting on a boat) and that works pretty well. I do get a little tired but at least I'm not chucking my cookies. Not being the passenger helps too...

Hi All!

I am totally not trying to over-simplify the problem here. I understand that this won't work for everyone, but I was told to pay more attention to the horizon and to avoid watching the scenery as it goes by to help with car sickness. For me I only got car sick when I was riding instead of driving and it wasn't a problem for me until after I got my first migraine. When I am a passenger now I avoid looking at the driver when chatting and face forward instead, like I would when driving. This has helped me a bit.

I agree with Migraneur that this is something to talk to your doctor about. Hopefully, you are able to find relief!

Take care!