Can migraines be so debilitating that you can’t use your phone for much of the day?

yes that can happen to me sometimes. the light can just be to much:(

I wouldn't say that I can't use my phone during bad migraines, but I avoid it for my own good. I'm so sensitive to light that even with my phone's screen as dim as possible & dark mode it's still painful to look at, and ends up making my headache worse, too.

Definitely, and the visual aura makes it hard to see for the first 20 - 40 minutes of the migraine.

Yes. This is when audiobooks from Libby or my comfort sounds on YouTube come in clutch. My head hurts to much to think or do anything. 

Oh, absolutely. I have had days where the only relief came from sleeping for 16 hours because simply *existing * was excruciating and others where i had vertigo so bad I couldn't walk, drive, or keep steady but I could aimlessly scroll social media.

Severe is relative, IMO. How does it affects your normal is what my doctor tells me. What I consider mild is severe to someone else simply because I am used to it.

I mean, some migraines are so debilitating you can't do anything but try to dissociate or sleep.

Yes

Yes, any light usually bothers me immensely.

For three or four days in my case.

i try to avoid all light

Yes 100%. Migraine is different for everyone and can show up in a WIDE variety of symptoms. Light sensitivity is an extremely common one.

I try to avoid screens completely for the first two hours as any stimulation makes me nauseous. If I get a good two hours of complete darkness and silence and if my medication works, I can start looking at my phone but as little as possible. During my worst migraines, I am unable to look at screens for days. I am unable to read on the screen. Feels like when you look at a bright screen after being in total darkness first a while.

My migraines are not very often compared to others 2-3 migraines (cluster) every 3 months and now every 6-7 months. But they are terribly debilitating when they happened. I am completely disabled for 2hours and if I don’t get that total darkness/silence the first two hours it lasts days.

Yes, with the fun addition of any light being light needles going into your eyes. Sounds make you wish you were deaf and smells make you so nauseous that you wish you could just be knocked out.

.... yeah, I tend to retreat to a dark room, put on an eye mask, and curl into the fetal position for a few hours/ days.

Looking at it hurts my eyes and talking on it? Forget about it. So yes.

Light sensitivity is a pretty universal symptom with migraines

Yes, in fact all my migraines are so debilitating that I can't look at any screens until my meds kick in.

Yup.

Yup. Eye mask with speakers so I can block out everything and listen to a book or podcast.

Yes. For me I often have light sensitivity, so the light from the phone is too bright to look at even for just a few seconds. I also tend to get nauseous, and scrolling on my phone makes that worse.

Yes. Light of any kind (even my phone on Dark mode) is too much. Dark, cool, quiet room with my fan going and, occasionally a podcast on Spotify with the volume very low. Usually use talk to text if I have to reply to someone.

Yes, I can't be online, I can't read, I can't talk to anyone. All I can do is run between the bed and the toilet (to throw up) and wish I were dead.

chronic migraine here and yes, migraines can actually be so bad people kill themselves.

i can’t watch media on large screens nor take any phone calls. technology is just not made for this kind of pain.

Absolutely.

Absolutely

Yeah; usually i try to persevere when it’s important and put on some sunglasses but sometimes it’s unbearable…

Yes, anything that emits light or sound is something I avoid while having migraines.

At one point when my migraines and photophobia were at their worst the light from the phone itself was a trigger.

For sure. I usually can’t look at anything with a bad migraine, no phone, no tv, I just have to keep my eyes closed.

Yes and I just have to lay there in pain. I like to use the Cefaly device during these times. Also, Zyprexa is my absolute last-resort abortive med. It works when I’m in a crisis but causes crazy weight gain

My phone is a major trigger

I had migraines so bad to where I couldn’t look at my phone, and if I did, not only would my head hurt but I would start feeling nauseous as well.

Absolutely. All screens/light make it worse.

Yesssssss. There are times I can't even see my screen. It's just an utter blur

Yes. I use a color filter on my phone and everyone in my life complains about my screen looking weird but it makes it less harsh on my eyes

Sometimes I can’t use or do anything. So debilitating that I have to sit in darkness and hope to fall asleep

Yes. But if it's dark enough in my room I dim my phone as much as I can, even found an app to dim it further than the phone allows and will quietly read a book or do something mindless if I can tolerate it enough.

Honestly, they vary from person to person… or even from migraine to migraine. I have some migraines that don’t have any pain, but really impact my thinking, vision and speech. I have painful ones that make me vomit, but my speech is fine. Some migraines last less than an hour after taking Triptans and I just lie down for an hour and then back to work. Other migraines are so bad that I’m in bed for days and can only sleep: and need help going to the loo. One migraine wasn’t that painful but impacted my speech so much that my GP sent me straight to stroke clinic.

So yeah, some migraines mean you can’t use your phone for much of the day. Others don’t

Oh absolutely and it sucks because it’s a source to a lot of emotional support for me

Yep

Yes! Not always, but sometimes they're really bad and looking at a screen just makes it worse.

My best friend has said that he knows when I'm probably having a migraine because I stop replying to his texts. I usually make a token effort to react to something in the family group chat so they don't assume I'm dead; should probably start doing that with him, too...

Yeah, I hate it when that happens. Eye strain and too much light 👎🏻

People go to the ER for migraines. so yes.

Yeah. Being on my phone in the car is actually a major trigger for me and I can’t be on it at all when the car is moving or I will almost certainly get a migraine. On the bright side I always find fun things to talk about or audio books for road trips. It’s like when I was a kid and we didn’t have smart phones.

Yes no phone no tv low light ear plugs cool room no company.

Sometimes if I close one eye and squint really hard with the other, I can still read. Otherwise the words are a jumble (think: no spaces between words, missing letters, etc. lol) and the screen is always too bright even if the brightness is low. If I scroll at all it makes me nauseous.

Yes.

Sometimes yes, sometimes I can manage to have dark enough back light, blue light mode, and dark mode on apps etc that I can function. Some days I absolutely need the distraction from something stupid on my phone so the distraction outweighs the pain related to the light. Other days just the slow "sound" of my hair growing is too much for me and I want to have as little sensory input as I can manage.

Yes! Sometimes anything is impossible other than just trying to stay alive.

Oh ya, on my bad days I can’t tolerate any light. I lay in a dark room with the shades closed. If I can stand the noise, sometimes I’ll put on a podcast or relaxing music on very low volume. I get incredibly bored and can’t sleep due to the pain, so sometimes a calming pod or audiobook helps when I can’t look at screens.

Yes usually I spend the majority of my day in bed with my eyes and curtains closed on days like that so I can’t really use anything.

Totally

Yes sometimes I can’t even use my phone because any type of mild exertion and trying to focus will make the pain worse

So much so that I usually switch my schedule to more meetings bc I know I won’t be able to do fuck all w my phone or desktop

Yes, absolutely. I used to get very severe headaches where I could not do much of anything.

Yes. I avoid all screens. I might listen to an audio book to help je relax but I don't need to look at the screen for that.

I’m light sensitive, so I get triggered by bright light. I struggle with daylight artificial light any kind of light can trigger me. Candles are very bright. I can’t have those. It’s very debilitating and very difficult. I have to wear light sensitive glasses every single time I leave my flat and a lot of the time inside my flat as well. My darkest glasses aren’t dark enough sometimes and I definitely struggle to look at my phone with migraine. They don’t make them dark enough. The slightest chink of light is so painful. So yeah lol

This is migraine without aura.

Um, migraines can be so debilitating that I can’t use my body or brain for the whole day.

For my worst ones definitely. The pain is excruciating and even dim light or quiet sounds make the pain and nausea worse.

I also have chronic migraines though (daily attacks), which are milder and I can use my phone.

Migraine can have such a wide variety of symptoms for people, you really just need to ask the person you are talking about. If they say they can’t use their phone, then they can’t.

My mum gets a visual aural, takes an ibuprofen and it goes away. I get no aura, main symptom is pain, and even with strong painkillers and an abortive, it can last 3 days stuck in bed wondering if life is worth it.

I could look at my phone but usually the pain is so bad I have no desire to do anything but lie down in the dark.

yes, when i get mine i cant even peek at my phone on the darkest setting

between the brain fog, tiredness, and light, I usually have little interest. but if the pain isn't contained, I can use it as a distraction.

Yes. For me, I can't do anything. Can't read or watch t.v, scroll on my phone or listen to music. I just lay in the dark and pray for sleep!

I had a migraine once where lights hurt so bad, I had to crawl into the bathroom (the closest dark space) and block up the bottom of the door, realized I didn't have my phone to call or message my SO to get my rescue medication and ibuprofen so I just sat in the dark and sobbed (which didn't help) and made sure nothing came in contact with my head. He had fallen asleep on the couch, and even the idea of shouting was painful. So I just waited until he found me.

Yes, but also I get so bored that I use it even though it hurts me

Yes and it's so fucking boringggggggg in addition to being agonizing.

Thankfully mine are not that bad anymore.

Oh for sure, easily. My headaches can be so debilitating that I’ve had to organize my life around the possibility of getting one. Like not taking any jobs that I couldn’t leave at a seconds notice.

I get headaches everywhere on the pain and debilitating scale, from 1 to 10. I’ve also had a lot of broken bones and kidney stones and I’d say even a large kidney stone or walking on a broken ankle is only like a level 5-6-7 compared to a level 10 headache that has me puking, unable to see straight, body shakes and convulsions and pain so bad it seems much worse than death.

I’d say around level 5 it gets debilitating and all I can really do is try to lay down an sleep or take a hot shower. Sometimes the spins and vertigo keep me laying down and unable to focus on anything and the headache starts to feel skull crushing.

I’ve discovered my triggers are environmental/pollen and food allergies and fragrances. So I don’t go a lot of places or socialize and I avoid people who wear perfume or smell like laundry or anything, and I have an extremely limited diet eating only non grass fed beef and nothing else. Which has been super helpful for me.

Yes I get 4 day long barfing migraines. No way I’m looking at anything nor talking to anyone cause the sounds are enhanced as well as light ( from screen).

Yes, definitely. The trouble is that my phone distracts me and passes the time. Every individual migraine is different and they don't always affect the same body parts. For example, I have a migraine currently but I don't have a headache with it and I've still been able to do a few things but I feel absolutely terrible. The only reason I did those things is because my carer isn't at home right now and I obviously need to take meds, have a bit of food if I can etc. I have chronic migraines and tbh I'm sick of them controlling my life so I sometimes resist a bit and try to do a few low injury risk activities so I can actually get something done

When they’re bad bad, just trying to read something will make me nauseous. Looking at a screen will make me nauseated. Trying to read something on a screen? I’m gonna throw up from the extra pain that causes.

My phone? I've had migraines bad enough I couldn't use my eyes! It hasn't happened often, and I am on a pretty good medicine regiment now. But migraines can be debilitating for some people.

Sometimes yeah, if it takes out my ability to move my arm, face, and eye.

But most of the time reducing the white point in accessibility settings with night mode makes it function well enough to be a worthwhile distraction from the misery even with light sensitivity. A pop socket and smaller phone also help with grip when one arm is paralyzed

ETA: To clarify, the paralysis is a weird severe migraine thing from a rare genetic migraine type and normal migraines don't usually have it. It's just the symptom that most often hinders my use of a phone

Oh yes. I've had some that are so bad I can't stand any type of noise or light, not even a favorite tv show playing in the background. Not able to sleep either, the pain is so bad. When they are that bad, I try to do math homework in my head. Badly, I do it badly. But it helps to have something to focus on instead of just suffering, and it doesn't matter whether I get my imaginary problems right or wrong, there's no light, no sound, just math as simple or complicated as I want it to be to distract.

I have the blue light filter on both my mobile and my PC monitor turned on for this very thing. I wouldn't say it's common for me to not be able to look at my devices, but when I go, I will often turn the brightness and contrast WAY down.

The only reason why I might be on either my PC or mobile is simply to try and distract my mind from the pain. Sometimes it's not the screen that bothers me, but rather the scrolling itself that kills me.

I often can't use my limbs, tongue and brain...

Yes

Sometimes it feels like too much strain on the eyes to use my phone when I’m having an extremely bad migraine. I don’t want my eyes moving around a screen, having direct light shining into them. Turning off the lights, closing the curtains, and just sitting in the dark is a common way to try to find relief for me. No input whatsoever to cause any additional discomfort.

When I have a migraine, screens or any light source is off the table.

Yep. Usually at the peak of my migraine I can’t handle the light, sound, or read anything. Sometimes the only way I can cope is to lay on the floor of my shower with hot water directly on my head in complete darkness.

Yeah, when my aura is there, I can't see shit. Literally blind. Just bright colours zipping and zapping across my vision. If my abortive medication doesn't nuke it, then I'll be trying to sleep it off.

Add in fatigue, brain fog, aphasia, pain, nausea etc of a full-blown migraine, some of which lingerie through the migraine hangover... Absolutely migraines can prevent you from doing pretty much anything and everything for the majority of the day, or days.

I've not yet had one that'd stop me using a phone for days. But as the hangovers are getting worse as I get older (although also the migraines thankfully less frequent) it's probably a matter of time.

Imagine your brain trying to self-destruct inside your skull, but everyone's goes about it in a different way, with varying levels of effectiveness, and with various things that'll trigger it.

Symptoms vary and does severity and triggers.

Are you asking because you think you might have migraines, or because someone in your life has them?

Yup :(

Depends on how bad it is. Sometimes it’s bad but it’s going to be bad regardless of what I do so I still use my phone and sometimes it’s so bad that all I can do is be perfectly horizontal on my back in a dark room.

Yes. Sometimes I can’t look at anything that lights up. Sometimes I can’t move.

Pains don't give you migraines?

Yes, of course. I am actually having trouble understanding why this is something that would even need to be asked. Migraines affect everyone differently, so plenty of people probably have no issues looking at their phones, but having ocular issues is beyond common.

Yes. The light is painful even on the dimmest settings

When I’m having a migraine I need to be in a dark quiet room. No sunlight, no screens, no books. I’m able to listen to certain frequencies and ‘migraine music’ but that’s it. At the start and end I can do bits on my phone like respond to a text.

A real bad migraine to me is a horrendously pounding headache, that gets worse the moment you try to move or get up. I'll be neausous, sweating, having a spinning sensation in my head, and all round feel terrible. Waking up from surgery is less painful (and I've had half a dozen). Doing anything is just too much.

A moderate migraine to me is already at a point where talking makes my pain worse. Bright lights or sounds (incl myself talking) can make it worse. Chewing food can make it worse. Etc.

The phone is too much to concentrate on and scrolling makes me a bit lightheaded anyway. It’s hard but resting is the best thing. Listening to an audiobook might be fine. I haven’t tried that yet.

yes, really yes.. when i had migraine (chronic and never goes away) i couldn't look at my phone AT ALL.. it's so painfull to look at and i spent a month without it, then i tried tomapax for only a week because the side effects were extreme.. from that time until now i can look at my phone but i usually prefer not to especially if i had something to do instead of sitting with my phone because it make my migraine worse and somehow my stomach too

Absolutely. The pain gets too bad to think about my phone.

Yea, i cannot concentrate when i have migraine. No texts, no phonecalls, no videos.

Yes. Sometimes, if I am very lucky, I can put my laptop on a comfort show that I can follow with my eyes closed and turn the brightness all the way down but that's the maximum amount of screen time I can handle during an attack. Usually, all I can really do is sleep and vomit.

Migraine can also cause transient aphasia for me, so talking on the phone is such a huge struggle so it's not even just using the phone for texting apps, its phone calls too. Plus the sound input will be painful.

Absolutely!

Yup-- and it sucks cause I'm also a digital artist so between spending time on my computer and my tablet, it gets so debilitating. My computer is always set to blue light & my tablet/phone is on a dark mode with low light.

But once I get one of those migraines that I can't tolerate, my phone doesn't get picked up. I don't even message my partner who's long distance cuz the thought of doing anything on my phone drains me. Just stuck laying in a dark room with something over my eyes to make it even more dark.

When I was in highschool, I used to take my scarves and wrap them around head cause the pain was so bad & it helped make everything as dark as possible. I had a lot of library hours during school and I would just go in a back corner where no one was and scarf up for as long as I could.

I'll skip a solid day or two of looking at my phone at all during my migraine and the day after! It absolutely makes my head hurt worse and I have more luck looking at a computer than I do my phone! My husband knows to go on alert and text my family back directly if they need anything lol

I’m clumsy and sometimes have numb hands and have to rely on siri to do things. Thumb typing is impossible

I also like to describe it like this to people: looking at a phone screen when i am not in a migraine, it looks like how everyone else sees it. People tell you its giving off damaging blue light, but you cant SEE it. Looks harmless. But when on a migraine, my phone becomes this glaring blueish painful object i can barely get near. Its like i see it for what it really is, like that movie They Live 😁

Yes, light sensitivity can be a huge symptom, and many people cannot look at screens during an attack because of that!

However, I do want to note that many people can power through, some people need distraction so much when experiencing a migraine that they’re willing to take the hit, and for some people the screen specifically doesn’t hurt their eyes more than the pain they’re already experiencing. So if someone is able to look at a phone, that doesn’t mean it is not a migraine. Sometimes I see that idea, and it is upsetting.

Ive been living…ha if you can call it that. Living in a dark bedroom with no tv and a limit of 5 min of phone screen time a day. The most i can do to pass the time is listen to audio books.

Sometimes I can use it for short bursts. I used it for 10 minutes, then I lay there for 30 recovering. Sometimes it's so bad I can't use it at all until I'm better. Sometimes when it's the absolute worst I'll use my phone just because I'm in so much pain I need a distraction. My migraines vary in intensity. The last one I had I spent all day in bed, then at about hour 20 I was able to use my phone again. I find some of the symptoms go before others so sometimes the light sensitivity will go then I'm not so bad on my phone. I get sick of laying in bed all day doing nothing

Yes. This is why I always have the blue light filter on. Otherwise, I get an instant headache.

Yeah it's hard to look at screens. for me i have a hard time looking at anything when i have a migraine

Absolutely. Sometimes I can't stand the light, sometimes I can stand the motion of the screen (gives me vertigo. Sometimes the sounds hurt, and I can't even listen to podcasts.

Yes, absolutely. Or it can also be so fucking bad that it doesn't matter if you use your phone or not, it's just going to be awful, and you use your phone to cope. Lots of possibilities.

Yes. My light mode on my phone is set to low, both in brightness and tone. Because it bothers my eyes. And I read on my kindle app on my phone when I don’t have my ipad…so for that to happen where the light doesn’t bother me…I had to make those changes. And still sometimes, I just can’t be on my phone.

Yes any type of screen can cause issues. The more screen time I have increased the chance for a migraine.

With a bad migraine, I will absolutely not be looking at my phone, it likely isn't even in the room with me. No light (blackout curtains, lights out), No noise (silence and noise canceling headphones Bluetooth off), No movement (I lose balance) unless to throw up; No electric toothbrush or super overpowering toothpaste/ mouthwash; Nothing to eat or drink once it has started except meds and electrolyte drinks. Everything touching me has a fair chance of irritating and/ or enraging me (including jewelry I never notice, my own hair, nails, etc.). A bad migraine to me is a 8 or 9 out of 10 in pain after having taken rescue meds. I have been incredibly lucky in that my migraines do usually resolve with sleep. Even if I get one the next day, there is usually some period of relief.

I get migraines where I can't move my head for a centimetre, let alone a single finger for over 10 hours. When I can't even grab my meds next to me and have to wait for my mother to realise there hasn't been any sign of life of me for too long so she comes and puts the rizatriptan in my mouth for me, I definitely can't use my phone.