I've suffered from migraines since childhood. I absolutely freaking can't stand these damn things. I've had one now for over 24 hours w/ minimal relief....... anyone else suffer like this?
When I have these attacks, it's usually for 2 - 3 days. I have gone a month w/out one, until yesterday. That's the longest in about 6 years. grrrrrrrrrrr
Doc gave Otto a couple different options when he's had one lasting days. Worked pretty good, but no driving. Prednizone (shoot, sp?) and whatnot.
Anywho, what does your doctor say? Usually there's the check to make sure there's no neurological problems, then it's on to addressing which treatment works best for you. Coupled with tracking what's going on to see what your triggers, warning signs, and whatnot are. If you haven't gone to a doc, I suggest it.
I've gone several times. I've changed medications a few times. Unfortunately the medicine that works the best, my insurance company doesn't cover. The pills are $25 a pill. I can take two and it wipes it out for about 12 hours, then I need another two. If it last for 3 days, that's $300..... which I can't afford.....
My dr. did give me a pill to take every day, but I'm scared to take it. Apparently most people can't stand it...... Topamax... aka dopamax.... anyone take it? I hate any medication that makes me feel "off". I hear that's what topomax does.... so I haven't filled it yet. I suppose I should try it.
I know a lot of people (my mom included) take blood pressure medication for migraines, but I can't. My bp is too low.
Well, you could partially fill the topamax scrip and see how it affects you. I'm not a fan of being off either, and as a kid/teen/young adult I had the kind of headaches that were sudden with no warning signs, knocked me out of commission, and literally had me in tears. (And a doc that didn't help.) I just ended up sucking it up and they eventually stopped being so bad. I have all sorts of nerve issues here and there though, and you may want to check for that if you haven't.
I've not tried acupuncture, but I've heard it helps some. Again, it's prolly worth a try and wouldn't cost too much. The botox thing creeps me out.
The more useful treatments I've heard of tend to be the cortisteroids. There's also finding if there's other underlying causes that aren't neurological. Allergies/congestion can be a problem if you don't treat them, as can sleep problems. Both of those were usually underlying factors for me. (including the usual suspects of stress, jaw/teeth problems, etc.)
My sister has something she takes, I think it's daily, I don't know what it is, but it's helped her. Knocks her out, but it works. most of the usual medications didn't help. I'll see if I can find out the details. In case it's something you haven't tried yet.
In general Excerine does it for me, if I catch it in time.. I see floaters or flashy lights about 20-30 minutes before. Do you get any warning signs like that?
If I miss it, I'm screwed. Recently I had one last for a week. That sucked. Doc gave me some big guns to knock that out.
I haven't tried Topamax, but why not give it a shot? If it messes with you, you can stop... and there's a chance it'll help you out and make then never happen again. *shrug* Wikiepdia has stats on the percentage occurrence of side effects... Topiramate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It's not low by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not like a 90% chance.
[quote=Aoife;589668]Well, you could partially fill the topamax scrip and see how it affects you. I'm not a fan of being off either, and as a kid/teen/young adult I had the kind of headaches that were sudden with no warning signs, knocked me out of commission, and literally had me in tears. (And a doc that didn't help.) I just ended up sucking it up and they eventually stopped being so bad. I have all sorts of nerve issues here and there though, and you may want to check for that if you haven't.
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I've not tried acupuncture, but I've heard it helps some. Again, it's prolly worth a try and wouldn't cost too much. The botox thing creeps me out.
Yeah, I'm a little scared of that too, but I've read about it helping people.
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The more useful treatments I've heard of tend to be the cortisteroids. There's also finding if there's other underlying causes that aren't neurological. Allergies/congestion can be a problem if you don't treat them, as can sleep problems. Both of those were usually underlying factors for me. (including the usual suspects of stress, jaw/teeth problems, etc.)
I've never heard of this treatment.... maybe something to look into.
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My sister has something she takes, I think it's daily, I don't know what it is, but it's helped her. Knocks her out, but it works. most of the usual medications didn't help. I'll see if I can find out the details. In case it's something you haven't tried yet.
that would be great! Thanks so much for your responses!!!!! My migraine is subsiding right now... that's after 2 pills and an energy drink. I feel super shaky, but my head is feeling a little better. I wonder how long it will last??? ha ha
In general Excerine does it for me, if I catch it in time.. I see floaters or flashy lights about 20-30 minutes before. Do you get any warning signs like that?
If I miss it, I'm screwed. Recently I had one last for a week. That sucked. Doc gave me some big guns to knock that out.
I haven't tried Topamax, but why not give it a shot? If it messes with you, you can stop... and there's a chance it'll help you out and make then never happen again. *shrug* Wikiepdia has stats on the percentage occurrence of side effects... Topiramate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It's not low by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not like a 90% chance.
I'm thinking I should go ahead and try it. It's summer....I don't really need to be all here ... right?? ha ha When I was prescribed the Topomax, it was the end of the school year and I was teaching part-time. I did NOT need to be loopy w/ middle school kids. I'm staying home next year, so maybe I can swing it.
You guys are awesome! Thanks for talking me through this!
The steroid treatments are mainly, I think, to help reduce inflammation, and are pretty bad-ass at doing that for some people. Of course, there's potential side effects for some.
My sister apparently has something she takes daily and something else she takes if one comes and OTC stuff like excedrin doesn't work. She'll send me names of the stuff tonite, I'll pass it along.
The August issue of Scientific American has a longish type of article on migranes. Probably no immediate benefit from reading it, but may give some comfort knowing the current theories of their origin. They do mention why anti hypertensive, anti epilectic, and anti depressive drugs sometime help. All of these are likely available in generic versions and hence pretty inexpensive. Have you seen a university type specialist. Sometimes they are great and other times &^%$(*. I have experienced both.
My mom takes Topamax. Fortunately the only side effect she's had is that carbonated beverages now taste horrible to her. Since she was quite the Pepsi addict I think this is a good thing. She's been on it for two years and has had a dramatic decrease in her migraines.
That's very interesting. I've never wanted to pursue an everyday pharmaceutical prophylaxis for my migraines but CoQ10 I could more easily justify to myself.
I cannot see the full article - is there any discussion of what it targets to give the preventative benefits?
That's very interesting. I've never wanted to pursue an everyday pharmaceutical prophylaxis for my migraines but CoQ10 I could more easily justify to myself.
I cannot see the full article - is there any discussion of what it targets to give the preventative benefits?
There's this:
Results of a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in April 2004 reported that about half the patients taking CoQ10 said it relieved their headaches. In addition, the supplements reduced the frequency of their migraines from 4.4 per month before treatment to 3.2 after treatment. An earlier study, published in the March 2002 issue of Cephalalgia, found that CoQ10 cut the occurrence of migraines by about 55 percent over three months. Researchers became interested in studying CoQ10 for migraine prevention because it can spark energy production in cell mitochondria, and some migraines may be due to a deficiency in cells' ability to generate energy. In the 2002 study, patients were treated with 150 mg of CoQ10 once a day; in the study presented in April of this year, some of the patients participating received a placebo while another group got 100 mg of a liquid, water-soluble form of CoQ10 three times a day.
Source: Cephalalgia, March 2002
You might find more, I just did a quick google search. My partner suffers migraines and we came across this suggestion a while ago. I vaguely recall some information on mode of action but got the impression it was pretty new research.
My migraines are nasty when they hit, but the frequency (maybe 6-8 per year) isn't sufficient for me to pursue the prescription preventatives. With that (in)frequency, I always figured I'd not really know if it was working anyway - except by the negative (getting one in spite of the pills).
My migraines are nasty when they hit, but the frequency (maybe 6-8 per year) isn't sufficient for me to pursue the prescription preventatives. With that (in)frequency, I always figured I'd not really know if it was working anyway - except by the negative (getting one in spite of the pills).
I wish I could say, she doesn't get them all that often and she forgets to take the coQ. She sounds similar to you, when she gets them they can be really bad (emergency room once).
My son (he's almost 13) has a migraine variant (cyclic vomiting syndrome -- cvsaonline.org if you're curious) along with regular migraines... he's had the diagnosis since he was 5, symptoms since he was 2... been on everything mentioned above (prescription, otc, homeopathic), and nothing has helped.
Currently he's on verapamil, a calcium-channel blocker... not sure it's doing anything either. The only thing that helps at all when he has an attack is benadryl to knock him out for the day...
I'll keep checking this thread, just in case someone posts something we haven't tried yet... It's good to see that some of the treatments help some of the people, at least.
Went to my neurologist today and got Botox shots. He says about 30% of patients benifit from the shots. Apparently it takes 10 to 14 days to fully kick in. I'll update in a couple weeks. I've had Migraine for almost 20 years. Have tried just about eveything. Currently I take Amatryptaline 30MGS at night an Inderol 120MGS in the AM. Take Amerge (Triptan drug..none of the others Imitrex etc work well for me) for accute headaches and have a bottle of Percocet on hand just in case. I have a kidney issue, so they don't want me on Topomax as this can cause Kidney Stones.
It's a pretty serious problem for me so I was thrilled that my insurance approved the Botox shots. Otherwise it would have run about $900 and if it works has to be done every 3 to 4 months. Fingers crossed that those 24 shots in my head works!
will a good massage for the neck and shoulders work if you have not tried it yet (a profressional is the best choice and a theracane is a 2nd option if you cannot afford a massage therapist)? trigger points (knotts/tightness) in the neck, shoulders, and trapezius can cause headaches and migraines.
will a good massage for the neck and shoulders work if you have not tried it yet (a profressional is the best choice and a theracane is a 2nd option if you cannot afford a massage therapist)? trigger points (knotts/tightness) in the neck, shoulders, and trapezius can cause headaches and migraines.
I have been on the migraine path now for around two years. Not for myself but my mother, who has had them for around 30 years, and she gets 3 a week on average. Migraines are tuff to beat as I can't seem to find any cures only pain reliefs or self control of the migraine.
I found one story that I love to share with you.
The migraines started when I was around 15 years old. I got all the symptoms, pain, vomiting and everything else that comes with a normal migraine patient. When I was 20 I become a vegetarian, and this seemed to help a bit. I gave birth to two children and through the pregnancies they was no signs of migraines anywhere.
I took up yoga and got some spiritual healing this helped for a while only. I had two more children and again was free of migraines. Now at 40 years of age I am still no better. Going from doctor to doctor I had a ultrasound done and they found some sort of rare congenital liver disease which they said nothing could be done about it.
I went from a naturopath to a homoeopath to a chiropractor and walked away with all these remedies and advice, some worked for a while then I was back to square one. I went to gastroenterologist who told me I had a spastic bowel an abdominal migraine, he gave me pills which just made me tired all the time and I lost all interest in food. I threw them away.
One day a friend was telling me have you ever tried going off all dairy foods? I thought I'd give it a go as I have tried everything else. I did this and now I am the best I have been in nearly 38 years. I also use the book "Fit for life" as it has dairy free recipes in it.
Since finding this story I come across another story the same way - All dairy foods. The thing is my dear mother does not believe me or she's sick of trying new ways to get rid of it? So I thought I'd share this with people out there who might wont to try this dairy food detox? Who knows it might work?
__________________ Love is what you were born with,
Some people have food triggers. That's why one of the steps in the beginning is tracking what you eat and do and whatnot for a while to find any links. It's not always the same foods, nor is everyone because of a food trigger or nutrient trigger or whatnot.
Update..... I had botox 3 months ago for 2 reasons.. 1. vanity 2. to see if it would help w/ the migraines.....
Guess what?!?!? Migraine free for 3 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had one bad migraine a few days after the injections, but I have not had any since 3 months and counting!!!!!
Jason - I have tried the nondairy diet and it did not work
ark- That's great! I did the Botox in mid December. Still having some migraines but not having the daily headaches I was having before.
Glad to hear this is working well for you...
crap.... the headaches are back!! I've had one migraine since my last post, but the daily headaches are back. I'm guessing the migraines will start again soon..... the botox has worn off on my forehead.
I'm definitely going to try botox again. My quality of life was so great for the 3 + months! I don't want to go back to migraine hell!!
ugh.
lately mine are "mostly* stress related, and when we were doing the play they were daily. By the time I got a doc appointment, we were finished and they had subsided, but I ended up getting Treximet. Definitely a take and lie down thing tho, ugh.
At least I haven't needed to try the butalbital yet…
Migraines........
YEAH for me!
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