How many of you suffer from migraines?

[Mrs. IndyDiver]

Over the last ten years since I got my first migraine (it was a 10) I have noticed that they are getting more frequent and more painfull. I usually have a 4 and sometimes get a 6. More often I am dealing w/ some that last for days and range in the 8. I am certain to miss at least one day of work each month and I will definatly have a migraine once a month. [pain scale 1-10 w/ 10 being most painful]

I had another big one on Sunday and for the first time wasn't able to just lay in bed and relax. I had to go to emergency room for a shot of Imatrex.

My migraines are about to control my life and I don't know how much more I can take. There is little medication that works and it doesn't matter if I avoid "possible triggers". I do not look forward to my monthly friend. She is sure to make me feel like crap for atleast 3 days.

My docs (regular and obgyn) are aware of all this with the exception of this past Sunday. I am in the process of switching medical insurance and once the switch is completed I aim to have my doc do all the test possible to make sure nothing very seirous is wrong. However, I think migraines are pretty serious.

What I want to know from those of you who suffer is what works for you and if you think more research needs to be done to figure out how to CURE migraines instead of masking them (for those who medicine works for)??? I don't feel the docs take this very serious.

When I get a migraine, I feel like my IQ drops 30 pts. It is Tuesday and I am still feeling a little pain off and on here and there. I have spelling problems and with the pain it appears I never learned to spell. lol

/rant over. I'm just so tired from all this.

 

[erparamedic]

Hi there... sorry for the long post... but I have lots of info, questions, and my personal story for you.

When you mention the numbers (10, 4, 6, 8, etc), are you referring to the 0-10 pain scale. (0= no pain at all, 10= the worst pain you've ever, ever felt) Also, are you sure that the ER gave you a shot of Imitrex? They may have used the "miracle concoction"... 3 common drugs (Toradol, Reglan, and Benadryl) that does wonders for knocking out migraines. Just curious really (ok, maybe a little nosey!)... our ER very, very, rarely gives Imitrex or any other "migraine" med because most patients have already tried another form of the drug, and then there's the probability of rebound headaches... believe me, we don't want to see the patient again later in the day! LOL We use the old standby of the 3 meds.

First, do you know what your triggers are? For some, the triggers include certain foods, smells, and even peak and/or dips in hormones (for women, estrogen is a factor around mensus).

Second, obviously, your PCP and/or OBGYN are not adequately able to control your migraines, and you might need a medication that helps to keep them away (there are several ) Your best bet would be to see a neurologist... they do specialize in that area.

Also, have you had a head CT to be sure that there isn't any tumors, etc? This is a very common test for those presenting in the ER with a bad headache.

Imitrex is a great medication to get rid of a migraine, however, it generally needs to be taken at the very first hint of getting one for best efficacy. However, has any of your docs told you that several people get "rebound" headaches from migraine meds? It's a relatively common thing, so you would want to use caution in deciding when/if to take the Imitrex (or other migraine meds). If your headache is relieved by the Imitrex, but comes right back within a few hours to a day or so, you are likely having rebound headaches too.

That said, I also have migraines. For a time period a few years ago, I would get several migraines a month, and I was able to identify some triggers (or what I thought were triggers at the time), but would still get "mystery" migraines too. I saw a neurologist and was put on the lowest dose of a drug called Elavil (generic= amitriptyline). It's a cheap medication, and helped "somewhat". In a month, I saw the neuro doc for a followup and he increased the dose to 50 mg. It was like a miracle cure! I was on it for about a year, then he knocked me down to the low dose again for a trial to see how I did. After 6 months of that, I went off of it, and I've been off of it for about 3 years now. I do still have migraines, however, they are mostly around the time of my mensus and they are controlled with 100mg Imitrex tabs (however, I don't take the Imitrex for every migraine... only if it's a really bad one). Every once in a great while, I'll have a "mystery" migraine, but, again, it's easily controlled. One thing that I noticed... upon looking back at the time that I had the very frequent migraines... It was an incredibly stressful time in my life... working close to full time, raising 2 small children (2 and 4), and going to medic school, doing 36 hours of clinicals per week, and getting virtually NO sleep!! At the time, I was too busy to see that my "insane schedule" was a trigger! Now, I believe that stress was my major trigger, followed by hormonal changes.

This post is only for informational purposes... I'm not trying to steer you one way or another... but rather to give you ideas to think about. Best wishes for getting your migraines under control.

Psst... I live in Indy too... do I know you?

 

[nereas]

This only happens to me if I freedive too much in one day.

The best cure then is black coffee with whiskey in it. This stimulates the blood pressure feeding blood to the brain, and also helps you to relax.

Alternatively, a DAN O2 kit and using the oxygen for yourself.

Either way, the headache should then go away.

If it then persists, I would be worried about a brain tumor or something like that.

 

[Badger Matt]

I'm of little help here, but have felt that pain in the past. My migraines were so bad at one time they'd leave me curled up on the bathroom floor -- afraid I'd die and then afraid I wouldn't. It was bad.

No issues for several years now, but there are a few things that seemed to help me...so here goes:
- Steeped Rosemary leaves (basicaly usin Rosemary leaves to make tea)
- Really hot washcloth folded over my eyes...and lovinly replaced by my wife every 10 minutes or so...this one sometimes took an hour but always worked...or I fell asleep
- Staying very well hydrated...always
- Never skipping my AM cup of coffee...but if I went without long enough that probably wouldn't be an issue
- Refusing to take another assignment to the Pentagon

Good luck with the docs. I really hope you can lick these migraines.

 

[erparamedic]

Matt... I've totally been curled up on the bathroom floor, praying for death to come quickly! Of course, it was always a bathroom without a window and with the door shut (no light, please!), and as far away from the kids (and phone) as possible (no noise, please!). Of course, if I wasn't puking (yet) the walk in closet worked well too... the kids never thought to look for me there! (Only did that if hubby was home to take care of the kids.) Of course, a fluffy pillow and comfy blanket was always a comfort too. However, you liked heat for your head.... I preferred ice packs. During a migraine, I could not (and for that matter, still can't) be around anything with an "aroma". It will ensure that I start puking.

Isn't it funny how different things work for different people.

 

[dive-class101]

Yeah I get mine in the early hours of the am around 2-3 am.. usually wake up with them and then just want to die... I find the only way I can knock them with out drugs is getting up and dressed (slowly of course cause bending down hurts) leaving my shoes off and going outside for a walk around the section with my eyes barely open cause LIGHT HURTS... something about the coldness on my feet helps... It's weird... The weirdest thing is that they only occur for a month or so over winter.. the doc thinks there is something flowering at night during that time that sets me off... lol such a simple trigger...

 

[45yrold_newbie]

My wife has been suffering from Migraines since our daughter was born nine years ago. Our experience with her first neurologist was one where he just kept changing her meds and their amounts. She had become a walking barely functional pharmacy. I searched the web looking for answers and found the Diamond Headache Clinic here in Chicago. They are a group of neuros that focus specifically on migraines. We put her in their clinic as an inpatient for three days to try and break her headache cycle and seemed to help. Currently she takes Topomax, Atacond (sp?), Vivactil, Cymbalta and then Frova for her mensus week. The docs all say it is hormonal and perhaps they'll recede or go away when she goes through menopause. She turns 42 Friday so we still have quite a wait. Hysterectomy is out as they have found 8 out of 10 times it doesn't trigger the hormonal change correctly and has made the headaches worse. This meds combination is to try and prevent/control the severity of her headaches. The down side is her blood pressure is now so low that she has little to no energy to enjoy life. It really sucks for her.

This probably doesn't make you feel much better about your situation but at least you know you're not alone. I would suggest that perhaps the Diamond Clinic could be of help. They have patients from around the world coming to them.

Best of luck!!

 

[mikerault]

I had the ones where light hurt and noise made me ill as well as the back of the head pain. I had to go into the bedroom, turn off all the lights, turn a hotpad on high and place it under my neck rolled up to make them go away. Of course the feeling of euphoria after they were gone I miss sometimes...however, believe it or not I found out what was causing mine.

It was our couch. I would lay with my head on the arm which had a seam down the middle, the seam would press on the nerve junction at the base of my neck, about 30 minutes later bingo, a migraine.

We ditched the couch and haven't had a migraine since.

Mike

 

[Mrs. IndyDiver]

Hi there... sorry for the long post... but I have lots of info, questions, and my personal story for you.

No, it's okay. I really enjoyed your post and it was very helpful.

When you mention the numbers (10, 4, 6, 8, etc), are you referring to the 0-10 pain scale. (0= no pain at all, 10= the worst pain you've ever, ever felt) Also, are you sure that the ER gave you a shot of Imitrex? They may have used the "miracle concoction"... 3 common drugs (Toradol, Reglan, and Benadryl) that does wonders for knocking out migraines. Just curious really (ok, maybe a little nosey!)... our ER very, very, rarely gives Imitrex or any other "migraine" med because most patients have already tried another form of the drug, and then there's the probability of rebound headaches... believe me, we don't want to see the patient again later in the day! LOL We use the old standby of the 3 meds.

Yes, I was talking about the 0-10 pain scale. They did give me Imetrex. They gave me two other options. One of them may have been what you are talking about above, the other was MORPHINE (***). I took the Imetrex b/c it was the only one that wouldn't be given by an IV. lol I hate needles. Plus I have had the Imetrex shot while at visiting my general phys for a 3 day migrain and some new meds. He gave me the shot in his office.....I thought I was going to die. I don't know if he gave me to much but I felt like I was on fire, my throat felt like it was closing, I felt limp and numb, and my heart was racing. It lasted maybe a half hour then I felt great after that. I got this same feeling this past Sun when they gave me the shot but it wasn't at intense and I mainly felt the burning in my blood. It was kinda weird but kinda cool to feel the medicine move throughout your body. [shrugs] My current RX is BAC Tablets (Butal/APAP-325/Caff). This is the first medication that has continued to work since the first time using it. All others would work the first time but seem to never work again after that. I couldn't tell you their names either. lol

First, do you know what your triggers are? For some, the triggers include certain foods, smells, and even peak and/or dips in hormones (for women, estrogen is a factor around mensus).

I have not been able to pin point anything. B/c what may have been a trigger today won't be the next time I get one. I believe most of my migrains are mensus related and I usually get them around the PMS time. But Sundays wasn't PMS related and I used to get these often. I keep telling my husband that my migraines increased when I started taking birth control. I told this to my OBGYN as well. They've adjusted my BC but I think it's time to stop it all together to see what happens.

Second, obviously, your PCP and/or OBGYN are not adequately able to control your migraines, and you might need a medication that helps to keep them away (there are several ) Your best bet would be to see a neurologist... they do specialize in that area.

Oh I agree. It prolly doesn't help that I don't like to take pills or go to the doctor but I know its time for a change and will be seeing a neuro very soon.

Also, have you had a head CT to be sure that there isn't any tumors, etc? This is a very common test for those presenting in the ER with a bad headache.

I had a CT 10 years ago. My doc is waiting on me to call him up to schedule some testing. I last spoke to him about this in June just before my last diving trip. I have put off getting any testing done b/c I was getting married in July and switching Insurance. I am still waiting on the insurance to switch. I am also thinking that I need to stop waiting and just go get a CT done ASAP.

Psst... I live in Indy too... do I know you?

Hmmm....I don't know any female divers that work in the ER. I just wonder if our paths have ever crossed though. Thanks again for your post, it was very helpful.

Thank you everyone for all the info and help. I know I am not alone and I know what I go through and I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

PS. My brother suffers from them worse than I do. Hasn't found a medication to work for him.

 

[Ann Marie]

I've gotten migraines for years. I've taken both Amerge and Imitrex. Imitrex is my migraine drug of choice. Thankfully, I haven't had one that has sent me to the ER in years.

erparamedic is right on target. I would like to add that if you feel that your doctors aren't taking you seriously find another.

If the ER gave you a shot of Imitrex and it worked, why doesn't your doctor prescribe you them to take as needed (at the first sign of a migraine)?