Migraines

[sunlver]

How do you get rid of migraines? I have never been formally diagnosed. But, my mother and brother have gotten them for as long as I can remember. They were both on prescription medicine for it. I have always gotten headaches. As I got older, they seem to get worse and worst. I know they are migraines, from reading tons of info on it(the pain on one side, the throbbing, movement making it worst etc..)and talking to other diagnosed Migraine sufferers. Anyways, I know I should go to the dr, Im just afraid they will blow me off. See I havent been to a regular dr in 2 yrs. I dont get sick often. I go to the yrly gyn appts, I go to the regular dentist 3 times a yr. Yet, a regular PCP, I just dont go as I dont have a reason. Im just afraid of going in there, and they will think Im just looking for drugs LOL>
The otc stuff use to work well. I use to take 2 motrin, and one excedrin Migraine, and if it didnt work, I would repeat in like 4 hrs and do it again. It seems my headaches are not responding . Yesterday I had the migraine from Hell. Nothing I did made it better. I woke up at 2am with it, and it was there until at least 6pm. At one point I sat on the sofa and cried. Its hard to sleep it off as I have a 20 month old at home.
THis morning I feel much better, but I still feel a slight headache there. Almost like if I did too much activity it would come back.
I started keeping a migraine diary(just started yesterday). I know about triggers, and such.
How do you all deal with your migraines. What can I expect from a first drs visit about this?

 

[salmoneous]

Consider this a friendly smack <smack>. GO SEE A DOCTOR. PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. NOW.

Don't get me wrong. I know exactly how you feel. I hate going to doctors. At one point, I hadn't been in 5 years. But I was getting wicked bad headaches. Extreme pain, vomiting, light sensitivity, the whole works. They were going from once every six months, to once a month, to twice a week. Finally, it was so bad I got over my anti-doctorness and made an appointment.

My doctor was great - very sympathetic and tried to be helpful. Said it sounded like I was getting migraines (duh!). Offered to put me on drugs that can keep you from getting migraines - but you have to take them for life. He and I were both uncomfortable with that, so he sent me to a neurologist.

The neurologist was another very helpful person. Lot's of poking and prodding and weird tests like balancing a pencil on my head. Turns out I *didn't* have migraines, but some other type of headache. Again, he mentioned drugs that could keep them from occurring, but wanted to explore other options first. My blood pressure was a bit high and a couple other of my test results were off just a bit.

So we spent a lot of time talking about preventing headaches in general, and some of my specific triggers. And he pushed me to lose a few pounds, get in better shape, and lower my BP. Stuff I always knew I should do, but just didn't have the motivation.

For whatever reason, I was very lucky. Dropping my BP and general headache prevention (most importantly getting 2 Advil in my system the second a trigger shows up) did the trick. Haven't had a full blown episode in years.

Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones too. Or maybe drugs are right for you. But in any case - GO SEE A DOCTOR.

 

[sunlver]

I have my appt set up for Monday morning.Im pretty sure they are migraines, but who knows.Since my mother and brother have them, Im pretty sure thats what they are.So I made my first step, and we will see what the dr sais on Monday.
I just started getting nervous when the Motrin and Excedrin stopped working.

 

[AprilShowers]

You'll be so glad you went to the doctor. If this doctor doesn't treat you well, GO SEE ANOTHER ONE!
I had one doctor who was very nice, but he told me I didn't have migraines. I don't have the "classic" symptoms.
I waited TEN YEARS because I didn't want to appear stupid or whiney.
Well, I finally went back last year, and sure enough I have migraines. The doctor gave me Relpax. Let me tell you this stuff is my miracle. It works in about 20 minutes, and the doctor told me that if the headache isn't really a migraine then the medicine won't work.
Well, it works 99.9% of the time on my headaches. So I say that doctors don't always know EVERYTHING.
I should have trusted my instincts and questioned the first doctor instead of suffering terribly for 10 years.

 

[Jenn]

I agree with the other posters! I suffered for about 4 years with migraines. I tried everything - tracking my diet, cutting out caffiene, and I finally tracked them to always occur during the week of my period. I had my second child 4 1/2 years ago and went on birth control pills after that, so I thought it might be related. Finally, I just sucked it up and went to the doctor. First we tried Imitrex - worked great on the migraine but left me feeling tingly, like pins and needles all over my body. Then, I tried Relpax - worked great without the tingles. I really thought my birth control pills could be related and I felt like I was taking one medication to counteract another's side effects. So, finally I went to the doctor again and asked if I could try a different birth control prescription until I found one that didn't cause migraines - and I did!! First one I tried.... no more migraines!! I still get headaches a day or two during the week of my period - but it is now more like a normal headaches and I can take Advil and they go away.

 

[luvwinnie]

See your dr. I take Relpax, works great. Also, CoQ10 (supplement) helped me to cut down the frequency.

 

[MickeysMommy]

I'm on Imitrex.

 

[beckmrk04]

For a migraine, the OTC stuff usually doesn't work at all. I could take vicodin and it makes me sleepy, but doesn't get rid of my headache. Migraines are really overdiagnosed.

BUT- there are lots of different types of headaches that are similar, just need different treatments- so it is best to go get diagnosed. AND taking OTC meds too often can cause rebound headaches.

I get migraines, but I also get tension headaches (very bad ones). But they feel different.

My body has stopped responding to every medicine I have taken to treat the migraines: I have tried imitrex, amitryptalin, maxalt, relpax, axert- you name it.

I finally found my miracle drug in Topamax- yes, I have to take it every day, probably for the rest of my life. The side effects are kinda crappy. BUT- compared to waking up with a migraine 3-4 days a week, I'll take it. (However, unfortunately I'm not on it now because dh and I are trying to get pregnant- this should be a "fun" journey).

 

[sunlver]

Thank you everyone for your respones, you have given me hope
Today I have one of those rebound headaches. Ive read about that on the internet. It isnt as bad as yesterdays headache.

I talked to my mother about her migraines today. She is 73. She said hers as gotten less as she got older, but she still gets them from time to time. She was not on any prescription medicine. I really thought she was. She said my brother was on some sort of prescription medicine, and she said he still gets them bad, and he is 44.
My youngest child is 20 months old. During my pregnancy with her, I hardly got any headaches that I remember. Im sure I did. For 18 months I breastfed her. So its only been 2 months since we stopped, and seems like they got much worst since then. Im thinking hormones?
I do eat chocolate everyday(not a whole lot.)but like my daily chocolate dose, I do drink one can of diet coke a day,(Artificial sweetners). I dont always sleep great, as my youngest still gets up on many nights.. I think it could be a combo of many things, and combine that with 2 family members having migraines..UGH.. its making my head spin.

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

I suffered from migrains my whole life. I just started taking precription meds for them (maxalt-mlt) I started out on Imetrex, but I had bad side effects with those, so I got switched. It has been the miracle in my life to have these meds!!! All those years suffering, GONE!!!! And I only need to take 1/2 of the med for it to work for me!! So my meds last longer. I am VERY sensitive to all medications

Go to the doctor, there is no need to suffer with migrains with all these wonderful meds they have out there.

 

[barkley]

def. see the doctor-if you are diagnosed with migranes there are many medicines on the market with new ones coming out every day. a good doctor will however, try to work with you to determine the triggers you can work to control/avoid (stress is a big one, diet, for some people caffeine) and prescribe meds to be used for those that occur despite your best efforts/out of the blue.

migranes do seem to run in families. although i have no family history, ds (9) has been showing signs of having migranes for the last year of so (when he started complaining of "head hurts" i questioned him about anything else that was happening-he volunteered that the light was hurting his eyes and it looked like he was looking through a tube-both had happened to me with migranes so this information helped his pediatrician with a diagnosis-fortunatly his have not gotten such that we've needed to use anything beyond otc meds).

meds don't work for everyone (i'm one they don't), and it can take alot of trial and error to find one that helps. for me the meds don't work to stop the process once the migrane has begun, so i have 3 tiers of meds-one for minor pain relief, one for moderate-and the big gun which is morphene based (only used rarely in order to prevent a costly trip to the e.r. and hopefully to prevent the migrane triggering another stroke-i had 2 around age 40, both of which were determined to have been triggered by migranes).

the migrane journal will be of great help to the doctor. make sure you also let the doctor know of any other health issues or dietary/chemical sensitivities you have (alot of the meds have a HUGE amount of caffeine in them, if you have a sesitivity to caffeine it can be worse taking them-think of having a real bad one and then taking something that is either going to throw you into an anxiety attack or prevent you from getting the sleep you crave for escaping the pain).

my pcp manages my care in conjunction with a neurologist-if i have an issue i contact my pcp who is great about working with me but he is adamant that my "regular medical care" includes twice yearly appointments with the neurologist (fortunatly they are in the same medical group and can confer with each other regarding treatment)-so i'm a big believer in having a supportive pcp. i'm also big on education the people you live with about your condition. some migranes sufferers can show physical signs prior to the begining of a migrane that are visualy apparant to others-my hands will sometimes begin to tremble or i will begin to mispronounce words or slow my speech. i don't nesc. notice this but my husband does (and now dd 11 is begining to)-both will mention to me if they notice this so i can take preemptive action to take an otc and perhaps lie down in a darkened room.

good luck in your search for treatment-there is fortunatly alot of research in the area so idealy you will be able to quickly address the situation.

 

[Dax]

I have also been diagnosed with Hormonal Migranes.

I am on Topomax for the daily. Side effects are horrible, short term memory loss, and cant taste any carbonation from soda, but I have gotten used to it. Hunger is more controled.

I also take Imitrex for attacks. I also dont like the tingly, sick to my stomach feeling I get while I take it. I think I may be building an immunity to it though.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Another migraine sufferer here. As I get older, (I'm 41) the worse they seem to get. I had an awful one yesterday and had to take my Maxalt. Within like 20 minutes I was better but I hate the side effect of a burining sensation in my nasal passages and jaw that I get from it. I also sometimes take fioricet for them. I started getting them in my early twenties and have tried every drug out there.

Good luck with your doctor's appointment.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I am a very unusual case here. I had migraines for over 20 years, but not anymore - they stopped!!! I remember getting the first one when I was 14. I had them on and off for years. In recent years, they were getting bad again - I was getting somewhere around 2 or 3 a month. In good times, I was getting maybe two a year! My migraines involved the visual disturbances (those squiggly blinking zigzagging lines in my vision which would float off my eyes in about a half-hour), along with being sick and then a massive headache that would last all day. Only sleeping it off would help.

But I actually discovered what caused my migraines - it will sound strange but for me, it's a chiropratic issue. Basically moving my head down and to the right was causing it, which was placing stress on my neck, and interferring with blood flow to my brain. (Long story how I finally figured this out! ) So now I never turn my neck too far down and to the right, and I keep better posture (and always make sure my neck and back is properly supported), and I had not had one migraine since!!! Bizarre but true. I thought for years that it was food-related, but nope - it was chiropratic/posture related.

My doctor prescribed imitrex at one time, but it did nothing for me. So I just lived with each migraine.

Just wanted others to know that sometimes these headaches could have a more physical cause, as undue pressure on my neck/shoulder area was causing me migraines for so many years. But I was probably a freak case! Great thing is now I don't have to live in fear of migraines nowadays. What a difference!