Oh Migraines, how I hate thee...

[jcatblum]

Been seeing neurologist for over 6yrs for migranes. Tried all the drugs. The he's abortive for me has been migranal. They also give me toradol shots for home injections.

The past yr I have been going to the chiropractor regularly. No more daily Meds & very few attacks. Only one bad headache the past yr-- by bad I mean ER visit required. That headache came as we were moving so life was stressful & I couldn't brake the headache cycle. Prior to the chiropractor I suffered at least 4-5 days a month with a migraine. Very often even more than 5 days.

I picked a chiropractor that also does acupuncture. He has only used the acupuncture once. Insurance doesn't cover any chiropractic care for me. But I promise it is worth every penny.

Good luck!

Wanted to add when I had a bad spell that last most of the month a dose of steroids seem to resolve it. I do understand what you are going through! Feel better soon.

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
that was me too... 3-5 days a week, bad enough for tossing my cookies and tunnel vision, lasting 1-2 days at a time. chiropractor...

BIG effort but saved my life, quite litterally. I'd reached the point of seriously considering soving the headaches with a bullet, they were so bad. chiropractor 3 days a week for 6 months, 2 a week for 3 more, 1 a week for another 18 months... now, 12 years later, once every week to 3 months, as needed.

accupuncture and other things helped but needed to be used in concert. other things work now too... see my earlier post.

<ouch>
get better!

 

[eggbuster]

My DH suffered almost daily from severe migraines to the point of vomiting most of the day. Nothing worked, and most of the available treatments made him even sicker. A Dr. overseas put him on a minimal dose of a blood pressure medication, (he did not have high blood pressure) which he takes every day. He hasn't had a migrain in 6 years.

He will never give up his BP pill.

 

[jcatblum]

Quote:
I did try bp pills for about a year. Then my bp was WAY too low. 70/50. Always feeling like I was about to fall over. After 2 wks of dangerously low pressure I stopped the pills & that is when I started seeing the chiropractor.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
maxalt doesn't work on me neither

I've been on 2 clinical trials, one was for imitrix and the other was for maxalt. Neither worked well.

 

[sourland]

Well, today was my turn. Migraine # 9 for the month.Why??? Usual triggers for me are dark chocolate, disrupted sleep patterns, 'top ten of the year' blue sky low barometric pressure days. That just does not seem right. Imitrex generally works for me but occassionally weirds me out. Today's/yesterday's side effect seems to be insomnia. I NEVER have insomnia. Fioricet worked well for me, but my doctor was concerned with my using it because of my 'addictive tendencies.' I'm thinking that accupuncture is the next step.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

I see alot of people talking about imitrex and maxalt which are in the triptan family but no one has responded to my comment about relpax...it's also in the triptan family and worth checking out if you have not responded to the others or have had bad side effects from some, specifically imitrex. Has anyone else tried it? I swear by it, haven't made a trip to the doc/er since prescribed relpax.

 

[eggbuster]

Quote:
I did try bp pills for about a year. Then my bp was WAY too low. 70/50. Always feeling like I was about to fall over. After 2 wks of dangerously low pressure I stopped the pills & that is when I started seeing the chiropractor.

Hard to experiment when the BP is that low, but the dosage may have been too high. It needs to be very minimal. The Dr. should have started you on 1/2 the minimum dose and gone up from there if needed since the treatment is not for BP and you don't want to be lowering that. For DH the chiropractor added to the problem. Even before a chiro. deep muscle massage should be tried.

The problem with migraines is that there are so many different causes that there is no, one size fits all solution. This is a good thread for tossing out a lot of different experiences/solutions/lack of solutions for others to pick through for ideas.

 

[jcatblum]

Quote:
I did try bp pills for about a year. Then my bp was WAY too low. 70/50. Always feeling like I was about to fall over. After 2 wks of dangerously low pressure I stopped the pills & that is when I started seeing the chiropractor.

Hard to experiment when the BP is that low, but the dosage may have been too high. It needs to be very minimal. The Dr. should have started you on 1/2 the minimum dose and gone up from there if needed since the treatment is not for BP and you don't want to be lowering that. For DH the chiropractor added to the problem. Even before a chiro. deep muscle massage should be tried.

The problem with migraines is that there are so many different causes that there is no, one size fits all solution. This is a good thread for tossing out a lot of different experiences/solutions/lack of solutions for others to pick through for ideas.

Sorry if I wasn't clear!!!! Oops- I was able to use bp pills for a yr or so. Then I bottomed out. I seriously could hardly be up on my feet doing anything or felt as if I would fall over. Of course my neurologist was on vacation when all this happened. So I stopped the pills on my own & have not taken a daily preventive since

Anyone whose dr suggest topamax -- don't do it!!!!! It has already been removed in the uk just not in the us. I used it for at least 18 months. My dr calls it dope-amax. I seriously could go to the grocery store drive home & leave all the groceries in the car until the next day. I couldnt remember anything. I accepted it, had lost 20lbs due to the Meds & no headaches. Loosing 20 lbs my sound good. But I seriously could not eat more than a few bites, even when I thought I was hungry. then my words started getting mixed up. I am talking all day every day. I would be thinking of something & somehow combine 2 words into something way out there & everyone would look @ me like I am crazy!!!! Went in & told the dr I wanted to stop. He diet want me too since it had worked so well. My quality of life was miserable even though I didn't have headaches. I still do not remember things like I use to & I have been off the Meds for at least 3 yrs. Numbers seem to be he hardest for me now. We moved 4 months ago & this wk was the 1st time I knew my address without looking!!!! It is bad stuff. Read what others say online. Stay away from top-amax.

Massage is a great help. I even purchased a g5 massager for home use, it is the lower end model of the one my chiropractor uses. I also use alot of heat & ice packs.

 

[Amigo]

Boyd, could Obama be giving you these migraines?