Migraines

Baine

Shared on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 14:26

I used to get headaches alot.  Stress, to much reading that sort of thing.  My fiance has migraines...which I hear alot of people have said they have but until I started being in her life all the time, I never realised how severe they are.  I looked it up on wikipedia and this was the def:

Migraine is a neurological disease[2], of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head. Absent serious head injuries, stroke, and tumors, the recurring severity of the pain indicates a vascular headache rather than a tension headache. Migraines are often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea

She has been on all kinds of medicines over the years for them.  The latest has been a injection called Imotrex, it comes in a pre-loaded spring loaded injector, she holds it against her thigh and hits a button and it delievers the punch, that way she doesn't have to give herself a injection.  This is for when she gets the headache itself.

She also was trying a medicine called Topomax, which was supposed to prevent...well it didn't .  She spent all of last weekend in bed crying because of her head pain.  We had to break out what I call the nuclear medicine attack.  This one is a injection aswell, I can't remeber the name, but I have to give it to her the traditional way.  Load up the syringe, swab the leg, and jab.  Not the happiest thing I have had to do, but its not my leg getting jabbed.

So far, NOTHING has worked.  She has no tumors or other neurological issues.  Its all basically hormonal..yep...every mounth..the headache comes at the same time as something else.  What a great thing huh? 

Well she has had percoset, ibuprofin, two kinds of injections..blah blha..nothing has worked and it was getting very worrysome to me.  She dealt with it as best as she could, but sitting there having to attend to her and everything she needs, its not a hard thing to do, its easier than I thought, but its hard to see her hurt so much without being able to help.  I have even told her Neurologist that if they don't come up with something soon, I will get a hold of some people and get her somethign she can inhale....cough cough....

But, we had a breakthrough recently.  She had a migraine at the same time she was getting her wisdom teeth out, and her dentist prescribed her Valum...ahh the magical little pink pill.  Half a pill and her headache started to go away.  And might I say, a really really good mood insued.

So she actually managed to get her Neurologist to prescribe her some Valum.  Thank god.

I hope this one works.

AND, I am not infatuated with Legos...it just seems there is alot of lego things in my house...

Gad damned legos

Comments

Baine's picture
Submitted by Baine on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 08:58
@Em, actually it tends to occur about the day after she has....flowed..bleck... Hormone therapy tends to turn her into a cross between The Hulk/Atilla the Hun/and Mr Hyde
English_C6H6's picture
Submitted by English_C6H6 on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 14:34
I used to get Migranes 3-4 times a week. I started keeping a diet journal (man was I desperate) and found a link between Aspertame (the sweetener) and my headaches. I stopped drinking/eating anything with Aspertame and my headaches slowly dwindled to nothing. I now only get them a few times a year when I am super stressed (xmas, etc.). I've found quite a few people with the same problem. Just another suggestion. Then again, HOW good is the mood brought on by Valium? You may not want to fix the problem. (evil grin)
Falelorn's picture
Submitted by Falelorn on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 14:49
I suffer from chronic migraines.. 4-6 a week. I have a variety of medication for them. One is a waffer that I take, 94 dollars per hit, and if I take it when I feel it coming it will knock it out. If not, I have morphine (which does notta), Tylenol 4, and a couple other anti-migraine meds I get them now from the accident, and they used to be for days/weeks at a time. I am so used to them now I can watch TV (no sound tho), sometimes even get on the computer, as long as the refresh rate is high. My triggers are sound, smell, light and stress and MSG (Hot dogs and chinese food major triggers, but Ill still eat em because they are good)
Baine's picture
Submitted by Baine on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 14:55
@Falelorn, Jesus wept, that sounds aweful.
Falelorn's picture
Submitted by Falelorn on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 10:33
One of the best meds for me is Maxalt RPD (rizatriptan) taste like crap, but work. About 45 bucks per pill and you have to watch it that you do not take to many as they can cause heart problems.
mdrisk2006's picture
Submitted by mdrisk2006 on Sat, 03/03/2007 - 09:53
I used to get as many as 2-3 per week. Then last year I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. I was put on a CPAP machine and now I get maybe 1 a month. I have also done a log before and for whatever reason if we have a major low pressure system move into the area before a storm I end up with a migraine probably 60-70% of the time.
CofC's picture
Submitted by CofC on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 15:06
Whats up with Legos? Yesterday's Arrested Development rerun mentioned them, and they banned Legos at a school cause they promoted cruel, capitalist, ideas of private property. Umm?
Speedbump's picture
Submitted by Speedbump on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 15:11
My wife started getting chronic migraines about a year ago. 2-4 times a week, sometimes lasting multiple days. They tried topomax, Axert, various other drugs too. She tried my Imitrex as well, it didn't do anything. She has a gallon ziplock bag full of pill bottles of stuff that didn't work. She tried epidural steriod injections into her neck. that worked for a weeks of relief so they tried nerve burnings at the epidural locations. that didn't do anything. Finally the doctor sent her to a neurosurgeon who specialized in nerve stimulators. She had a Occipital Nerve Stimulator surgically implanted into the back of her head. It basically blocks the pain signals and stops the migraines from ever happening. It works, but it's not a pretty path to go down...
FuZZ_E_BiZkitZ's picture
Submitted by FuZZ_E_BiZkitZ on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 15:58
I will never complain about a migraine again. Thankfully they only occur once or twice a month. Nothing has worked so far(prescription wise), I just chew a close to lethal dose (not really, but well over the suggest amount) of Excedrin and Benedryl and pray I can hold it down long enough to go comatose.
Baine's picture
Submitted by Baine on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 11:43
@falelorn: She was taking one that didn't do anything. Wasn't that. It was a daily dose preventative, which worked for shit. All it did was make things with caffine taste bad.
Em's picture
Submitted by Em on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 23:10
has she tried the classic treatments for pms???? like diuretics, muscle relaxers, ect.....you would be surprised at some of the horrible symptoms a little water retention can bring on.....just something to think about
Retrogirl546's picture
Submitted by Retrogirl546 on Wed, 03/07/2007 - 23:33
Glad you had a breakthrough recently...migraines suck. I've had them since I was 19. I use a prescription painkiller along w/sleep. Zomig and Imitrex did nothing to help me. Typically one side of my body will go numb when they hit along with aura and a few years ago I started getting speech problems too (depends which side the headache is on). Funky feeling wanting to say something and it won't come out (and yes I've been checked by a neurologist).

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