How can I get relief from sever migraines when no medicine is working?

Question

I have been getting migraines for 2.5 years and lately they have been really bad. I had one for a month straight and the only way to get rid of it was to be hopspitalized for 5 days and get medicine through and IV, then the day after I was released I had a migraine again. I am in college and have been missing class. I have tried every kind of medicine and nothing has worked, I dont know what else to do. I get pain in the back left of my head and when it first starts it feels like my brain is tingling then it feels like there is a build up of pressure then it just throbbs. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

I feel your pain.
I've tried billions of things over the past 6.5 years of constant headaches.
Here are my best tips:
-Find a Headache and Pain Relief Centre
-Nerve Blocks (takes the pain away completely for hours. After sucessive treatments they last longer and longer. Some people are cured by nerve blocks)
-Meditation and Belly Breathing (with practice i'm nowable to reduce the severity of my headaches/migraines.)
-Keep a pain diary. Learn your triggers.
-Never skip a meal (eat at regular times)
-Get regular sleep (same time and same amount each night)
-Drink plenty of H2O

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Do you find you are usually getting them around the time of your period? If so it can be from the change in your estrogen levels. (If so talk to your doctor because he can prescribe pills for that.)The headaches are excruciating. Yours seem to be lasting an awful long time--have you had an MRI? That way the doctor can look and see if there is something else going on inside your head--hopefully not but when you can't function in life because of pain it doesn't hurt to look at all the options. It might be the only way they will figure out what is going on to cause you such pain for so long. The longest one I had was 6 days. I had to lay perfectly still with my head elevated to relieve some of the pounding. Nothing worked very well when they were full blown. One thing that did help is when I felt them coming on ( I would see light flashes and noise would be magnified and echo like) I immediately took my medicine, The migraines seemed to be more manageable this way. If I waited to long no medicine worked and I just had to wait it out. Try taking your medicine as soon as you feel the first hint of one coming on and see if that makes a difference. I hope you get some relief soon.

Answer 3

A couple of things I do to help control mines.
First off don't forget they may be caused by stress. Also bad posture.(Head always leaning forward)

1) Use a ice pack on back of head and neck area for about 20 minutes or so a day.
2) About every hour or so,get up and do some neck stretching and relaxing excersises.
3)I bought a neck brace from the medical store and I wear it for about 20 minutes at a time.
I need to do these things every day to help maintain control over my migraines. They help me I hope they help you.
The neck brace thing is very expensive. In Hawaii the damn thing costs like $80 but at least I can still function daily again.
I have migraines for almost 25 years. Yeah sorry it only gets worst.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Lay in a dark room with not only a cold compress on your forehead, but also an ice bag on the back of your neck. Do this as soon as you feel it coming on, so you can hopefully head it off. Good luck, but keep trying doctors and different meds because there is a great many more drugs that really help migraines now.

Answer 5

I too have had these....I found that when you first feel that in the back of your head..take something right then...don't wait....because it will help, or it did me. Thats what I learned from my experience ....not waiting for the major pain to hit
Also, have you tried Topamax? I take it at night as a preventative, talk to your doctor about that. You start with a small dose and then increase until you get to the level that keeps the migraines fewer if not gone. Only thing with them is to take at night and symptoms may be tingling some with them at first but other than that you don't realize you take them .oh you also can lose weight on them too...(good for me)
We have a patient that has Horner's Syndrome and had severe headaches, had had surgery, oxygen chamber treatment you name it....now he is on allergy shots and topamax from a specialist and is doing great......so try what he did also....get allergy testing and the Rx.....Good Luck

Answer 6

well if nothing is working do you know the trigger because i still to this day dont know my trigger and it can be anything even carbon manoxide poisioning. Maybe even from an older car it can be leaking into your car giving your migrains. Im just saying try everything. But what works for me is going to sleep or just get somebody to drive to get fresh air. best of luck to you though.

Answer 7

i just got over my latest migraine today. I just try to sleep it off if i can. I put blankets over the windows in my room to make it as dark as i can

Answer 8

my mom gets those, she gets like hormone and testosterone and she takes zomigs and beyond that she just rests in her room with blinds shut and lights off for a few days. she also uses an ice pad. i can try and find out more from her if you want to email me at [e-mail]

Answer 9

go to a local pharmacy and get that blood pressure checked. I had the same symptoms you described, went to doctor and that was my problem.. high blood -pressure.

Answer 10

lay in the dark with a cool cloth over your eyes