Can someone please help me? I'm sick of having migraine headaches!?

Question

Ok, so I'm sitting here with one right now. I've taken tylenol earlier, and it helped a little (this was before it actually felt like a migraine) and now its worse, so I took a dose of Imitrex, as prescribed by my doctor. I pray the the Lord will heal me of this disease, I've been suffering from it since I was 2 years old according to my medical records. I usually get sick at my stomach when I have a migraine, and there is usually no relief unless that happens. Right now my stomach feels fine, but my entire head feels like its being pushed in with a ton of force. I have changed my diet this past month, i avoid corn syrup, cholesterol, msg, and artificial sweetners. I don't drink, and only get caffeine from tea. Does anyone have any suggestions? I cant get my doctors to put me on anything like Topamax, they keep wanting to try things like Depakote and Diamoxx. I tell them it helps, but doesnt prevent it, and they keep telling me to give it more time. I've given it over a year!

Well, guys, i've heard some good suggestions, most of which i've given a good try with no improvement. Going to the chiropractor always made ME worse (i went for quite some time because i had scoliosis, and they tried to work on my migraines to), too much physical exertion always seemed to make me worse as well (i would always have a migraine after we had conditioning for basketball when i played). I dont consume chocolate hardly at all, and regular tea very rarely....i stick mostly to green tea, which if you get the kind that hasnt been messed with, its naturally caffeine free. My doctor just didnt allow me to give up caffeine entirely because i already had an addiction to it, and he said there was a possibility of dangerous effects if I avoided it cold turkey. (Based on all of my medical history). This is why if God ever gives me children, if I buy soda, i'm buying the stuff without caffeine or corn syrup every time. They do make it. There's a famous brand that fits that exactly.

Just so everyone knows, i did feel all the way better the next morning. I ended up taking imitrex and klonpin (prescribed to me by my psych doc because even when i'm well i have a hard time getting my mind to shut down enough to be able to sleep) because it helps me clear my mind and relax, allowing me to get over a migraine faster. I just dont want to get that point of having to take either of those whatsoever. I'd rather prevent my migraines

Just a note: the same doctor that gave me imitrex is the same one that gave me klonpin, so he said its okay to take them together like that.....i've done it before

Answer 1

Try eliminating all forms of caffeine (even tea and chocolate). Avoid all sodas too (even those that are caffeine free). Try to avoid using headache medications that contain caffeine as they can cause rebound headaches (Goody Powders, Excedrin, etc).

If you haven't had your eyes checked that may also be a good idea... astigmatism or even mildly impaired vision can cause headaches leading to migraine.

I know how bad migraines can be, I hope yours gets better soon. If those changes don't help I think you are a good candidate for the migraine preventative meds that you mentioned.

Answer 2

I suffer from the same thing my entire life. Which is pretty long.

Some things I found that help. You really can't prevent it so much as learn to deal with it so it doesn't lay up.
Mines happen to me when it gets hot. Hawaii is always hot.

Ice pack on my head where the head ache is. I notice when I really cool myself down it helps. But as I said mines is related to the heat.
I can tell you that the drugs will help, but the pain always come back worse.
I also bought myself a neck brace from the doctors office. My migraines start from the back of my head. Anyway when I use the brace for about twenty minutes a day it helps align my neck area as I do have bad posture.
And the last thing I also do is when I start to feel the headache, If I do cardio work out it helps. Migraines are said to have like a blocked area where the blood flow is not working properly,so if I do cardio and get my heart pumping I think it forces the oxygen to everywhere in my body and does help.

I am not a doctor, it is just some of the things that I learned on how to deal with my migraines.
I hope it gives you some ideas.

Answer 3

Have your pharmacist print you out a medication utilization review- this is a list of all the meds you have had. This will give the doctors hard evidence that you have tried it their way for over a year and have had no relief. Then you can ask for one of two things:
1) Let me try the Topamax. (You may wish to check with your insurance provider to make sure it's covered, because if the doc caves in and writes for it and you can't afford it, you're back at square one!)
2) Send me to a specialist- this obviously is not working. (Again-check your coverage!)
When you ask the pharmacist for this, ask on a Tuesday, Wed or Thursday; chances are, the pharmacy is a bit less busy. You may need to come back for it, or give them time to research this in between filling prescriptions, but any pharmacist worth her salt will do this for you. You may need to sign for it in some states.
Have they tried propranolol? It's relatively inexpensive and is often used in prophylaxis (prevention) of migraine.
Remember, other people have had good relief from Depakote and Diamoxx, so don't knock 'em. The goa; here is finding a regimen that will work for you.
Good luck- I hope you feel better soon,

Answer 4

First of all, I am speaking from my experience. This is what helps me best. Take a benadryl along with tylenol. Just to help you relax. Imitrex didn't work, so my md. said it was okay. Then get a smaller ice pack, wrap it in a towel. Get a washcloth and get it as cold as you can with water. Lay somewhere dark, comfortable, and either quiet or with soothing music. NO JUSTIN! This is not the time. JJ. Put the ice pack on the back of your neck and try to comfortably lay on it, and place the washcloth on your forehead and over your eyes. Just take the moment to release the tension from your body. Remember calm and happy times. The cold will make the blood vessels constrict and lessen the blood flow, therefore cutting off the migraine (to an extent). This actually helps me, and gets rid of the nausea. Migraines can also be a sign of stress, and your body immediately tenses when you get one. Good Luck, cause migraines suck. Luvs! Ryan<3

Answer 5

i suffered from migraines since i was 15, tried every medication i could. got to the point that i was getting a migraine every day. a few months ago i saw a naturopath, after a 90assessment with her she suggested my migraines may have been caused by a digestive problem. she gave me some natural tablets to take with meals, put me on a diet of no wheat / caffeine / chocolate / dairy / yellow food coloring / cabbage / citrus / peanuts / alcohol / egg / tomato / beef / nicotine...i think that's all! anyway, i've been migraine-free for almost three months now. YAY!!! may not work for you, but its definitely worth looking into some of the alternative treatments. Oh, and I can now eat all of those foods again too.

Answer 6

More and more of the drugs is not an ideal solution. Explore Alternative Medicine. Be calm and relaxed in going about your daily things with people, pets, defective machines, gadgets etc.

Take some time to travel to a couple of new destinations with a few close friends. Take up some creative indoor hobbies that suit your temperament, knowledge or skills.

Avoid alcohol, strong coffee, coke and oily,spicy foods.
Ensure adequate water intake, 5-8 glasses daily and undisturbed 8-10 hrs nightly sleep in a cool, quiet room.Avoid strenuous physical activity.

See some positive effects after a month or so. Won't cost much to take some of these steps, just a little attention, belief, will-power. Despair not for every problem usually has one or more solutions. Just have to take time to discover them. Good luck!

Answer 7

My dad has these kinds of migraines all the time what he has been told to avoid was

onions
lots of sun/really hot conditions
being stressed out
no so much sugar
not so much pop/caffeine
strong perfume/colone


apparently certain types of food dose this, as well as different smells. they all react different with different people
hope this helps

Answer 8

My cousin gave up chocolate and went to a chiropractor. Since this, she hasn't had any now for 5 or 6 years,.

Answer 9

I have had chronic migraine for 20 years, and I have had every single screening and test available to try and find the source of the problem. Since they cannot find it, I am simply given heavy-duty, narcotic pain control.

The abortive agents, like Imitrex, don't work for me. They have tried me on everything available, and nothing works.

From my personal experiences, here are some suggestions:

Get someone to give you Reglan. One of the things they found out about me, and which is actually fairly common, is that your gut stops working effectively when you have a migraine. Reglan keeps your stomach working, so that you get full absorption of your meds.

Ask if low-dose aspirin can help. It did help me a bit. Some people naturally have thicker blood than others, and when your platelets are "sticky", they don't deliver the molecules of medication as efficiently as possible.

Ask for Phenergan (promethazine) for nausea. It's what they give you in the hospital if you have to have a pain shot or something else which causes nausea, and it works a lot better than most of the other anti-nausea meds. As a bonus, it is a sedative, and can, if you don't take other sedatives regularly, really knock you out. As you well know, sleeping off a migraine is sometimes all you can do. If vomiting is a problem, and it is sometimes for me, Phenergan can actually go under your tongue. It tastes terrible and bitter, but it does work. There's only one anti-nausea med currently available in the US for sub-lingual (under the tongue) dosage. It's not covered by most insurance companies because it costs about $80 a dose, and it's only given to cancer patients who vomit with their chemo. If you cannot handle the Phenergan at all, you can get suppositories, which will kill the nausea, as well. (Useless for me, as when I get sick, I get sick at both ends, but it might help you.)

Most neurologists know about migraine headaches, but very few specialize in them. Find someone you can see who actually specializes in migraine. I have seen a lot of neurologists who just don't know that much about migraines, so their treatment plans aren't terribly effective.

Have yourself checked for seizure activity in the brain, meaning ask for an EEG. They are finding that quite often atypical migraines (migraines with weird symptoms, like flashing lights or weird sensory stuff) are associated with electrical abnormalities in the brain. Make the doctors rule that out.

The single most important person on your health care team is you. If doctors are not responding to your needs, which seems to be the case since you are asking for a preventative and they are not giving it to you, you need to either demand that they respond to you, or you need to find another doctor who will. I have learned that migraines are a special type of medical condition. A lot of doctors think it has everything to do with stress, and nothing to do with physiology. Others think that we bring them on ourselves, and exaggerate the pain. Still others think that they are just a headache that is mildly worse than a regular one. In my experience, all of that is crap. I have been lucky to be treated by some real experts in the field of migraine, and the truth is that because they aren't fully understood, they intimidate doctors. Many doctors want to feel in control of a situation because they have been to med school and feel they have all the answers. Migraines throw that out the window, because they are severe, but they don't always respond to treatment.

Keep a migraine journal if you don't already. I have found that going into the office with hard data makes a doctor sit up and pay a little more attention.

Make sure they rule out both cluster headaches and rebound headaches. I have had doctors accuse me of using too much of my narcotic medication, and bringing rebound on myself. The simple fact is I know what I am doing because I have been doing it for so long. I do get rebound every once in a while, but it ALWAYS goes away with something like Tylenol. A regular migraine does not.

I wish I could offer you something really solid and good to cling to, but all I can offer is suggestions. Migraine is a hard condition to treat, and a lot of medical people are completely in over their heads when asked to deal with it.

I wish you the best.

Answer 10

Make sure you drink 8 glasses of water a day number one.Second you can close your eyes and rub in your eyebrow area until you find pain or forehead ,inbetween nose ,then rub in circles until the pain eases.3rd only 2 cuos of caffiene a day.If none of that works then you I heard you can drink a warm coke or a gatorade warm.