Nitrous Oxide and Migraines.... Do we have any options?

Question

My wife has daily disabling migraine attacks. She wakes up every day with a migraine.... some days are worse than others.... but she basically has no life, and things have been getting worse. We discovered some time back due to a routine dental procedure that Nitrous Oxide at the dentist's office eliminates her migraines for the rest of the day.

I'd like to know if it is even possible to get approved/certified or a prescription of this for home use to alleviate her horrible pain. She has been unable to work now for 5 years, has seen many doctors for the migraines... has been hospitalized for it, has had shots, preventatives, interventive drugs.... but there has been nothing that has really done much for her.

This is a really big deal and we are grasping at straws. Any help is appreciated.

I'm hoping for legal legit options. The illicit stuff seems not too safe to me.

Yet more history..... we have gone thru the beta blockers, biofeedback and guided imagery, and she has been a patient of several different head pain specialists or neurologists. They tend to think well of themselves and get annoyed with her when she tells them she is worse off now than when she first started seeing them. We are now going to a highly regarded head pain clinic in Michigan which is a mere 70 miles from our home. It's outside our network though so we pay thru the nose as our insurance company just loves to punish us for trying to get care that works, when nothing works close by.

The latest effort involves removing all preventatives from her medical palette, since they weren't doing much anyway, and giving her botox injections in the scalp..... takes a month before we find out whether our $800 session will do anything or not.

My athiest wife is ready to try faith healers and snake charmers at this point. She may be considering Dr. Kevorkian for that matter.

Answer 1

The nitrous oxide as a medication therapy for migraines has no basis in the currently accepted pathophysiology of the condition. The effect that she receives must be from the profound relaxation during the sedation. However, nitrous oxide by itself is dangerous and without an appropriate mix of oxygen can be fatal. People must be educated and certified in the administration of this combination, as well as having the appropriate equipment for administration and resuscitation available. This is not usually a reasonable possiblity in a home situation.

Though, as profound relaxation is most likely the source of her pain relief, it would be in her best interest to be seen by a mental health professional trained in hypnosis and biofeedback, as well as someone who can train you in guided imagery. All of these techniques have shown benefit in people with migraines. Additionally, many women have been through labor and child birth using hypnosis and guided imagery, as well as biofeedback.

I understand that severe chronic and debilitating migraines can significantly affect an individual's as well as their whole family's life.

If no benefit can be gained from these techniques, there are dedicated headache centers in the US which can often use innovative techniques to control transformed migraines and chronic daily headache syndromes.

One of the best, in my opinion, is the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, IL. (Please note: I am not affiliated with this clinic and this is not spam or advertising)

Here is their website:
http://www.diamondheadache.com/

I have had migraines for 20 years, though I now have mine mostly controlled. It is the reason I specialize and see patients with headache syndromes.

I wish the best for your wife.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I agree with the last post, it was most likely due to relaxation of the gas.
I too have suffered horribly for years and still do. I get daily migraines and have done the whole migraine diary to find all my triggers, however, some triggers I cannot prevent including certain smells or my favorite..weather related like when a low front moves in or it's about to rain and of course the pms migraine due to shifts in hormones. Heaven help me when I get more than 2 triggers at a time, thats when I'm hospitalized and given demerol or stronger, so I truly understand.

I would ask the doctor to try a beta blocker.
Also... Has she tried midrin? That would give her some of the same sensation as the gas. Make sure she knows her triggers, that wont do anything for pain but would surely help in some prevention which is the key and then medication after it hits. The BEST thing you can do is find a doctor who will work with you. All to often doctors are too scared to prescribe anything, so the patients suffer. If you find a good one and you all work together, it can become manageable, I'm living proof! I had to go through quite a bit of different meds before I found the right ones for the specific type of migraines I get.

Good luck.

Answer 4

You already have your answer. You said the nitrous oxide works. You're spending money left and right, and your wife is ready to try anything. There is a government study showing that nitrous oxide is effective in treading migraines in emergency room settings.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10337883

Seriously, weigh the two options. Nitrous, or being basically permanently disabled. It's like refusing to use marijuana for a medical condition because medical marijuana hasn't been legalized in your state. She can suffer indefinitely and lead a fruitless life, or she can break the law. Kindof puts things in perspective.

Answer 5

The top comment is bullshit, honestly. N2O cures migraines, I know from experience. Furthermore, he is trying to sell you a product even though N2O works. Here is something I found on THE LITERAL AND PHYSICAL reasons why n2o reduces pain (as in its not just the relaxation):

'N2O inhibits NMDA receptors in the brain whilst simultaneously encouraging the stimulation of the parasympathetic GABA receptors. This eventually produces an anaesthetic effect. It is also understood that N2O promotes the release of endogenous opioid neurotransmitters ('natural painkillers' e.g. endorphins) that specifically activate descending pain pathways. This inhibits the transmission of pain. In this way the analgesia provided by nitrous oxide is antinociceptive (literally pain reducing) rather than a generalised limbic depressor. '

N20 is also not harmless at all. It is an anaesthetic. The only way it can be harmful is excessive use and thats due to oxygen deprivation, not the actual chemical. So for instance imagine someone dying from smoking like 30 joints and not breathing... hard to do and virtually impossible, aside from the fact that you would have to deliberately abuse it for this to happen.

Answer 6

Pl don't get frustrated.
Pl try acupressure given below for some relief in bad condition.

Alternate systems of medicine can only help you.

There is no medicine for H/A OR MIGRAINE. Not only these but for RA, OA, Back ache and almost all painful diseases. Hence they become chronic.

Acidity, WORRY, sadness, excessive wind, cold , heat, sour food and sinusitis, constipation, intestinal inflammation; drug side effects, stress, bad smell, TV & COMPUTER SOMETIMES,
Blockage in the flow of Vital Energy, BODY CONSTITUTION etc are their causes. None of them can be treated with medicine. Our 100% success in treating migraine &H/A confirms it.

Acupuncture is the best treatment.
I can treat it with naturopathy and YOG, but how can you manage pl see.

Pain killers don't treat the pain but we loose the sense of pain for some time; in that duration our body itself treats sometime and credit goes to meds.
The useless drugs have tremendous power of side effects like liver/kidney failures, ulcer, inflammation of intestines and lot more.

Avoid late sleeping if possible; all meds, worry, tension, spicy foods, sour fruits, stale bakery foods, SMOKING and alcohole.
Sweet foods, COCOANUT WATER,sweet fruits, milk, rice, SPROUTS, SALADS and good sleep will help if cough is not there.

But you try one herbal remedy- two drops of drumstick leaves' juice in opposite nostril if one side pains and both nostrils if full H/A will give you rescue. Betel leaf helps but it is very strong.

If it is acute pl search a painful point 3-6 mm behind your thumb nail and press it, H/A will disappear within 30 seconds.

For forehead pain the points are in front of nails on the finger tips or 3-7 mm below.

It may disappear naturally too.

Source(s):
SHREE SWASTHYAYOG TREATMENT, TRAINING & RESEARCH INSTITUTE
R.H. 19, Jhulelal Society, Sector 2/E, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, INDIA.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

have her continue to keep a migraine diary and follow up with her neurologist.

Answer 9

COMMONLY KNOWN AS LAUGHING GAS , OR IN HOT RODING KNOWN AS THE BOTTLE . I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE THERE IS IN QUALITY BETWEEN MEDICAL GRADE AND RACING GRADE . IT CAN BE BOUGHT AT A WELDING SUPPLY THAT REFILLS GAS BOTTLES . TELL THEM YOU WANT A BOTTLE FOR A HOT ROD FOR DRAG RACING AND YOU HEARD MEDICAL GRADE WAS BETTER