Migranes!
 

I have not been on for awhile ...I have been in & outa the Emergency room @ the Hospital:(

I got a Lumber puncture .....A Spinal Tap done .....Dr was looking too see if I had an Anniriciam(SP)

Make a long story short I have severe Migranes:thumbdown

they are just awful I cannot function @ all.....

Anyone here get them?
& what do you do to relieve yourself from them?

Anyone had an MRI & whats it like??

I have to go for one & the Dr said I will give you something to relax you...as it can make you Clostphobic(SP):(

I'm so sorry to hear about your pain. My 24 year old daughter has had to drop school and cannot work because of the same. It has all but debilitated her. The MRI is nothing hun, just takes pictures. Still haven't come up with a source for the migraines, only drugs and it's taking more and more of them over the years. I will pray for you as I do for her. Good luck, you are not alone. :)

MRI wasn't bad at all to me. It may seem a little closed-in, but I kept my eyes shut and relaxed as best I could. Not really a big deal.

MRI is no big deal. I'm claustraphobic, so I was kind of freaking out, but compared to the painful procedures you have experienced, its NOTHING!

I'm 49 years old and have had migraines since I'm 18.. I use to lose precious days from them! Some times entire weekends. I now take Imitrex. Its a miracle drug for me! I take 50mg at the first onset and I'm good to go after an hour of sleep. For the really bad ones, the ones that I can't even slip water without throwing it up I give myself the injectable imitrex and I just love it Migraine is gone in 20 minutes!! Ask your doctor for a sample. Good Luck!;)

migraines
 

I began having migraines with menopause and fought them for 10-12 years. I took everything on the market and tried a lot of combinations. Nothing worked. Then Imitrex came along and it did the trick. Do ask your doctor for a sample and I hope it works for you.

You poor thing. I have a form of migraines called cluster headaches. I've had so many different meds over the years, it's amazing. Injectable Imitrex gets rid of my headache within 5-10 minutes (Thank You God!!!). Because they come in clusters, I have to take a cocktail of meds when I'm getting them. The past 10 years though, most of the headaches can be controlled with Advil. I think it has something to do with menopause and hormone reduction. The only time I got a really bad cluster was when my daughter got sick.

I hope you feel better soon, and keep us posted.

I have had to deal with migranes for about 7 years now. I get severe migranes and I have to lay down and make sure I am in a dark room, I can't function at all with them. I have even had it to where I had a migrane for days before it would let up or go away.
I take the imitrex and it helps most of the time.
I did find out one of the reasons I was getting frequent migranes was do to some problems I have with my sinuses. So I had surgery done and I don't get them as frequent now.
The doctor recently put me on a new medicine that actually prevents migranes. It is a pill you take every day and it has helped me sooo much, it has been working really good!!
I did have an MRI and a cat scan and several other tests done years ago but I am use to them.
MRI wasn't bad for me but you are in an closed area and the noise of the MRI is horrible and you have hold still the entire time so I guess I can see why some hate having them done. But they give you head phones to listen to drown out the noise and help relax you.

Sorry you are having migranes, they are a pain to deal with. I hope you feel better soon and that your doctor can find something to help ease your pain and frequency of the migranes!!

:( I am sorry to hear about this! I, too, suffer from migraines and it is a nightmare to live with the pain!!!!!!!!! I started getting mine about 20 years ago and they have gotten a lot worse as I have gotten older. I also take Imitrex (100mg) and also have the Imitrex shots on hand, too. Another thing that has helped me is to find a specialist in headache care. He has been such a caring doctor and has taken the time to help me get mine somewhat under control....I was having about 8-10 a month, with each one lasting 2 days a time. Now I am down to about 4 or 5 a month. However, when I get them now, I can take an Imitrex pill or for the ones that are making me throw up, I go straight to the Imitrex shot. Along with the Imitrex, my doctor started me on 2 daily preventative prescriptions. I also had a MRI done last year. I am claustraphobic so I was worried about that but if you tell the people administering the test, they will either give you something that relaxes you or you can try to cover your eyes first, to see if that works. The tech just covered my eyes with a towel and I kept my eyes shut under that. I was fine with that....the only thing that no one told me about was how incredibly loud the machine is (it was a loud knocking sound). You do wear ear plugs but mine was still loud. It ended up taking less time than what I thought that it would and it really is not bad.

Good luck...get better soon!

Tammy

Tracey, would love to know the name of the pill you said prevents the headaches. Wondering if it is something we have tried already or have we missed something. I so wish the Imitrex would have worked for us, all it did was make her heart race.

YUCK to migraines! I have had them since I was like 8 or 10; the first one we can't exactly pin point. All I know is they are HORRIBLE. And I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy. I feel with you; and I pray for you. I know what it's like to miss day's. I missed an entire year of school my freshman year of highschool; they had a homeschool teacher come to my house.


For relief I use different methods; because everyone is different and sometimes people get used to the med's alot of the migraine med's don't work well with me. :mad: I get acupuncture; massages; and do yoga. Also I take a hot shower as hot as I can stand it and then put an ice cold pack on my neck while I have the pain....I use Compazine for the nausea and whatever the heck is in my shots at the ER when I can't move. My migraines are "complex" or so they explain...so I look like I have had a stroke...no memory; one side of my body and face droop; and I become paralyzed. It's AWFUL!!! But you gotta smile and keep ya' head up...things are always worse for someone else somewhere right??

I thought of some more suggestions...lol

*Always wear sunglasses during the headache; it eliminates excess light
*Ask your doctor about..Topamax; or Zonegran both are really really good preventative meds..I used both. I still take Zonegran 225 Mg. And no side effects to bark at.
*Write Everything down..it helps the doctors...like things you ate before after and during the headache...up to two days before the headache. because sometimes you can learn a trigger this way.

:p :p Good luck all my migraine sufferers!!!

I get bad migranes too. Usually I take Excedrin Migrane to relieve even the smallest headache - it's the only thing that works for me. To make a long story short, a couple summers ago, I was veeeeeery sick and couldn't find anything to take so I ended up starting a new trend of taking 8 extra strength advil at a time just to even TOUCH my headache. Finally my cousin brought the Excedrin Migrane and I haven't stopped taking it since.

MRI's of the brain and head are usually bad if you are VERY claustrophobic like I am. I had one years ago and I shook so bad, they had to do some images again! What makes it worse is they are about an hour long and are VERY noisey. See if maybe your doctor can give you something to relax you first. I work in radiology and I've known plenty of patients to take vallium first! Is the MRI with or without contrast? If it's with, they will inject you with the contrast, so if you squeemish about needles, then I would definately try and get something to relax... or maybe see if you can schedule a sedated MRI if your that bad, but then you'd be paying for anesthia too.....

I get migraines as well, but I'm fortunate that so far, Imitrex has almost always worked for me. I can take up to 3 pills a day, and most the time the migraine is gone with just 1 or 2 pills. Occasionally I have to take the third one, and it may even go over into take a pill or two the following day, but so far, Imitrex has worked. My doctor did mention a new pill that would prevent even getting migraines (he said I'd just take that daily, instead of taking the Imitrex after I am already experiencing a migraine), so maybe that would be an option for you. Good luck!

I feel your pain, i get them everyday...its been 6 yrs now. had a car accident 6 yrs ago got really bad whiplash, have damage to c4,5,6 but they claim that they arent causing the migraines. ya ok.
Ive tried all the anti depressants & seizure meds, with no help.
you name it ive taken it.
ive done
botox
biofeedback
massage
chiropracter
physical therapy
TENS
acupuncture
epidural injections
trigger point
sacral cranial therapy

nada nothing has help

What helps me most is flexeril it is a muscle relaxer. w/o it i wouldnt be able to work. I also take migraleive its natural herbs, helps with a intesitiy a bit.
triptan relpax & zomig are my favorites & celebrex off/on.

best of luck hun, i feel and understand your pain, i swear i must have been a really bad person in my past life or something....maybe Stalin or the guy that killed Kennedy? Always laugh that if the real evil people got them like bin laden, they wouldn't have time to focus on ruling the world. pffffft

oh i forgot one thing they just did a study they said combining like imitrex with aleve is supposed to work really good.

I also get mihraines. i had had meningitis in 2004. I had a handful of migraines before that but now I have them at least 2 times a month. They last anywhere from 2-14 days for me. Debilitating to say the least. During the meningitis time my neurologist had me on topomax as a maintnance, meaning taking them daily to help prevent them. Well my insusrance wasnt good then and i couldn't affaord it. I have also taken Migrazone but what works is Percocet and phenerghan for me. That is what have to do for the long duration ones. also I have went to the ER a couple of times when i had them to get more relief when i couldn't take it anymore,
Needless to say, migraines are not fun. They are HORRIBLE!
MRI is not bad atall. My doc gives me a RX forvvalium at my viset to him to be able to take before hand due to my claustriphobia and anxiety.
Good luck and let us know what happens!

The medicine I am currently taking is called Inderal. It has helped me a lot. I would have loved to tried the Topamax but I have to go by what my insurance covers and Inderal is working great for me without any side effects.
When I do get migraines I take Imitrex. I have tried several migrane medicines, even some that were said to were work better than Imitrex but so far it is the only one that has worked for me, I don't know what I would do without it.

Inderal. really? I take that for my blood pressure. I've heard meds can have multiple uses. The Topomax she has been on for a few years. Was hoping it was something we haven't tried, Nurontin before that. Thanks and will remember you in my prayers. :)

I get migraines every once in a while... to the point where I feel like I'm going to faint sometimes.. I don't have insurance though so I'm not taking care of them like I should.

I remember an old boss of mine at Victoria's Secret had them so badly she'd have to sit in her office, down some pills, and be in complete darkness.

I used to belong to the National Headache Foundation, and just re-registered.
They give you updates and good info. The website is:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...87#post1147987

I took topomax, librium and verapamil (a blood pressure med) together and they really helped. I had gone to Mt. Sinai Headache Unit and saw the Director of the Dept. who told me that a cocktail (a few meds together) work best, and he was right for my headaches.

She's too young to suffer so much. I'm sending prayers and hugs. I hope she finds relief soon.

I am so sorry you have to suffer with such headaches.
I have only had a few over the years and I can't imagine how
anyone can go through such pain on a daily basis.
I hope someone can find the right combo of meds for you so
you can get relief soon. Feel better real soon.

I can remember my first migraine, i was in 2nd grade, and i've had them ever since, i'm 25 now, but that first one I will always remember. I've taken narcotics, but i've been on heart medicine the past 6 years and that keeps them away for the most part, thank god. When I do get one I have to judge which to take, advil or aspirin. Migraines can come for two reasons, too much or too little blood flow. Aspirin for too little, and some telltale signs of that are numbness, tingling, cold, feeling faint. Ibuprofen for too much, because if you took aspirin it would just make it worse.

For the past couple of years, I have also suffered from migranes. Mine were so bad..I would get them every day. Imitrex works well to get rid of them, but it ends up coming back when the meds wear off.

I was also on Topamax for about 8 months and I was MISERABLE! Since it is still a fairly new drug, all of the side effects aren't known about quite yet. They were horrible for me..I didn't want to get out of bed I was so depressed. I lost so much weight I looked like a holocaust child. It works wonders for some..not for me, though. Finally I decided Id rather deal with the headaches than feel like that.

Late last year, I started going to a chiropractor and it has REALLY helped. Id go 2x a week and he'd readjust my neck..which is where my migranes always start. You have to give it a few months to start feeling relief, though.

Now, I usually only get them the week before my period starts..which I can handle much better.

I also have to make sure I don't sleep on my stomach anymore (it strains yuor neck), drink plenty of water (dehydration caused my headaches) and not let myself get to where I was STARVING..if I know Im going somwhere, I always make sure to bring something with me.

There's another thread on here about Topamax..just search.

Also..go to askanypatient.com or askapatient.com...one of the two. You can type in topamax and see all the horrible side effects that it can cause..some of the people went delusional and wanted to commit suicide..very scary.

Good luck to you!