I have a really hard time getting certain doctors to take me seriously. I remember reading in my social psychology class that people who are afraid that they won't be believed (but are telling the truth) come across as not very believable. And ironically, confident liars are more convincing. Having an invisible illness, and one with strange symptoms to boot (not to mention plenty of stigma), makes me a bit insecure when I am talking to some doctors. I often downplay my suffering because I'm afraid that if I tell the truth, doctors will think that I am exaggerating. It's silly, I know (yes, I'm seeing a therapist). In the end I'm afraid I don't come across very well. Does anyone else have this problem? I did find a neurologist with a great bedside manner who takes me very seriously. This makes me feel more confident when I talk to her--so now I think I am coming across as more believable. Kind of funny, I guess.

Anyone heard of these?  The PA saturday who gave me emergency pain injections (which gave me hives so I had to have benedryl)  She said I may have increased cerbro spinal fluid causing my headaches.  They are common in obese women (great I'm not officially obese).


So anyone else heard of this and should I go back to my primary and start the battles over to get more testing?  The treatment is diuretics and weight loss, but if there is impact on the eye they might do things to release the pressure in the eyes.

This is so messed up. 

About 2 hours ago I called the 800 number for Social Security, went through their prompts to get to the Disability department, answered a few questions on their automated system, and in just a few minutes was put through to a live person.
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Any words of advice? Encouragement, other than I could get an attorney or contest the decision if the Social Security office denies my claim? I posted to 2 communities (here and here) on June 20th regarding those things and do appreciate all answers that were given to me then. Thank you in advance.

(posted to migraines, daily_migraine, and to my journal to limited friends)

My new neuro prescribed Verapamil 40mg 2 times a day this past week. I'm not feeling all that well---should I be worried? My heart rate's down, I'm exhausted, and the tingling and heaviness that I've gotten semi-used to has increased in my arms and feet.

So far so good with the Verapamil. I've taken it 3 days now at 120mg extended release. I've noticed my pulse has slowed, but now to dangerous levels. It's like when I'm sitting at my desk my pulse has gone from 'resting' to 'really chill resting'.

I did have a nightmare last night, and it has to be from the meds because I do not have nightmares. I always enjoy my dreams, even when they are scary. But I had a dream I got up in the morning and let the dog out and started to walk back towards the bedroom and a dark crouched figure ran up to the back door and started to open it. (We got broken into via the back door two months ago. We weren’t home at the time.) I woke up terrified and my heart was racing.

Not particularly concerning since it’s only happened once now. And I’d take nightmares over hallucinations and paralyzing stupidity a-la my 3 days on Topamax. I really really hope this works!!!

in your experience, what is the best preventive medication with the least amount of side effects?

I've noticed that my mouth occasionally opens and snaps shut all of its own accord. I haven't really connected it to migraines, but haven't actually tried--the thought that they may be connected pretty much just occurred to me now. Does this happen to anyone else, or am I just a weirdo?

I've heard of dogs that have been trained to somehow detect when their handler is about to have a seizure. Is there/could there be a similar type of training for detection of an oncoming migraine? I'm asking because I have a really bad time of judging when to take my meds, and I tend to either over or under take them. It would also make me feel much more secure if I knew that I wouldn't be blind-sighted by a migraine and be able to make myself safe before it hits.

Anybody know anything about where to look?


X-posted to daily_migraine and migraines

Back when generic Imitrex came out a few months ago, I was excited to be paying less per month for the drug.   I've been giving it a fair try for the last three months, and I have to tell you all, it does not work well for me at all. It takes much longer to kick in (about 3 hours versus 1.5) and there's a decent chance it won't kill or even dent the migraine.

I've been complaining about it to my husband, who doesn't have migraines, and he brings up the standard "all of the important components of the drugs are the same between brand names and generics" argument. I told him that there was a difference in either the medications or my migraines had changed dramatically right as I'd gotten the generics.  

I had an appointment with my neurologist this morning. I brought up the generic Imitrex issues. The doctor mentioned that about half of her patients do not tolerate the switch to generic, and wrote me an medical exclusion so my insurance will cover the brand name Imitrex.
I haven't picked up my prescription yet, so I hope things go well at the pharmacy. :)

I just wanted to share my experience. Has anyone else had this experience with the generic?

any tricks on how to prevent vomiting?

i have low blood sugar, so if i get a h/a bad enough to vomit, the vomiting & not being able to eat keeps the headache severe enough that i end up in a crazy cycle that's really hard to break--sometimes for months.

sometimes i can meditate enough to get myself to sleep when i feel like i need to be sick, but not always.

it looks like i'm headed into another cycle. any advice would be welcome. =) thx.

Foreward: I know this post is going to be very "woe is me." I'm not begging for pity, or financial help, or anything else. I just need to vent my feelings to a group of people who understands. And yes, I'm crossposting this to my own journal.

So I went in to visit my doctor today - Massive Migraine #2 of the year is at two weeks and growing (last one was five weeks). I had hoped we could have a good conversation, and we did. We decided on a preventative treatment of Inderal, a reactive treatment of generic Imitrex, along with some nausea medication she prescribed to me before. Since my migraines may be sinus related, we decided as well to let me take a shot of an anti-inflammatory (the name escapes my mind. Topa something?) today to see if it may break the migraine.

I grabbed a note to excuse my absence from work due to the migraines, discussed ways of approaching the work situation a little, and then I went (after recovering from a sore ass because of the shot) to fill my prescriptions and check in with work (they are at the same super-store).

I drop off the prescriptions - generic fill because I have no insurance. And I go to put up my schedule for next week to have someone fill my shifts, just in case my migraine doesn't break, or the new medicine reacted poorly, etc. Taking a look at the schedule, I found my shifts for next week had already been put up for me (I had only asked for the remainder of this week), and I was no longer on the schedule for future weeks - not even listed as "unscheduled." In short: although no official discussion has been made, it appears my work has decided to fire me for my absences.

Great. Well, I half-expected it, and had come to terms with the possibility. I've done everything I can from my end, but there's just nothing I can really do to make a migraine not make me violently nauseated, sensitive to light or sound, or give me terrible equilibrium so I can't move, much less stand on my feet for more than a few minutes. I sigh, I shrug, and I head back to pick up my prescriptions.

Now, I realized these generics wouldn't qualify for the $4 generic program. But my heart sank so badly when I saw that the Inderal generic would be $40.99 for a month's supply, and the Imitrex generic would be $217 for the package (a whole 9 pills.) Not only is that a huge out of pocket expense, it's not one I can afford. Not even the preventative alone. Especially not now. I had to tell the pharamicist (a very sympathetic, sweet gal) to put them on hold for now. (And no, I do not qualify for any prescription programs out there.)

I went home with nothing more than a shot in the ass, and a blow to the heart.

I don't have insurance. My husband doesn't even have a job (bless his soul, he's been trying in earnest for 6 months - I've seen his efforts.) For the past six months, with two massive migraines, I have been trying to cover the bills for our house hold, by working a job outside the house, plus working my writing contracts (which are continuing to open more opportunities, at least of that I can be grateful.) All I've done hasn't been enough; we're barely scraping by and keeping our only place to live. 

Now, it's sealed. There's no way I can afford treatment. I have to work from home. At least it's what I love doing - but it doesn't pay the bills right now. If there is no way for me to even be able to prevent my migraines, much less treat ones that do crop up, outside of diet, exercise, and whatever homeopathy I can come up with - well, I really can't work a "normal" job. And that wouldn't be as bad of a realization for me if my financial situation was secure - but it isn't. (I don't qualify for general assistance of any kind either.)

I feel hopeless. Hopeless, and screwed, but hopeless. This time, I am at my wit's end.

Hello! I'm new here, but certainly not new to migraines. Had my first at age 10. They've been increasing since then. I finally asked for a CT scan, which came back abnormal, so I got a neurologist referral. Neurologist sent me to get an MRI, which she said showed some old damage, but nothing serious. Perhaps a bang on the head when I was a child. Anyway, so no cause of migraines there. I tried Topamax and had a horrible reaction. I then decided I wanted to battle this with as few chemicals as possible. Started taking 400mg B2, Petadolex (butterbur) 3x day, and 400mg magnesium. Got much better for several months. Now summer is here, and it's kicking my ass. Plus, I just got a really huge promotion at work and the stress is much higher. I'm up to 2 big migraines a week, and a dull throb most of the other days. I take 800mg ibuprofen and Migranol, although I try my damnedest to limit them to 2x a week. Here's the question:

I'm finally ready to try another preventative. I can't take antidepressants because I take Zoloft and I added another antidepressant once and got serotonin syndrome. So, no Elvil. I also have a history of severe depression and anxiety and a family history of bipolar, so anything likely to cause depression is also out. I seem to understand beta blockers and known for that. So, I'm thinking calcium channel blockers. Anyone had a good experience with those? Any depression symptoms? What about botox? How much did it cost?

Thank you for your help!

I have a few Qs behind a cut so the disinterested don't have to read. Thank you in advance for any advice.

Cross posted to daily_migraine

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Does anyone else have something so miniscule that sets off a migraine for them, or makes one worse, even though you've already taken a lot of medication for it?

I've already had my DHE shots and a shot of Toradol today and I just went outside and it's in the 90's and humid and my head is fully pounding again

Hi guys,

Am new here and would just like to give a quick intro of myself before i ask my question. I have been a migraine sufferer now for the past four years. After the never ending pill popping became too much to handle i followed a friends advice and got both my tragus pierced. According to her she had heard some myth about tragus piercings were able to reduce the amount of headaches one had. I did a bit of research on the net and most people had not heard of this myth and those who had and attempted the piercing said they had not noticed any difference. But i was desperate, the migraines were worse and were making a big impact on my life. After the piercing now that i have had them for a couple of months i have noticed that the amount of migraines have greatly reduced.Maybe its just a mind over matter thing LOL!! Before i would have migraines on a weekly/daily basis but now i only get them before my period or when i over-tax my body or when there are sudden weather changes. Am now off the medication, and only take panadol or ibuprofen on and off when i have minor headaches.

Now my question is, have any of you taken Tramadol (Ultram, Neomed, Ryzolt )slow release tablets for your migraines and if u had, have you had any side-effects?
 
The reason i ask is because the other day i had a migraine (4days), finally after the fourth day i reluctantly dragged myself to the Doctor who prescribed some Tramadol 100mg twice a day for me. After taking them for the next two days i was afflicted with really bad symptoms. I was severly nauseous and vomiting, I had vertigo, drowsiness, brief periods of hallucinations, itchiness (i think this is more because its a narcotic), general body weakness. Due to the drowsiness i spent most of the time sleeping but when i would try and get up to go the toilet or the kitchen to prepare a meal it was a nightmare. Though the migraine quickly stopped the side effects to a little longer to resolve LOL!! I wonder whether its just me being too sensitive to the stronger pain relief or if it happens to other people too.

I'm just curious--is anyone out there using nortriptyline as a preventative, and if so, at what dose? I have been ramping up, and am currently at 50mg taken at night. I really can't tell whether it has helped yet. If so, it's not particularly dramatic. Things have been a bit better since I started taking it two months ago, but summer is my "best" season for migraines, and so things usually start to settle down a tiny bit around this time anyway. I'm just wondering what doses are working for people.

I know that everyone is different--maybe I'm just looking for some hope here. This is my fourth preventative, and so far I haven't had any luck. (I have sometimes almost daily migraines--they run in my family this way.) I've tried verapamil, propranolol (might have helped a tad in severity, but not frequency), topamax, and now the notriptyline. I know that there are a lot of things out there to try, but I'm starting to worry that I've tried just about all the basic types of preventatives. Won't see my neurologist for another two weeks, and I thought some perspective from other migraine sufferers might help me with the wait.

Oh, one more thing! I'm starting to feel a gnawing sensation in my stomach at night. Is this the cause of the typical weight gain with nortiptyline? It's the kind of gnawing that I usually only experience if I've really been remiss in eating for quite some time. Except it happens now within an hour of eating.

Thanks, guys.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health&id=6863197

"When medication doesn't help chronic headaches, some doctors turn to an implantable nerve stimulator. The rechargeable battery powered electrode is about the size of a match stick. It's implanted near the occipital nerve in the back of the head".

In my life, migraines have been the second scariest thing I've had to deal with - the first has been my weak lungs. Up late, unable to sleep with a migraine and my stomach chewing itself from the inside out, I feel at my wit's end.

In March through part of April, I suffered a migraine that ended up being about five weeks long in total. Some days were better than others, but for the most part, my migraines have had the same symptoms: strong nausea with little will to vomit, sometimes blurry vision, and an inability to mentally focus - along with the incredible head and eye pain. This particular migraine was different in that it also brought terrible shakes with it. I went to my DO, who's been wonderful to me, and she ran some blood tests (I'm insulin resistant) and lowered my blood sugar medication, along with giving me a trial of prescription migraine medication. I've had no problems with the change in blood sugar medicine, but the migraines and shaking persisted - and the migraine medicine itself wasn't enough to kill the pain of the migraine. When I reported back to my doctor, she told me the only thing she could recommend was for me to go to the ER - something I can't imagine or afford without insurance.

Ultimately, I lost my new job because of my attendance. There was just no way I could work on my migraines - there rarely has been a way for me to struggle through.

Knowing I have a history of migraines, and that they run on my paternal side, I had my family dig for me. It turns out that my uncle had gone to a doctor about his, and found that there's a genetic defect in the family that causes small sinus cavities (? I'm not sure where exactly - could be the sphenoid, could be something else.) The doctor had told him that because they were so small ,they were easily inflamed and thus led to quick and strong migraines - and that the only way to solve it was surgery, which at the time would have run over $50,000 and my uncle never pursued. I left a message for my doctor about this, but she never returned the call (it was however around the Easter holiday.)

The migraine eventually faded off, but here I am finding myself in a growing migraine that seems to be heading for long term again - and I'm finding myself calling out several times a month at my new job because of my migraines. Once again, I imagine I am going to lose my job because of my attendance, attendance due to migraines that I can't control or supress enough to work with. This has been a problem for me since I've been working; and I've had these migraines since before then - although in recent years, they have been getting longer and with more symptoms.

I'm at a loss. I can't hold a normal job. I don't have insurance and have no idea where to go from here. If medication isn't strong enough, I can't afford the time off or cost of ER visits, I can't hold a normal job long enough to GET insurance - what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to just give up on normal jobs, keep up with self employment (which I can manage as a writer, since odd hours and doing things on my own time, on my own pain, is much easier than working in an interactive real world environment) , and hope that my husband will be able to provide for me? Is there no help, no relief I can seek?

Please help me. I'm feeling so desperate.

I woke up this morning with a strange taste in my mouth, and it's still here - it's slightly metallic, and the closest thing I can describe it as is the taste that some people (including myself) get when taking the antibiotic Cipro. Ugh, it's really yucky. I do experience auras, but they've always been visual - zigzags, blind spots, shimmering, etc. My migraines are totally related to my menstrual cycle, and I'm due to start my cycle either tomorrow or Tuesday so I'm definitely in the possible prodrome zone. I just feel weird. The taste in my mouth is really bothering me. As well, I'm having blurred vision - I can barely read and have to back away from my computer or hold my book way far out in order to be able to focus. My vision just seems off. I can't exactly explain why . . . Gah! I've never had these particular symptoms with migraine before, but are they familiar to anyone else?

Thanks in advance for any replies!