Anyone here get MIgraines?
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| Wed, 03-01-2006 - 5:05pm |
Well if so I have to brag....I went to a neurologist back at the end of January. I've had bad headaches since I was young, but back in October, I started getting really bad ones, to the point where I felt like I probably had a brain tumor, I mean I got headaches everyday but I just dealt with it, because as usual I was always ignored by doctors. So when I started getting the severe one where I was convinced I had a tumor I bypassed my regular doctor, contacted a headache center in San Diego and got a recommendation for a top neurologist in MA that specializes in headaches his earliest appointment was in January. Got in to see him, spent nearly 2 hours with him, got prescribed some pretty big meds, been taking them and I have not had a headache since valentines day. I am in love with my neurologist, I cannot tell you, I go back next thursday and I am giving him the biggest kiss, he is the biggest life saver ever and the side effect to the drug is loss of appetite...HELLOOOOO LOSS OF APPETITE!!! !THANK YOU!!! LOL
Anyhow...if anyone is interested that gets bad migraines let me know.

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I'm interested in knowing what medications the doctor gave you! Maybe I can ask my doctor about the medications and see if I can get prescribed them.
I don't get migraines (at least I don't think that's what they are!), but I do get headaches a lot. They could be from tension, lack of sleep, not eating enough, etc. They could sometimes start on one side of my head and somehow shift to the other side. That happened a couple of days ago -- it began on the right side of my head and the following day, it ended up on the left.
I also at times get nauseas from a headache, I don't know why. And it's hard to figure out if the nausea is from hunger. If I do eat and the nausea is from the headache, I get sick.
My dentist last year mentioned to me that I'm grinding my teeth at night and gave me a night guard. The headaches did decrease, but I still get them -- not as frequently as before I got the night guard, but I still get them.
That's really great that the doctor was able to help you!
I'm glad you found relief!
SS-- I don't know if you remember an old CL here on the board, Terry, but she got dreadful migraines. I remember she found something that worked for her really well too. But don't ask me what it was though ;-)
Glad that you found someone who could help you!!
~IslandGirl
Every achievement starts with a little legwork!
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You might want to look into going to a neurologist and have a thorough exam by someone who specializes in headaches, if you get headaches that have nauseau and occur on one side of the head, more often than not that is a migraine. I never thought they were migraines either, I always called them sinus headaches, low and behold they weren't. I am taking Topamax, they start you out on 25 mg and you add another pill every 7 days, until you are up to 200 mg which is the best dose, there are some side effects if you read them they are kind of scary but I guess he told me not to be scared they are more so if you were to take 200 mg right off the bat which is why it's best to step you up, I do get a little tingling in the feet, but I seriously am so excited that i haven't had any headaches in like 3 weeks, it's amazing, I've had headaches every single day since highschool, I"m 32 years old. This is like a miracle for me. And with the added bonus of 4-6 lbs loss eveyr month, well how can you go wrong. HAHA
And I was also put on Imitrex which is what you take IF you do happen to get a headache, so when you feel a headache coming on you take an imitrex and it will make the headache go away. The topomax is what I assume like a preventative thing, it's actually an anti-seizure med that they found works well for migraine sufferers...All I can say is I'm thrilled and i can't wait to tell my neurologist that i love him. LOL
Wow, that's really great -- thank you for sharing the info with me.
I went to a neurologist years ago for my headaches and I think she prescribed me Imitrex (don't remember what it was since it was years ago! lol). It was a drug where you placed it on your tongue and it dissolved. Somehow, it didn't work for me. So all I've been taking since then are OTC painkillers. In fact, I took 2 this morning because I felt some kind of pain on the left side of my head.
They help, but I just don't like the idea of popping 2 after almost every meal before I finally notice some relief. I would like some kind of medication strong enough to wipe out the headache right away.
I'll have to do some research on the Topamax. Have you ever tried Relpax? If so, what was your experience on it?
I'm glad though you've gotten some kind of relief from your migraines.
SS - that is wonderful news!!
I"m curious. What did you have to go through? Because, when I went to my doctor about headaches, most of them put me on the headache diet first, to rule out food. So, obviously, I could stay away from foods that give me headaches. That actually helped. However, now I'm noticing I get menstrual migraines, which help, but man, it sucks that I'm popping 2-4 Aleve a day for 2 days prior to period, because I'm never sure when it'll hit. Could be overnight, could be in the middle of the day.
Lastly, I can't say I have migraines, however, I'd love to get checked out by a neurologist and not a family physician who says I just have INSANELY SEVERE headaches, but he wouldn't classify them as migraines. Also, when I went to the doc, about, jeez, 13 years ago, over half the meds they have now, weren't even out. Back then, you had a choice of three. One would literally knock you out, so it's not like you could function anyways. One other was a heart medication (meant to thin blood) and the last was an epilepsy medication (again, meant to thin the blood). I didn't want to go on both.
I guess, for myself, I'd like to read more about the drug choices and what they do and what they were designed for. Because, like I said, I didn't want to take epilepsy meds, that were to fix this or that, but overall, had WAY too many side effects.
Thankfully my headaches have eased up, not sure why or how, could just be less stress. But I was getting headaches 3-5 times a week, ranging from a nuisance to pounding/blinding.
Lemme know. Or if you have a link to the SD center, that'd be good too.
Topamax is probably the epilepsy med (anti seizure) that he was talking about it does have a lot of side effects how ever they don't usually effect you if you are taking the dosage for migraines because you step up, you take 25 mg and you up the dosage every 7 days, so you don't even get any side effects, the only ones I notice out of all the ones listed are tingling sometimes in my feet and hands, so sometimes it feels like my foot has fallen asleep and the loss of appetite that's it. and the other med I am on is Imitrex, that's for the actual headache itself. You take it as soon as you feel the headache coming on. But it's actually the Topamax that has been the lifesaver in my opinion because I haven't had a headache since Valentines day.
THe neurologist appointment was 2 hours long, consisted of a battery of questions, basically asked me a history of all the headaches I've ever experienced from when I was little, how long they normally lasted, if they ever caused nauseau, light sensitivity, if I get them with my period, if they are focused on one side of the head, behind the eye, do they pulse, if they are under the orb of the eye, behind the eye top of the head, etc, do they shift to the other side of the head, all over the head, behind the head, neck area, does it throb, does it tend to always be on the right or left side of the head, etc. and so forth, have I ever had surgeries, what kind, broken bones, my complete medical history, etc and so forth, depression, meds I'm on, any pregancies, marriages, etc. any back injuries, allergies etc, neck injuries, serious car accidents, eye injuries etc.
Then he does a neurological exam where he tests your reflexes etc. then he sent me for an MRI etc. THat was about it, after that pretty much from how I answered and what I gave for info he pretty much knew I had migraines.
http://www.neurocenter.com/default.htm
Dr. Blumenfeld is the one who gave me the recommendation for the neurologist here in Massachusetts and I could kiss him.
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