I don't have all the answers, if you look at my recent post you will see I am pretty much in the same boat. One thing I happened to not see in your post was a headache diary or trying to find triggers. For someone who gets a migraine every single day, finding a trigger is tough, and thus far I have been unsuccessful finding mine, but for some people it helps. You can google migraine diary and many sites explain what they are and how to use them. For a particular friend of mine processed foods or foods containing a certain thing was the cause, I can't recall the name but it is in bananas, nuts, and processed foods. Smoking and caffiene can be triggers, allergies, many things. I don't know if this helps, but it's all I can think of currently.

I know what you mean about people thinking you are making it up. My first nuerologist was aweful in that sence. He insisted that you can't get a migraine every day. He gave me a chart explaining the difference between a migraine and tension headache, and my symptoms all matched migraine (aura, one side of head, throbbing, severity, increase with physical activity, decrease with rest, upset tummy/ vomiting, etc) except for the duration and frequency. Mine last from 4 hours to 2 weeks at a time without treatment, and I get on average 1 full day to a few hour period of a day a week without one. The doctor insisted that was impossible, and told me go home and google headaches and read the symptoms and call him back and let him know what I found. After days and days of research I found one type of headache that pretty closely matched my symptoms, some that weren't even mentioned on the migraine/headache chart he had, so I called him to discuss if this could be what I had. He left me a message back saying "stop trying to be a nuerologist." He is the one that told me to look it up! The next doctors I saw after him found him a joke. They believed me, and tryed many things to help till I lost my insurance, unfortunatly none of it worked. The moral of this story is, don't let a doctor make you question that you are "making it up." Migraine pain is very real, and there are so many different kinds, so many causes, so many cures, it's not like a cold where you drink fluids and you get better in a  few days, it's complex.

My best advice other than the diary is to try to keep relaxed and calm, and get plenty of rest when you feel bad, and on the days you do feel good try to get moderate excercize and eat well. Stress makes them worse, and letting your body get out of shape or unhealthy makes them worse also. If ibuprofin doesn't help don't take it, it will only tear up your stomach and liver.

One thing I do sometimes, I know long term is bad so don't do it often, is slam caffeine. Some people find some relief from caffeine because of what it does to your blood flow. Be very careful with this though because caffeine has a chance to make it worse, and if you drink it often will almost certainly make you have rebound headaches among other health problems. Also caffeine helps to take with medicines because usually a person with a migraine doesn't digest things normally, and so for example taking an ibuprofin wouldn't help because it isn't getting into your system. That is why some imitrex has caffeine, as well as excedrin headache. Once again, be very careful with this, caffeine can make it worse if you have it too often, I can't stress this enough. For someone having a migraine every day an abortive medication needs to be a worse case scenario for when it's really really bad, otherwise you take them so much it causes rebound.

A preventitive medication or preventing triggers would be your best solution, so get that topomax as soon as you can afford to try it for 6 weeks to see if it helps. It may not, but if it does your life will get so much better and getting a great job with benifits will be SO much easier.

MigraineInBaltimore

9/24/09 9:32pm

Hi ShopGal. I know how you feel and am impressed that you keep searching for some help.  I've had a flurry of symptoms since childhood (26 now) which included forehead pain, foggy head, ringing ears, pain in ears, difficulty focusing, double vision, etc and was consistenly diagnosed with Sinus infections or told that there was nothing wrong me.

 

Have you heard of a drug called Frova? My dr just started me on that about a month ago and I've had great results. The problem is, it is expensive and depending on insurance, there's a limit on how many pills you can get. Like you, I'm starting a beta blocker tomorrow...

 

 

Hi shopgal!  It sounds like you may have a bit of medication overuse headache.  When you take a lot of pain meds (whether it be over the counter or prescription) it can cause epidsodic headaches turn into chronic ones.  You said that you often take tylenol and excedrin migraine.  These drugs have the potential to do this.  I don't doubt though that you have migraines for other reasons too.

I understand about how drugs are so expensive.  I have never been in a position where I haven't had insurance so I have been fortunate.  But there are programs out there that can help you pay for drugs.  First of all, have you contacted your county assistance office (welfare in some states)?  Since you are only working part time you may be eligble for state medical assistance benefits.  You may not want to do this, but at least you would have insurance and would be able to get the drugs you need until you could find a job that has benefits.  Also all of the drug companies have patient assistance programs.  When you don't have insurance and can't afford to pay for your needed medications they will provide you with the meds that they make for free or with a minimal copay.  You just need to fill out an application form and your doctor needs to fill out part of it and send in a prescription with it.  If you know what drugs you need just google that drug name with "patient assistance programs" after it.  It will give you the websites of the drug companies that make it and it will give you the info that you need.

I know how frustrating it can be to be in pain and to not have any answers.  It really sucks that finding treatment for our disease is trial and error and not an exact science!  Hang in there!  -  Kayleen

Hi.  I'm sorry to hear about what you've been going through.  I think you've gotten some good advice here and hope it will help you.  I too have chronic daily headaches which are 24 hrs a day 7 days a week and have been happening for 7 years now.  I've been trying to get some relief through medication or find something that will help and have not yet had any success and it is really hard, and I have insurance.  I know it must be really hard when you don't have insurance and I really sympathize with you.  When you are able, I do suggest you find a headache specialist - I don't think they will tell you that you are making this up.  I am hopeful that through testing, we will eventually come up with a diagnosis and I will eventually be able to get control of my headaches.  I'll keep  watching to see what you are able to work out, please keep us updated.

Good luck.

PinkPatty