About Me and my Migraines

By Tina Friday, October 12, 2007

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Hi all,

Just wanted to write my first sharepost and tell you a little about me. My name is Tina and I'm happily married to a wonderful man. I've had migraines since I was 10 years old. I'm now 47. This last year has been tough as far as the migraines go. Seems like I have a 3 day migraine every other week now.

Even though the migraine pain only last 3 days, it takes a whole week from start to finish to get over it. It's causing problems with my work, and just life in general. I can't plan anything ahead of time, because I have to see how my head will feel. It's so depressing. Even when I don't have the pain in my head I'm always lightheaded and never feel quite right in my head. I was also diagnosed with MAV (migraine associated vertigo).

I guess this is more of a vent post than a little about me post. I'm just so tired of the pain. I just want to feel good. I'm sure most of you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm tired of the drugs and the side effects. Most of the time none of the drugs work anyway. I have a bottle of Topamax here that I'm scared to take. I've had it for 4 months. I need all my senses to be able to do my job, so I'm scared of taking it due to the side effects. I take Amerge or Frova as an abortive, Verapamil as a preventative and Darvocet for pain.

We have a trip planned for Disney World in Dec that we have had booked since last Nov. I am so worried that the trip will be ruined because of a migraine. My husband is wonderful and understanding, but you know there is no way he can understand what we go through. No one can, unless they have them.

Thanks for letting me vent! I just got over another week of migraines and I needed to let it out.

Tina

Comments (3) | Add comment

AngelaB

10/13/07 12:11pm

Hi Tina,

I understand how you feel about Topamax. When I read the POTENTIAL side effects, that made me second guess taking this medication too. I have currently been on Topamax since January and also worked on finding other migraine triggers that I could avoid. My migraines are definitely less frequent and less intense then they used to be.

I also work a job where I need to be on my cognitive toes all of the time. When I started Topamax, I did titrate up to my dosage at a slower rate then what is recommended (with my docs ok) which I believe helped with some of the side effects. I did experience some cognitive SEs too, but they did go away. I learned that I had to be patient with myself through that period of time. Topamax has been well worth it for me.

If you try Topamax or something else, I wish you the best of luck.

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

10/14/07 4:53pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

It helps many people to be able to "vent" their feelings by writing. We are so glad you did.

Migraine is a genetic neurological disease. Without information, education and support Migraines can make us feel very lonely.

The good news is there are plenty of preventive medications besides topamax and verapamil. It sounds like a conversation with your doctor is necessary if you are getting Migraines that last for 3 days. Status Migrainous is a Migraine that lasts for more than 72 hours without a pain free break while awake. This condition can put us at increased risk for stroke and medical attention is required.

If you are taking certain medications, like triptans and/or darvocet more than 2-3 times during a one week period you may be experiencing Medication Overuse Headache.

Any preventive medicine will not work if MOH is present, period.

Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. Our forums are a great place to get further support and information from other Migrainuers. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them to the forum or send me a message through my profile.

Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Expert

PS: If you receive this message from more than one of us, please excuse the overlap. Thanks!

About Me and my Migraines

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