Helpless

Written by

Wed, April 29, 2009

My 17 year old daughter has suffered migraines since she was 12. Each year they get worse. She is currently in grade 12 and has missed so much school she won't be able to graduate with her class. She has been off school for almost 3 months with recurring migraines. She wakes up every morning with a migraine. She has been taking propanolol, amerge and fiorinal. She has been to the ER twice in the past couple months where they put her on IV. At the first ER visit the Dr said she had developed a dependency to the fiorinal and it was causing rebound headaches. We got her weaned off of that but the headaches keep coming back. She has also had 3 demerol shots at her dr's office in the past month and the dr is cautioning us that she could develop a dependency on that too. She has an appointment tomorrow with a Naturopath as we are desperate to find some solutions. She also has an appointment with a Neurologist in two months. It is devastating to see this beautiful, bright girl going through something so horrible. She can't live a normal teenage life and her troubles keeping up with the school work are preventing her from reaching her potential. She wants to go to college and I worry how in the world she will keep up with migraines consuming her life. If anyone has some advice of what we can do please let me know.

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Nancy Harris Bonk

4/30/09 1:35pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

I'm glad you found us! The first thing that comes to mind is finding the right diagnosis and preventive medication plan for your daughter. This may mean seeing a Migraine specialist rather than a neurologist. I'm sure your daughter's neurologist is a fine doctor, but it's difficult for him to be an expert in any one area because he treats so many different conditions like MS, epilepsy, stroke and Parkinson's. A Migraine/headache specialist treats one area - our Migraines and headaches. We have some Migraine specialists listed in Canada, you can see that patient recommended list HERE. It might mean doing some traveling, but it will be well worth it for your daughter to get her life back. This article talks more about the importance of seeing a Migraine specialist. Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special?

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. 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 and a spot to sign up for our free newsletter 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

Jamie B

5/ 1/09 3:41pm

I'm so sorry. That sounds horrible. I am 27 and have had miagraines since i was 5. There was never any relief for me, except sleep. Finally, when i turned 23, my doctor tried me on Axert 12.5 mg. FINALLY, something worked. I take it on the onset of the headache. And it is like a miracle drug. I always recommend this to people who i meet with miagraines. Its worth a try.

Christina Harris

5/ 7/09 12:43pm

I lived that exact story. I am now 30 and feel cheated because I couldn't handle going to college. I have been to several professionals and the only thing that has ever helped me is hydrocodone/APAP 10/500mg. As far as the doctor telling your daughter about drug dependency, and medications, he's right. However, your doctor needs to consider a few things first. #1 Did the medication help? #2 How often is it being taken? #3 How has the medication affected the patient's quality of life? Doctors are faced with people that do have dependency issues, but they need to ask themselves these questions about each of their patients and consider their medical condition. If the medication is helping the patient, their quality of life has improved because of it, and they are not taking a harmful amount of the medication; how can they not prescribe it? My suggestion is to see another doctor that will listen to the history of your daughter's condition without a critical eye. Not all people are drug abusers, and those with cronic pain NEED pain relief. Unfortunately, there are doctors that don't feel migraine headache is a real medical condition. I have been to one like this. God bless you and I hope you find help. Christina Harris Antigo, WI

Janet R

5/ 3/10 8:19pm

My heart goes out to you. My 16 year old has had more and more frequent migraines for the past 2 years. They are having a terrible effect on her grades and her sports, not to mention the fear she now has of going away and doing things she always wanted to do. We have tried a number of the traditional meds. It seems like the key is to try everything out there until you find something that works. I joined this forum to see what worked for different people. If we find something, I'll post it. I've heard several people say they have had some success with Namenda (sp???). It is an alzheimers drug, but seems to work to prevent migraines. Don't know - will probably try this week. Good luck.

Helpless

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