Please someone out there tell me they have migraines like mine. I never have an aura or sensitivity to light or sound. I have only thrown up a handful of times. But I have suffered with daily migraines almost my whole life (I'm 44). To lay down or have anything come in contact with the back of my neck makes my HA worse. If I go to sleep with a migraine - I wake up with it (sometimes worse). I already know my neck and upper back are a mess of sore, knotted muscles. I'm seeing a chiro to correct the curve in my neck and it has helped some. For about 6 months, I received a 10 minute neck/back massage prior to chiro treatment. It never got rid of a HA and sometimes it made it worse. But I thought that after six months of this, those muscles would feel more relaxed and loose - therefore helping bloodflow and decreasing my HAs. It's not happening. My tense muscles feel no different after six months (3x a week), so I stopped the massage part of it.
Does anyone out there suffer from migraines like these? I think this is the end of the road for me in terms of trying to ease my pain without drugs. I have tried every treatment known to man and tons of different meds. I guess what I'd really like to know is does anyone have any success with a medication that helps this kind of HA? I'm so tired of being on so many drugs that don't work and am still in pain. I've gotten real good at sleeping completely upright on the couch with nothing touching the back of my head. I feel so desperate.
Welcome to the site!
First a couple of questions for you.....do you have ringing in your ears (tinnitus)? Any intercranial noises? Can you hear your pulse in your ears? Have you ever had a Lumbar Puncture?
The reason I ask is to see if you have been tested or have any symptoms of Intracranial Hypertension, also called Pseudotumbor Cerebri. Which, also a sypmtom of IIH is headaches increasing when you lay down due to the increased spinal fluid around the spine.
I know what you are saying about the medications, but you have to realize, Migraine is a genetic neuological disorder, for which there is no cure. Consider this, would you rather be in pain, or try and find a treatment plan that works for you? I think I know the answer.
There are currently over 100 medications being used as preventive Migraine treatments!
Please don't give up! You've made a step in the right direction by coming here to educate yourself and getting to know other migraineurs like you. The more you know about this disease, the better treatment you can get for yourself.
If you are by chance looking for a specialist, we have a list of patient recommended Migraine specialists here on our site.
Welcome to the site!
I think I have ringing in my ears. I've had this for so long that what I experience seems normal to me. I don't know what other people hear (or don't hear). I have had a Lumbar Puncture that was negative. I will do some research into the condition you mentioned. I was really wondering if anyone's taken any meds that really help with stiff, knotted neck and back muscles that cause migraine. I've seen that list of ove 100 meds and I've tried a good third of them already!
You may want to consider talking to your doctor about muscle relaxers. They can be part of migraine preventive treatment and also really help with the tightness in the neck/shoulder area.
There are quite a few out there, I personally take Skelaxin. It doesn't make me, personally, drowsey, although that can be a side effect.
Also you may want to consider less chiropractic, more massage therapy. As you seemed to have picked up on, sometimes you feel great after a chiropracter, sometimes not so much!
I personally will not see them anymore for fear that they will make my Migraines worse.
But, it is your body, your call on what treatment route you want to go.
Are you seeing a specialist? It may be benificial to you to seek one out if you are not already seeing one. They are much different then just a GP or a neurologist in that they specialist specifically in only Migraines and headaches.
Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you ok?
You can also reach our forum and talk with other migraineurs by clicking right HERE. (later you can reach the forum from the home page by clicking in the orange Manage button under Migraine forums)
Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for your quick input. I've tried Skelaxin and it didn't seem to help. Right now I'm on Flexerol. I just spoke with my neurologists office and the nurse doubled my dose for a week to see if that helps. I do see a neurologist at The American Migraine Center in Cleveland. I'm in Florida so I fly up there once a year to see her and consult over the phone throughout the year (I have family that lives there). I looked at the list of specialists and there was one in Tampa where I am. I once waited 3 months to see her only to get there and find out she was out sick. I had to see her college intern who joked that the only headache he's had was when I got hungover in college!
My cousin sees the Migraine specialist in Tampa. She says she is good.
For me, Skelaxin only works on tension type headaches, and that is at the very very start. Other then that, it does nothing for me.
Glad to hear your neuro team is good with getting back to you and working out meds with something you are already on. That makes it much nicer then having to fill another script!
Would it be possible for you to find out which doctor in Tampa your cousin sees?
She sees the female listed on our specialist list.