Saturday, February 11, 2012

Just thinking

Began having a daily headache about a month ago -- when i say daily headache, i mean a debilitating headache, not just a little pain in my head. i'm having trouble thinking, working, slurring my words, etc. i have had headaches all my life, i remember being in junior high (back when they called it that) and having zigzaggy lines in front of my eyes one day in study hall. went home b/c i knew i was getting a headache. and i did. and from then on, i had them pretty much every day, just sometimes worse than others. sometimes i get an aura, apparently -- a smell of an orange or burning rubber. clearly smelling the orange is more pleasant. but i do not always get an aura. in fact, most of the time i don't. unless i'm just not paying attention. lately, i'm paying a lot more attention. sorry, i'm sort of stream of consciousness right now.

 

i usually just self-treat with advil, excedrin, or vicodin. about 3 times a year, i get a headache that's bad enough that i wake up with it and drag myself to the urgent care clinic to get a shot of phenergan and toradol or some other pain killer, then i sleep it off. i'm usually sore the next day. which is why i always thought that what i had was tension headaches. and that's what i had always been told. my neck is just as tight as can be.

 

but with the month-long headache this past month, i finally went to a headache specialist last friday. and even tho i only get the smell some of the time, and am sensitive to light and sick to my stomach only some of the time, they diagnosed me with migraine. i was very surprised and asked for an explanation, and the doc said it's classic. do you agree? i don't know. we'll see. what i have going on after researching online is probably migraine that has transformed into a constant daily headache, one that's rebound from the meds. i've been self-medicating with vicodin, fioricet, muscle relaxers, pretty much anything i can get my hands on to make the pain go away.

 

so doc said no more meds! he gave me baclofen, a muscle relaxer to help me get thru the worst of it right now, and i'm starting topamax to try to prevent these. last night i was really sick to my stomach and layed on the floor in the bathroom -- it was dark and quiet and cool. finally the nausea passed. what's interesting is that for the past 4 days, not only have i had the headache, but i've also had a LOT of pain in my arms and back. could be from the muscles tensing up? do you tense up when you get a migraine? i guess.

 

i'm going back in 2 weeks for trigger point injections in my neck. doc said about 20. i'm actually looking forward to that, hoping the tension in my head and neck will go away. at this point, i'll try just about anything.

 

i also got a wake-up call at the doctor. i was told that i MUST lose 120 pounds (yeah, i knew i was overweight, but no one has every layed it on the line for me like this before) or i WILL have a stroke. he went on to explain that i'm at such a high risk with the migraines, the high blood pressure, the overweight, and something else that i can't remember right now. so he's referred me to a nutritionist to help out. i WILL do this. i CAN do this. i don't want to die at 37.

10/ 8/07 12:43am

Aspartame (brand name NutraSweet) is a common migraine trigger and is an ingrediant in many diet sodas including Pepsi.

 

Read up on dietary migraine triggers.  You may find by avoiding these triggers the number of attacks you have will diminish.

 

Good luck on your journey. 

10/ 8/07 6:34am

Hey there devgurl00,

 

As always, my heart goes out to any sister or brother migraineur.  Only others who have experienced the pain - and everything else that goes with it - of migraine, can relate to and understand what you are going through. 

 

I, too, take medications for migraine as well as bipolar disorder (mostly depressed since I was 36).  Imitrex injections and Imitrex 100 mg tablets for abortives and propranolol and Cymbalta for prophylactics.  My doctor does not say the Cymbalta is a prophylactic for migraine, but all I know is that since I started taking it for depression, my migraines have decreased dramatically in frequency and intensity.  For bipolar, I take Cymbalta, Risperdal, Lamictal, Provigil and Ambien (PRN).  I used to take Klonopin every day but, at my request, my doctor nearly has me weaned off of it.

 

I have never taken Seroquel, but I have heard many stories from people who took it.  I saw firsthand, how they were affected, as we were hospitalized at the same time.  I do have personal experience with Topamax and it was NOT good.  It drugged me up to the point that I slurred my words, lost my ability to concentrate or remember things, drove like I was drunk and my entire affect became flat and my voice sounded drugged and dead.  It was worse than the depression I experienced.  The doctor who finally took me off Topamax called it Dopeamax, because of its known side effects.

 

What I know about Seroquel is that it is very sedating.  I remember people in my groups at the hospital, sleeping through each class we had, from 9am to 3pm, pretty much non-stop.  Others did better with it, but these were the folks who were predominantly manic to begin with.

 

I am by no means an expert in the field of medications, and of course, everyone reacts to them differently.  Given what I know about Topamax and Seroquel, however, I would be very cautious if I were you.  You might be setting yourself up for a very drug-induced stupor as a result of this combination of meds.  Something about the synergistic effect of two meds like these working together - one and one equals three or more, because of the way they interact with each other.

 

That's my take on the situation.  Hopefully, you will get other feedback from people who have had positive experiences with both meds being used together.

 

Whatever the case, I wish you the very best in your journey to find answers to your medical questions.

 

Warm thoughts and best wishes,

 

Kay

10/ 8/07 10:52am

Thanks Kay. I take the seroquel mainly to help me sleep and at 100mg it does do that. I'm thinking of calling my psychiatrist just to give him a heads up and see if he wants to knock back on the seroquel. At this point, I'm more inclined to give the topamax a try. I do know that it makes you "stupid". Hubby takes it for weight loss, and while he's certainly not stupid, he does have sometimes trouble thinking of words. the pain for me is so bad that i'm ready to try anything.

 

glad to know i'm not the only one out there on a combo of psycho-active drugs. so far, the 25mg of topamax i'm on makes me very sleepy, and doc is titrating me up to around 200mg over several weeks. but i do wake up every morning (so far) pain free and refreshed.

 

10/12/07 12:24pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

 

WOW! It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now. Let's see if we can help you with some information and support because we cannot diagnose you. We aren't medical professionals.

 

You said you saw a headache specialist. Is this a true headache specialist or a neurologist who treats Migraine disease? There is a difference. A neurologist may be a fine doctor but is not an expert in Migraine disease and headache disorders because they treat so many different conditions.

 

Medication Overuse Headache, formerly called rebound headache, is a painful condition caused by using certain medications more than 2 to 3 times during the week. Some of these medications include Advil, vicodin, oxycodone and tylenol compounds. The only way to stop MOH is discontinue the offending medication immediately, with your doctors help of course.  During a MOH cycle no Migraine preventive medication/plan will work, period.

 

Triggers can be an awful source of Migraine attacks for some people. Have you tried keep a Migraine diary? This is a wonderful tool for you and your doctor to track your Migraine attacks and see what is and is not working for them. 

 

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 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!

10/12/07 1:56pm
thanks for the welcome, nancy! i do believe the doc i see is a headache specialist. he is in the same practice with the specific doctor on the patient recommended headache specialist page posted here. how can i add him to that page? i'd like to recommend him.
10/14/07 4:34pm
Feel free to email me his name through my profile.
5/23/11 4:45am

I saw an ENT who diagnosed me with chronic daily headache, I suffered as you did.  My child was diagnosed with ADHD and the WHOLE family went on a gluten free-casein free (wheat and milk free) diet. And for the first time in my entire life I only get a headache when I am sick!  Oh and btw - six months after she went on a gfcf diet my kid was "declassified" (she lost her diagnosis).  I think it's something you are eating.  Try gfcf, it is hard at first but it is free to try!  I lost 11 lbs in 2 weeks when I went on it, and 10 inches off my waist!  All that inflammation, gone!!  Good Luck.  Almost 2 years later I have lost over 40lbs and feel great!

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