MrsFitz39

Written by

Fri, May 30, 2008

I just stumbled on to this sight this minute! I'm from South Carolina and my Dr. of 20 years passed away suddenly. I am a Paralegal and hold down a steady job but I also have Hemiplegic migraines. Today, I go for a consultation with a new Dr. and I'm terrified! I am currently on Verapamil ER 120 miligrams at bedtime and Zoloft. I know all there is to know about the dangers of Triptans as I have exhausted the Head of Nuerology at Emory. The end result being for my migraines anyway is the old fashion Midrin and Mepergan Fortis for the left sided headaches that are WAYYYYYYYYYYY more than I can stand when they happen and Lortab for the usual almost daily right sided headaches.

My question is: does anyone have any advice on how to approach this Dr. with the knowledge that I have and what has always worked for me as far as medication which also happen to be narcotics? I am terrified he will think badly of me and do not want to start a new relationship with a new Dr. this way! Any ideas? My appt is at 3:00 today.

I am a career woman, wife and mom, for the most part I do well and am able to work with a right sided headaches but left sided ones put me flat on my back and in the extreme the hospital.

Thanks for any advice that you all may have and remember there are GOOD DAYS with the bad ones!

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Nancy Harris Bonk

5/30/08 12:07pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

We're glad you "stumbled" here too. Sorry to hear about your doctor passing away. It is always difficult to find a new doctor.

Since you are having daily head pain, your preventive medications may not be working any longer. Not to worry, there are over 100 medications used to treat Migraine disease. Migraine Preventive Medications - Too Many Options To Give Up!

A neurologist may be a fine doctor, but is not an expert in Migraine and headache disorders because they treat so many different conditions. Migraine specialists devote their entire practice to treating patients with Migraine disease and headache disorders. We have a list you can see HERE.

Do you take lortab, Midrin, Megpergan Fortis every day? If so, no Migraine preventive on earth will work because Medication Overuse Headache may be ocurring. This happens when we take certain OTC and/or prescriptions medications more than 2-3 days a week. This article has all the details: Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires.

Here is some information that may help you have a successful doctors appointment: Migraineur's Guide To a Successful Doctor's Appointment.

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

MrsFitz39

5/30/08 12:31pm

Thanks Nancy for responding so quickly! To answer your question, no, I don't take the midrin, mepergain at all unless it's a left sided migraine complete with aura, numbness etc. As to the Lortab, no to that too, however, I have found recently when I was having some dental work done and was prescribed Lortab when taken twice a day in a very low dosage, there was NO daily headache!

I think my biggest fear is the unknown with this new Dr. I started having migraines at an early age which in turn caused me to have SEVERE Panic Attacks for biggest part of my life (14-21). There was a time when I could not travel on the interstate because of the panic and I did not drive until my 30's after my only precious little boy was born due to the fact that I would go "blind" with a migraine and kill someone innocent!

When I found Dr. Martin, my whole life changed! I now travel very frequently in the air, on a boat...My bathing suits are packed and ready to go! He helped my so much by never judging me and always making sure I had my medication when I left town whether it was for a weekend to the beach or a week out of the country in the middle of the ocean.

I think my biggest fear is that now that he is gone, because of the my worry, I will fall back into that pattern that I have long since left..........being scared to move because of never knowing when my headaches are coming!

Goodness did I need to vent or what! ;p MrsFitz39

Nancy Harris Bonk

5/30/08 6:37pm

Do let us know how it goes with your new doctor, ok?

MrsFitz39

6/ 2/08 2:04pm

The Dr.'s visit went great! I really do like Dr. Nelson. We chatted for about an hour. He decided that he would not fix anything regarding my meds that wasn't broken! He actually gave me the Lortab to keep with me for the right sided headaches and I am to call when the left sided ones come for the midrin and mepergan. He also let me know that he has toradol?? in the office if I need it.

I didn't feel like he was judging me at all and that is the one fear I had along with him trying to change my meds, which again he did not. So all is good on my end and I can now sit back and relax and keep planning our cruise for next year!

Thanks for asking by the way. Donna

MrsFitz39

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