My son was diagnosed 2 years ago with hemiplegic migraines. He has been on various medications, with verapamil being the most effective. However, even this is not tolerated well by his body. It is deeply impacting his ability to get a part time job or even attend college. There does not seem to be a lot of options. Sleep, changes in the weather and then stress seem to be triggers. Meds. are adjusted by the neurologist, however there doesn't seem to be a way that he will ever receive enough relief to hold down a job or even get trained or educated for a career. Is there any hope of this condition lessening so he can have a life before he's too old. He's 18 and has been on a series of meds., and taken off some due to side effects, or his body no longer responds to the prescription. We try to educate those who believe all migraines are created equal. Not! Any advice would be most welcomed.
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Q: My son was diagnosed 2 years ago with hemiplegic migraines.
LML,
Does your son take the extended release form of verapamil? If not, that's something to discuss with his doctor. It releases into the body slowly, and sometimes, that can reduce the side effects significantly.
Don't lose hope! It can take time and patience, but the vast majority of Migraineurs can find effective treatment regimens that allow us to actually have real lives.
It may well be time to consult a Migraine and headache specialist. It's important to note that neurologists aren't necessarily Migraine and headache specialists. Take a look at the article Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? If you need help finding a Migraine specialist, check our listing of Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists.
I know you and your son are going through a rough time. If you'd like some additional support, come join our discussion forum. You'll need to register again once there because it's a separate membership database, but you can use the same member name, email address, and password that you used here. You can find our forum at http://forums.healthcentral.com/discussion/migraine/forums.
Good luck!
Teri
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