how come not all doctors believe in migraines?

Frannie,

One problem is that most doctors learned very little about Migraines in medical school. Another problem is that, until fairly recently, if doctors learned anything about Migraine, it was that they were "vascular headaches." That theory has now been disproved, and we know that Migraine is a genetic neurological disease.

It's time to kick this doc to the curb and find yourself a new one who will listen, understand, and work with you.

Take a look at our article Patients as Consumers - Managing Healthcare and the Healthcare System for some things to think about when it comes to doctors, please?

I'll tell you -- I've seen doctors with that attitude before, and I fired their sorry butts! There ARE great docs out there who understand Migraines AND are kind, compassionate, and willing to work with us.

Good luck,

Teri

Frannie,

I have had migraines since I was 18. The first two years I spent in bed miserable because my so called Quactor didn't not only believe me but, she also didn't believe that migraines were real. Yeah sure she gave me prescriptions on top of prescriptions but they did nothing to help or even aleviate the pain a little bit all they did was make it worse. I was married at the time but, my husband didn't believe me either, and neither did my family. They thought I was making it up. Like I enjoyed being stuck in bed or hiding in  my bathroom cause it was dark, quiet and close to the toilet.

A few years later I got rid of my huband and found a Doctor who new about migraines and believed me and tried very hard to help me. Unfortunately I can not take any triptans they make my type of migraine worse and make me horribly sick. I have been through the ringer with neurologists and doctors trying to figure my migraines out. The only break throughs that my current and beloved Doctor has made is we know pretty much all of my triggers!! It has been a long road to figure that out and it is a tremendously long list but at least we have gotten that far. When I met my current Doctor I was dangling on the edge of commiting suicide. No one would help me, my last neurologist gave me a prescription and said that if that didn't help that I needed to seek treatment elsewhere, because he didn't know what to do with me. My migraines are out of control and due to my allergies and not able to tollerate certain I'm pretty much out of options. My Doctor and I had a pain contract with the Urgent Care in my community but, they have even refused to treat me because some doctor at the clinic who has never seen me or even talked to me has deemed me a drug addict/drug seeker because people don't have that many migraines a month (meaning 5). My Doctor bless his heart called him and told what a horses you know what he was and hung up on him. 95% of the doctors in the emergency room in my area wont treat patients with migraines "simply on the fact that they can't see it" so they don't know if you are faking and seeking drugs or really have one, regardless of what your doctor says. Because of this my doctor has been having to write me monthly prescriptions for pain meds and anti-emetics because no one around here will treat migraines because it is not a visible illness!