jenni,

Anyone who has more than three Migraines a month needs to be taking something for prevention. There's growing evidence that Migraine is a progressive brain disease. A recent study showed that Migraines can cause brain damage, and that people with three or more Migraines a month are more susceptible to this damage. For more information, see Is Migraine a Progressive Brain Disease? and Yes, Migraines Can Cause Brain Damage.

Most of the pharmaceutical companies have patient assistance programs to provide free medications to patients with no insurance who meet their income guidelines. Those guidelines are pretty generous. Try going to www.pparx.org to check on all of your medications. You list all of them on the site, and it will tell you which ones have programs you qualify for. It will then even take you through the process to fill out the application forms and print them. You then take them to your doctor for his or her signature and send them in.

There are also preventives that are less expensive than Topamax. I know how easy it is to feel as if you've tried everything out there, but there are so many medications that can be used for Migraine and headache prevention that it's literally impossible. You can find a list of potential Migraine and headache preventives in Migraine preventive medications - too many options to give up!

Morphine is available in tablet form. Dilaudid is a synthetic morphine tablet. Be aware, however, that it may not work the same as IV morphine. Also there are other problems with using medications such as morphine. There is now evidence that ANY use of opioids or barbiturates increases the risk of transformed Migraine. You can find more information about this in Transformed Migraine - Risk Increased by Some Medications.

The bottom line is that yes, there is an oral form of morphine, but preventing as many Migraines as possible is very important. If your doctor isn't able to help you, 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.

Good luck,

Teri