migraines

  I wander how many more years will I have to almost daily  migraines and neck pain... Anyone else out there with the same ??

Hi Faith, Sorry you deal with this issue too. I am currently on topiramate (Topamax) for my daily migraines. Migraines are their own special hell. Right now, the topamax is my miracle pill, and I use maxalt for the ones that sneak through. I may still have all my other chronic pain, but at least one of the plagues is under control. I hope you find something to help you with your pain. Like any chronic pain, there is no really accurate way to describe migraines to someone who has not experienced them. The migraine forum here is not terribly active, but there is definitely some good information on there. Best wishes to you!

Post Edited (caligirl2001) : 9/17/2010 12:41:29 PM (GMT-6)

 It is so nice to hear from you all .. I don't have good family support .. Some of my family don't believe me because nothing can be found. They think if I go back to work I will feel better .. I am in pain daily w/almost daily migraines . But the pain is always in my neck . I also have muscle spasms in the neck . I have been going to pain management for 8 years with all the painful shots in the neck and head they can think of giving me ..  I am on many meds .. I have seen all the specialist . NO-ONE can find a thing wrong . I even seen a chiropractor for a year ( No Help ) . I have had 2 years of therapy .- NO Help  !  Any one like me out there ? I pray daily for stregnth ... God has helped me to be strong  .. But I still get very sad when I am feeling my very worst.. . I have been like this now for 8 years . I used to have a job  and work out all the time . I was a healthy woman . Now I am no longer that person.... I have had all the test done the doctors can think of everything turned out normal . And Thank you for all who has wrote me on here , Iam new at this !   

 

 

   Hello Faith!

       We do have a member here with horrible headache pain....hopefully she will come along and visit with you.

Also as others have suggested, the migraine forum would be a good place to check as well....and I see that you have already been over there.

      We are so sorry to hear that you are suffering like this. We have an excellant support group here, so visit often as you need to.

          I will contact the member I was talking about above, and see if she will post a reply to you.

She has been so sick latley with her pain, and does not post when she is this way.

          Take care, and welcome to the CP forum.

         SE

Hello Faith and welcome to Healing Well's chronic pain forum. I do not believe that I have met you before so welcome aboard. I am so sorry that you are plagued with migraines and all of the other issues that comes with them. I suffered with migraines and severe neck pain horribly when I worked. I worked in a very high stress job and stress was a huge trigger for me. I have no idea how many times I was hospitalized for treatment to get rid of the thing. My neurologist used a drug that could only be given by IV and if it was a true migraine when you woke up it was gone. For me it was a wonder drug and I cannot remember what it was. Between the migraines and disc herniations at C5-6 and C6-7 it was really rough going. When I became disabled and had to stop working the migraines slowed down a lot. I still get one from time to time but nothing like that. I have had occipital nerve blocks done and many other things along the way. I am allergic to an ingredient in all of the migraine meds on the market and go to my PCP who will either give me a shot of Nubain or Stadol to knock me out to get rid of it. Unfortunately both of my children have inherited the migraines from me, my son was 8 yrs old when his started and he did not outgrow them as we had hoped. He still battles them and so does my daughter.

By chance have you ever been tried on Methadone for the migraines? I do know a couple of people that have been successful with Methadone in keeping them pretty much under control. I know you said you had tried the usual meds with no luck.

Anyway welcome aboard and keep us posted on how you are coming along.

Susie

Hello Faith. Welcome to our wonderful family. So sorry you are suffering terribly with headaches. I am right in your shoes. It has been ten years since my headaches started. Like you I have done it all. The list is quite long and nothing has helped me. My headaches are in the temple area and have been continous and severe for three years now. No meds help me. I am a nurse and have been on disability for two years. Right now it is not looking like I will be going back. I wish I could help you but it seems that you and I are in the same boat where nothing will help us. What my pain doctor is trying right now is a combination of Gabapentin and Mexiletine. Only time will tell if this helps my pain. If you have any questions I will try to help you. Keep praying hon, that is what is keeping me going too!!

Hugs

Hi Faith,

I don't have migraines, but I do have chronic facial pain & am thus familiar with a lot of the treatments for migraine (as my neurologist has tried me on many of them). I don't know where you live or what you have tried, but my neurologist has mentioned admitting me to the Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute more than once. Apparently they are supposed to be a very good in-patient hospital for diagnosing and treating headache disorders. Here is their website www.mhni.com/.

Have you ever tried osteopathic manipulation? An osteopath is kinda like a cross between an MD & a chiropractor. They have the knowledge and ability of an MD, yet they also do manipulations like chiropractors. However, osteopathic manipulations are much more gentle than chiropractic manipulations & in my opinion, osteopaths know much more about your anatomy, etc. You may also have heard of crainal-sacral manipulation, it's essentially the same thing as osteopathic manipulation. I wonder if something like this might be worth trying.

You might also look into nerve stimulation. There are several of us here on HW that have neurostimulators. Most commonly they are referred to as spinal cord stimulators (SCS, for back pain), but the same device can also be used on peripheral nerves for things like limb and head pain (these are referred to as peripheral nerve stimulators, PNS). I have recently had a PNS system installed on the supraorbital & infraorbital branches of my trigeminal nerve, for chronic eye pain. It's made a huge difference in my pain, where nothing else has. I'm certainly no expert, but I do know that they are also used to treat some kinds of head pain (occipital migraines, for example). This might be something the look into/talk to your doctor about. I was referred by my neurologist to a neurosurgeon for my device.

It's really tough when nothing helps & your family is not supportive. It is so hard for other people, who are not in chronic pain, to understand what we go through & all they ways that it affects us. Please know that we at HW are here for you. We may all have different pains, but if there is one thing that we all understand, it is pain itself, and the ways in which it affects our lives. So any time you need to vent, or just need someone to listen to you, we are here.

Hope you find some of this helpful.

hugs,
Skeye