and another thing this neuro said

Catahoula,
It is true that Ambien/Lunesta/etc. do not actually induce true sleep but rather a sleep-like state. Your body does not get all the benefits it would get from real sleep, though I agree with you strongly that it is way better & healthier to at least not be awake 23 or 24 hours of the day.

I'm not sure I agree with it, but this does seem common with Headache Clinics based on my own experience with a few of them. They basically want a clean slate to start with -- especially with addicting medications b/c it does take time to get someone weaned off of a med & basically they can't be bothered with that (or so it seems). At the Diamond HA Clinic in Chicago they wanted me to go in-patient for a few weeks but I was teaching at the time so that was just not possible. I went to another HA Clinic (small practice) & they had the same rules, though ironically after all that they ended up putting me on a much stronger opioid that I was on before after reviewing my MRI, conducting a number of tests & trying some of the triptan meds (some of which actually did get rid of my migraines, but I also had issues with nerve pain which triptans don't help with).

My guess it they want to try you on the muscle relaxants b/c they are trying to rule out tension headaches. In any case, the muscle relaxants very likely will make you sleepy so it might be worth a shot. They helped my pain in my shoulder/between shoulder blades, but for me the issue was long-term I seemed to get weaker. But in my case there is a lot going on -- genetic neuro condition, nerve damage, atrophied muscles & muscles that overcompensate b/c of they are neighbors of the atrophied ones, plus I get migraines sometimes [though not nearly as often as I used to]. They got the migraines under control almost immediately with the HA clinic. Then we had the nerve damage which my PM treats. And now I am VERY slowly working on building up those muscles that overcompensate so that they don't cause me pain too (which sometimes can radiate to my neck & head).

It sounds like you maybe have a very complicated case as well. Unfortunately, I've yet to have or meet anyone who has a doctor who can manage all those issues. It takes a team & often they don't agree with each other. When I went, the HA Clinic's view was that some meds -- like triptans -- can actually break a pain cycle. You take one or two doses & the migraine actually goes away. You might get another one, but that one's gone. With muscle relaxants, you take them for a few weeks, maybe longer, and have a chance to rest the overworked muscles & then they (best case) heal and stop causing you pain. Opioids must be taken over & over again and they don't actually stop the pain, they just block the signal.

I'm obviously not opposed to them since I take one, but they are less than ideal. If the opioids are working for you & you are able to live some kind of life, then if I were you I'd find a pain clinic that would work with me & forget the HA clinics and neuros and all that. If the opioids are really not cutting it & you're just miserable beyond reason, (and I've been there -- literally hospitalized for migraines) then maybe it's worth considering going through the misery for 8-12 weeks or whatever it would take to get off of your current meds & into the hospital for 3 weeks at the clinic. Maybe they will find something that the other doctors missed or maybe they know of a new treatment that will work & get you 90% back to your old self. That's always the tricky part, isn't is? To decide whether to stick with what is barely working or to decide to endure even more misery in the hope of finding some kind of cure.

I can't tell you what to do. It's a horrible decision to have to make. But I'm sure you'll make the right decision for you & we will support you either way.

hugz,
frances

Cat,
I absolutely love, love, love my Zanaflex! I have horrid muscle spasms and it brings them down to a level I can almost deal with and as I take two 4mg at night (plus my ambien, but I would NOT advise anyone to do that without a doctor involved!!!!!!!) I get 2 to 5 hours sleep at night now! I feel like...well it feels better and I would not go on any other muscle relaxer ever! They have helped tremendously with the spasms. As far as what your doc is saying about all the rest? It's a crazy mess as far as I'm concerned/in my opinion! Let us know what happens.
Stac/Catz4

I was on Zannaflex for many years and out of all the muscle relaxers I have taken in the past this one worked the best for me. It really helped me a great deal with spasms and I did not get any medicine head from it. So many of the others always gave me the grogginess the next morning, I was also able to function while taking Zannaflex. I hope it works well for you.

Cat don't be surprised if you are still wide awake tonight too from the steroids. Anytime I did injections I was up 48 hours and then crashed. Back in those days it was incredible what I got done in those 48 hours, lol. It also sped me up really bad and I would work like a maniac. My daughter told me the other evening that she and her husband were going down memory lane about how the they remembered when it was time for more injections I was barely able to move, then once the injections were done, it was this crazy woman for 48 hours with energy like the bunny.

I hope the Zannaflex will work for you, I have never had anything work as well as they did and loved no hang over from them.You know if you have this gut feeling going on about your PM dr then stick with him if you are happy with how he is treating you. You know how these medications work, a lot of people get no relief from Morphine, its all trial & error. If it does not work for you then you don't need to be on it, glad your PM dr agrees. I did great with Norco until they quit working.

I do hope you get some much needed relief.