HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

I need your opinion

Support Forums
>
Migraine Headache
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 8/22/2008 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
I started in feb. with 24/7 headaches.  I ended up going to a neurologist and it was decided I have migraines.  After changing meds and finding one that does not have bad side effects it seems to be working.  I have been going to the neurologist every month and I feel I have gotten alot better.  This past trip to the neuro. I told him I feel alot better and the headaches are decreased by alot. I went from everyday to a week or two with nothing and a few day with off and on headaches.  I even gave him a paper with ever headache I had since my last visit.  By the end of the visit he decided I have not improved and he uped my meds and said if it is like this next month I he wants to add a med.  Like depakote, seroquel, or lexapro.  I thought I was doing well.  Even when I do get headaches now I can function most of the time. 

I work at a childcare place and one of the parents in a neurologist.  We don't see him very often because his wife brings in the kids most of the time.  But I am thinking about talking to him and switching all my records to his office.  I have known his kids for four years and am woried when he brings the kids in to my work it might be weird. 

What do you guys think I should do.  The other thing I can do is since the meds I am on right now is helping I can ask my primary care to keep refilling what I am on until it stops working then I can go some where else when that happens. 

Post Edited (monthofpain) : 8/22/2008 9:25:00 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/22/2008 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
Why do you want to switch dr's?? It sounds like in his opinon things are not as well as he would like to see. I wouldn't be trying to run all over the place trying to get medication, or it will start to look bad and may end up hurting you in the long run. I understand about the daily headaches and they are a pain in the butt, but I think you need to put a little trust into your dr and for right now listen to what he says. I see mine next week and I am hoping for some relief the last meds he gave me I  had a reaction to so we need to discuss something new. I hope your headaches are improving on your new medication
Posted 8/22/2008 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
you really should RESOLVE the difference in your and your doctor's assesments - he thinks you have not improved and you think you are plenty functional enough. Having a doctor who wants you to do even better is a rare and wonderful thing, so leave him only when you can better articulate (at least to yourself) why you should. And, going to a neurologist is sometimes no good unless they have plenty of experience or specialize in chronic headache.

If the depakote dosage is high enough to make you fat and stupid, just tell him that it's not the right drug for you since some side effects are not worth the benefit. Same witih others. But, why not cycle through the migraine prevention drugs with someONE doctor who knows how to and knows how to evaluate their utility or uselessness? Maybe you have good reason, but you haven't explained it in the above post, if you want my opinion.

Oh, I'm the one who thinks all chronic headachers should be checked for teeth grinding or jaw clenching, preferable by a neurologist, and, if so, read my post 8/17/08 TMK - botox for TMJ, TMD, jaw clenching not enough - need to stop the activity.

Good luck
Posted 8/22/2008 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
It seems to me you have several issues here.

1. Should you switch neurologists? If you tell your current doctor you're satisfied with where you are headache-wise and he insists on adding meds, there is at least a communication problem between you. It's admirable that his goal is no headaches at all, but ONLY YOU can decide the tradeoff between medication side effects and pain levels. If he is so set on getting you pain-free that he's not listening to you when you say that you think you're doing just fine as is, then it may be time to change doctors.

2. Should you switch to the neurologist you know thru the preschool? Well, if he's a headache specialist, there's no reason not to. I've run into several of my doctors in social situations, and they have all been extremely professional, even acting as if they didn't know me until I greeted them. Most doctors will respect your privacy enough that you don't need to worry about that.

BUT, don't choose to go to him just because he happens to be a neurologist. Many neurologists don't know much more about headaches than general practitioners. The fact that he uses your daycare doesn't mean he's the right doctor for you.

I'm a big believer in finding a headache specialist who you feel listens to and respects your views and opinions. If you had some disease which could be objectively diagnosed (a tumor, or ulcer, or some such visible thing), a jerk of a doctor who's the best in his or her field might be OK. But with headaches, the only person who knows if a treatment is working is YOU. If the doctor doesn't listen to you, he or she can't be practicing good medicine, because they're missing out on the only source of information about how the treatment is working.
Posted 8/22/2008 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
For me it took several pills together to stop my migraines, and the doctor didn`t want them to slow down to a few a week etc. he didn`t want me to have any at all. I have to stay on them and not forget even one or my migraine is right back.

I can see why your Dr. is not happy yet with the results, he wants you free of them.
Posted 8/23/2008 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for everones opinions.

Nichole: I am not trying to get meds I am trying to not take as many. Right now I am taking 10 pills a day including vitamins in order to prevent migraines.

gizmogirl: TMJ was one of my concerns. I recently went for a massage and the lady said I clenched my teeth. I have to make an appointment with my dentist to see if this could be my problems with my headaches.


I have talked to my parents and decided anti psychotics and anti depressants are not some things I want to start right now. Once you get on them they are hard to get off of. We have decided I am going to call my primary care and talk to her about it.

It is not just that he thinks I have not improved enough, he thinks I have not improved at all. I think being in bed all day to working 40 hours a week is improvement. but I could be wrong. His exact words at my appointment today where "you still get a headache every day" after looking at my list. I only had 14 days out of two months thats 75 percent less then I had before.
Posted 8/26/2008 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Just a little update, I talked to my primary care doctor and she agreed that he was not listening to me. She suggested two different doctors to choose from, now it is just seeing who can get me in. I have been so stresses over the who thing it has made my headaches worst.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply