Hi Tweedle,
Reading your first post it was if someone had written about my migraines. I can relate to what you write, and have had the same experience of chronic migraines. I was in bed for a year and a half from the pain of a never ending migraine at one point. But, I'm writing to tell you there is hope. I'm glad you went in to see a neurologist. If you are comfortable with the neurologist, that is wonderful! I found general neurologists were not able to help me in the same way a neurologist who specialized in migraines did. In my case, the neurologist specializing in migraines/headaches explained there are actually four stages to a migraine (which was news to me, I thought a migraine was just a migraine). During the first phase one experiences changes in appetite, mood changes, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, etc. The second phase is the "aura phase" in which visual disturbances, vertigo, loss of balance, or difficulty speaking occurs (happens about 20-30 minutes before the headache). The third phase is the headache phase, and what most of us think of when we think of a migraine...the one-sided head pain, throbbing/pounding sensations, etc. The final phase I had always described to people as a "migraine hangover". My body usually feels very fatigued (and "worn out"), some people get stomach discomfort and have food intolerance. So, you can kind of picture these phases as a bell curve, phase 1 at the bottom leading up to phase 3 (the actual headache pain), and the final phase the other bottom side of the bell curve. For most people with migraines, these phases are grouped together into one migraine episode and distinctly separate from other migraine episodes. They will be able to say my migraine pain started "here" and ended "here". In my case (and perhaps yours, I don't know, but it is worth asking your doctor), the migraine episodes were overlapping each other. So there was no "down time" in my brain. I was having migraine episodes on top of each other, and that was why the migraine pain never seemed to stop. The neurologist actually warned against taking too many painkillers because they can cause rebound headaches (which means the painkiller may stop the pain initially but will actually cause a headache shortly after). There are so many possible triggers, I kept a daily journal recording everything I ate and how I felt (great advice in a previous post!) as well as going on a very restrictive diet in an attempt to eliminate many possible triggers. Having migraines can be very isolating, and having them constantly really can make you just want to pull your hair out and scream. I'm glad you've come to the forum to seek help, and if nothing else just as a place to be heard by other people who understand where you're at. I hope you have a peaceful day!
http://www.myspace.com/nomoremigraine