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Migraine Headache
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Posted 7/18/2010 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hello.  I am new to this forum but unfortunatley not new to migraines :(  I have suffered with them since i was 8 and am now 34.  For the past 14 years I have doctored and not had any success with treating or preventing them.  I have been on every coctail of meds out there (my dr is part of a migraine research board and i've even tried some experimental drugs).  I currently am not taking anything.  With or without meds I average about 15 days a month with a migraine.  With a minimum of 4 of those days where i am unfunctional as I cant see properly and/or am vomiting. I know some of my triggers but my drs and i cant figure out what else is causing them for me.  I have also tried all sorts or homeopathic treatments, acupuncture, and chiropratic care.

 My main question is, what do you all do about work?  I work full time and my employer is NOT at all understanding of the effects of a migraine.  I am one step away from being fired if I have to miss one more day.  I can understand that people need to be there to work and me not being there affects the company.  Yet, i can't drive and work when I am vomiting and cant see let alone not to mention the horrifying pain i am in when i have one.  I have to work as i am human and have life outside or migraines.  Yet i respect people not wanting unreliable employees such as myself.

Posted 7/19/2010 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,
I know how you feel. Almost everyone I work with says they get migraines as well. I'm not saying they don't, but I have a hard time believing they are as severe. It is hard to work because most people look at you like you are weak and just dealing with a headache. The only thing my job offers is FMLA which you can be on for six weeks a year. Basically if you miss work due to your illness it won't count against you. This is not very helpful if you are a chronic sufferer. I work nights in the ER and getting a migraine is horrible. I have tried many meds and like you have found little relief. I now just try to treat them myself. When I get the aura I take 1200mg of ibuprofen. That helps some. Taking a lot of magnesium every day also seems to make them less severe. I just started taking Fever few and B2. I have read that may help. I wish you lots of luck!
Posted 7/23/2010 8:18 PM (GMT 0)
I am a new member and I have suffered from migraines since I was a child. I didn't realize they were migraines until I was up in my 20s and described them to my Dr; I just thought they were killer sinus headaches. Mine generally come with the nausea, vomiting and light sensitivity but don't always come with the aura.

 

I too work full-time and tried over medicating myself with over the counter drugs and toughing it out for years but it doesn't always work. I ended up doing the Imitrex injections until the Imitrex pills came out and that was until I was using it WAY too often a week.  My Dr put me on Topomax 50 mg twice a day as a preventative for migraines and WOW, what a difference!!

 

Now I rarely get migraines...whereas before I had a migraine more days than I didn't during a given week. My dose of Topomax has been increased to 100 mg twice a day because my migraines started to increase after a number of years and also as a mood stabilizer (I suffer from depression/anxiety as well). 

 

Just something you may want to bring up to your Dr as something to try out if you haven't already.

 

Jenyfer

Posted 7/24/2010 5:47 AM (GMT 0)
Ask for a neurologist
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