I am new to this forum, but not new to migraines, I have been getting them for almost three years. My biggest question is does anyone get them the way that I do. I have a constant tension type headache that never lets up. It's there twenty four hours a day seven days a week. Sometimes it gets better and worse, but it never goes away. This headache I can deal with, it's just an annoying dull pain that I've realized is a part of my daily life. about
2 or 3 times a day I wake up in the middle of the night from a dead sleep with a full blown migraine. As quickly as possible in my half sleep state and full blown migraine state I find my way to my D.H.E. 45 subQ injection and hope that it goes away. Nine times out of ten when I wake up with them it doesn't go away. I do get other migraines that do come during the day, but when I'm awake I'm aware of an aura and I can take my medicine and stop it in time. Some of my migraines can last from 21 to 26 days and I end up being admitted to the hospital and give D.H.E. IV and solumedrol and morphine, but luckily I only get these kind that last this long once or twice a year. My question is for those of you who get migraines often (two or more times a week) do you find that you almost get used to the pain? Not that it isn't aganizing and extremely painful, but have you found that you can go on with your normal day even with the migraine? I was an accident waiting to happen when I was younger. I hurt myself all the time, so I know that I have a high threshold for pain so I guess that helps. My problem is though when my headaches become unbearable and I end up in the ED. Because I have migraines most of the time I do not look like your typical migraine patient who needs to be locked in a dark quiet room and trying to sleep. I look like I'm in pain but besides that I look like a normal person. My neurologist knows this and gets it but I have problems with ED doctors and ESPECIALLY ED nurses. I can't tell you the amount of times that I have been lectured about
how bad narcotics are when you don't really need them. I've tried getting angry I've tried explaining, I've tried everything and still only one or two nurses have actually realized that I'm in as much pain as I am. Does anyone else have this problem? How pathetic is it that I have to get USED to my pain because no one can find a way to stop or treat it?
Jenn