Migraine

Hello everyone,

I've been reading this website for a while. I have had migraines since I was 9 years old. I'm 34 now. As an adult my migraines have begun to change to less pain and more aura. I get alot of weird aura symptoms beginning with visual disturbances and when it's really bad, I'll get language difficulties, numbness and dizziness as well. The frequency of my migraines ranges from 3-4 a year (in a good year) to several a month. This year, I have been having 1 every couple of weeks. I thought it might be related to some dental work I was having done. But I just had another come on last night and it's been 4 weeks since my last dental visit. My postdrome is long after my migraines and the more severe my migraine, the worse the postdrome is.

I do feel blessed that my migraines are not as frequent and I am able to handle my daily life okay. But because of the increase in frequency this year it has started to cause problems at my job. My supervisor is somewhat understanding, but she just tells me that once I get over my "stress" I'll do better. I sent a message to our HR person explaining my situation to see if I should get a doctor's note, but she never responded.

I have not been to a neurologist yet. Two years ago I worked with my family doctor on my migraines and his conclusion was unless I wanted to go on Topomax (I cannot tolerate Imitrex) that there wasn't anything he could do for me. He said a neurologist would tell me the same thing. I got mad at that point and decided to make as many lifestyle changes as I could to help myself. It either worked or else I just got lucky because for the next year, I had very few migraines and was in relatively good health. But this year has been a different story. I'm contemplating getting the referral to the neurologist, but for some reason I'm hesitating.

Well, this is getting pretty long--thanks for letting me join. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Ursula

Welcome Ursula!

I wouldn't hurt to see a neurologist. He or she might have other suggestions for you as far as a preventative. I'm taking Topamax and Namenda for my preventatives.

There are lots of useful information on this website. I'm sure one of the forum moderators will be along shortly to provide you with some links.

I hope you are able to find some relief and support here.

Hi Ursula,

Welcome to MyMigraineConnection.

First, may I say your doctor was quite wrong when he said that the only thing that can be done for you was topamax, and a neurologist would say the same thing.

There are over 100 preventive medications that can be used for Migraine. Topamax is one we often hear about because it is heavily marketing to doctors and patients alike. This article Migraine Preventive Medications - Too Many Options To Give Up! will provide you will lots of information to start you off.

You mentioned lifestyle changes. Have you ever kept a Migraine diary? This is a good tool to see what if any food/non-food items may be triggering an attack and if and when your medications are working. Click HERE to download that.

Speaking of triggers, our Migraine triggers page is loaded with great information. You can find that HERE.

I've given you a lot of information, so I'll stop here . Please keep us posted on how you are feeling and let us know how we can be of further assistance.

Welcome to the forum family, Ursula

I'm so glad you've found us! Nancy gave you lots of great information. I use my migraine diary faithfully and print it out for each doctor's appointment. I see a migraine specialist for my migraines and he loves my diary. I used the same format and put it into Excel so I can update it more easily.

Have you had a chance to check out this article yet?

Learning about Migraines-Where to Start, it's a great place to begin.

One last link to help you out:

Migraine with Aura

Okay, I loaded you down enough for now

I can't wait to see you around the forum and if you have any questions, ask away!

Hi Ursula,

Just wanted to welcome you to our forum family, too!

Please don't believe that Topamax is the only med for migraine prevention...there are SOOOOOO many other options!!! Please take a look at the list of HA/migraine specialists on our site (Laura gave you the link). Doctors who specialize in migraine disease know that there are TONS of meds for prevention!

I look forward to getting to know you here!

jenny

Hi Ursula, and welcome! Knowledge is power, so I'm going to give you a few more links.

Learning About Migraines and Headaches - Where To Start

Preventive, Abortive and Rescue Medications - What's the Difference?

Medications Used for Migraine Treatment

Now that we've thrown a lot of information at you, let me give you the warmest possible welcome. We're very happy to have you here. Let us know how we can help you.

Hello, Ursula, welcome to the forum. We're glad you found us.