Migraine

Considering I've had migraines for 47 years, you'd think I would know everything about them. But I've gone from a couple a year to one every few years to 18 so far in 2009.

I'm wondering what's up and have come to this site hoping for answers.

Not sure how in depth to go here, but let's try this. I get an aura, take an Imitrex, and crawl in a hole until the migraine goes away. It used to progress to headache, numbness, nausea and a muddy brain, taking 24 hours to return to normal. Fortunately, the multiple migraines since mid August aren't as extreme. After the aura, I'm slowed down for a couple hours, then usually can function but am tired. During the last eight weeks I've had two migraines per week.

I'm unable to identify obvious triggers. Can't tie them to any specific food, stress, or environmental cause. Migraines run in my family. My aunt had them frequently and my brother has had them worse than me.

I haven't seen a neurologist since being diagnosed after my first one at age 13. I had breast cancer 10 years ago and chemo put me into menopause. I'd hoped that would put a stop to the migraines, but no.

I'm trying to decide on a course of action. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance. I've been impressed with the information and encouragement of the people in this forum. I'm glad I found you.

Abbycat

Hi abbycat,

Welcome to the forums. I am sorry that you have to be one of our numbers, however!

There are a few members here who have gone through chemo and early menopause as well. You may be able to find those threads and see what they had to say.

First off, if you are having 2 or more migraines per week it's time for preventative medications! In order to find these medications, you will need to see a migraine specialist or neurologist who understands what migraines are.

Does your Imitrex work for you? There are other triptans out there too that you might be able to take for faster, better results. I take Relpax, DHE, and Axert. Well, I take a lot of medications for acute treatment...If you are staying in bed even after taking your Imitrex and giving it a chance to work, you are probably in need of new medications and a new doctor. I would say that should be your first step.

We have a list of migraine and headache specialists here: Migraine Specialists

Here is a good link on preventative meds: Migraine Preventatuve Medications: Too Many Options to Give Up!

Do you keep a migraine or headache diary? You might find your triggers are easily found by recording your attacks, and it will also help your doctor help you.

Please get acquainted and keep us posted!

Hi Leeloo,


Thanks for the encouraging reply. I think you're right, it's about time to find a specialist. I've kept a migraine diary since 2006, but can't find one trigger among the 25 migraines. I'm sure psychological stress is responsible for some of them, but most of the recent ones don't have that connection.

For the past year I've had a chronic cough that has eluded diagnosis. It's wearing me down just because it won't go away. Could it be that the physical stress can trigger migraines?

Anyway, I really appreciate your suggestions and I will pursue them.

Thanks again,

Abbycat

Hmmm.

Unfortunately we can't diagnose you here. Stress is not generally regarded as a trigger (emotional and psychological), but rather an exacerbating factor that could make you more susceptible to triggering, in the same way that stress makes it easier for your body to catch a cold. It just wears your system down. There are a lot of arguments about that, though, but around here we tend to go with the "exacerbation" more than an actual trigger event.

Coughing can certainly trigger a migraine...We are discussing in out General folder with a member who is asking about IIH, or Psuedotumor Cerebri. I am not familiar with the anomaly myself but many of our members here have it.

Another factor in the coughing could be a PFO. In that discussion thread I talked about that too, though for most migraineurs it's the IIH. I have a PFO (hole in the heart), and I do notice a correlation sometimes between straining, coughing, laughing, and the onset of migraine. But PFO has not been established as a contributing factor to migraines with aura in many people. It hasn't been proven in any current medical study to contribute to migraines, though there are certainly individuals who have had a closure done and gotten relief from it.

I suggest you take a look at the general folder and check out that thread. It might give you some clues as to where to go from there. If you cannot find any other trigger event IIH is usually a good place to start. Unfortunately right now there is not much that can be done for individuals with a suspected PFO-triggered migraine.

Hello and welcome to our forum family, Abbycat! Our goal is to provide everyone with the information and support that we all need to manage our Migraines and/or headaches. To that end, we consider this a “safe harbor,” where nobody tries to sell us anything, and we all use “family-friendly” language so parents are comfortable letting their children read the forum with them.

Please take a few minutes to review our policies and guidelines along with the other information in the START HERE folder. For information about Migraines, a good article to begin with is Learning About Migraines - Where to Start

Leeloo is so incredibly right about the next step being to try and get some preventative measures in place. You mention that you haven't seen a neurologist in some time. But I'm guessing that you do have a primary care doctor, right? While they're not necessarily the best fit for migraine care, you might start with your primary doc and ask for a referral. There might be neuros who do like to focus on migraine care in your area. Or you might just want to start with an actual headache or migraine specialist. We have a list RIGHT HERE FOR THE CLICKING. It may take an actual migraine specialist to help get to the bottom of your triggers if they're being particularly hard to puzzle out. It's also imperative any time migraine patterns change to let your doctor know and seek care.

While I'm at it, here's the link to our [URL= http://www.healthcentral.com/m...1082-5.html]Migraine Preventative Medications list[/URL].

I'm glad that you found us, too. Welcome to the forum family!

Hi there and welcome aboard!

You've been given great links and information. I'd like to add my two cents.

Trigger management and identification is an important part of any Migraine management plan. For some people it is quite easy - eating chocolate = Migraine, a glass of red wine = Migraine. Others not so much. But keeping a Migraine diary is a great way to find out what may or not be triggering your Migraines. You can find a free version of our diary HERE.

I see you've been given the links for our Migraine specialists - that would be my next course of action. You can choose from our list and make an appointment!! Not to beat a dead horse, but here's the thing - a Migraine specialist devotes his/her entire practice to treating one disease - ours - Migraines and headache disorders. Neurologists may be fine doctors, but treat so many different conditions like MS, stroke and epilepsy it is hard for them to be experts in any one area. Take a look at this article for more information: Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special?

Thanks for your advice, Nancy. I looked at the list of migraine specialists and made an appointment with one of them, Dr. Beverly Gilder. I'm surprised only two are listed in the Denver area. My primary care doctor referred me to someone, as well, but how do I weigh that against a personal recommendation on this website?

Also, when I called Dr. Gilder's office they said they haven't been at the address listed on recommendation list four five years. Is there a way I can update her information for the next person who searches?

Hi Abbycat! I just wanted to stop by and say welcome to the forum family

I see you've been given a great start already so if you have any questions after reading any of the articles, just ask and we'll do our best to help!

Take care,

Yes, please!!

Would you email it to me and I'll make sure it gets taken care of? Thank you so much for bringing it to our attention. This is the only way we know when things change. And you will keep us posted about your appointment, right?

quote:

Originally posted by abbycat:
Thanks for your advice, Nancy. I looked at the list of migraine specialists and made an appointment with one of them, Dr. Beverly Gilder. I'm surprised only two are listed in the Denver area. My primary care doctor referred me to someone, as well, but how do I weigh that against a personal recommendation on this website?

Also, when I called Dr. Gilder's office they said they haven't been at the address listed on recommendation list four five years. Is there a way I can update her information for the next person who searches?

Wow, abbycat, you have definitely been given a ton of great information (which I've printed out I hope you find the right specialist. This seems to be a great board. I don't have anything else to contribute except that I will also be contacting one of the doctors from the list, and will let you guys know how that works out.
Hoping things work out well for you!
Karenzkritterz

PS Leeloo, I LOVE your tagline!

Hi, Karenzkritterz, and welcome! Our goal is to provide everyone with the information and support that we all need to manage our Migraines and/or headaches. To that end, we consider this a “safe harbor,” where nobody tries to sell us anything, and we all use “family-friendly” language so parents are comfortable letting their children read the forum with them.

Please take a few minutes to review our policies and guidelines along with the other information in the START HERE folder. For information about Migraines, a good article to begin with is Learning About Migraines - Where to Start

I don't believe I've had a chance to welcome you yet, since I haven't been on the forum much the last two days. To atone, you shall have double smooshes!