Migraine

Hello all... Been a little while since I posted here. So long that I had to re-register.

Anyway - I'm not the one with the headaches - my wife is - she's had 'em real bad for over three years now.

You know, it's the same ole story - doctor after doctor (including the Jefferson Headache Clinic) - no results.

I'm wondering if part of the problem is that she doesn't get enough face time with a doctor. Her appointments are always scheduled 6 weeks apart however when she gets into a bad "cycle" of headaches I think she should be seen at least once every two weeks if not more.

Am I off base in thinking this?

Hi again Dave...let me give you the official welcome since it's been awhile...

Hello and welcome to our forum family! 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 can tell you what my experience is with my doctors and see if that helps a bit? I started seeing my Migraine Specialist last year and I saw him every three months or so. But, now, I communicate with him through telephone appointments since he's out of town. I normally only call him when the preventive he's started me on isn't working or I'm having an unusual side effect from it.

However, I see my local neuro more often. I used to see him every three months but since I've had an increase in my Migraines the last several months, I now see him every two months and if I run into any problems that aren't addressed in my treatment plan with either doctor, I'll call one of them. For example, I have a letter from my Specialist to give to the ER letting them know I take Magnesium and steriods to break a cycle. After I tried that twice in one week and still couldn't break the cycle, I called my specialist and he offered another plan of attack that did break the cycle.

I think the best thing to do is have a quality appointment with her doctor. Have all your questions written down in advance so you don't forget anything, review what should be done after hours or during an emergency and see if he would be able to see her more often, and if he thinks that would benefit her or not.

Let me give you these two articles to look at too:

• Migraineur's Guide To a Successful Doctor's Appointment

• Coping With Busy Doctors

I hope my ramble helped

Thanks for the reply Laura -

We've been at this for quite awhile. Done the same things you have done. We've had many "quality" appointments over the years. What I really think we need is a few more quality appointments more frequently.

Sorry - I'm just frustrated to see me wife in all this pain and nothing getting done. I don't expect a quick fix... But some more proactivity from a good doctor would certainly ease my mind a bit...

Welcome back to both you and your wife.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to be feeling a bit frustrated over this. It's a long haul, and it can be disheartening to not feel like adequate progress is being made.

From the standpoint of acute care and getting cycles broken, then maybe the upped doctor contact time might indeed be a good thing, if nothing else because the followup from the care given is more immediate. But from the standpoint of ongoing care, like finding preventatives and that kind of thing, I'd think six weeks makes more sense. It usually takes at least that for med changes and new med trials to start kicking into gear and leveling out. Going more frequently during those first few weeks might give you peace of mind, but it's usually kind of soon to tell if a change or new med is working or not. In that scenario, going in before the med/change has a chance to get established is kind of like throwing money away to some extent.

That's my thinking, anyway.

Thanks - DD,

I agree with what you are saying - my wife is in a "cycle" now and unfortunately we are getting settled into a new area. It took quite a while to finally get in to see a neurologist - and now that she is having a bad migrainem, getting her in contact with him for a quicker appointment isn't working out too well.

I hear you! The waiting game, especially when you're trying to get established with a doctor, is a picnic with way too many ants! I hope things smooth out in the scheduling department soon for her.

Hey ya'll -

Looks like this latest neurologist is giving up. After one appointment his receptionist told me that only the Diamond headache clinic i could help her. My wife had been to the ER twice in less than a week so I called the office and pretty much begged and pleaded for them to get her a quick appointment.

Anyway - on a whim I asked my wife's PCM to give her a referal to the DHC in Chicago and I'll be darned if it didn't get approved by my insurance co. - along with travel expenses - including recurring travel expenses for future appointments (we live in North Carolina). Anyway - looks like we're headed to Chicago in a few days... Now if I can just keep out of the ER till then things will be great...

Dave that's great news! I'm so happy your insurance covers Diamond! I can't believe you'll be leaving so soon. I'm sending positive vibes your way for a successful trip.

Let us know how it goes, okay?

I hope that this is the good luck and break you've both been looking for. Hoooray for getting in early and even getting some travel expenses covered!

Dave, that's so great that your insurance is covering your wife's trip to Diamond. I can't seem to get coverage to any headache clinic, crummy insurance. Anyway, I'm glad you're going so soon and I hope the trip is successful for you.

Meli

Thanks guys - I'll let you know how it goes... We fly to Chicago this Sunday...

Hi Dave,

Good to hear. Please keep us posted, ok?