Migraine

I've been going down the list of abortives this month... and while it feels impossible to know when I'm supposed to take them, trying each one out twice and then moving on.

This weekend I started to have some rather sharp pains in my temple area, which is how some of the more "attack" like experiences have been. (I'm still sorting out how certain things behave like migraines, some like tension headaches... I have a dull ache *always, punctuated by times of sharp pains that will sometime stay for a long time, whole days, and a few times have felt more like what people who describe a "migraine attack" as) I was hesitant to try Relpax at the time because a friend of mine said it made her really sleepy, so I thought I'd give Zomig a second chance, and a really early chance. I have no way of knowing whether any particular sharp pain will continue throughout the day, get worse, get a lot worse... I haven't been able to figure out any *consistent* precursors.

So I took the Zomig, and nothing really happened... the pain remained about the same level, maybe a little worse, for the remainder of the day. This is about what a lot of my days looked like before I started getting more "attack" like days. My question is this. If what I was experiencing wasn't actually a migraine, but some other sort of headache pain, could I have expected the Zomig to help? I'm wondering if with I can ever rule out an abortive since if I take it before it's clear I'm having some sort of attack I might never have been having one, or if I wait, I may waited too long. ???

Hi Candace. Are you doing this medication "trial" under your doctors guidance? If so they should give you an idea of how many migraines to try one medication on. In the past my doctor has told me that if one particular abortive medication does not work on three separate migraines then we can move on to another. He has wanted me to try it on three separate occasions though to rule out other factors. If I call and say this medication is not working, they will ask if I tried it on three different migraines. Hope that helps.
Amy :-)

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. There are a few things to consider here, Candace.

Sharp pains in the temple generally aren't Migraine. You might take a look at this article on [b][i]Ice Pick Headaches.

One way many people can tell if the head pain they're experiencing is Migraine is to sit on chair, then bend over and put your head between your knees. That type of activity generally makes a Migraine worse, but not a headache.

Each of the seven triptans binds to different combinations of serotonin receptors. So, not only do each of us respond differently than other Migraineurs, but our bodies may well respond differently to the different triptans, with some of them working well and others not at all.

Another issue is that triptans as an entire class of meds don't work for everyone. They work for only about 80 - 85% of Migraineurs.

Hope this helps!

Amy,

My neuro gave me one abortive, but my PC who I happened to see twice since then gave me the others to try. So in a way they are involved... but at a distance.

Terry,

I've looked at the Ice Pick Headaches before actually... I guess the stabbing pain sounds familiar, but it's not quick by any means. Sometimes it feels more like a throbbing, and sometimes it feels like someone stabs me and just left the knife in... or just comes by and flicks it every now and then... because the ache/throb/stab intense pain will just "live" there... and "there" will change too... my temples are a popular spot... but it will move to around my eyes, my forehead, my occipital ridge. When the intense pain is gone there's a dull ache, which doesn't get worse by putting my head down, but when the intense pain is there, it's pretty positional (I can't tilt my head and get it to move from one side to the other at times) and it definitely gets worse when I put my head between my legs.... but not all the time. That's actually one of the first symptoms I can remember, would be driving and having to reach down to get something and wincing from the pain increase.

I consider my headache a true chameleon. My neuro opened my last appt calling it a CTH... closed saying "it sounds more like a mild migraine" I've found it fits into the category of NDPH more than anything else, but since he suggested migraines and has given me migraine meds, I figured I should research the one area I hadn't yet! I'm still hopeful for a dx that I can really feel confident in. I got the feeling my neuro wanted to wait out the meds and make some judgments once he could see how I responded.

I guess it's good to know that the abortives might not work for me at all... but I wish I had a better system for testing them out. I feel like I may have already "eliminated" something that may in fact be able to help me... I'm hoping to try out some rescue meds soon--anything for a little relief...

Also... is the head between the legs thing a hard rule? I'm surprised to hear it because I would expect anything to do with CSF pressure would worsen/change with this sort of thing? I think it's not uncommon for headaches of neurological nature to be worse in different positions... is there something particularly special about this one?

quote:

Originally posted by Candace:
Also... is the head between the legs thing a hard rule? I'm surprised to hear it because I would expect anything to do with CSF pressure would worsen/change with this sort of thing? I think it's not uncommon for headaches of neurological nature to be worse in different positions... is there something particularly special about this one?

It's not a hard and fast rule - it more has to do with migraines usually being worsened by motion whereas TTH are not usually.