Migraine

I've had near-daily migraines for 15 years. I've had top-notch medical care, second opinions, and been on so many migraine preventives in innumerable combinations. I've had all kinds of treatments, Botox, acupuncture, physical therapy, biofeedback, in multiple trials, none of which have worked in the slightest. My doctors continue to try cutting-edge treatments and different combos of migraine preventives, but I'm losing hope at this point. This is ALL my children have known. I've completely losing out on life. At first I didn't mind as much because I had hope, but after none of the treatments or medications have worked, second opinions, a distinguished migraine specialist, and a few "second opinions," I've become rather hopeless about improvement.

I know my doctors would put me on OxyContin. If they did, would I "feel" the drug or just the loss of pain? Would I be "drugged up" or act differently, not be able to drive well, etc.? Would I eventually have to go to a rehab facility if I wanted to go off?

I have tried, but my kids are ready to go off to college and my life is passing me by. I would love input on what life is like taking OxyContin. Thank you.

None of us are in the position to be able to say whether or not you should go on Oxycontin. That's something that needs to be decided between you and your doctors.

That said, I know it gets discouraging, and we've all been there, but I really and truly think that we should never give up the fight to find a workable preventative regimen. Going on Oxycontin might indeed help to manage the pain and make it possible to be more active, but that's still going to be a surface thing. It doesn't do anything at all to address the underlying migraine disease, which can and probably will continue to rage on. Plus, going on a daily narcotic med is a virtual recipe for rebound, and if you end up there, then nothing much at all will be effective on the migraine front. The trial and error of finding effective preventatives and abortives is frustrating. But keeping at it offers so much more promise and hope of a payoff in the end, with higher quality of living overall.

As I type this, I'm sitting here with Lortab UGH hangover, as I took my rescue med this morning. I can't imagine the possibility of having to try to fight this nasty feeling every single day which could well happen if I were to be on Oxycontin. I wouldn't dream of driving today, or trying to do anything overly mentally productive. I certainly feel the Lortab, and it's not pretty. And Lortab is just a wimpy cousin to Oxy. I don't think the trade-off of buying some superficially good days with narcotic meds is enough to justify going that route rather than workingto find a better preventative regimen that will allow me to work with the disease to build a better quality of living. When I get those really good days, I want them to be purely good days, and I don't want to be doped up in order to try and enjoy them, if that makes any sense.

I've considered asking for long-term narcotics but haven't done so, at least not yet. I've been on the preventive roller coaster for 19 years. My son's 21, so he doesn't remember Mom without migraines.

The Oxycontin issue is a personal one. My life is livable, even with pain almost every day, so I'm continuing tweaking my preventive regimen.

There's no harm in talking to your doctor about it. Nobody can predict how you'll respond to Oxy, but I understand that many people function normally once they get accustomed to the drug. They can drive, work, and generally live their life.

I hope Teri will weigh in on this. And you might send this question to Ask the Clinician.

Gretchen in Mississippi

Like Droolie said, none of us can really answer this question for you. It's a personal decision, one that should be made with the help of your doctor.

For me, I avoid narcotics like the plague. My family has a high sensitivity to them. We usually get all the side effects - awful dizziness, wooziness, drowsiness, nausea - without any of the pain relief. And can develop rebound almost instantly, it seems. I'm still working with my specialist for an effective rescue medication for this reason.

As a result, while I work to find an effective preventive regimen, I usually max out on my abortives every week. I suffer from daily moderate migraines that haven't responded well (so far) to the therapies I've tried. That means I have a lot of days I just have to grit my teeth and bear the pain - not the best way to live life, but it's what I choose to do for now.

Now, that's not to say that choosing to go the narcotic route would not be the right choice for some. I just know that it's the (very) wrong choice for me.

Hi Marvel,

I have been on both sides of this fence. For a while, a good long while, oxy let me live a more "normal" life. You know what I mean, not missing the kids stuff and the likes. It was a choice I made at the time that was best for me and my family.

Having said that oxy just masked the pain and eventually sent me into rebound, MOH. There is now even conversation about opioids causing lasting damage to brain cells.

I understand your frustration in seeing numerous doctors and specialists. I've seen so many second, third, fourth, fifth opinions my head is still spinning. It can take too much time and effort before we find the right preventive plan, but in the end, in my opinion it is well worth it.

I agree with everyone about going on a narcotic pain medicine being a personal choice.

I can't take vicodin because it makes me very ill so I get an older narcotic called Talwin. I have gone off and on it for 4 years now and know when I'm using too much and need to detox myself. I'll stay off it for a few months but then get a bad spell of CDH's or a bad migraine attack and need it again just to function daily because my other med to help with my CDH's is phenergran which knocks me out for hours on end, even half of one does it, and then when i do manage to wake up i'm groggy or out of it and can't function. It is a toss up when you decide to go on a narcotic and the addiction isn't the rebound headache as much as hmmm how best to phrase it...it's almost a feeling of being hung over or getting over being sick and you just can't seem to feel "good" and your body feels weird and nothing makes it feel good, you'll eat or drink or sleep and nothing helps until you take another of the pain pills and all of a sudden you feel good and can function great for another day or 2 and the slight headache that was starting to develop after not having a pill (if your not actually having a severe migraine attack) for a few days goes away...Of course this is where the thought of rebound headaches comes into play but it's more just the withdrawal symptoms then anything else, unless you have a chronic daily headache going then of course you need the pain meds and that's a whole different ball game....

After a few times of taking the oxy or any narc pain pill your body adapts to the side effects and thats why people function on them well and that is why the risk of addiction is so high because your body does get used to them...But like Nancy said and I agree with her because I've made the same decision as well...you can function on them in a relatively normal manner but it is a narcotic pain pill and addictive so please remember that and yes you will be able to go out with your kids and do things but it is only taking the pain away for short spurts so please don't stop trying to find the right combo of preventives that might work for you. I spent 4 years and gained 50 lbs finding the right combo and while the pain isn't severe for me and i can still tell i'm in the middle of an attack because the 3 stages seem to still be present I'm glad I didn't give up. I'm on Topomax; 125mg a day, Celexa and Concerta and for some reason the mixture of all 3 seems to have done the trick because i haven't had an attack with a pain threshold of 10+ since November, even though I still have 2 or 3 (weather being my major trigger behind hormones) attacks a month but the pain threshold is down around 2 to 5 very managable with imitrex and what I have at home.

While this might not help you make your decision because it is a personal one, I hope it helps you see some pros and cons because I know that the issue of going on narcs is a highly charged one for some because many neurologists are against it, mine included...I had to go back to my GP to get my script but each of us has to created a regimen that suits ourselves, our bodies and our lives and enables us to live, especially when we have kids.

*hugs*

Good luck

Kerry

Thanks so much. All your replies were so helpful and so extremely informative. I know others can't make individual decisions for us, but it does help to hear the opinions of others and their personal experiences.

I've spoken again with my neurologist and have decided this is not the route to take for now. I don't think it will ever be the route I'll take, although they say never say never.

After reading your replies, discussing it with my neurologist, and many hours of thinking (and not for the first time over several years!), I've come to the conclusion that I believe long-acting narcotics would create another, more serious problem for me than the one I already have.

I'll continue trying new medications and treatments and pray for relief. My prayers are with YOU ALL as well.

I'm glad you were able to make a decision, Marvel. We all know that's not an easy one to make, by any stretch. Just remember on those rough days you can always come here. We're in your corner, and we all stick together. I've got prayers going up for you, too.

Marvel, thanks for letting us know you've made a decision. Even better to hear that you worked with your doctor to come to that decision. Droolie's right (and everyone else who's commented on this thread) - it's not an easy decision to make. And the journey trying to find the right combination of medications and treatments is not an easy one.

Do know that all of us are always here for you, however you may need us. And here's hoping all of us find relief, and soon.