Migraine
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Migraine Community MyMigraineConnection Doctors & Clinics My neuro was horrible today....I need help!|
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Community Moderator Grand Wizard  |
Thanks for the update!
It's so hard I think with this disease because none of us want to end up with MOH and so we try to do the right thing by calling the doctor...when the doctor doesn't respond, well, it's very frustrating. They should know that, maybe now would be a good time, if you have not already, to discuss a plan with your doctor for if/when this happends again? Like when you hit status - what should my actions be? So that you know ahead of time and don't end up wasting time waiting for a call back when you could be at an ER getting treated. Glad to hear you are feeling a bit better. I hope by today the little beastie is completly gone. If not, I personally would still go to the ER. Keep us posted. Eileen Gray Community Moderator eileen@helpforheadaches.com "The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to over come, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater then our suffering." - Ben Okri Please donate!!! Click below to donate to the AHDA - THANK YOU!!! http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?badgeId=102755 my blog: http://fireinmybrain.blogspot.com |
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Forum Moderator Grand Wizard  |
Miriam,
Good news that the meds worked a bit. Is the migraine completely gone? All my best! Laura Forum Moderator ***You're welcome to enter your birthday, etc in the Celebrate folder so we can party with you!! =) ***  |
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Novice |
You're right...doctors are unwilling to treat pain adequately with opioids. I understand that they do not want people to get addicted...but what do we do when we're in excruiating pain a lot of the time? We can't go to the ER every week! Since Dec. I have tried Tizanidine, gabapentin, Keppra and now baclofen. I am doing the best I can to find a preventative....so far I haven't found one. On Sat. I lost my vision in the morning and got severe pain when it returned 50 minutes later. That night, the same thing happened again, except the pain came on the opposie side of my head. I don't even have time to recover before the next migraine hits. So, if I'm doing the best I can to find a preventative....what am I supposed to do about my terribe, severe, debilitating pain right now??!! How can a doctor just say, "No you can't have pain relief...too bad, so sad." I just don't get it?! What type of pain would I need to get relief? My leg cut off by a train maybe?
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Maven |
The problem with opioids is that they only mask the pain. They won't break a migraine, and you certainly MUST treat your longer lasting migraines with something that will at least get you out of your cycle and stop the attack, like a steroid pack or an infusion.
Plus, you put yourself in danger of rebound if you take too many in a week, just like other pain medications. I think it is more responsible on the doctor's part to NOT Rx opioids right away. As an example--I take Axert and Aleve to abort a migraine. Most of the time, this combo works. But during my periods, I get wicked insomnia and the most severe migraines (by that I mean my migraines outside of my cycle generally aren't as bad, sometimes, but not clockwork bad like the menstrual ones). I take vicodin as a last resort for home treatment, i.e., once or twice every month to help me sleep and get a break from the pain if I can--because the insomnia perpetuates the migraines. I now got into Status with my menstrual cycles, and vicodin isn't going to take care of it the way I'd like for it to. So, rather than abuse the vicodin, I would prefer the ER, or, like last month, I went to get an IV treatment at my specialist's. I'd strongly recommend finding another doctor, and if you can't, remind the nurse and her office who is working for whom. And if they cannot accommodate your needs as a patient with extreme pain that you can't get a break from while touting themselves as able to treat migraine, it's time to go to the ER and get rid of them as soon as you're feeling better. aloofelf.blogspot.com myspace.com/leelood5e  |
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Maven |
Well, opioids attach to the pain receptors in the brain, so they do stop the pain and don't really mask it. They would cause a rebound/MOH if they were combos with tylenol/aspirin/advil or something like that, like Darvocet or Lortab. I specifically got an opioid that does not have an analgesic but is only the pure oxycodone just so I won't have that problem. I haven't taken either acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen (allergic to aspirin) in more than a year--well, since I started seeing Dr. Breathtakingly Arrogant and talked him out of Darvocet and into OxyIR. Pure opioids would eventually cause a person to build up a tolerance but not for a while. I don't think what she's asking for would cause her either a tolerance problem or a MOH problem, not in the short term. And she could get something like I have if MOH is a worry for her, if she had a responsive physician. Gah, what we migraineurs have to go through to get pain relief. Here are my new Migraine Quotes to Think About: *Prevention is an art and not a science. Doctors must provide for reliable pain relief in the meantime. *Triptans don't help everyone and those they help aren't always fully helped for every migraine every time. Must we suffer those times that they fail? *The ER shouldn't become a migraineur's significant provider of pain relief. If it does, it's time for action on the Team's part. *Opioids have become a doctor's enemy, but they are not a migraineur's enemy. There.   http://sparklingwithcrystals.blogspot.com/ basilar-artery migraine, MAV, BPPV, migraine with and without aura, cluster headaches, but no tension headaches! W00t!  |
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MMC Lead Expert Supreme Guru  |
This is such a horrid situation, and there's no one right answer. A few points to consider...
Something I don't see mentioned is that some doctors are very reluctant to prescribe opioids not because of the patient, but because of the way the DEA is scrutinizing and essentially persecuting doctors who prescribe opioids. How many of you followed what happened to Dr. William Hurwitz in Virginia? Dr. Hurwitz truly prescribed for patients he believed were in pain. Some of them fooled him and were selling their meds. In 2002, the government seized all his property and charged him with over 50 coutns of distribution of narcotics. In 2007, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $1 MILLION dollar fine. His conviction was overturned on appeal, and he was retried. In 2004, he was found guilty on 16 counts and the others were dismissed. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison on top if the 2-1/2 years already served. The judge said the "overwhelming majority" of his patients were legit and that Dr. H. had tried to help them. The prosecution had actually been seeking a LIFE sentence for him. There's a pretty good news story on this HERE. Anyway, my point is that some doctors are just being unreasonable when they won't prescribe, but there are good reasons for doctors to be very cautious.  Teri Robert Lead Expert, MyMigraineConnection terimmc@helpforheadaches.com
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Novice |
How sad. This Dr. was a pain Dr. and it looks like he was completely taken advantage of. It would be hard to have patients with chronic pain come to see you every day...there isn't a whole lot that could be done for them.
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MMC Lead Expert Supreme Guru |
Christian,
I must disagree that the real problem lies solely with doctors. Please see my long post on this.
Teri Robert Lead Expert, MyMigraineConnection terimmc@helpforheadaches.com
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Maven |
I agree. I don't know what the answer is. I'm glad we don't have to figure one out. I do insist that people who make more money than we make figure one out. I feel so sorry for doctors who end up in those situations. It's a shame that those situations are the ones people think of when migraineurs are asking for help. Here's my take: I say that the profession needs to solve the problem, not us. Telling us we can't get relief because the doctor is afraid is just plain wrong and we agree on that. Pain medicine has become the doctor's enemy. It shouldn't be ourenemy. I'm not going to stop asking for help because the doctor is afraid. That's his problem and solving is part of what I pay him for. Sound like I'm sensitive to pain relief issues? I am. Dr. Arrogant said I wasn't really worth his time to treat because I'd had so many years of undertreated pain, I had built up nerve pathways for pain that he would be challenged to overcome. Now, how lazy is that?? And to say such a thing to my face got my back up and took his wrong foot that we got off on out of his mouth and put it firmly in a pile of you-know-what as far as I was concerned. I knew I'd had years of undertreated pain. So, fix it! Work aggressively with me on prevention! Treat my pain NOW if you think it has been undertreated in the past! Don't make a sarcastic comment and refuse to work with me because I won't take the Imitrex you say you invented that doesn't help me anyway and that you think you've not gotten sufficient reward from for your work! This may be OT but I noticed that Imitrex is no longer marketed as a 'migraine abortive' in the package insert. It no longer says that it stops the migraine process. It's just called a 'treatment' now. Imitrex Prescribing Information (injection) I'm in a bad mood and I'm prodroming. We've got a terrific stomach virus here that I'm desperately trying to keep away from my terminally ill father, so forgive my angry tone. I'm tired from being up with a vomiting teenager all night. I mean what I say, though. The profession needs to solve this problem. The doctor being afraid of the drugs that we need is ridiculous. I'm going to go baby my nerve pathways so I won't end up vomiting myself from the migraine that is building in me.  http://sparklingwithcrystals.blogspot.com/ basilar-artery migraine, MAV, BPPV, migraine with and without aura, cluster headaches, but no tension headaches! W00t! |
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Sage |
Hi guys,
Just popping in to add a quick thought here-- My migraine is chronic (daily pain, nausea, vomiting days at least 3-4x/week). I currently have LOTS of choices for treatment! I have Maxalt melts if I think I can stomach them and I've got Imitrex injections if I can't (as abortives). I've got phenergan in all 3 forms (shot, pill, suppository). I've also got 3 different rescue combos: droperidol injections with prescription benadryl, droperidol injections with ativan, OR a long-acting narcotic. This is the BEST possible treatment scenario for me at this time! BUT my doc only prescribes 10 narcotic tablets for a two month time period. I feel that, by prescribing only a handful, he's protecting both me AND himself! I also am required to CAREFULLY use my migraine diary to track when/why I use ANY of my meds. This helps my doc to be sure that I'm not overusing/using them for the "wrong" reasons. I can see why a doc wouldn't want to prescribe 30 (or more) narcotic tabs for a patient each month...But I'm wondering why more docs can't see my kind of medication arrangement as a possibility?!? So many doctors out there ABSOLUTELY forbid narcotics! I know I wouldn't be surviving right now if I didn't know they were in my drawer, as an option when things get really bad...  jenny |
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Master |
Hi Guys--
Like Jenny I have a whole arsenal of drugs available depending on what kind of migraine I have. My doctor and I developed a "migraine algorhythm" which is a treatment plan based on the migraine pain rating from 1 thru 10. I use Oxygen, Excedrin, Zomig Nasal Spray, Alprazolam (to put me to sleep), and Dilaudid when absolutely necessary. I also use injectable Benadryl and oral Zofran for nausea (I can't tolerate phenergan, compazine, or reglan). I maintain a good headache diary and Dilaudid log so that my physician can easily monitor my Dilaudid use. he gets copies of the diary and log at each visit. Knowing that I have a way to treat any headache has relieved me from the fear of the Beast and has made it much easier to stay in control. Tracie  |
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Novice |
I wish I had more options. My neuro won't let me take vasodialators or triptans. I have so many stroke-like symptoms associated with my migraines (vision loss, numbness, speech problems, weakness, etc.) that they are concerned about the risk of having a real stroke.
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Novice |
I have a really good migraine diary and I go to the neuro 1-2 times each month. My problem is that my arsenal isn't as big. I've never tried dilauded...but that's pretty heavy duty! I have Oxygen, Baclofen, benadryl, atenolol and Darvocet when they let me have it. I've tried Topamax, keppra, gabapentin and tizanidine. I would love to use triptans...but I can't.
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Novice |
I hear ya! They get paid good money to figure it out!! Dr. Arrogant is making me so mad...and I've never even met him! I feel that trying to control the drug seeker problem is being done at the migraineurs expense.....and that is SOOOOO WRONG!!!
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Maven |
While I agree that I think rescue meds shold exist at the patient's benefit and be available to them if and when they need them, I come from a family who is struggling with the other side of the coin--a narcotics-addicted sister who has been scamming the system for years.
She finally got caught, however, and now one doctor refuses to Rx her ANY pain meds and the other one has made her sign a contract that she won't lie or go to multiple pharmacies to have it filled over and over. She's been known to take 25+ pills in a day. So my reasons for being wary of narcotics and other medications like those are really very personal, and I do see the destruction they can cause even in people who do not have migraine. Don't get me wrong; I take vicodin when I need it but I try to keep it as far away from myself as possible, because if my sister knows I have it she won't leave me alone and it's caused some massive family fighting. I take other medications I don't want her knowing about either, and it's horrible that I have to keep it away from her. She's family, but she's a shark. Unfortunately, pain medications can become the enemy whether you want it to or not. So many individuals cannot bring themselves to be personally responsibile for their drug intake, so you have a vicious cycle of doctors who are wary of Rxing pain pills and pain pill addicts who make it worse for those who ARE responsible and who need them. It takes work on both ends, with family and with doctors, to solve the problem. That's just my opinion, however, and I say that out of observing my sister and the fight we've had to go through to get her doctors to recognize her as an addict. aloofelf.blogspot.com myspace.com/leelood5e |
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Migraine Community MyMigraineConnection Doctors & Clinics My neuro was horrible today....I need help!
