Migraine

I went to the Nurse Practitioner today, and she told me that she didn't think I needed to see a specialist. I've had 3 migraines in the last 4 months. She gave me a prescription for Maxalt, and didn't really listen to my concerns about mixing up words or forgetting speech.

I really want to go to the specialist Dr. Carol Foster, but it will be $400 for the first visit as she is not covered by my insurance.

Are 3 migraines in 4 months "infrequent" as the Physician's Assistant said? I thought she was rather dismissive and cold. I told her that I thought they were getting worse, now with vomiting. She said nothing about triggers or trying to prevent migraines. She was just like, "migraines are common, yours are infrequent, here's some Maxalt, bye." I'm never going back to her again.

Also she didn't think it was necessary to check my hormone levels. I thought I had read something about that, but I could be wrong. Anyone know if that is something that doctors check for.

So you are only getting about one migraine a month, is that accurate?

Do they seem to be related to your menstrual cycle at all that you can tell?

Most of the time, if you are experiencing 3 to 4 migraines a month then at that point, you would be a canditate for preventive treatment.

I understand that your migraines are getting worse, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see a migraine specialist because of this fact.

Migraine patterns do change, sometime with age or hormones. I know mine have gotten progressivly worse. I was like you, maybe one a month, even though it was bad and included vomitting, I could handle one.

Then they progressed to about 20 a month so I sought out preventive treatment.

I would say keep your appointment. See someone who knows about migraines specifically. A specialist will see things that maybe a NP didn't think to ask, or is just out of their area of expertiese. I assume this was the nurse at your primary's office?

I think you are better off seeing this speicalist, especially since your pattern is changing. She can do a full work up on you and then you have the piece of mind of knowing for sure what is going on, from someone who has focused on migraine and headache disorders as her primary topic of study.

Keep us posted, ok?

Eileen is right, it's a good idea to see a migraine specialist if your migraines are changing or increasing. Mine started increasing when I hit my mid-thirties. They went from twice a month to twice a week and lasted longer too. My specialist has been able to help me reduce the length and the intensity of my migraines. Paying out of pocket can be difficult but it's well worth it for me.

Let us know how it goes, k?