Migraine

I have had severe headaches for about the last 17 years. And no one can figure out why. I have symptoms of tension headaches as well as migraines. I have had 3 CAT scans done over the last 15 years and everything is normal. All blood work comes back normal. The headaches are normally centralized in the same location every time I have one. The one thing I have come to realize is that they usually occur the week before and the week of my menstrual cycle. I have been on different types of birth control pills (Mircette, Kariva, Loestrin 24 and now Yaz) and my headaches will go away for a few months and then they return. I have tried every type of medication and nothing works.

Topomax worked but I couldn't stand the nauseous feeling I had 24/7. I have been given a shot of Imitrex before and I thought ever single blood vessel in my head was going to bust wide open. I was on Elavil for a while but felt like a zombie the following morning. Is there anyone out there that has gone through this? The doctors can't seem to tell me what it is or why I have them or what can help them. Someone please help. I am miserable 2 weeks out of every month!!!

GaPch,

I hope you don't mind, I moved your question out of START HERE to this folder and also broke it into easier to read paragraphs.

The best person to answer this question is your doctor. I know from reading your introduction that they aren't quite sure if it's Migraine or not so it may be time to consult with a Migraine Specialist for an accurate answer.

Since you get your headaches/Migraines around your period, you should read about Frova:

• Frova®: Trial for Menstrual Migraine Successful

Also, there are several other abortive medications aside from Imitrex that you can try. So don't give up on finding an abortive without the terrible side effects you've already experienced.

The same can be said about preventive medications. There are over 100 medications that can be used for Migraine prevention and virtually endless combinations of them:

• Migraine preventive medications: too many options to give up!

One last article I think you'll find beneficial:

• Preventive, Abortive, and Rescue Medications - What's the Difference?

Take care,

First off, hello and welcome!

I see you've already been to the Start Folder, so I won't bother you with the link to it, since you know all about it.

I agree that it's time to consider finding a true migraine specialist. None of us are qualified to say whether or not what you are experiencing is indeed migraine. Only a doctor can diagnose you. Since it's been so long, a true specialist would be best. I see Laura gave you the link to our directory.

One other link I can give you right now is this one...

Types of Migraine and Headaches

This article has profiles of various types of migraine and other types of headaches, and can provide you some food for thought to discuss with your doctors.

We may not have all the answers, but we do hate that you've had to deal with this and suffer so long without finding effective relief. The good news is that studies have shown that effective regimens can be figured out for almost every single one of us. The odds are highly in your favor that there is a good preventative and abortive "recipe" to help you. It's not always a picnic finding it, with plenty of trial and error involved. Not fair to lie about that bit. But...most of us have had similar ups and downs and fizzle outs, and we can relate. And quite a few of us have been able to work with our doctors as a team and have been successful in establishing treatments that are effective.

One thing we're very, very good at around here is support. We've got tons of info on the site, easily accessible by search features. We've got each other, for built-in cheering on and cheering up. And we've got this insatiable drive to share. If we can help, and we know anything that might be in the least bit helpful, we don't hesitate to bring it up. Just about any kind of question is fair game. Ask away!