Migraine

My head has hurt for 41 years.

Last night I couldn't sleep properly for anything. I realized that once again, the migraine cycle had started.

I could cry right now. I am so, so discouraged.

I've been experiencing a lot of depressive dips with my last three month's of migraine attacks too. I'm in one now.

Gads, I hate migraine. Is it too much to expect to want a normal life, a life that doesn't revolve around this hideous beast that has haunted me for 41 years?

The results of a balance test I took recently show that something is going on in my brain stem--the source of basilar artery migraines, which I was dx'd with a while back. It appears that I have no vestibular function although I had no vestibular damage. The organs in my ears are fine, but my brain isn't firing properly to activate them to work.

What is going on in my brain stem to cause both lack of vestibular function and basilar artery migraine? My vestibular rehab therapist says I'll have to ask my migraine spec who I was supposed to see this week but couldn't because I was having too much vertigo to get out of bed. I'm rescheduled for 12/20.

Now the pain phase has begun. I've taken an Indocin and I have OxyIR if that doesn't stop it. I've got Axert, but it hasn't helped any of my migraines although it stops my cluster headaches in just a few minutes. It seems to be a cluster buster of sorts too, a ray of light in the migraine/headache battle.

I'm just so discouraged. I want to cry, but that'll just make the pain worse. I want to read, I want to talk to my kids, I want to NOT go to bed, but now I'm so dizzy I'm considering it.

I just want to go home--wait, I am home.

I'm sorry to hear you are struggling... My thoughts are with you.

- Sarah

Hang in there, Medieval Writer. I can't imagine how hard it must be to be patient while looking for a regimen that works. I have a hard time being patient, and I haven't had nearly the length of pain you have.

Take care. Vent here when you need to. Of course there's nothing wrong with wanting a life not dominated by migraine. There would be something wrong if you didn't want that.

Thanks y'all.

I just get so discouraged I could cry. I've tried dozens and dozens of preventatives in my four decades of migraine. The ONLY one that worked appears to be the culprit in my heat stroke last year, so no more Topamax for me.

It takes 3 months to tell if a preventative or combo of preventatives will work. That means a person can only work in 4 changes per year.

What if none of them work? Think even a migraine spec cares that they're not working and that you need something for relief regardless?? A person could go for an entire year, or multiple years, before finding anything that helped. And if you think your doc cares...

THINK AGAIN.

I see a 'marvelous' migraine spec--ask him, he'll tell you how great he is. I had to plead with him that to leave me with no way to treat my migraine attacks since triptans don't touch them (he 'invented' Imitrex so that's all he wants people to use) was cruel, absolutely cruel. To this minute, I believe that if his nurse and my adult daughter had not been in the room with me, he would have denied me any meds to help me.

Years, years without finding a preventative regimen that works--imagine it. And picture the suffering.

Yes, I'm feeling sorry for myself. It's my pity party and I'll cry if I want to. Doubt I actually will since that would just make things worse, but I reserve the right to boo-hoo whenever I so desire.

Good for you, Medieval Writer. I'd prefer you not cry so that you don't trigger a migraine, but I certainly agree you have the right to cry. It's an awful disease, and some doctors are jerks. No doubt about it.

But we have little choice but to "keep on keeping on." It's hard to do sometimes, I know.

Aww, MW, I am so sorry to hear things are not going well. Nut is right, I think, that we have little choice but to keep on keeping on. Easy to say, hard to do.

Know that, if nothing else, we are ALWAYS here for you.