Migraine

What is a steroid pack? Does it work better in E.R. situatoin than Demerol?

bev --

the only thing i can think of is that one of the preventative type things i tried was a medrol dose pack....which i believe were steroids. this is probably not helpful, but i've never had steroids used as an abortive.

hopefully someone will have some better information
emily

I believe--but I'm not sure--that a "steroid pack" is a package of steroids prescribed for home use for a number of days, to break a migraine cycle. They can be quite effective. I've not heard of a "steroid pack" being used in the ER.

Yep, a Medrol Dose-Pak is a steroid pack. I've had one before for plugged ears. The way it works is that you take the med over several days (I think it was six for mine), and you taper the dose off as you go. So...you might take six tablets the first day, five the next, and so on. The only way you'd have one at the ER would be if they sent you home with one, since you can't take it all at once. In the ER, I believe it's more common to receive an IV infusion of steroids all at once. (Someone feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken about that.)

I take the dose pack sometimes. If I have a migraine that doesn't go away after 24 hours I am suppose to try the dose pack, if that fails I call my nero and he will usually start infusion. He gave me steriods once in infusion but it caused side effects so he did not use them again.

Lori