Migraine

hey guys
went to the neuro today. hes a great doc but an ok person. anyways, he said that he wants to start on a clean slate, as far as abortive meds and pain go, and hes taken me off of all of them. i have to say this is the most nervous i've ever been. i get migraines pretty much all week i'm lucky to have 3 good days right now,and when i can take something to get rid of a migraine or take the edge off its great. but now i've got nothing. when he first suggested it, i asked him so what do i take in the meantime, and he said i've got nothing for you. my heart sank. i'm having a hard time keeping up w/ all my classes as it is, i'm just scared that now i'm going to be in over my head, missing lectures, too many ER visits, and too much pain to deal with and not having a med to reach for to help me out of a cycle like i do now.


alright i'm done w/ the pity party. I CAN do this, I'm gonna do this, just 4 weeks.

Best.

I can understand how you feel about going off all your meds. My daughter did that awhile back when nothing was really helping and she actually felt better some of the time and at least not worse most of the time. And she didn't have some of the annoying side effects that came with some of the drugs. Since nothing was working she figured she'd do it and see what happened. So hopefully you'll see how it is without the meds and than maybe start something new that may help. The problem with being on more than one drug is that you don't know what's helping and what isn't so that's another reason my daughter went off all of them. I wish I could say that she's found something that helps but we're still working on that. Go luck and let us know if something helps and we'll do the same.

That is ROUGH. I had to do a semi-cold turkey, where I could only take 2 triptans a week no matter what my head did. That was a rough month, but at the end of it, I did feel better and it helped reduce my frequency a bit (I was in a transformed migraine cycle).

Just remember, if it becomes intolerable, don't tolerate it. I get what the doc is trying to do, but if you find yourself in the ER every couple of days that might mean his plan is not so good.

I hope this works out for you and you get get some relief with a clean slate

Let us know how you are doing....
Kelly

Med holidays aren't easy, and they always seem to be needed when the timing is icky. I suppose we can always find some reason that the timing is bad, though, so it really doesn't pay to try and postpone it, either.

I know that when I did the cold turkey thing to get out of rebound it wasn't pretty for a few days, but once I got past that start, and gradually began to feel better, I was amazed at how much better better was. It was so worth it in the end. You're right in that you CAN do this. We're gonna be right here during the rough patches if you feel the need to jabber.

Root Root Root! Hope Hope Hope!

Hey,

I've been away from the forums for a long time, but I thought I'd ask and see how you're holding up. Did you make it through the weekend okay?

I'm thinking about you.
*hugs*

~Rachel

Rachel-

Thanks for the note. Things are rough but I'm trying to push through. No pain free days since the start of the med holiday. Today has been the roughest. The pain has put me in bed for the last couple of hours which really hasn't happened before. Usually I try to take care of it before it gets this bad. Its really frustrating not to be able to grab something when you want to squish something right in the beginning or even try to get at pain just a little bit when it is at its worst.

3 more weeks. Its so close yet at the same time seems so far. I'm gonna go with the so close.

Best.

Good Luck Kate. I know it's hard. Even with the meds I'm in pain every day. So I can only imagine how hard it is to have nothing. You've made it a week so far, that's good. Only 3 to go.

I'll be thinking of you!

Meli

((K Cass) - I remember going on my first drug "holiday" about a year ago - YUCK! I hate that you are going through this.

But I'm sending a great huge lifeline your way - just grab on - stay connected and we'll help you through it!

I have great shoulders to cry upon, and I generally end up crying with the person so you won't feel alone!

Be kind and gentle with your sweet self - this is hard! Do you have a friend from whom you can get class notes when you're head is banging so loud you can't hear the prof??

My mom use to make sure I always had flowers when I felt bad, so here is one for you! Breathe deeply of its scent and take in its beauty when things seem so hard!

Cyn

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the support. its literally keeping me going right now through this thing. its sooooooooooo hard, and its nice to know that someone knows what i'm going through right now. i read all the words of support and i think to myself, yeah i can do this.

was in the er last night for what seemed like the one million-th time. and they weren't very understanding of a med holiday and the pain that i was going through. but i should get off now, my head is not co-operating right now.

one again thank you guys.

and best.

Hang in there, kid!

I'm so sorry you were in the ER last night. I know it's hard, but just think - you made it through another day. You're that much closer to your goal.

Have some comfort food, if you can eat.

Get some rest if you can.

Know that we're all here if you need support.

Take care of yourself!
~Rachel

You'd think they'd be happy you weren't at the ER to ask for heavy-duty drugs, but I could see how they'd be somewhat frustrated at a drug holiday when they're kind of at a loss what to do for you. It does kind of limit their options when they're used to throwing drugs at things.

Hope you're feeling much better tonight. My experience with drug holidays is limited to getting out of rebound, but I distinctly recall that it did get worse before it got better. The first few days were pretty rough, as the beast pleaded for its candy and all. But when things started to improve, it was golden. Hopefully, you're in improving territory very, very soon!

More smooshes!

hey guys-

know i've posted a lot lately, but this drug holiday just isn't going well. i'm still waiting for that up swing. missing class and a quiz again. not very happy about it. i keep thinking when is this going to get better???? i'm very frustrated. had to cancel my big concert plans for tonight, been looking forward to this since september! now its down the drain. just frustrated i guess. its still the same old thing. pain every day.

best.

OK, my favorite student nurse, you've over one week behind you now.

I remember my first week off Stadol NS was one of the worst weeks of my life. I didn't talk to a doctor first. I just quit, cold turkey. That week was a descent into the nether regions.

You've had your descent into the nether regions. Maybe you can't see it yet, but you are on the way back up. We're all holding onto your lifelines, pulling steadily. You are in the middle of a . Look up and see our smiling faces.

In less than three weeks, Miss Cass, you'll be feeling much closer to human. You'll have a great Thanksgiving with your family. Your grades will come back up to their usual highs. "Ah has spoken!"

Yes, I'm giving orders! I'm telling your pain to go away. I'm ever hopeful that what I say will happen. I may grow old, but I will never grow up.

With love and hope,

Rebecca, The Island Mama

its over. i called my neuro after a trip to the er again, and he said i could start taking percocet so i didn't end up there again. i've been there way too many times. things weren't getting better after 2 weeks and they were starting to affect my classwork big time. i tried. he said the next step was inpatient treatment and he wants to see me asap.

guess thats it. thanks for all the support.

best.