Peer to Peer

[wbur1222]

I have had migraines since I was in high school and in the past year they have been worse and worse. I have been on so may medications that I wonder how much they are hurting me. I started out being able to control them with over the counter meds and in the past year I have taken drugs that I never even thought to take. When they are REALLY bad I walk to my doctor and get a shot of demerol because that is the only thing that will break it. I have gone to a specialist at the University of Washington for quite awhile and everything was great but when I get the HORRIBLE migraines I could not get any help....it would take two days to get a script to me in the mail. I just couldn't handle that and had to go to a closer specialist.

I have even had Botox and let me tell you the shots in the scalp hurt so bad but it really worked. Once again the problem was that I could not get the help when I had a BAD one. I have been at the University for four days at time getting infusions for 4-5 hours at a time and it would seem to help and I would get relief but when they came back I had nothing to help.

I have had every scan probe and medical procedure done that I know of (except spinal tap) and they can find nothing. At times I wish they would so I didn't think I was losing my mind and think everything is hopeless.

I have memory lapses as well and it is very concerning. Before they got bad my memory was great and now I cannot remember things from last week, last month or memories from a year ago. It is very scary to me to think that my memory is shot! Please if anyone can help I would appreciate it. I am going to get my shot again today and I had the med but it is the one thing that works when they are this bad. Help if you can....cause I am feeling really lost and hopeless!

Wendy

[cindysdaydream]

I've been having them for 30 years and yeah, mine have been getting worse they just put me on Topamax and this seems to be helping. Demerol does nothing for me. Over the counter doesn't do anything either. God bless you and keep fighting. You've got to find a doctor that actually has migraines or you're fighting a losing battle. Please don't give up and I'll keep checking in with you. Keep posting OK.

[wbur1222]

Thank you for your response.....it is hard having them and no one around you understands. I am now with a female doctor who has them so I am hoping this will help me a great deal.

Please keep me updated on the Topomax with you. I have tried that and LOVED it as it helped with the migraines and helped me lose weight. Unfortunately I ended up in the ER with bad Kidney stones. Keep your eye on that! Feel free to email me at [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed] or [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed] too and we can chat more often there as well if you would like. I need the support because there have been MANY days of me wanting to just give up.

Wendy

[aladley]

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[smithtjpl]

I'm so glad that I'm not alone in these terrible Migraines. I don't think my doctor realizes how they drain your life and I'm having problems finding a doctor that even wants to take the time to help. Just try this or try this med for a couple of months and see if they get better. I just "want" them to get better. This year they have become unbareable some to the pain of I'm I going to make it. I take Maxalt but it doesn't help much now. Shots at the ER help a lot but who wants to do that when you can barely walk and are throwing up in a plastic bag. My doctor wanted me to try Tomapax but I'm afraid of the side effects. At this point, I may go ahead and try it, it couldn't hurt anything. I didn't know about this forum until I starting doing my own research. Seems like a lot of us just want answers and there are none. Keep me up to date with what they tell you to try, so I can maybe check on it also.

[doublejoy]

I am right there with you! I have had them for 35+ years and I think they definately get worse as you get older. Maybe our tolerance for the pain gets worn down after so much suffering for so many years. Have you tried Maxalt? To me it is THE wonder drug. I take one and if no signs that headache is subsiding I take another. 2 is the limit, but it has never failed to work. Even on the worst headaches (the ones that make you want to jump in front of a bus) it may not completely cure it but it certainly dims the pain so it feels like a Tylenol headache. If you haven't tried it, ask your doc about it.
My prayers are with you,
Joy

[dailymigraines]

This is my first post on the forum. It is ironically depressing to find others who understand a migraine and the intense pain many cannot comprehend. I describe my severity as a steel brick that is the block size, not the home size, starting over my ear and trying to take my head off. Double vision, blurred vision, some sounds and many lights harm mine. Imitrex works but getting 9 a month for 31 days of migraines is a cruel solution when insurance doesn't cover them.

Migraines started with me in my twenties, if not earlier. This year I am in my early 50's. I was told they were tension headaches. I have finally found a doctor that I have seen 3 times in 4 months. I totally relate to the idea of throwing yourself in front of a bus. I stand against walls for support when I am standing, and they harm my neck as well.

Originally I thought I was having a reaction to Topamax because I could not see people in a car right in front of me if I was out walking. I could see shadows of them but not read the car license plate or see the people. I thought I was going blind. Currently I am trying to figure out how to read at all, how to retain short term and long term memory, and how to get the right words out when I speak. I have nausea. I have had vertigo in the past and that time period might have been undiagnosed migraines.

It would be nice to find something that doesn't require narcotics as treatment and it would also be nice to have a normal life. Migraines don't show to people. Many don't understand them. I admit to thinking those who offer me an aspirin that perhaps they should have one migraine in their life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone in truth. Weather does have a very significant impact on mine, in particular when the weather drops 20 degrees in a day.

With pleasure of a twisted kind I find this forum. Knowing you're not the only one out there with these feelings that make you question your sanity does allow us to maintain our sanity.

[MrsDubya]

I have had mine since I was a child, I am 19 now, they keep getting worse. I used to be able to go to sleep and the headache would go away, now they last a week or even longer. I have been taking different types of medicine for years, it is to the point that over the counter meds arent working. When I moved states, [my husband is in the military] I got new doctors and they gave me Maxalt MLT. It is a pill that melts in your mouth, it takes about 10 minutes to start working but it takes the headache away. BUT by the end of the night, my migraine is back and last through the night. I cant take this anymore. My doctor is sending me to see a neurologist. I am wondering if anyone has seen a neurologist and if so have they found anything or a cause?! I am kind of scared to go because I am scared they are going to find something yet again I want them to find something. =\