Case Histories - March 1997 (1/5)

Hi - I've been wanting to write for awhile now. I wanted to thank you for your page - it's been a great help. My 19 year old daughter had her first migraines ever last month and I was going crazy trying to get help. She was away at school, and the doctors where she is were no help at all. She finally took a leave from college, and I took her to a highly recommended neurologist. She had tried Imitrex once before, with no effect. It turns out that the doctor who had prescribed it did not understand the dosage, and she was not taking enough. Her new doctor really explained how it worked. So the next migraine, she tried the higher dosage and it worked like a charm! The headache was gone after 2 hours, with no side effects. She is also on Inderol, and has not had a migraine in a month, although she has frequent headaches which seem to be controlled by Tylenol. Anyway - It really helped me to read what others had to say and to let people know not to give up trying.

Thanks

--- Ellen emills@flash.net"@flash.net

Hi Ronda,

I too am a Migraine sufferer. I am a 37 year old female, and have suffered with Migraines since the age of 9. I get the "classic" Migraine, flashing lights for 15 -45 minutes, followed by intense nausea; excruciating pain. The intense period lasts from 2 - 48 hours, and followed by a less intense period of up to 6 days. The part I find so troubling, aside from the physical torture, is the reaction from those around me. I have become extremely depressed as I feel so alone, I get so tired of "those looks" when I get the first sign of an attack and I express it. My boss will say, oh, and start handing me tons of work and issuing verbal orders as if I had just told her I stubbed my toe. I have told her I can't see, and have only a few minutes to get medication and get to someplace to lie down. She gets extremely insensitive. I then get so filled with anger, guilt, feelings of inferiority, and not to mention I am also in a state of panic because I know the "Migraine" is on its way to my body to destroy my next few days on this earth. I have tried Imitrex, but find it only lasts now a few hours, and now after it wears off it seems like I get a whole new attack, with the aura and the whole new migraine. I try to explain to those around me that I can only find some relief in a black room with my head down, many a time I have laid on the floor of the bathroom, so I wouldn't have to walk far to throw up. But mainly I feel so disheartened by how insensitive those who have never suffered a Migraine can be. I have never had a friend, or co worker, or relative understand. My 3 children are my little life preservers, they see the pain and become my life line. They help me so much, and they are the only ones that have shown any compassion since my mom, who passed away 9 years ago, and she too suffered with Migraines all her life. Anyway, I would love to support any other Migraine sufferers, and do anything I can for anyone else. All we have are each other!! Thank you for letting me share my story.

---Lynn ilovelace@aol.com

My wife has been having headaches for about 2 years. A year ago she had sinus surgery in hopes that it would releive them. It helped somewhat. She still gets daily headaches, (usually behind her forehead), but not the real "migraine type" you hear of. She recently went to an M.D. and was told she had a migraine gene and was prescribed Desoxyn (Dexidrine), an amphetamine, along with a change in diet. Has anyone ever heard of this type of treatment? She's real concerned about the addictive nature of this drug. Another thought: Prior to her surgery, she started taking Excedrin. For 2 years she has been eating Excedrin like gum drops! I read something about "rebound head aches" and analgesics. (My wife is also diabetic) Any comments?

---PCROFTON@hcfa.gov

I ran accross your page by accident in my somewhat unending search on migranes. I have had them now for about 17 years. They started when I was 30 (I guess that tell you how old I am). In terms of frequency, my migraines range from 1 or 2 to 20 a month. In terms of intensity, they range from none (only the aura) to the aura in one eye followed by an aura in the other eye and then one hell of a headache. In mild cases I can take two advil which nullifies the headache but does nothing for the feeling of being totally wiped out after the headache. In the more severe headaches, I take my trusty fiornol and go to bed. Based on my keeping track of what I eat, when I eat it, or time of day or day of week of the headache, there has been absolutely no correlation with the onset of my headaches. The closest thing that I have correlated only partially has been stress but even here, it has been a very weak correlation and only in frequently can be attributed to it. I also have high blood pressure (which is being treated with beta blockers - which by the way does nothing in helping to prevent my headaches), and am a smoker. My mother has had a history of migranes. A recent (December 1997 or Janaury 197) article in (I believe) a Finnish science journal was describing an increased risk of stroke in men who suffer from frequent migranes. It also indicated the risk was even greater if there was a history of hypertension, high chloresterol, and smoking. Since that kind of described me, my interest in the subject was greatly increased. To date that was the only reference that I have found. I don't know what good my information will do but I thought I would share it.

---Keith YJNW42A@prodigy.com

Dear Rhonda and fellow migraine sufferers:

I am probably a lot younger than most people that click onto your website but I am constently in search of some sort of relief since I, too, know the incredibly excruciating, torturous pain of migraines. I can truthfully say that I do not know what life is like without headaches since I have had them for as long as I can remember. I was first hospitalized at 4 years old when I couldn't stop throwing up because of a migraine. At 13, I'm having them more often than before. Plus I'm at a disadvantage because I'm too young for a lot of medicines so about the only thing I can do is go to sleep for 4-6 hours until the pain goes away. I go into my parent's bedroom (which is the darkest, quietest room ) put a pillow over my head and fall asleep. One thing about my headaches, they usually start in the afternoon, so sometimes I can make it home. Otherwise I go to the nurse's office for the last couple of hours, but that's just to get me by because I can't actually sleep as well in there.

I have had all the typical diagnostic tests,such as: CAT scans, MRI, x-rays, and numerous others including spinal tap. The only comfort that these tests have been able to bring me is that I can be pretty sure I don't have some sort of a brain tumor.

---AFANCHER@msn.com

Dear Ronda,

My name is Aimee and I live in Connecticut.I am 12 years old and very frighted. Every story i read the people have been getting Migraines for most of there lives.

Here is my story. I started getting headaches when i was 11. At first we thought that I was just ahving a headache and 2 weeks later I was in a doctor's office teeling him when ,where I would get them. It's been a very rough year and I sometimes just cry cause they are so bad. We have tried advil, tenonyeal and other over the counter medicines. Nothing touched it. I was out of school for a week because I couldn't even lift my head. Now a year later I still get them and I have tried what seems like a zillion medicines that still don't help. Plus every medicine I have tried has side effects and I have gotten all of them. I feel like just dieing sometimes.

I am still seeing the same doctor and I am now seeing a stress counsoler. My headaches are not interfeering with my social life or at least not yet. I still do all the things that I want to do and nothing is stpping me execpt for headaches.

When I first came to this web page i cried . I had no idea that these headaches can get worse. Plus I have had eeg's ,mri's and many more testes and my doctor still has no clue what they are. I have told him that "they have a 'mind' of there own" and I have no possilbe clue what they are.

So I guess scientists will soon come up with a cure or at least I hope. I have seen more things done to my head in the past year then i even thought there was.

Thanks for this page, ---Aimee kelaim@ctonline.com

I have been seeing Dr's for 30 years now for my head... and no one has ever mentioned the word "migraine" so I'm not sure where to go. I feel like I walk around with a brick in the top of my head...that there is this constant weight. I have been on low doses of antidepressants at times (pamelor, Elavil) that for a week or so seem to lift the weight, but it soon reappears. Over the past few years I have noticed that the actually painful ones start in Feb/Mar (I'm in the San Fran area) when the trees are the big pollen polluter, yet allergy skin tests show no allergies.... The sides of my head hurt to the touch..... the two "bulbs" at the base of my neck hurt to the touch... I awake with the pain. Sometimes I can do a mind over matter and get by, but other days the pain is just too intense - sometimes feeling like a constant lightning strike thru my eye socket area.... I do not get aura's, nausea but always have some adversion to light... DOES THIS SOUNDS FAMILAR TO ANYONE? I found a web page by a clinic in Bloomfiled Mich. that talks about STD - a jaw clenching (not teeth grinding) cause that seemts to fit, and for $1600 and a trip there (only if they can stop the pain!) they will fit one with a front teeth piece vs. a full mouth guard....

---deniz@aol.com