---Beth H <bethh@ccna-nj.com>
Secaucus, NJ USA -

I haven't been able to stop reading the journal entries. It seems we are just beginning our migraine "journey" with our 12 year old son. His headaches really came on in Sept. but I am convinced he never really recovered from mono a year before, we never saw him regain his "spark" after that. His pediatrician and neurologist disagree, but an Anthroposophic (an M.D.) (like homeopathic) doc says yes, mono could have definitely affected him like that, especially before puberty. He is on Imitrex and Propanolol but still has missed the last 2 1/2 weeks of school with a h/a that goes from mild to strong without warning. I am also giving him St. John's Wort and homeopathic remedies. He is SO SICK of doctors already and is losing faith in their medicines. We are arrainging for a tutor from school. He has had a normal MRI and like everyone else, have been told it could be stress. But being sick all the time is stressful!! All I want is to see him go out that front door eager to face a new day and not look back. Thank you so much for this journal page. I will keep following the stories to see what works and if we find anything that works we will let you know. I just pray everyday that he will outgrow these they will go away forever. Ipray I could take the pain for him. The hard part is he gets very little warning but feels "funky"before it hit's. We are watching his food more closely. His pediatrician does care very much and asks us to be patient. It seems like to many of you have been "patient" for sooooo long though. I get mild migraines that I have learned to stop with Advil and now don't get them as I am nursing. Guess I am lucky. I'm glad we are not alone and our prayers are with you. Please pray for him - he is such a neat kid, he is "mad" at his headaches but I don't think depressed right now. I just don't want him to lose heart.

---Cathy <SJM112851@aol.com>
Arvada, CO USA -

When I was in my 20's and on the birth control pill I had migraines quite often. My gynecologist said he didn't thing the pill would cause this. I instintly quite taking the pill and they stopped. Two kids later I had to have a hysterectomy, {Uterus only}. Now I have one migraine a month 24 to 26 days apart. They last for 24 hours and just stop. I have a terrible throbbing behind my left eye. Have to go in a dark room with ice pack. I take Fiorinal w/Codiene for pain. Doesn't rid of the pain completely Imitrex doesn't work. My doctor put me on Verapmil. and Wigraine. If anyone has tried these please let me know. How the affected you and if they work.

---Janice <Dannees@aol.com>
St Louis, MO USA -

COMPLEX MIGRAINE Has anyone heard of this type of migraine. It began with the typical aura but then went wacko. I ended up with left sided paralysis (resolved within 3 days.) I had slurred speech and altered mentation. I'm now taking elavil to try to prevent another attack. There is not much info out there about this. Wound appreciate any insight into this type of migraine.

---Curt <pulsiphe@ix.netcom.com>
Spanish Fork, UT USA -

The clusters started when I was 22 years old and finishing my student teaching at a local high school. I remember the need for quiet, cool places (often hard to find during the summer) where I held my head, walking around in circles or laying down rolling on the cool cememt floor of my parent's basement moaning in agony. The two to six week sessions would begin with a feeling of general unwellness and slowly build up in a couple of days to sharp, half hour periods of intense blinding pain and nausea. As I got older however these two to six week sessions which followed in two year cycles got progressively longer and longer. Medication at that time was limited to Cafergot and oxygen. I had just taken a job at a reprograph firm and within a couple of weeks of being hiring surprised everyone by bringing in my bottle of oxygen. I tried to be descrete and keep it in a spare darkroom but it did turn some eyebrows, especially those who smoked (the vast majority). Somewhere during a session in 1990 I noticed some further aching in a molar on my bottom jaw. After a visit to my dentist he determined that I needed a root canal. The visit was scheduled and I went in, again this was during the middle of a session. After the root canal I noticed that although I still had that feeling of something wrong (maybe impending doom) I had, for some reason no headaches! To make a short story long, It's been almost nine years headache free. I have talked to dentists and doctors about the connection between my root canal and the clusters however no one is willing to persue it(Grand Rapids maybe too small for such research). Suffice to say I'm grateful for the stroke of luck and I REALLY know what your going through.

---James Rathbun <jrathbun@remc8.k12.mi.us>
Grand Rapids, MI USA -

I have had migraines for 12yrs, My first one came on a vacation to Las Vegas. We thought is was the change in altitude. But to my surprise they have continued. I havetried all the main stream medications, working for awhile, but like all of you stopping at some point. I have been to the E.R. more times than i can count for the Demoral/visteral shot. I am at the point where I will go so long before letting my husband take me to the E.R. because I am treated like a drug abuser! I am degraded, left to wait for hours and talked to like I need drug diversion. I explain to the Drs. that i have taken med. after med. w/ no help. But again they act like i need a fix! Why are the Drs. like that? I feel for you all, and hope someday we will have a cure!

---Karen Miller
Orange, ca USA -

I have had migraines as long as I can remember. Last year was the worst. I had about 19 migraines in 21 days. I felt as if my head would explode. The pain starts behind my right eye. I have blurred vision. I was taking the imitrex injections but the neurologist thought I needed the nasal spray. The injections worked better for me but I had some side effects and that was the reason for the nasal spray. It isn't working as well because of the sinus drainage and the horrible taste of the medicine. It makes me sick and I tense up causing my headache to get worse. I have taken fiorinol when I was younger and it helped for a while. The neurologist hasn't suggested any futher test such as MRI or CAT SCAN. Sometimes I think I would feel better if he would just to be sure there was nothing else causing the pain. I haven't had any luck having a doctor prescribe a pain killer. I take 3 Nortripyline tablets as a preventitive medicine every night. They are low dosage, 10MG and they seem to have helped. My family noticed a difference shortly after I started taking them. I am thankful something works even a little. My husband and kids help a lot and can usually tell when a migraine is coming on. They say my speech is slurred. I am one of eleven kids and I think most of us have migraines. My mother and her side of the family had them too. My neurologist just says they are "severe migraines" that I inherited from them.

---Sherron <bsrowe@wtrt.net>
Hereford, TX USA -