Hi Rhonda
It's been awhile since I first wrote in, because of your page I
made contact with A new friend from Houston so thanks for running this
page.
Any way I wanted to ask if anyone out there has experienced any problems
with weight gain as a result of either their medication, or like me a total
lack of any kind of desire to eat. I feel lucky enough that all the doctors
I've seen in the past few years have taken me seriuosly; most of them are fellow
sufferers. My main problem lately is the amount of weight that I've inexplicably gained
since the migraines hit. I have a limited appetite these days and when I do get hungry
which most people will do eventually, I find that it takes very little food to
satisfy my appetite. I asked my doctor about it and she mentioned that because I have
all but quit eating that my body has literally gone into a hibernation state and is storing
fat for survival. What I'm having fun doing is finding foods that don't make me nauseous to
eat or think about eating. I can't say for ceratin that that particular food will make me sick,
it's just the thought of eating alone that makes me leave the kitchen.
My husband is trying to be supportive, but it's difficult even though he too is a sufferer. I've been
searching for new foods that will keep us all healthy, so if anyone can help the advice will difinitely
be welcome. And please hurry my ten year old has also begun to show signs of being a hereditary sufferer.
Thanks for letting me ramble. Maybe one day the medical profession will begin to treat us for what this
truly is and not what they want it to be.
Luck to everyone
J. Miller Honolulu Hi.
Julie Miller <gdknight@gte.com>
Honolulu, Hi USA - Sun Jun 21 23:58:31 1998
I really dont have a case study, but i do need some help. My father takes both percodan and imatrex for migrains. I need to know if anyone else hase taken these. Also this is an off the wall question, but what would be a legal amount of percodan pill given to a person every 10 days. Any help would help me very much.
Terry <Terry39801@aol.com>
USA - Sun Jun 21 23:44:46 1998
Have had all the pains most of you have described. I always have such intense heat in and around my head. I swear I could fry an egg on it. I have in the process of starting doctor's appointments. The first is to see if a complete hysterectory will help. I have several friends and this help them. But one connecting condition was, we all have endometeroitois (Female condition). I starting tracking my migranines in Jan. 1998 and found they had turn around and became menstrual migranes along with the neck pain, intense muscle spasms, lights hurting the eyes, etc, etc. You all know what I am talking about. I have also been the route where the doctors think I am a drugee. At least my husband knows and understands the pain when it hits. He insists that I miss work or do whatever it takes to ease the pain. Anybody else out there have the hysterectory? If so what were the results...Please e-mail me as soon as possible. I plan to do something before the end of this year. Lisa Sutton DVR@AOL.COM Please reference "migranes-Lisa" in the subject block when you e-mail, I delete a lot of junk mail without reading it. Also, I have used xanax to help me sleep when a bad one hits, it has helped lots.
Lisa Sutton <DVR13@AOL.COM>
Lutz, FL USA - Sun Jun 21 22:32:29 1998
An F-5 tornado unleashed in my head - bringing with it unbearable pain.
Thunder and lightning and damaging winds tearing apart my brain.
I seek comfort and quiet and stillness and peace as I try to conquer
the beast - but the migraine is stronger than all of these things as
it simpley refuses to cease.
There have been many doctors who prick, probe and prescrbibe medications
that seem only to fail; some treat you like a narcotics seeking junkie and
to those I just say - GO TO HELL!
If it weren't for the love of my family and friends and the support from the
people at work - I'm not sure how much longer I could carry on suffering through
this much hurt.
The narcotics at least bring tempoprary relief of this incredible pain I go through;
but the drugs aren't the answer to this crisis I have, but what else can I do?
I've had doctors with scalpels slice through my neck and put metal plates in my head;
only to have the migraine return making me wish I were dead.
I am not alone in my sufferring I know; I read the stories like mine on this site.
And I pray for an cure for each of us now; just hoping that someday there just might.
Chuck Raines <csraine@ibm.net>
Reidsville, NC USA - Sun Jun 21 10:41:31 1998
I'm now 47 years old ... and have suffered from migraines as long as I can remember ... but they weren't diagnosed as such until 22 years ago ... shortly after my son was born and I couldn't get away from the noise. Prior to that I assumed that they were eye strain headaches ... they were, after all, usually on the left hand side of my head and my left eye is the weakest. Furthermore ... it stood to reason that if I didn't manage to get rid of the eye-strain headache over night, then of course it would still be there the next day as I continued to strain my eyes.
I tend to get migraines on a daily basis ... but they are generally manageable, thankfully. The ones I get between 2 pm and 3 pm daily, tend to be gone with the minimum of assistance by evening. I have food triggers, sound triggers, odour triggers along with barometric pressure triggers and hormonal triggers. The latter two are the worst ones, leading to Monster Migraines that can last for several days.
When I get a Monster Migraine, I do have to seek treatment from the local ER ... where they seem to have become more understanding of mirgraines over the years. A few years ago, I sought help and the attending physicial [a Dr. Kildare wanna-be] prescribed something that only made the headache worse and made me violently sick to my stomach] ... the last couple of times I was given DHE and Maxeran in a combo shot. This worked very well ... it didn't make me dopey [although there was minor dizziness for a little while] ... I found that if I lie down for anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, I can actually go back to work after one of these treatments.
Imitrex only made me sick to my stomach ... and didn't really relieve the headaches ... and a whole host of other medications were useless because I don't get an aura in the classic sense of that symptom. My eyes do get "funny" ... but I don't see colours or spots prior to a migraine. In fact, I've been known to sit bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night with a Monster Migraine.
After a migraine I get what I call a "shadow migraine" ... it's as if the migraine itself is a huge balloon putting pressure on the inside of my head ... and the "shadow" headache is like the balloon is gone, but everywhere it touched inside my head is still sensitive. This "shadow headache" lasts for about a day after a Monster Migraine.
Because so many of my Monsters are hormonal related, I am looking forward to complete menopause ... hoping that many of my headaches will be gone. I am pre-menopausal now ... and am taking natural progesterone to relieve hot flashes ... I have an oral form of this substance which I take when I get a migraine that seems hormonally triggered. Surprisingly this seems to help quite a bit. The theory behind natural progesterone "treatments" is that hot flashes [and possibly migraines] aren't triggered because of fluctuating estrogen levels so much as an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone levels. Taking the natural progesterone orally does seem to assist in lessening the pressure and severity of the headache.
Whether this "treatment" would be of assistance to someone who wasn't pre-menopausal or menopausal I don't know since I didn't "discover" this until I was pre-menopausal. The oral preparation doesn't taste great [couldn't they make a wild cherry flavour?] but it's not objectionable either.
I also use ice packs to help relieve the pain ... and over the years I've developed "tricks" to help relieve the pressure which help depending upon the severity of the condition. These "tricks" include getting up at the same time every morning ... going to bed at the same time every night ... making sure that I eat SOMETHING on a regular basis ... avoiding bright sunlight ... sticking to a "routine" seems to help a lot. I also go to the chiropractor once a month ... this helps to ensure that my neck and shoulders aren't tense ... and, of course, identifying triggers and avoiding them when possible. I also take feverfew and this helps ... it all helps ... every little step.
I did have to switch doctors once because of a lack of understanding and sensitivity towards the condition, but generally I've been met with concerned physicians wanting to help ... at least in recent years. When they were first diagnosed, however, the wording was "You JUST have migraines." I sometimes feel that a diagnosis of a brain tumour would have been preferrable since everything would be over by now! Seriously, the medical profession has come a long way since I was first diagnosed.
In Toronto, Sunnybrook Hospital has been doing migraine research for years ... it began as a Vets hospital, but since there haven't been major wars in recent years, it switched its focus. The very first time I actually got relief from a migraine was at Sunnybrook Hospital. They treated it with IV medication that lowered my blood pressure. The headache went away ... but I was "stupid" for 3 days afterward. This was over 12 years ago ... and the research has come a long way since then.
Now my son also has migraines ... and he's slowly learning about his triggers. *sigh* The cycle continues.
Good luck to all my fellow sufferers.
Mary E. Lea <topdog@working-dog.com>
Scotland, ON Canada - Sun Jun 21 8:42:43 1998
Just wanted to let u know im have created a exhange program "it a PIK" . what i do i exchange medication or send some to the one in most in need in the states....no narcotics r sent in the states and depending where u live there is a small fee if u live in the states ...its only posting plus my cost of medication...i have a very good plan if in Cannada or elsewhere it is stilll the cost of shipping and arrangmemt r made...either a samll amount of money or a thank you card is good enough for me ...write with ur request to me at frenchy1@hotmail.co or ca ...i dont know this am since i have a major migraine and i cant see 2 inches in front of me.....later "guys " take care of yourself and do take each second and minutes at the time with long in breathing ...slowww breathing out..Take care of each other...another suffer for 16 yrs now....completley disabled...only few if any good days in a month
Its under either Frenchy or Boisseau or M.Boisseau
CANADA - Sun Jun 21 6:07:59 1998
Wanted to add a short addendum to my entry which follows. I also get migranes from different lighting. Some flurescent light bothers me, but not normally. I am especially bothered by red light. I was on an EPCOT ride at Disneyworld where the lighting went red, and by the time I got off, the aura had begun. My neurologist says lighting doesn't cause migranes--that I must have been already getting one and therefore the lighting was coincidental. I think he's wrong. Anyone else agree with me?
Colleen Stevenson <mecko@worldnet.att.net>
Houston, TX USA - Sun Jun 21 0:06:29 1998
It's been interesting and reassuring reading everyone's comments. I feel better about my own symptoms--knowing now that my problems could be so much worse. I experienced my first migrane when I was 29. It coincided with my firsr bout of morning sickness with my first pregnancy. I find it interesting that the medical literature says migranes tend to subside during pregnancy--since mine didn't start until then! Initial migrane was pretty typical: the aura, the missing vision, headache over one eye and the nauseau. They continued all through my pregnancy culminating with a really awful bout the day before I delivered my son--with my right side, arm & leg going numb and slurred speech and general incoherence. I guess I get about 6-8 migranes a year. Some are definitely stress related. I have managed to avoid some migranes by watching my diet for certain foods. Among them processed meats, red wine and Dr. Pepper! I can drink any other cola product, but if I drink a Dr. Pepper, I can count the minutes until I get a migrane! Since my migranes started when I was pregnant and I couldn't take anything for them, my preferred method of dealing with them is drugless. Usually I can sleep them off in about 2 hours (which is difficult if I get one at work). Medically, I have tried Midrin and Caffergot with not much success. Recently tried Imitrex tablets which worked surprisingly fast. I have Imitrex nasal spray I am going to use the next time. The last few migranes I have had at work and I have been able to "talk myself out of," along with mild treatment. I now get a pre-aura warning. I get a feeling that my arms are some how not associated with my body, before I get the aura. When I experience that I immediately take exedrin or asprin or something similar that disolves quickly, along with a sudafed (sometimes before my attack my sinuses bother me--even if I don't have a cold or allergy). I'll drink a cold, canned Coke as rapidly as I can, putting ice or something cold on the arteries on the side of my neck and try to relax in a quiet, dark office. I also recently heard about some accupressure thing where you pinch the skin between your thumb and forefinger so I do that too. The combination of all of the above has worked for the last 4 migranes! I don't understand it but I'm not questioning it! I try to keep my caffiene level even--having some coffee or a Coke early in the day, which seems to help. I've discovered that my grandmother had migranes ("sick headaches") and my mother had auras only--just the vision thing, but no headache. My neurologist says that's possible. Obviously this is running on the female side of my family--probably hormone related and I feel badly that my six year old daughter will eventually get them! I wish all of my fellow sufferers out there well and am curious if any of my remedies help--especially this accupressure thing.
Colleen Stevenson <mecko@worldnet.att.net>
Houston, TX USA - Sat Jun 20 23:35:39 1998
