I have had migraines for 29 years. For te last 7 years I have had at least 3 migraines per week. I have tried everything there is, but with no success. Migraines are ruining my life! My doctor says that I have complicated migraines, and she wants me to try bio-feedback. Has anyone had any experience with bio-feedback methods? I would appreciate hearing from you. Thank-you!
Signed, Beverly T
Beverly Thurrott <beverlyt@webtv.net>
Dedham, MA USA - Date: 09/15/98 (Tue)
Time: 08:17:27 PM
This is my second entry. Lately has been really horrible for me. I am not sure why. The medications I am on are helping a little. But these migraines are unbearable, I almost wanna put a screwdriver through my head some days. I've been in school barely 2 weeks and missed a day yesterday. I'm afraid this will start the chain again and I will miss most of my junior year like I did last year. I work 25 hours a week and go to school 8 hours a day 5 days a week. My life is up in arms right now, and my OCD is really on the edge. I'm barely coping and not sure what to do. Any ideas?? I'm 16 and NEED A NORMAL LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy <crickey82@aol.com>
Pittsburg, PA USA - Date: 09/15/98 (Tue)
Time: 07:23:58 PM
Thank you very much for the new background. It is just the ticket for my eyes. I didn't realize the lines were bothering me so much. Also I would like to comment about the use of Imitrex,Amerge and Zomig in response to questions. Imitrex worked best for me, first the pill and then the shot when the pill quit being effective. When the shot quit working after several years, I tried Zomig. This made the pain stop, but caused an ache in my joints, like when you have a high fever. Now I am on Amerge, which starts working in about an hour, but I am not able to function in my job as well or hardly at all for about 24 hours due to the side effect. I have another codine type drug to take if I wait too long and the Amerge doesn't stop the pain, but that takes about 2 hours to kick in.
Wanda Crayton <wcray61.aol.com>
Austin, Tx USA - Date: 09/15/98 (Tue)
Time: 10:16:20 AM
Hi again, Well I decided to go cold turkey to rid my system of all the
drugs I have been taking. This is Day 2, I'm not doing too badly. I've
only had a minor workable headache & I didn't resort to using meds. I
took a nice long walk at work, and that seemed to help. I decided to
"de-tox" if you will because I think I am getting a lot of rebound headaches
that really kill me. So we'll see if I can get thru a WHOLE WEEK of work
with out missing a single day (Crossed Fingers). I'll let you know what
happens. Take Care & Have a Pain Free day! Dianna
Dianna <ghost@gte.net>
N.P.R, FL USA - Date: 09/14/98 (Mon)
Time: 10:00:49 PM
It has been so good to read other people's experiences. I can understand and sympathise with you all.
I have suffered with migraines for about 9 years since I was 12. I am 21 now. When I first started to get them, it was when I ate choclate or cheese. So I was able to keep them under control by
not eating these foods. I went to a naturpath who actually cured me of my migraines for about a year. I think that was the happiest year of my life! I didn't get one migraine! Unfortunately thought they came back, and with a
vengence I might add! I almost lost my full time job over them. I started getting them about 2 times a week. It may not seem like a lot but,
those 2 migraines a week, really wiped me out. I kept getting sent home from work, and at this time I had absolutely no idea why I was getting them. Eventually my boss told me
to take a week off, and go and get a CAT scan to make sure nothing was wrong "up there". I had all the tests and of course, they came back all normal. But, I eventually I left that job,
and took a job that wasn't full time only part time. This seemed to help. Now, I am fairly certain it was the stress. I am a stresser, and working for a solicitor/lawyer was not a cruisy job.
Since then they have reduced to only about a one every two months. I am grateful for this, especially when I hear all of your stories. It is so hard for people to understand because they have no idea what the pain is like. Now I only work part time, and whenever I get a migraine now, I can always trace it back to a busy day at work or something else that has really stressed me out. Another frustrating thing is when you don't actual know what is causing your migraines.
Finding out, keeping a diary of food, emotions is a really good way of finding out. When you know what is causing it, you can actually go about finding how to get rid of them. That was my big problem and in the long run made the migraines worse. If anyone would like to
contact me I would love to talk. Just about coping with migraines in general and different ways of dealing with it.
Tehlia Wright <www.chrisw@netmedia.com.au>
Gold Coast, Australia - Date: 09/14/98 (Mon)
Time: 07:48:05 PM
I have had for two years. In the begining, I would have maybe five a year, but on August 6, 1998, I started having anywhere from 1 to 6 in a day. At first, they would be mild, or even tolerable, but two nights ago I had five really bad migraines, all within 1/2 an hour of each other.
I had just gone off this blood pressure medication, not for my blood pressure, Propranolol. I had gone off it because I had a severe allergic reaction, my lips started to swell and I was developing hives all over my body. It was also making my blood pressure to dangerously low levels. So my parents called my neurologist, Dr. Mary Johnson, (she's the chief or pediatric neurology at University Medical Center or Tucson), and she told me to stop taking the medicine, but, the danger was that my blood pressure could sky-rocket to dangerously high levels, which it did, temporarily. (Thank God) Ever since I have been off the Propranolol, I have had at least 5 bad migrianes a day.
Other medications I have been on are; Ergot, Imitrex, Excedrine Migriane, Asprin, Fiorcet, and Propranolol. Everything has worked, except Imitrex, but I've had bad reaction to Ergot, Propranolol, and Asprin because it made me feel like my stomach was being slowly cut in half with rusty scissors, and the Excedrine only took away the aura.
Speaking or auras, I don't know about any of you, but my auras change color acording to the intensity of the migriane. Blue is bad, green is mild, and pink is almost tolerable. The shade of the color is also a factor in determining how bad the migriane is going to be, bright shades are really bad, moderate shades are normal, and pale shades are really mild for that color.
My hands and calves also get boiling hot. The heat gets increasingly worse as the migraine gets more intense or I'm under more stress during the migriane.
Besides the pain and the nausea and the blindness, my teacher Mrs. McMichael is completely oblivious to my obvious pain, and when I tried to tell her that I was having a migriane she mocked me, and said "Close your right eye and do your work with the left, and I'm sure that you can and will survive a little headache." Even when other students told her that something was wrong with me , and I needed to go to the nurse or the hospital, she wouldn't let me go or have someone with a wheelchair, becaues I was unable to walk at this point, and when class was over, she called security on me because I was unable to move without extreme pain all over my body or falling on the floor.
So if you want to please contact me by E-mail. I really need a lot of support right now.
Kresta Hansen <fishegg@juno.com>
Sierra Vista, Arizona USA - Date: 09/14/98 (Mon)
Time: 04:39:24 PM
I have suffered from migraine headaches for 5 1/2 years. I am currently only 16 years old.
Migraines do run in my family but no one in the family has them as bad as me. I have missed 92 days in a 182 day school year.
I have tried numerous medications which have all failed. I have them so terribly that i lose feeling in my legs and arms. I go
completely blind, i get nauseous, my heart beats so fast it could jump out of my chest. THey usually last for about a week. Sometimes two.
No one knows or wants to tell me how they can be reduced. THe school board has done nothing for me. THey threatened to take me to court numerous times
and have gotten smart with me during class and called me names infront of hte students. It's really bad when the teachers act more immature then the students. I am looking for support from
people who have close to the same problem as I do. Or atleast migraines. Please contact me
Barbara J. B. <froggy16@bcpl.net>
Baltimore, md USA - Date: 09/14/98 (Mon)
Time: 11:04:03 AM
