Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Chronic Migraine

Question:
I've suffered from migraines for 20 years now (since I was a toddler)...6 years ago, their pattern changed to being all day, every day....I;ve had perhaps 2 pain free days since then thanks to a fluke effect from a combo of Imitrex injection and oxygen (I say fluke because I';ve used this combo several times since then and the longest I can stay pain free is a matter of hours).... I've tried over 40 different medications(analgesics to antidepressants to anticonvulsants), nerve blocks, accupuncture, massotherapy...nothing works for long. The only meds that even dull the pain enough to get through work and grad school are Imitrex and Codeine. Does anyone perhaps have a suggestion that I might have overlooked? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance...

Answer:
Have you tried the combo of methergine 3 3x a day and dihydroergotamine shots or nasal spray (just released in nasal form as Migranal)? It has decreased the level of my headaches considerably. I am a patient at Johns Hopkins for chronic daily headaches and migraines and was hospitalized for 5 days receiving IV push of this dihydroergotamine in its strongest, purest form. Since that time, I am also on Verapamil. What are your triggers? Just life, probably. Me, it is the sensory stimulus of life--strong light (sunlight, glare off headlights and night lights at night, flurorescent, non balanced ligting, etc.), strong odors, loud noise (forced to wear earplugs to block out volume other people consider normal), vibration of plane or car, etc. I swear I am a hot house plant! I sleep with a bag of ice on my head every night to keep the inflammation and heat down from my head. Have you tried that? I also drive/ride in the car with ice and take it everywhere with me in a cooler bringing along zip lock storage bags. Have you tried craniosacral therapy? It is different from physical therapy in that it can actually relieve the tension in the bones of your skull and manipulate the dura mater surrounding the head. If you are interested, let me know and I can look up a practitioner in your area. My husband noted that you will want a practioner who is trained in the Upledger methods as they are really the most advanced. There are a number of other schools of craniosacral and it is his belief from first hand experience that they do not work as well. My PT who also did craniosacral and myofascial therapy got so frustrated with me that she had my husband take classes. He now has over 500 hours of formal training and works on me almost every night of the week in addition to my 3x a month professional CS therapy. He can actually abort minor headaches or reduce the tension on serious ones which enables the medication (opioids) and ice and darkened room lying down to alleviate or eliminate the headache. I have two problems'--my diagnosis is chronic intractable failed neck pain syndrome (status-post cervical fusion) and chronic daily headaches complicated by a migraine disorder. So I also take MS Contin for the cervical condition. My sympathies are definitely with you--how have you kept yourself sane?