Hey everybody! This is a great site, it's nice to know that you're never alone suffering with this drasted headaches. But it's also sad because you know other people are suffering too. I'm currently 20 years old and have been getting migraines ever since I was 10 years old. I remember my first migraine.. I was taking a test in my 6th grade math class then all of a sudden I saw this jagged squiggly line in my vision kinda like a blind spot and then I started to feel sick to my stomach and then the pain started. I'd get them about once a month and they'd last about 2 days. I couldn't stand the vomiting and pain so I contemplated suicide at the age of 12. I eventually found comfort in praying, I would pray to god every day if he could just make my migraines go away forever. And at the age of 15 I thought he answered my prayers. Between the ages of 15 and 19 I didn't not get a single migraine!! I thought helleleuya it's finally over.... or so I thought. Last year I started getting them again (dammit). I don't get them as often but still why why why are they back??? I can't think of anything that has drastically changed. I never take anything for my migraines for fear of a rebound headache.. because I have had those. I also don't take prescriptions. All I can do is just lay down and suffer through it.... I guess I should start praying again. I always gotta tell myself that it could be worse(sigh).

Jessie <fujess808@yahoo.com>
Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 17:15:05

I too am a sufferer of Chronic Migraines. I am 36 years old and have had daily chronic migraines off and on since I was 16 years old.

I have been to countless specialist accross the country and been on over 60 different medications. At one point a few years ago, I was taking 8 different medications per day. I have tried both traditional and non-traditional treatments.

Triggers for me range from stress and lack of sleep to changes in the barometric pressure.

The only preventative med that ever worked was Topomax, and it caused a kidney stone, so I was taken off of it. None of the triptans work for me as an abortive med.

It is not uncommon for me to have a migraine that will last well over 2 weeks. At that point, I usually receive an injection of Nubane and Phenergan, and sleep for a while.

I am not currently on any preventative meds...If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear!!!!

Thanks and Good Luck!

Kelly <mmfrost96@cs.cm>
Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 15:55:54

This is an awesome website... it is really comforting to know that you after all are not alone in this battle. The first migraine attack I experienced was 10 years ago and God knows how painful it was. Not knowing any single idea of what it is made me feel so insecure and scared that the possibility of brain cancer crosses my mind then. I was in great pain when my parents brought me to the hospital and after being checked by a doctor all she uttered was "its JUST a migraine!" what a pathetic thing to say... JUST a migraine but here i am stuck on a bed and feeling very helpless. Maybe she thought it would comfort me but belittling this sickness will not be a great help either. Soon I have learned to know and accept this sickness; I have heard both facts and myths about this. All we really have to do is prevent this as there is no treatment for such... there are pain reliever yes... but still avoidance is still the answer....

Valerie <rotsen_29@yahoo.com>
Wednesday, April 30, 2003 at 04:09:09

I have been away from the journal for quite awhile but since I'm still unfortunately having problems I thought I'd come back. In the past it has helped to see what others are doing to try and cope with these horrendous headaches. Like everyone else I have tried a variety of different things. This past week has been a painful week to say the least. It's awful as I'm sure you all know to be stuck inside with the weather becoming so good. I for one like to get out and drive but unless things start getting better, going anywhere is just not in the cards right now. I'm seeing a headache specialist-neurologist and have been seeing him for over a year on a regular basis. Sometimes we make a little progress but unfortunately it doesn't seem to last for too long and then its back to the drawing board. We are talking about my trying a drug called Frova. Is anyone familiar with this and if so how has it worked for you? Also, someone I know takes something called Ultram, Does anyone have any experience with this particular one? Thanks so much for your help Carol

Carol Bednar <dennie20@webtv.net>
Sunday, April 27, 2003 at 12:08:59

Hi, what a fantastic web site, when suffering from migraine what a comfort it is to know that your not the only one in the world!

I arrived on your site on one of my many attempts to find out more about, MIGRAINE, which must be one of the most horrendous, dibilitating conditions known to man!

After suffering from classic migraine since the age of 16, I am now 39, my headaches gradually worsened, through the years, about 5 years ago I was told after a cat scan, by my neuro surgeon consultant, that I suffer from hemiplegic migraine, now my headaches are worse than ever. I still get classic migraine lasting from 1 - 21 days, but now I also get extremely frightening symptoms at least once a month, more if I am under any adverse stress. When I first experienced one of these attacks, I thought I had had a stroke, or a blood clot which was moving. I panic which then causes a panic attack accompanied by, palpetations, dizziness, nausea, and almost fainting.

I awake in the night, with a numbness in my left side, cramps in my left leg, muscle spasms, pain in my left leg ang arm, accompanied by the worst pain imaginable in my head. I eventually cry myself back to sleep, telling myself that, "I'ts JUST a migraine!", but still I am panicking, is it just a migraine? will I wake up in the morning? or will I never see my little son again?.

The MD,s in England do not seem to put enough emphasis on this condition, and you feel you are left to battle alone.

Which is why Ronda, your site is a godsend to sufferer's, to read other peoples experiences,to compare and see that your not the only person in the world afflicted with this condition, helps you to cope with life, under the cloud of Migraine.

Thank you!

Genuine sufferers welcome to e'mail me.

Michaela Mahon <michaelamahon@hotmail.com>
Friday, April 25, 2003 at 03:45:43

Hi Yall! My name is Jeannine, 43, and live in North Texas. I haven't visited this site in about 3 yrs., but I see that "migraine problems" are still very persistant with most of you.

Over the past 25 years I have tried all of the drugs that everyone mentions, but like most, I have not gotten good results. A little over 1 yr ago I started Botox injections. I just read one post that said she had one set of injections. For me one set was not enough. I have gone back to the Nero. every three months and have stayed on this schedule. I have had Very Good results with this schedule, but I find that if my appointment is a week or more late, I will get the most severe migraine that will put me in the hospital.

I know that Botox is quite expensive. I now only have Medicaid, because I got fired from my job at an University 2 1/2 yrs ago. I lost my job due to having so many migraines and I also developed seizures. I have apealed the disability decision, but after 2 yrs have still not gotten approved.

If anyone has ideas on how to get disability, it would be very helpful if you would email me. I have an Attorney who says we just have to wait now until they decide. My husband has also lost his job at the same University and has yet to find another in the past year. Needless to say times are more than hard and I really don't know what to do next, as I have one in college and a 13 yr old daughter. If you have any advise please email and if I can help with info on Botox please let me know.

Have a great migraine free day!

Jeannine Sykes <sjeanninetx@aol.com>
Wednesday, April 23, 2003 at 13:12:30

Hi everyone, my name is Lisa & I regularly check up on this journal for any new medications, tips or advise. I myself have suffered for the last 4 years with migraine. I'm currently on amitriptyline for about 3 weeks now & it's slowly working - I sleep right throughout the night which is great. I'm only on 25mg so there will be no side effects etc.

I don't know about you (the readers) but with my migraines - the least little change in my daily routine seems to trigger it e.g going for a walk, cycle, or under a 'little' stress at work, a change in room temperature i.e sitting beside a hot fire, and when I sleep in on a Saturday morning (a big NO NO)as it I get a migraine. Even with any pain killers - they seem to work at first but then it's like as if the migraine finds a way to 'trick' or find out how to overcome the painkillers!! sounds weird but maybe I'm just too imaginative.

So until next time - bye, bye.

Lisa <dooballa77@hotmail.com>
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 at 14:35:33

I have just spent the past hour reading here. I KNOW EXACTLY what each and every one of you are talking about. I can remember my first migraine at age 8. My mother gave me the "Headache? What are you talking about? You're too young to know what a headache is." At age 16 the family GP finally told her that I had migraines. THANK YOU DR. DRY!(long since retired). I am now 48 and have suffered with these for 40 years now. I have tried all the drugs out there. I've done the preventatives, the diet modifications, behaviour modifications, pain killers, you name it... I've done it. I am currently today in my 3rd week of this headache!

About 4 years ago, I had a case of viral meningitis. Since that time the headaches have gotten much worse. I don't usually get an aura or forewarning that one is about to hit. It just EXPLODES. Since the meningitis, I experience slurred, stammering speech with them, dizziness, short term memory loss.... imagine driving down the street and all of a sudden you have no idea where you are or how you got there or where you're going.

I see a WONDERFUL neurologist now who has taken me through every test there is trying to find help for me. We have tried many meds and most recently I have been taking Keppra and it did seem to help somewhat... 6-8 headaches a month instead of 3-4 a week but now that has stopped working as well. I have taken so many drugs over my lifetime.....

I have dealt with this condition for all these years but now I'm afraid that I am looking at disability. I can't function at work anymore. I have missed more days in the past month that I had in 12 years working where I am. My boss is WONDERFUL but there's just so much that he can do. I'm just afraid that I won't get the disability. I have no idea how to go about starting the process.

Can anyone give me some suggestions? I would really appreciate it if you could.

Sorry this is so long.... Thanks for listening.

Lori

Lori <l_z_b@hotmail.com>
Monday, April 21, 2003 at 19:30:50

Hi, I've just spent some time looking at some of the journal entries and I wanted to say to others with migraine you are not alone. As a nurse I can tell you that may people suffer with them and many more go undiagnosed due to the belief that they are drug seeking as opposed to looking for pain relief. I am very interested in the the feverfew nasal spray, I have not been able to find a local source for it. If anyone has an internet source I'd be glad to have the information. Currently I am using Topomax and ZomigXLT with good results, but I still have to resort to the StadolNS at times. This is not a good thing in my line of work. Keep looking for a combination of meds that works for you, it is out there. Good luck to all. Mary Janette

Mary Janette <MaryJanette@msn.com>
Sunday, April 20, 2003 at 00:50:59

if anyone happens to know why it is recommended that migraines with hemiparesis aura not be treated with the the triptins, please email me at jpc3@aol.com. thanks, john

john <jpc3@aol.com>
Saturday, April 19, 2003 at 07:30:25

Dear Journal,

I just returned from a business trip in Germany. I spent the last few days there at a German hospital in the neurological ward. I don't remember clearly but I believe this may have been the second time I was "diagnosed" as having severe-acute migraines or something like that. But this time, they included Migraine with an Aura. Anyway, this is how it began...

From reading the common "triggers" lists.. I've pretty much done most of that... worked 100 hours/week, couldn't get much sleep during the daytimes (I was working night shifts 12+ hours/night for 3 weeks) at a hotel full of second hand smoke, not eating well, nuts for snacks, deli-meats, tomatoes, citrus fruits served at the hotel (free breakfast meals), long hours in front of computers in a noisy room lighted with flourescent lights, and fairly sharp temperature changes throughout each day.

I have yet to do a follow-up appointment in the US with a neurologist. I've only been to the ER a few times.

Symptoms I've experienced each time:

- Gradual loss of vision that begins with flashing
- Pain inside head.. typically one side (usually left side)
Feels like a rock got lodged in there somehow.
Eventually entire head feels like it's going to explode... incredible amount of pressure!!
- Dizziness/loss of balance
- Inability to speak coherently
- Loss of memory.. (cannot remember names or what has happened)
- Significantly reduced capacity to read to total loss of ability to read
- Slurred speech to sometimes inability to speak at all
- Numbness of face/hands/abdomen/legs
- Painful and extreme contraction of muscles (eg. fingers curl inwards, wrists, arms, abdomen contraction, sometimes legs, toes, feet as well)
- Vomiting

As this has recently happened to me again.. and I've had to go through my second spinal tap (spinal taps seem to be a common procedure they perform for patients who suffer symptoms like mine)... I really want to get to the bottom of this and find out what the heck is wrong with me. I guess I'm not ready to accept that I have "migraines" and always thought this was something that afflicted "other people".... I have been meditating on my own to prevent myself from suffering too harshly the effects of my headaches I've been experiencing almost daily. I'm skeptical of going to doctors and my former primary care HMO physician was an idiot who simply prescribed narcotics and told me that I just need to exercise more (I am fairly athletic.. play tennis, snowboard, race motorcycles, etc).. anyway my body never reacted well to any type of narcotic pain medication (I would vomit all the time from them).

Well hope this might find some relevance to someone else who might be experiencing similar symptoms as myself. One thing I didn't read anyone else experiencing (or maybe I missed it) was the loss of the ability to speak, comprehend what people are saying or asking me, loss of vocabulary and any memory of names, etc..., and the severe muscle contractions that the doctors seem to believe is solely a result of hyperventilation on my part... I did not feel that I was hyperventilating but it's possible I guess that I coudl have been doing it without knowing.

Bryant <bkwon@tapestrysolutions.com>
Wednesday, April 16, 2003 at 16:37:05

WOW LOTS OF SUFFERS OUT THERE I HAVE SUFFERED FOR THE PAST 15 YAERS WITH TENSION HEADACHES. MY THERAPY WAS TO SELF MEDICATE WITH FIORCET,DRS SOMETIME 2OR3 DRS A DAY AND ONCE A WEEK TO THE HOSPITAL FOR THE STADOL OR NUBAIN SHOTS. I AM NOW IN RECOVERY FROM ALL MIND OR MOOD ALTERING DRUGS, I TAKE ZOLOF AND DEPAKOT I FEEL WONDERFUL NO MORE HEADACHES GOD BLESS

DAVID LEVY <LEVYBLISS@YAHOO.COM>
Saturday, April 12, 2003 at 09:04:56

This message is for Lisa >>
Hey! I was put on amnitriptolin (I probably spelled it wrong) about 5 years ago for my migraine headaches. This was the first of several medications I have tried. I stayed on it for about a year and a half. I must say, that it improved my migraine condition greatly! I went from having a constant migraine (meaning, I never had a day when I didnt wake up and go to bed without one), to having days when I felt fine! I still had a few/ week, but for me, that was much improvement. The only reason I was taken off the medication was because of the side effect of making me "slow" and tired, so I'm told. For me, this was somewhat of a bigger deal than for most, because I also have A.D.D., so my brain-speed is naturally slower than the average person. Therefore, when concern was expressed over the medication making my A.D.D. worse, we decided to stop that medicine. But overall, I would say that the medication is worth trying. Hope this helped!

Lem <itzmetl@aol.com>
Saturday, April 5, 2003 at 10:43:37

Hi,
I'm looking for some information and help! My 18 year old son suffers from chronic migraine headaches. His migraines are weather-front related. We live in the south and would consider moving to Arizona or another part of the country where there are not as many fronts passing through. The cold fronts seem to have the worse effect on him. He has suffered for 4 years and can be in bed for months at a time, especially during the fall and winter months. We have been everywhere for treatments, and they just don't seem to know how to handle weather-related migraines. Any suggestions on new medications or places to live?

Thanks!
Conita
cfader@fhu.edu

Conita Fader <cfader@fhu.edu>
Friday, April 4, 2003 at 10:49:00

I just stumbled on this page looking for a news item my husband saw on Sumatriptan succinate and menstrual migraine sufferers. It has been incredibly helpful seeing all the folks here who understand that migraines are a serious thing that affects one's day to day existance. I've always had "pressure" headaches including vomiting when I was little, and then very infrequently. Recently, ~ 2 years ago, I started having headaches with vomiting on the first or second day of my cycle, and with some web research with the help of my loving husband, figured out that these were migraines. My family has never been supportive of going to the doctor, (?!!) so it was wonderful when I finally made an appointment and was prescribed Imitrex. This has completely changed my fear of certain days of the month now. I just have to take it immediately if I feel the signs of one starting. I don't have full blown auras, as has been described here, but do have photophobia and feel flushed and nausious.

Finding a medicine that masks the symptoms, even if it takes ~ 2-3 hours to work, is amazing. I used to have to take so many sick days, (1 or 2 a month) that my boss actually forced me to resign because he thought it was a sympton that I didn't like my job. I'm now taking yoga classes and getting more regular exercise to keep myself in a more regular mood as well. Keep healthy, Hollis.

Hollis in California
Thursday, April 3, 2003 at 18:39:15