Hi All:
I am very thankful for this web site and for the stories on it. I too am sick of these headaches and the worry and life disruption that goes along with them. I especially related to the woman who posted about all the triggers that she has noticed--too much/too little caffeine, the hot weather, etc. I am absolutely dreading summer because ever since I moved from So. Cal, my migraines have worsened dramatically in summer. What used to be my favorite season has become my worst. My family tries to understand my headaches, but they don't know what a feeling of panic it is to suddenly be half-blind, especially if you aren't home, not to mention the pain that comes later. I have also become much more sensitive to foods like cheese and msg--to the point where I almost have a completely different diet than anyone around me. I hope that I can find something that helps before I turn 27! I can't handle another year like this one has been! Thanks for letting me vent, and pain free days to all...Kate

Kate
Thursday, June 7, 2001 at 23:37:45

I have suffered from migraines for almost 20 yrs. I have been to all kinds of drs. with no good results. I have been on all kinds of drugs narcotics and non-narcotics with no results of getting rid of my migraine. I suffer with a migraine once or twice a week with a trip to the er for a shot which only last for a little while. Sometimes the shot helps and some times it does not. The drs. think all I want is the high that the shot gives you. Boy are they ever wrong I have 4 grand kids and a big family that I love dearly. So why would I want to stay doped up all the time I don't. I sure wish I could find something to work for me that would prevent the migraine altogether. Then maybe I could have my life back. I have not worked in almost 2 yrs. and boy is that depressing. If anyone has any information for me please e-mail me.
Thanks for listening to me Jackie

Jackie <jsimpson@ctesc.net>
Wednesday, June 6, 2001 at 23:59:39

I am a 41 y.o. male who has suffered with migraines since about the age of 10. My mom used to call them "sinus headaches". They usaully revolved around the weather and mom did the best she could for fighting a migraine. I am now 41 and get a migraine about once every week or two, big, honkin, whopper, just lay your butt down cause your not going out today headaches. You all know the type. Anyway, my point in writing was just to say that I too am still looking for the right medication. I have found things that dull the pain (narcotics only), but nothing to prevent it. I have been labeled as a drug seeker by my docs, which I am of course, I am seeking a drug that works. Without trying to ramble on I wanted to say I can at least understand where some of the Doctors are coming from. I may not understand their attitudes, but they have had people trying to dupe them out of drugs forever. These are the people who make it almost impossible for us to get the proper medicines we need to treat a diagnosed medical condition. I find it hard to speak up for a group that has, and continues, to make me feel so bad, but over the years, if I was persistant enough, they eventually listen. Well, maybe not.
I am seeing another neurologist and am going through the same migraine therapy I have gone through before that has not worked and am just tired of it. I have thought about maybe checking out a pain clinc. Has anyone out there got any good advice on this? Do pain clinics follow the same standard regimine? Do they help? Anyway, thanks for listining, just blowing off a little steam while trying to avoid a headache.

Earl <earme77@hotmail.com>
Wednesday, June 6, 2001 at 14:21:02

HI ALL YOU HEADACHE SUFFERERS,
I AM 36 YEARS OLD AND I FEEL MY LIFE IS CONTROLLED BY
HEADACHES. I HAVE MIGRANE SINCE I WAS 12 YEARS OLD AND
I ALSO GET DAILY HEADACHES WHICH AT THE MOMENT SEEM TO CONTOL

anna <abbyrne@eircom.net>
Wednesday, June 6, 2001 at 07:15:53

DEPAKOTE

The doc just put me on it since my other meds weren't working. It is making me nauseas and having diarrhea. Has it helped anyone. Did it give you these side effects at first? Thanks.

nikki <sonflr@aol.com>
Tuesday, June 5, 2001 at 22:19:24

Greetings!
It seems I only look for help when I have a migraine so I am on the net now looking for answers to why I get bad migraines during barometric pressure changes.I have found lots of other people that have the same problem and lots of Doctors that say barometric pressure changes are a trigger but no good answers but take a sinus pill (of which I will go out and buy after I write this note!)

I have had migraines since I tried birth control at age 19. I think it tripped some genetic trigger I had for migraines because I have had them ever since.

These days (I am 34 now) I have better managed my migraines. I feel that caffine and white sugar are the root of all evil and I go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Looking back the best things for me was to find some big triggers and really stick to avoiding them, so I don't drink caffine or sugary drinks and look for low sugar or alternate sweetners (not aspartamine!!) and watch my sleep patterns. I have found you don't beat yourself up so much if you only work on the big daily triggers.

As for drug treatments; an Imitrex shot or 50mg Imitrex pill for any time during an actual migraine and a perscription Acetaminaphin/Butal/Caffine (yes I know, caffine but belive me as a pain reliver you don't have the bounce back headaches like you do drinking caffine!) which I use at early onset of any kind of headache no more that 5 pills a month. All seem to help, I rarely take an over the counter pain reliver because as most of us know they do not work so why take them! You will be better for it and I swear it helped me to get pregnant by discontinuing all Tylenol, Motrin, asprin taken like candy. Also a teaspoon of ground ginger in a glass of orange juice was great while I was pregnant.

If you have arrived this far down my very long entry I am looking for some tips on barometer changes that will help those migraines I feel I don't "deserve" that come with this nasty sun one min. rain the next Seattle weather! I am going to try the sinus medication and see what that does.

Good luck with all you try. I found the least daily drugs and a more simple life was best for me.

Regards!
Tricia

Tricia <mthanley@telebyte.net>
Monday, June 4, 2001 at 20:50:01

Anyone had any luck with chirporactors? I would love to hear from you your experience, good, bad, whatever. Thanks.Susan

susan <susan@mkb363.com>
Monday, June 4, 2001 at 15:35:30

hello yes i know what every one is talking about. i have had headaches on the right side of my head for the past 20 some odd years. i have been from one dr. to another from one state to another. one migraine clinic after another. i have had pills after pills. i have had shots,you name it i have had it. so far nothing works. there are times the only thing i can do is go to bed and stay day after day. i am 57 and we are taking over our grandkids. they know i have these headaches the whole family trys to help me but there is nothing they can do. i have had dr.
tell me its all in my head. ha like i didnot know that. i could go on and on but you all know what i am saying. just try to have a good are the best you can. i just dont see any help coming my way. maybe when you people get to be my age there will be a cure. thanks for being there billy

billy <rcaldwell@steward-net.com>
Sunday, June 3, 2001 at 22:55:28

I am so thankful that I came across this web page and to know that I'm not alone. I'm 25 and I've had headaches my whole life, but they were always diagnosed (by many doctors) as tension headaches. So I was put on muscle relaxers and pain meds. But just recently the migraine pain and everything that goes along with it set in...the being sick your stomach, vomiting for 2 or 3 days straight, the feeling that your head is going explode! I've been to the hospital twice now because of the pain and being so dehydrated from vomiting, they just hook me up to an IV and pump me full of fluids. And these migraines are coming more frequently. I went to a Neurologist last week and she put me on Depakote-ER as a preventative and Zomig for the acute pain. Can anyone tell me if you've taken the Depakote-ER for migraines, has this been successful, and what about side effects? Just woundering!

I hope you all have many pain-free days ahead!!

Jill

Jill Jauch <jillsjauch@hotmail.com>
Sunday, June 3, 2001 at 18:40:45

I am new to postings and I am having a very hard time dealing with migraines during pregnancy. I have suffered for years (20) and now at 27 I am pregnant (17 weeks) with my first baby. Of course I heard the migraines may go away, but no luck here. In fact they have gotten worse. I am on prozac, propranolol, hydrocodone, which hardly works, and occasional bursts of prednisone. Needless to say I am fearful of what all this is doing to the baby, but if I don't keep trying to find something, I am confined to the bed or ER in 10/10 pain. If anyone has been through this or is going through this and can give me some advice, suggestions, happy outcomes, healthy baby stories, I think it would help me get through the next 5 months.
Please write me at cvoyack@yahoo.com-Thanks

Chantelle <cvoyack@yahoo.com>
Sunday, June 3, 2001 at 16:38:57

I have suffered from various and fairly frequent headaches since my early 20s. I am now in my early 40s and over the last year their intesity and frequency have increased rapidly. I finally decided to try chiropractic care, which began almost 3 weeks ago. Since that time I've had severe headaches and/or migraines every single day with the exception of 2 days. I am exhausted and my life is non-exhistent. I am a single parent with three young children and a full time job, of which I am the only full-time hygienist. Needless to say, I won't continue the chiropractic care, even though it is almost necessary due to my job and the effects its caused on my body over the last 20+ years. I have been taking over the counter meds for the pain with such frequency that none of them even work. My blood has thinned enough that my gums bleed bright red with no infection evident. There must be something I can do. I am sooooo tired of these headaches ruining my life.

lorri engels <lorribossoffloss@aol.com>
Sunday, June 3, 2001 at 08:42:04

Hello ... I have not visited this page in about a couple of years. I still sympathize with all of you. After several years, I finally found the right combination to control my daily headaches. I had a mixture of daily headaches and migraines for years. My doctor from The New England Center for Headaches worked with me until we finally found the right combination to control them. I now take atenolol and doxepin as preventatives. I still get headaches ... maybe 1-3 a month ( actually have one at this moment), but they are less severe and no longer control my life. When I do get a migraine, Imitrex is an effective abortive. I highly suggest The New England Center for Headache in Connecticut to all. They are extremely considerate and have a very high level knowledge of all the current treatments available. Hope you all feel better ... don't get discouraged ... just keep searching for the right doctor who really cares. Regards ... Ray.

Ray <ray.yeager@verizon .com>
Saturday, June 2, 2001 at 09:24:56

Hello everyone. My name is Lucy and I'm 21 years old. I've been
getting migraines for as long as I can remember, but lately, they're
different. Before my migraine, I get very crabby, then it hits me
like a ton of bricks. Once my migraine starts going away, I get
very spacey and tired, like I took a sleeping pill. I feel like
my brain turns into soup. Sometimes, I even feel like I don't know
where I am and have to concentrate very hard just to talk. Is this
normal migraine symptoms, or should I seek treatment. it's very
scary. I've been told while I have migraines, I become extremely
pale. If you have any advice, please feel free to write.
Lucy leftylucy21@hotmail.com

Lucy <leftylucy21@hotmail.com>
Thursday, May 31, 2001 at 14:16:04

Hello everyone. In a desperate search for information on migraines, I stumbled accrossed this web site. I cannot believe how many people suffer from these horrible headaches. I am 20 years old, and have been a migraine sufferer since the age of 14. My experiences usually come in weird patterns every couple of weeks. I will be fine and then have an entire week of agony. During this time, I become extremely depressed and feel so helpless and angry that I have to suffer so badly. I miss work, school, and other events. I become irritable and don't want to talk to anyone. Everything is a chore. I become so exhausted and nauseated that I just have to lay around. I have been to general doctors, an ear nose and throat specialist, an allergist, and a neurologist and they all say the same thing-migraine. But nothing makes them stop. I take Zomig which helps sometimes, but not always. Soemtimes I feel so sick that I think I have a brain tumor and that I'm dying. It just doesn't make sense that you can experience so much pain and not have something wrong with you. Anyway, it makes me feel better that so many others know what I'm talking about. If anyone has any advice for me, I'd love it if you'd e-mail me. Thanks.
Steph

Stephanie <stephymarieb20@yahoo.com>
Wednesday, May 30, 2001 at 22:20:26

I have a similar story. I'm 19, have had migraines since i was 7. No treatments work including all anti-migraine drugs, ice packs, over the counter drugs...NOTHING. I get so irritated to have a headache all day long. I'm in college and am planning to attend medical school also. How am I supposed to study when i can barely see because the pain is so bad????? UGH. Also, I think every little thing causes a headache for me. The sun, when its overcast, sunglasses kill my temples and start one, the water hitting my head in the shower, the very light towel that i put on my head to help my hair dry, having caffeine, not having enough caffeine, eating pasta, getting too hot, getting a tiny bit hot, etc. etc. etc, i could go on for days. It inhibits the quality of my life because no one understands how it is to go around with a freaking headache all the time! I try hard not to be moody, but sometimes the pain is too tough. Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent and I'd like to know if there are others out there with this problem. Also, I have not had a ct scan and am scared to death that if I had one, the doctors would find something like a tumor. I know that sounds silly, but it is scary to think about. Well, i hope they find an actual cure sometime soon for all of us, but that is doubtful. is anyone even looking for a cure? sometimes i wonder

Michelle <mic_jos@hotmail.com>
Wednesday, May 30, 2001 at 16:22:28