Migraine Headache...what do you take??

Hello everyone! I am an RNY postop from 5-9-03 and am experiencing horrible migraine headaches. I have a past history of them, releived by ingestiable meds. I have tried a lot of things, including injections, nasal sprays, and ingestables with some relief but not total relief. My GP thinks it is hormone related (I just went on the Birth Control Pill) but I have had a headache since this past Friday (5 Days now). Yesterday my GP gave me a shot of ibuprofine but since it has worn off the headache is on it's way back. My GP said that our next step is to admit me into the hospital for a CT Scan and they can give me IV pain meds. She has been very understanding of the issues related to the WLS, but she is just as frustrated as I am with the limits of what she can give me. So here I am asking if anyone has tried and been successful with anything different to relieve migraines? Thanks in advance! Jeanette

Hi Jeanette, I take an herbal medication called Feverfew. You can take it to prevent migraines...I take one capsule a day...you can also take it at the onset of a migraine. I have started experiencing the aura before a migraine hits and taken 4 of the capsules with a cup of coffee for the caffiene and stopped it cold in it's tracks. The only side effect is one similar to aspirin in that it prolongs bleeding time a bit. You would need to stop taking it a couple of weeks prior to a scheduled surgery....none of the ulcer/stomach irritation effects though. You can get it at health food stores. Cindy

Have you tried Imitrex or one of the similar new drugs? These are drugs that block seratonin in the brain, and constrict the blood vessels in the brain. Both my daughter and I get hormone-related migraines, and it is the only thing that works. NOTHING else comes close. I get a 3-day migraine every month with my period, and Imitrex has literally given me back those 3 days I would lose every month, when I would be out of commission. My daughter also found that changing her birth control hormones made the headaches much worse. She also has a mild form of IBS, which is also seratonin-related, so all this makes perfect sense. Ibuprophen and even Percoset don't really help with migraines. They barely take the edge off the pain, and then it comes snarling back. A lot of doctors don't understand migraines, so if yours is trying to treat it with normal pain meds, it is not going to work. Find a doctor who understands migraines and seratonin and hormone interactions. Good luck!

Jeanette, I had all my migraines beaten back with diet changes, chiropractic and mostly avoiding food triggers til I got to a certain point in menopause and then the hormonal headaches got me for most of 30 days. My PCP prescribed Callan, which is a blood pressure drug, as a preventative. It is ok on my stomach and not a pain medicine per se. After adjusting the dosage once....it worked great. My blood pressure was a little above normal so this seemed like a good choice. She had one other preventative to try...but I never needed it so there you go. Good luck with this. I do find that a chiropractic treatment can stop a headache even tho it has begun...but the hormonal headaches are hard to treat and come back in spite of that....hence the preventative. good luck. I hope you find the right treatment plan. It is possible. Jeannie

Hello Jeanette, I have suffered with migraines over 36 yrs. For 10 yrs used Imitrex injections but never took my headaches away completely. About 5 yrs ago I tried Zomig, which helped but then I was given Maxalt. It's wonderful takes the headache away in aboute 20 minutes. I take a tablet but it also comes in a "melt" which I can't take since it contain aspartame. I'm allergic to that. My insurance company pre approves me every 2 yrs for 30 tabs a month. I only get them refilled as needed. Normal month distribution is 12 per month. For the nausea I take Zofran, also another drug I get pre approved for as well. These drugs work for best for me. Are extremely expensive as well so I hope you have a good script plan.

I have a friend that gave me some Maxalt to try but I am fearful to take someone elses meds. If it gets to the point that I can not get ANY relief I will have to try it. I find that I am seeing the Aura's that have been associated with my migraines in the past, so to me that means they are coming and going. I did get an aura on Friday and dismissed it. I know better now. Thanks for the reply. I will check with my ins. co to see if they cover some of those drugs as I may have to go there. Jeanette

I suffer with Migraine's and went to a Neurologist who diagnosed me with Sleep Apnea. I have a CPAP machine now and the Migraines's are not as bad or as often as they used to be. He also prescribed Imitrex for when I get one and it helps. Take care.

Hi Jeanette! I'm late with this because I just found your post -- I've been having horrible migraines the last couple of weeks (as in EVERY DAY). I started getting them when I went on the birth control pill before I got married i*****; taking the pill triggered their start for me, but going off the pill didn't help. They come and go now; this is a bad cycle for me (migraine cycles last 2-3 months for me). There are a couple of supplements you can try for prevention -- vitamin B2 (or riboflavin), 400 mg a day (I get 100 mg pills from Vitamin Shoppe and take four a day) and magnesium, 40 mg twice a day (I actually take 100 mg twice a day, I guess I could just cut the pills in half!). I'm also going to start taking Feverfew again (if you decide to try it, get the standardized version -- Nature's Way has MygraFew [which I haven't seen] and standardized Feverfew -- it's the one with the lavendar lid [it's the one I've taken before]). Hang in there! Lisa

Got out of the hospital Monday night after a weekend of meds and tests. I will go tomorrow to a headache clinic to see what they can do for me. To be honest, I am not so sure where to go with this, and feel my GP is in the same boat. With the malabsorption issue, pain meds have been really hard to regulate. I will take one, feel great for up to 2 hours and then the headache crashes down again. It's becoming unbearable. Wish me luck! Jeanette