For those with migraines and frequent headaches

How many suffer from migraines or frequent/chronic headaches?

If your migraines lasted from 45 minutes to three hours AND felt like a spike was ripping the top of your head off and your brain was going to explode - but you got these things a minimum of 5 and up to 10 times a day, every day, for going on three years now... and in between the migraines you always had a loud attention-grabbing headache, and you'd tried over 50 medications and therapies, several hospitalizations and a surgical procedure to help reduce or prevent them and nothing has helped - AND you are lucky to get two hours of sleep a night, rarely all at once, and your only relief was seriously heavy narcotics... what would you do?

Do you live with the pain without the narcotics?

Do you take the narcotics?

Do you seriously consider ending your life despite having wonderful people, family and love in your life because the quality of your life and your ability to do things is so inadequate?

I've had chronic, frequent migraines since I was a teenager. I went on a Beta Blocker about a year and a half ago, and it has helped quite a bit. Midrin and Imitrex are my treatments of choice. I am terrified to take narcotics (even for my severe back pain from spondylolisthesis) because my sister is an alcoholic/narcotic addict, and I know it can run in families.

Please know that you and Gary are ALWAYS in my prayers. I wish that I could say the magic word to take his pain away.

I rarely got headaches until 1997. That summer I got what was basically one giant headache, lasting two months solid. Nothing helped. They didn't want to give me narcotic meds back then... Since then, I get them several times a month, usually lasting 1-3 days, sometimes longer. They're a combination tension/migraine... migraine meds rarely help, and sometimes OTC meds do... I have muscle relaxants that help sometimes, but that's not what I initally got them for... got 'em for frequent muscle spasms...

I wish something would help...

I've never contemplated suicide because of the pain... lashing out at/harming folks who think I'm making it up... yes, but never taking my own life.

Back in 1997, I wanted to just vanish... not so much die, just vanish. I wanted to go someplace quiet and serene... as luck would have it, I had reserved a RV spot in Yosemite that September. Guess when the headaches vanished? I'm sure you can figure that one out.

Unfortunately, they return... never for the length of time, but always with that or worse severity. We found a link (due to my detective skills) to it being related to my female hormones... not much we can do about it though....

I get migraines, although not as often as I used to. But they're nasty. I usually awaken around 2:00 in the morning feeling like an ice pick has been shoved through my temple. It will usually last pretty much all day and the only thing I can do is shut myself in the bedroom, pull the blinds, and lie there. Sometimes I'll try a cold compress. I've also tried to pull my bathrobe tie tightly around my head because it feels as though my head is going to explode. No eating, no drinking, no sound, no light. And I get physically ill and nauseous. It's not pretty.

I have to be careful of meds because of high blood pressure, so really my only recourse is to deal with them.

I also get the aura....with me, a jagged line will appear diagonally in my sight. Then words will start to disappear from a page or the computer monitor. At that point, I have to get to the bed while I can still see.

When I was younger (very early teens), my mom said that I literally chewed on my bed pillows....anything to stop the pain. I was on some kind of med, but I don't remember what it was. I do remember that it didn't work. My parents had me to the hospital so many times I lost count. All kinds of tests, but nothing was ever found.

I'm really sorry you're going through them. Pardon my language, but....they suck. Big time.

Wow - well ... you must be writing this for a reason, Laurie. I would beg whoever is in that much pain to continue to seek the right treatment and NOT end a life. That is a terrible thing to do. all around.

I consider myself fortunate to be a past migraine sufferer. I haven't had one for years now (touch wood) and hope I never get another one ever. I wouldn't wish them on anyone, and I truely feel for Gary, I can't even imagine going through that every day. I hope and pray that you're able to find something that gives him relief.

It's not me, it's DH. We "celebrate" three years without one single minute of pain free time this month.

He goes through cycles of being able to fight and not wanting to fight anymore. I've told him I'm not willing to give up yet - and though usually his thoughts of ending it all are fantasies... I worry that some day I'm going to have to deal with it. ...I also wonder how selfish it is of me to ask him to keep going when he doesn't want to.

Who can live with this indefinitely, really? It would be a BLESSSING to have him suffer this "only" several days a week - or several months a year. Even just one day a week of pain free time. Even just one day a MONTH of pain free time! I totally understand not contemplating suicide if you get a break from the pain.

..but what happens when there is no break - none - ever?

....and the WORST is that physical activity is a trigger. Changes in pressure (up or down) are a trigger.

I have to watch this all the time - but he has to LIVE with it.

I have been thinking of you two lately.
I have a family member who suffers from migraines and other medical conditions. They have tried to take their life 3x's in the past 4 months. A few weeks ago they decided not to do a 4th attempt and drove them self to a clinic.

If someone is thinking of suicide, narcotics is not the answer. Something for depression under close supervision then many narcotics might be a start.

I have frequent headaches (excedrin helps) and the occasional migrane (nothing really helps). I can't imagine going through what you have described though. I do know about other types of pain and when I am in pain a lot, ending the pain is all that is on my mind.

Please consider going to counseling or a pain management clinic or just finding someone to talk to. It is a very permanent solution to end your life to stop the pain, please don't do it.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

Wow - well ... you must be writing this for a reason, Laurie. I would beg whoever is in that much pain to continue to seek the right treatment and NOT end a life. That is a terrible thing to do.

all around.

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We've been seeking the right treatment for four years. He moved from "chronic" to "all the time" three years ago. He's seen the experts, he's consulted with THE expert. The experts are out of options. There are three more things to try - we can't afford at least two of them, and to the tune of $80,000 for the "cheap" one. If we had a house to sell, we'd sell it. We've already sold everything we can - or are willing to, anyway.

No, he's not threatening to end his life. I'm just wondering at what point, when he really wants to, is not fair of me to continue saying he's got to keep living because of his love for me, because that is all that keeps him going.

He is under the care of a phenomenal pain management Doc, and we did the counseling route for several years. He's been to two headache centers.

We have not been to the one in Chicago yet, and they have a treatment the others don't use. The issue is getting to Chicago. He can't fly. We are in the RV, so we'll probably start working on it this Spring.

We've got another referral to try... March 2nd.

I get terrible headaches but mine are related to neck problems. I have a chronic stiff neck with arthritis. My headaches start when my neck muscles get really tight and it starts from the bottom of my skull where it attaches to my head and it works forward. These headaches can be really really bad at times, and I take muscle relaxers and vicoden when they get real bad. Many times they don't even work. This is a bad time of year for me because the weather plays a big role on how my neck feels.

Oh yeah... add in occassional fevers that heat him up to 103 or more degrees and bouts of frequent chronic vomiting. Physically, he is very broken.

I had migraines about 3 years ago, they were very severe. I had narcotic medication that put me to sleep each time, it worked but what good does it do to have to pass out?? I usually needed the pain to go away so I can function, not so I can pass out. It was pretty amazing though because I felt like a new person each time I took that medicine and my headache went away. It was like I had forgotten how amazing it is to live without the headache and I had to celebrate and rejoice or something...I don't know if the medicine itself was to blame for making me feel so amazing i.e. drugged?? anyway

I don't know if they were connected to my diet, but circumstantial evidence suggests so, because when I had migraines I was overeating because of depression/emotional eating. When I made the big and hard decision to improve my diet really dramatically, the headaches just became less and less frequent and now I rarely get them. If I do, it's in a much milder form where ibuprofen alone helps.

Laurie I am so sorry for all the pain your DH has to go through ..I can tell how much compassion you have for him and how much you care about him from the way you talk..
Sending many vibes and positive energy, for Gary and for everyone in this thread who suffers from these horrible migraines and headaches

I have had to deal with migraines for as long as I can remember. Like Winchester, I also have the "aura" associated with my migraines and know when that hits, that I have about 20 minutes before the pain starts. I also get extreme nausea. I had tried every perscription drug known to man, from Imitrex to Maxalt to Fiorinol but nothing ever really helped much. A friend of mine told me to try Aleve, and I thought she was nuts, if perscriptions wouldn't work why would an OTC med work?!? I swear though, it is by FAR the most effective drug I have ever taken for my migraines, and as long as I take it right when the aura starts, the migraine can be tolerable.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I had migraines about 3 years ago, they were very severe. I had narcotic medication that put me to sleep each time, it worked but what good does it do to have to pass out?? I usually needed the pain to go away so I can function, not so I can pass out.
I don't know if they were connected to my diet, but circumstantial evidence suggests so, because when I had migraines I was overeating because of depression/emotional eating. When I made the big and hard decision to improve my diet the headaches just became less and less frequent and now I rarely get them. If I do, it's in a much milder form where ibuprofen alone helps.

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Yeah, for about 1/2 a year we isolated foods... caffeine is a problem and alcohol is a major problem. We used to love to drink wine, but haven't had a sip of anything since ringing in the New Year in 2007. Couldn't find any food triggers.

When the last of 6 or 7 neuros was "out of bullets" is when pain management was recommended. He needed relief.

Then we became concerned that the narcotics were causing rebound headaches. So he detoxed for a number of months. The level of pain and "attack" activity didn't change.

He's had electronic implants. He's tried all the anti-inflammatories (OTC or prescription, including numerous steroids), he's tried all the triptans, he's tried all the anti-epileptics, he's tried the banned drugs, he's tried the beta-blockers, he's tried the calcium channel blockers, he's tried all the ergotamines... am I forgetting anything?

The narcotics don't make him pass out (kinda sadly, because at this point it'd be nice for him to pass out). They make him far more functional than he is without them (usually).

I use to have migraines much more often, I found change in diet and habits (like quitting smoking) made the biggest difference for me! I had to go to the hospital once from a migraine, I was blinded and couldn't stop vomiting, in excruciating pain, every odor, sound, movement was torture! The only thing I find that works for me is sleep, I have to sleep it off. Since I quit smoking 4 years ago, they only happen a few times a year. Usually weather, allergy, or something like a 3d movie

Originally Posted by LDG

How many suffer from migraines or frequent/chronic headaches?

If your migraines lasted from 45 minutes to three hours AND felt like a spike was ripping the top of your head off and your brain was going to explode - but you got these things a minimum of 5 and up to 10 times a day, every day, for going on three years now... and in between the migraines you always had a loud attention-grabbing headache, and you'd tried over 50 medications and therapies, several hospitalizations and a surgical procedure to help reduce or prevent them and nothing has helped - AND you are lucky to get two hours of sleep a night, rarely all at once, and your only relief was seriously heavy narcotics... what would you do?

Do you live with the pain without the narcotics?

Do you take the narcotics?

Do you seriously consider ending your life despite having wonderful people, family and love in your life because the quality of your life and your ability to do things is so inadequate?

Click to expand...

My migraines came from food allergies and intolerance. In the beginning the doctors had me on up to 16 different meds... Luckily I started to connect some dots and tried the WAY out of the box approach... Today ,I get a occasional one from something I ate without realizing what was in it . I have no meds for them now outside my allergic reaction ones.

Back then YES I came close MANY MANY times to ending it

Oh Laurie, how terrible

I am lucky to not really get headaches, and I have never had a migraine.

I would try the neurostimulator route - but I see he's already done that. Try more trial/research treatments? Being willing to be a research subject for new treatments could offset costs.



As for the other questions, I don't get migraines very often anymore. But when I had them they never lasted 3 hours, that would have been nice. Typically it was 10-24 hours with follow up migraines for days after. I didn't have health insurance when I had them chronically, so I don't know what would have stopped them. But the last migraine I had didn't respond to a narcotic painkiller (no surprise).

Chronic daily headaches are just something I live with.

Narcotic painkillers don't work because I'm a poor metabolizer on a 2D6 inhibitor. If you can't break a drug down right it doesn't work very well.