Treatments

Through the years I have tried countless ways to “get rid of migraines.” In an attempt to show what I’ve tried, I have decided to write a blog about what I can remember doing over the years. If there are any new ideas someone suggests, I could be open to trying those. I am now to the point where I will almost try anything just to say I’ve done it. Cross it off the list so to speak.

Thinking back in the beginning, I’m pretty sure I just used over the counter drugs like Ibuprofen or Aspirin. Oh how I wish that would be the solution now. I try not to let people know I am suffering because 9 times out of 10 someone (with good intentions) will offer me an Excedrin. In that moment, I look at the person and burst out a Jekyll and Hyde laugh in their face, gently thank them and walk away. I don’t have sympathy for someone who has a “terrible headache” and pops Excedrin and still complains that they have to do this or that before they can relax. Cry me a river. I can take two full strength Percocet’s at times combined with a muscle relaxer and am still expected to fulfill my adult responsibilities day in and day out. I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, but those of you who have never experienced the full migraine with aura, and can take over the counter medication don’t have any place complaining. I understand people hurt and that is there right to feel in pain because they are hurting, but in my books (and migraine sufferers will understand) that’s like getting a scratch on your knee. I would give anything to have a headache or migraine that would go away with Excedrin migraine. I’ll step off my soapbox now.

Back to pain medication… personally, my migraines are the type where I either take a relief medication right away or I have to go straight for the hard stuff. What I take, depends on what I have to tackle that day. If I have to drive or see clients, I will take a relief medication and hope I can get through the day. Most days I am counting down the hours until I can get home and take a pain pill. No I am not an addict. Do I depend on pain pills sometimes? Yes. Am I addicted? No. I have always been very careful about what and how much of anything I take. A lot of people say “if you’re in pain, take another pill”. That’s not MY answer. I’m not afraid of becoming addicted, I just don’t choose to take more than I’m allowed. I can see how people become addicted to pain pills, but I’ve never understood why you would want to go down that road in the first place. Therefore, I guess I deal with the pain more than I should and can sometimes be a very miserable person to be around but the alternative of drug addiction doesn’t sound any better.

I have tried to think of all the medications I have taken over the years. Frankly I could google them all but I really don’t feel like doing that so I will list the ones I know off the top of my head. Basically when my doctor and I started on the path of finding relief medications, we would try one and if it didn’t help over a few months, we would move on. I have tried relief medications as well as preventatives. Here are a few: Imitrex, Maxalt, Frova, Relpax, Verapamil, Idomethacin, Topamax, Propanalol and Gabapentin. I have tried every pain pill out there except for Oxycontin. I’ve had shots of Lidocane in my neck, Statal with phenogren, toradol, Nubain, and morphine. I’ve tried numerous muscle relaxers such as Soma, Flexeril and Backlofen.

Knowing full well that western medicine isn’t always the answer I began seeking a more holistic approach. I have spent probably thousands of dollars on things such as acupuncture, massage, and seeing holistic doctors. I was told maybe I have a parasite so I spent money on herbs and teas and pills to kill parasites, I was told that I have too much Candida so I went on a Candida diet blah blah blah.

Speaking of food, I have a couple of journals tucked away that have anything from what I’ve eaten, when I have a bowel movement, what the air quality is that day, how my mood is, when I exercised etc…. I was trying to find a pattern. I couldn’t find one. When I did a liver cleanse and the candida diet, I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I was so irritable. I know that it’s my bodies way of de-toxifying but it’s hell. I did feel like I had more energy, but it didn’t help my migraines any, so after a few weeks of that, I was over it. At any given time I have given up dairy, sugar, alcohol, and gluten. I have days where I drink a ton of water and days I hardly drink any water. I have weeks where I won’t drink any alcohol and weeks where I drink every night, no change. I have days where I eat healthy and days when I eat junk. I’m human. I don’t just try things for 24 hours and call it good. When you go on a liver cleanse or a candida diet, you have to give it at least 3 weeks. I may not have been 100% on the diets, but I was pretty close.

I have tried various massage therapies and while I love a massage like the next person, it gets expensive and wasn’t a “cure”. I still treat myself to massages once in a while because it’s an escape and will at least give me some temporary relief.

I have tried DoTerra oils and again, it’s a temporary haven of sanity but not a cure. I will rub some of the oils onto my neck, temples and head just to breath in the smells and it does help alleviate some muscle tension.

At one point a couple of years ago, my boyfriend at the time came up with an idea. He got 2 flip flops and a vice screw. I put the flip flops on either temple and the vice screw across my head and we tightened that up and it relieved the pressure. Sometimes I would just like to get a drill and drill into the back of my neck to relieve pressure.  It’s sad what we think of just to feel some relief. Obviously most of the things we really want to try would kill us, but it sounds like a good idea at the time.

I did the PFO heart test which came back normal, I have had a brain and cervical spine MRI which is all normal. I do have fusion in my vertebrae, which I am going to see a neck specialist for this summer. I have participated in a sleep study to see if I was getting enough oxygen to my brain at night. That came back normal. I got botox, that didn’t help but I looked better for a few months…

I don’t even think I can begin to list the various types of birth control I’ve been on so I won’t even try. Needless to say I’ve tried most options minus the mirena. The depo shot was the worst! Gave me daily headaches/migraines for 7 months back in 2008. I tried the birth control that is continuous so that I wouldn’t have a period and those did nothing. Finally I decided to go off birth control in September of 2012 and that seems to be when I noticed my migraines getting worse.

The only thing that seems to be helping now (May 2013) is the weather is warming up. I haven’t had a migraine in almost a week and that hasn’t happened since last summer!

I have tried vitamins and minerals up the wazoo! Increased Vitamin D, magnesium etc. I have been known to take up to 40 vitamins a day for a prolonged period of time. I had a concoction of vitamins to boost my immune system as well so that is part of why I took so many. One B vitamin known as Niacin works well (temporarily) when it comes to relaxing my neck muscles. The key with niacin is to take the flushing kind. It makes you feel like you have a mega sunburn for about 10 minutes and you turn bright red but it’s almost like a ‘natural’ muscle relaxer. Beware of the flush! If you start feeling really weird, it’s normal but it goes away.

Most people would cry if they had the pain I have but we don’t have the luxury to cry. If we do, it makes our migraines worse. On the outside, we look “normal”. On the inside we are going through our own hell.

On a positive note, I’m grateful for the life I live. I have mentioned that in other posts. I am alive, I have all my limbs, etc. But with all that said, It doesn’t take away the silent battle that is called chronic migraines. I will keep fighting until I find answers.

Last but not least, yes...... I’ve tried Marijuana....... Didn’t work and I don’t like it. Mom if you’re reading this, I love you haha.

<3