Migraines: My Adventure

So I wouldn't necessarily call my life with migraines an adventure, more like a trek, uphill both ways, in the snow, with no shoes, on a rocky road.  It's been a lifetime of learning about how the body works, what medications can do , and how to find better ways to manage the pain without the aid of medications.
I write this as a guide to friends who may be starting their trek.  If I can provide some direction, some insight, some guidance, and some support, it will be worth it.  It is long, so bear with me.  It is chock full of information and links to great articles on migraine treatment.

One of the first things any doctor should tell you is that migraines are not spontaneous things without a cause.  Any good doctor should tell you that treating the symptoms, without exploring potential causes will only make you reliant on medications, and in the end continue the suffering that you are seeking to get away from.

So what should you do?  Not every person is the same, women get migraines for different reasons than men do, and every individual has their own triggers.  You need to start to find out what those triggers are.

Keep a migraine journal.  
Write down the date, what you ate or drank prior to the migraine. How were you feeling? Did you have eye pain, back pain, neck pain, sinus pressure? Was there a storm that day or low pressure front?  For women where were you in your menstrual cycle? All these will provide clues as to the causes of your migraines.
Then track what medications you took to relieve that migraine.  Typically I would start with 2 excedrine (and a side note: Excedrine and Excedrine Migraine are exactly the same.  Excedrine was allowed to add "Migraine" to their packaging after studies showed this was one of the best medications to treat a migraine.) Then if in 45 minutes to an hour I still had one I would take one or maybe 2 more.  Tracking your attempts at relief will also provide isight to your doctor on what works and what doesn't.
Armed with this will help you have a productive conversation with your doctor and hopefully find relief quickly and easily.

My History: the early years
I started getting migraines when I was 13 years old.  About the time I started getting my menstrual cycle.  I spent 5 years with only over-the-counter medications, massages, and lots of hiding in a dark room trying to not vomit from the pain.

When I was nineteen I started working for a doctors office and one of the doctors was open to exploring the causes of my migraines.  I had a bad cheerleading accident in 1993 that I had no idea in later years would cause me so much grief. I hurt my back and I was constantly in pain.  The first thing she had me do was see a chiropractor.  At that stage in my life I thought it was a bunch of BS.  My mom had gone for years and never had relief.  But I agreed and found a chiropractor that was amazing.  Having my back adjusted released pressure that was causing me to have neck pain causing headaches that would become migraines.  That alone made me realize I could take care of this.  There was hope.

I did a migraine journal, and found that I really didn't have food triggers.  But I did notice that during my period (sorry guys) I would get really bad migraines.  This was a clue to my doctor.  She decided to try putting me on birth control pills (not that I shouldn't have been on it anyways) to see what would happen. The first one was a triphasil.  Holy cow did I hate that.  We then went to a monophasil and that made a world of difference.  It cut out a ton of migraines during the month.  But when I took the placebos and had my period they were still really bad.

During this time I was on a myriad of medications.
Midrin: drunk like side effects and I developed a resistance to it within 6 months.
Ibuprofen: didn't do anything.
Pain killers: lets take a nap.
Phenergan: for the nausea and vomiting.
Excedrine: Only if I caught it in time.
Propanolol: preventative med, with nightmares as a side effect, no thanks!

My History: Recent Years
Several years ago my current doctor gave me a prescription for Imitrex.  I call this the wonder drug.  For the first time I could take a medication, and within 45 minutes I was migraine free AND functional.  The nausea subsided over the years while I was on it, it actually seemed to make the migraines less potent.  Then the big bad insurance company limited the Imitrex and had the nerve to say to me that I needed to find the cause of my migraines and work on that instead.  Excuse me? Have you dealt with migraines for what seems like eons, and do you have any idea what I've been through to find out what the issues are?  I was so angry, and I was back to getting pain killers and phenergan. Yay!
Out of frustration I tried to find another preventative medication.  Studies were coming out that an epilepsy rug could also prevent migraines.  Sign me up!  Even my cursory research did not uncover the extent of the side effects of that med, and I would later learn that this is something you just don't want.  I'll cover more of that later.
There a came a point in my life where I needed to come off all medications.  And I started to panic that I was going to regress into miserable migraines that caused me to miss out on so many important things in my life. I did not want to go through that again.
So I started looking into holistic remedies. I started acupuncture and although I didn't hold out much hope, it has changed my life.  I'm off all meds, and I'm virtually migraine free.  I get them very rarely now and I can live life to the fullest without worrying if I will get a migraine.

My Thoughts on Current Treatments:
Food and Drink
So many people have food triggers.  Wine is a BIG one.  It has tannins in it that cause migraines and headaches.
An interesting article on tannins and migraines: http://www.wineintro.com/glossary/t/tannins.html
And one on food triggers: http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/features/avoiding-food-related-headaches

Medications
Topamax: The evilest of them all.
Like I said before this medication is approved for epilepsy, but can also be used for migraine treatment.  This med keeps the chemicals in your nervous system and brain calm thus preventing migraines.  In epileptic patients it does the same thing to prevent seizures.  BUT! and it is a big but,
the side effects are long lasting and disturbing.
It causes: short term memory loss, word recall issues, speech impediments.  All of which I have experienced.  I was on the medication for 2 years, and I have been off it for over a year and I still have the side effects.  They have not lessened one bit.
Yes it worked for preventing migraines, but it didn't solve the issue and caused long term issues.
How Topamax works: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4676086_topamax-work.html
Article on the side effects: http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/topamax-side-effects.html


Imitrex and Treximet:
Narrows the blood vessels and stops the pain signals from being sent to the brain.
More information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000102
The only real side effect I have ever had is a slight stinging in my fingers and toes when i put them in hot water.

Birth Control Pills:
This is take it or leave it thing.  Some women take them and GET migraines.  Others find relief by taking them.  Earlier I mentioned I was first on a triphasil.  This is where the dose starts out low, then in week 2 it goes to a higher dose, in week 3 it goes back down, then week 4 is placebo. Each change in hormone level was brutal and agonizing.  Many women get migraines, because they have hormonal fluctuations.  These fluctuations can trigger migraines.  I switched to a monophasil and it evened out those hormonal fluctuations.  This may not work for all, testing various BCP's and figuring out if any cause more or less migraines is the best course of action.

Other medications:
An article from the Mayo Clinic breaking down all the types of migraine medication treatments.

Acupuncture
This is a treatment I discovered when I had no other alternatives.  I had to come off all medications, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Within 2 months of treatment the number of migraines are virtually nil.  I may get 1 a month, they aren't very severe, and I can usually take excedrine and knock it out right away.  I will admit that I was a skeptic, but I was at a breaking point.  I am now a believer!
Article on acupuncture for migraines: http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/headachemigraine/a/AcupunctureMigr.htm

So, I will leave it at this for now...I wish all my migraine sufferers luck in their treks!

Doggie Dreams

On occasion while lying in bed waiting to fall asleep, I will hear this little noise coming from somewhere in the room.  Brisco, our 5 year old mix breed, is the culprit of the noise. He makes these funny sounds while he is sleeping and dreaming. He doesn't do a full out bark, but he does his little bouf, bouf, wimper wimper.  I wonder what he is dreaming about.  Is he chasing a squirrel? Maybe a cat? Is he being chased? His life is somewhat boring, so I can't begin to understand what he might dream about at night.  But it makes me giggle every time, and I try to be quiet so I don't wake him from his dreams.


Sweet dreams puppy!

From Pets: Dogs and Cats