If you have migraines..

[Emily~Anne]

can you please tell me what prescription you like best and why? My doctor prescribed me Imitrex and I am not sure if this dopey feeling is because I had a massive migraine or if it is the med itself. I know I should have talked to my doctor more, but I was not coherent at the appt. today.

[Emily~Anne]

Do you take the pill or the shot?

Most definately the pill!

I did some googling and discovered Imitrex should ideally be taken early on in the migraine. I took mine kinda late. We have health insurance that includes prescription coverage so cost is not a problem. I cant stand vicodin. Last time I took it was horrible and I still had the headache. Being buzzed on pain med and having a migraine at the same time is so horrible. I will remember Max-alt 10 and ask my doctor about it. Thank you.

for fellow migraine sufferer cause I know how awful those are!

[deafcanada]

Do you take the pill or the shot?

Most definately the pill!

I did some googling and discovered Imitrex should ideally be taken early on in the migraine. I took mine kinda late. We have health insurance that includes prescription coverage so cost is not a problem. I cant stand vicodin. Last time I took it was horrible and I still had the headache. Being buzzed on pain med and having a migraine at the same time is so horrible. I will remember Max-alt 10 and ask my doctor about it. Thank you.

for fellow migraine sufferer cause I know how awful those are!

Hey emily

I have mild migraine had it since i was pregnant with first child and still i do have those migriane only i have monthly come up every month. i only take Advil as my doctor recommend me to take those advil it works for me very well. also if it really bad one i take 3 tablets of advil then after 6 hours i take another 2 then if it is all gone or less then i get another 2 in other 6 hours but so far i had been taking one tablet for my migriane because i had to cut off some caffeine like chocolate bars and some food i cant remember so only time i have migriane is my montly like 2 or 3 days before it starts

and i go sleep in dark room no light no noisy that will bother me even though i am deaf only hear from loud yelling etc but other thing not bother only light that will hurt my head and eyes so i only go sleep in dark room it will go away in next day.

do you have any children emily? i am sure you have kids.

I had gone through that migiraine almost everyday with small kids for 2 years or 3 years but now it is finally over as doctor recommened about advil so i took it after that it stopped and less migraine.

DC

[Marnie]

Hi Emily.

I am blessed with both chronic daily headaches and chronic migraines! How lucky can you get! For the migraines, which I get several times a months to varying degrees, the ONLY thing that works for me is pain management. I was on a blood pressure medication for a while, but I guess because my bp is right on, all the pill did was make me sleepy, no matter the dose. So I quit taking it; it didn't do anything for the frequency of the migraines, either. Imitrex, is obscenely expensive and works for me about 30% of the time, so to me it just isn't worth the gamble. The only pain medication that takes the edge of the pain is codeine. Codeine is a narcotic so not everybody can take it nor should they. Usually I take codeine mixed with other pain relievers. On a good day I can get enough edge off the pain to actually function.

For just the regular headaches I take a combination of acetaminophen/aspirin/codeine/caffeine.

In either case, if the pain is just too intolerable, I get to the emergency room and get the Demerol shot. This is a last resort for me, Demerol really knocks me for a loop.

[Emily~Anne]

Do you take the pill or the shot?

Most definately the pill!

I did some googling and discovered Imitrex should ideally be taken early on in the migraine. I took mine kinda late. We have health insurance that includes prescription coverage so cost is not a problem. I cant stand vicodin. Last time I took it was horrible and I still had the headache. Being buzzed on pain med and having a migraine at the same time is so horrible. I will remember Max-alt 10 and ask my doctor about it. Thank you.

for fellow migraine sufferer cause I know how awful those are!

Hey emily

I have mild migraine had it since i was pregnant with first child and still i do have those migriane only i have monthly come up every month. i only take Advil as my doctor recommend me to take those advil it works for me very well. also if it really bad one i take 3 tablets of advil then after 6 hours i take another 2 then if it is all gone or less then i get another 2 in other 6 hours but so far i had been taking one tablet for my migriane because i had to cut off some caffeine like chocolate bars and some food i cant remember so only time i have migriane is my montly like 2 or 3 days before it starts

and i go sleep in dark room no light no noisy that will bother me even though i am deaf only hear from loud yelling etc but other thing not bother only light that will hurt my head and eyes so i only go sleep in dark room it will go away in next day.

do you have any children emily? i am sure you have kids.

I had gone through that migiraine almost everyday with small kids for 2 years or 3 years but now it is finally over as doctor recommened about advil so i took it after that it stopped and less migraine.

DC

Yep I have 2 boys! I had lots of headaches when I was pregnant also. Tylenol was 100% effective for me for those! I always get those monthly headaches as well. But now they have gotten waaaay severe. Even vicodin doesnt work! Dark and quiet helps me alot too. This is when it's good to be deaf!

[kat8585]

I thought I had migraines, but my doctor said they weren't. But when I tried codiene, it made me sicker than a dog, and did nothing for the headache, so I had both pains! What a bummer. At least I found out I'm allergic to codeine.

I had to go to the emergency room once. I call that my $200 headache.

I don't get headaches much any more, and ibuporfen does the trick. I hate taking any drugs. I find that when my diet is better, the headaches go down.

[Emily~Anne]

Hi Emily.

I am blessed with both chronic daily headaches and chronic migraines! How lucky can you get! For the migraines, which I get several times a months to varying degrees, the ONLY thing that works for me is pain management. I was on a blood pressure medication for a while, but I guess because my bp is right on, all the pill did was make me sleepy, no matter the dose. So I quit taking it; it didn't do anything for the frequency of the migraines, either. Imitrex, is obscenely expensive and works for me about 30% of the time, so to me it just isn't worth the gamble. The only pain medication that takes the edge of the pain is codeine. Codeine is a narcotic so not everybody can take it nor should they. Usually I take codeine mixed with other pain relievers. On a good day I can get enough edge off the pain to actually function.

For just the regular headaches I take a combination of acetaminophen/aspirin/codeine/caffeine.

In either case, if the pain is just too intolerable, I get to the emergency room and get the Demerol shot. This is a last resort for me, Demerol really knocks me for a loop.

The last two migraines I had I seriously thought about going to the ER. But then I thought if Vicodin doesnt work can they really do anythng for me? Does the Demerol always work? This is good to find out before I have another migraine cause I may just do that. It is only the last two which have been majorly severe, and those two occured in the last month. I do hope they do not become more frequent. Do you take anything for the nauseau that goes with the severe migraines? My doctor prescribed me Promethazine and it did help.

Tylenol with Codeine is powerful stuff! My sister had a coconut tree fell on her head and she fractured her skull in two pieces from ear to ear. She had to have part of her skull removed to give her brain room to swell. I am sure you can imagine the headaches she had! Only 2 weeks after her brain trauma, she was on Tylenol with Codeine. One day I went to get lunch in the cafeteria. When I came back to her room an hour later, apparently the time frame she was supposed to get her next dose of Tylenol with codeine had lapsed and she was in extreme pain. As soon as I walked in the room I could see it in her face, I went up to her and held her hand and she squeezed my hand so hard as tears fell down her cheeks. I looked up and realized the nurse was in the corner talking on the phone. I asked my mother who she was talking to, they said her boyfriend. I marched right up to that nurse and told her to give my sister her meds NOW! She was so stunned she didnt even say bye to her boyfriend. She promptly hung up the phone and gave my sister her Tylenol with Codeine and my sister felt relief right away. Good stuff!

[Emily~Anne]

I thought I had migraines, but my doctor said they weren't. But when I tried codiene, it made me sicker than a dog, and did nothing for the headache, so I had both pains! What a bummer. At least I found out I'm allergic to codeine.

I had to go to the emergency room once. I call that my $200 headache.

I don't get headaches much any more, and ibuporfen does the trick. I hate taking any drugs. I find that when my diet is better, the headaches go down.

Yes, if I get anemic I am more prone to headaches. I have good health insurance thank goodness! Allergic reactions to meds are so not fun!

[Marnie]

The last two migraines I had I seriously thought about going to the ER. But then I thought if Vicodin doesnt work can they really do anythng for me? Does the Demerol always work? This is good to find out before I have another migraine cause I may just do that. It is only the last two which have been majorly severe, and those two occured in the last month. I do hope they do not become more frequent. Do you take anything for the nauseau that goes with the severe migraines? My doctor prescribed me Promethazine and it did help.

Tylenol with Codeine is powerful stuff! My sister had a coconut tree fell on her head and she fractured her skull in two pieces from ear to ear. She had to have part of her skull removed to give her brain room to swell. I am sure you can imagine the headaches she had! Only 2 weeks after her brain trauma, she was on Tylenol with Codeine. One day I went to get lunch in the cafeteria. When I came back to her room an hour later, apparently the time frame she was supposed to get her next dose of Tylenol with codeine had lapsed and she was in extreme pain. As soon as I walked in the room I could see it in her face, I went up to her and held her hand and she squeezed my hand so hard as tears fell down her cheeks. I looked up and realized the nurse was in the corner talking on the phone. I asked my mother who she was talking to, they said her boyfriend. I marched right up to that nurse and told her to give my sister her meds NOW! She was so stunned she didnt even say bye to her boyfriend. She promptly hung up the phone and gave my sister her Tylenol with Codeine and my sister felt relief right away. Good stuff!

Okay. This will sound funny. The Demerol always works for the migraines. But I only take the shot if the pain is totally unbearable. Demerol makes me act strange (stranger than normal for me). Vicodin works for the headaches but not at all for the migraines. With my migraines, I rarely get nauseous. For me, the day before a serious migraine hits I get unbelievably thirsty and abnormally hyper--I drink all day and do crazy things, like clean the whole house top to bottom, clean out the horse's stalls all before breakfast, and oddly enough, I do my best work during this time. It's amazing, really. The next day, if it's bad enough, in addition to the sharp pain, I have a terrible rushing sound in my ears, I cannot tolerate light, I sweat like crazy and and usually stay in the bed room with the lights off and the drapes pulled tight. Generally this sort of thing doesn't last for more than day, but there are times when some of the symptoms come and go for a week or more. Anyway, the day after the migraine completely leaves, I am like a zombie and can't do anything. What I call a "bad migraine" occurs when I have a "stroke." When this happens, in addition to the aforementioned symptoms, I will have what looks like a stroke and one side of my body just goes numb. When this happens Mike takes me to the hospital and I get shot up and sleep for two days.

With the headaches, every day I have one. Most days they are are very mild and I just work and carry on like normal. Some days they are horrendous, so that I can't walk or lift my head off the pillow. As I said, for me, the codeine works best. It's a fairly high dose and takes roughly 10 minutes to take effect; I can literally feel when it kicks in. The sharp edge of the pain goes away and I am able to get up and go about my life. I have tried a variety of prescription pain relievers, Midran being the latest. Most of them didn't do much.

[Emily~Anne]

Wow Marnie! Those sound really bad! I was really thirsty the day before too, but didnt make the connection until just now when you mentioned it. I call the after effect of a migraine a 'migraine hangover' Only my last two have had that effect though. Not as bad as yours though. I am shaky and weak and slept 10 hrs last night. Tomorrow will be alot better and by Sunday it will be like I never had the migraine. (I hope!) Have they done brain scans and stuff to figure out why you have daily headaches?