[MotoCO]

Hi,

Sorry I haven't been on here. I just dropped off the face of the forum, so to speak. I have been faced with terrible migraines and they aren't getting any better. This has been a life long fight for me. I take preventative meds and one of the meds I was on was Topamax and the dosage was 200mg. Well, after the surgery my arms went numb/tingly from my elbows down and Topamax was the culprit. I did not have a tummy for it to disolve in. So now I am on half the dosage and these migraines are kicking my butt. The last several weeks have been a terrible struggle. The good news is there is nothing in my tummy to throw up so that part of my migraines is gone but doesn't stop me from being sick at my stomach.

During the holidays I did fine with my diet and I did not lose and I did not gain. But I have been unable to get on the treadmill. I cannot tell you how many days I spent in bed laying there or sleeping. I am getting beyond frustrated.

My Doc gave me a new med to try that is a nasal spray but it is an "NSAID". Now, it is helpful but some of it does trickle down into throat and into the stomach. So, I don't know how bad that is going to be for my new pouch. With the new med the best analogy I can give is my brain is like a pot of boiling water...the med now turns the burner down to simmer...it is still there...I can't feel it...but it waits for the med to burn off and then the pot starts to boil again. But has offered relief and at least gives me another weapon in my arsenal to combat the headaches.

I am not sure where to turn at this point. This is my life. I know it isn't going to get better. But I don't know how to move to get my diet working again.

Help?

[msmonica]

I'm sorry your having such a rough time. I can't even to begin to imagine. I hope it gets better quick!

[pattyb_d]

Hi, I am so sorry. Migraines are so horrid. For meds I used to do toradol very occasionally. ( hard on organs). Tramadol also helps. Another thing I've found is food connection. If i drink coffee i get migraines, flip side if my aunt doesn't drink 2 cups of coffee a day she gets them. Also celery can help as well as black licorice. However black licorice can increase bp. Maybe looking at your food journal compared to migraine you would see some link. I'm not big on the whole natural thing, but my body likes to have lots. Of side affects to meds making me look outside the box. Hopes some of this helps. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

[pretty woman]

My daughter has migraines.. I am sorry for your pain.
Have you thought of accupuncture? Or something holistic??
I have heard to stay away from NSAIDs...
Hang in there.

[txbred]

I had migraines too, but after surgery they stopped. I've only had a few regular headaches and now they go away with just some Tylenol. I used to dring extremely cold gatorade, drink as much as I could and fast, but that would probably be hard to do now. Maybe if you tried it cold, but didn't drink it fast. The electrolytes in gatorade help with migraines. I also use cold ice packs and Tylenol PM so I would fall asleep with the ice pack and wake up w/o a migraine.

[MotoCO]

Thanks for the great ideas. I really appreciate it.

I am 4th generation migraine person. I have tried acupuncture, massage and if anything else that did not move too fast...I'd try it.

The two things I abhor is celery and black licorice. Eeee! Plus, raisins. I have a list of "foods that piss me off" and those are at the top of the list. My Mom thinks it is funny.

I don't drink coffee or caffeine. However, caffeine does help and is contained in a lot of migraine meds. I have tried laying around, ice packs, at this point I'd strip and go to the mall if someone told me it would work.

I just need to get moving. This a.m. I am feeling okay and brain not angry so I am going to hit the treadmill and hope it doesn't wake up the sleeping beast!!

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. I just think it is my cross to bear at this point.

[judst]

I'm so sorry that you are still having such bad migraines friend. I don't have any advice to offer but I can sure identify with being sick to your stomach and not being able to get moving. It's frustrating when you feel too sick to exercise. I've just been able to start again after being sick for quite some time. Have you tried making some ginger tea for your nausea? It really does help. Simmering fresh ginger is the best. I wish I could take your pain from you. I've missed you , please keep me posted on how you are doing. Hugs and prayers

[melanie6]

Oh, honey. Im so sorry you are going through this. I too am a chronic migraine sufferer, and its horrible. I have more days with a headache than days without them, and unfortunately its just become a way of life for me. I have gone thru a whole arsenal of different products - topamax made me sick sick sick, Imitrex (I have the pills and the nasal spray) gave me horrible side effects...felt like I was having a combo heart attack and panic attack every time I used it...that was worse than the migraine. I've had one that is sublinguel and starts with an M...cant remember what its called but it made me even more nauseaus. At work, I cant be under the influence of heavy duty drugs so before surgery I made myself a coctail of tylenol and Excedrine migraine and that worked - but thats off limits now because Excedrine is a NSAID and has caffeine - double no no. So far the only thing that works for me is Naratriptan and its NOT and NSAID. I cant tell you how happy I was when I found out that I can take it after surgery...I literally cried. This was after my PCP prescribed the dreaded Imitrex nasal spray and told me it was my only option. I found a site that had everything I ever wanted to know about Naratriptan and I was elated. I thought that i was going to live my life suffering in pain from the migraines.

Now, as far as the exercise...I really cant help you. When my head hurts bad it affects everything I do. Movement, light, sound, smells...everything will aggravate it. I have to wait for the meds to kick in and dull the pain before I can do anything.

I hope you start feeling better soon ((((HuGS))))