Abdominal Migraines-Adult
Hello everyone
I have had normal head migraines ( left temporal) since 23yo. I am 56 now. 3.5 years ago all of a sudden I had what I thought was a bad case of food poisoning that lasted 2 weeks. I went to ER 3 times. Tests — CT- and
MRI- head , upper scope, then diagnosed with ABDOMINAL MIGRAINES.
My migraines were controlled with Imitrex rather quickly and I could go back to work . When I started getting the A.M. nothing stopped them.
I have taken all the new meds, some Old school ones and nothing has worked.
I even went as far as getting a Celiac Block. ( I was told that would stop ALL pain signals from icy abdomen to my brain. DIDN’T WORK one bit..
Took the shot. Amovig a few days prior to my most recent attack no help.
My abdominal spasms are so severe that I have to go to the ER every time to get a shot of Haloperidol and that tends to stop the intense spasms but not the vomiting ( every 3 minutes)
I take topamax 200 morn- night. To prevent. It has helped. I’m down to 1-2 month. I was 1 a week.
Can’t find any studies going on for AM.
I hate that we are such a rare group ( guess they don’t care )
Anyone heard of Botox for this. I have read a few posts and it so like a few have done it
I’m just worried since none of the other preventative treatments focused on the head have worked to date . If they need to look at something in the Gut instead..
I don’t know. Im about out of options and hope here ,, these things are killing me
Any comments are welcome
Except negativity… lol
Eric. Indiana
Thank you for joining the conversation and sharing your experience with us. I hear how frustrating it is to have a new diagnosis. We understand and are here for you.
Try not to lose hope, here are over 100 medications, supplements, devices, complementary therapies and lifestyle modifications that can be used to manage migraine disease and most of us are on a combination of these., I sure am! https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-preventives-start. I've been getting Botox since 2016 with good results, thankfully.
I see you are in Indiana. It may be time to reach out to a doctor who is a true expert in treating migraine and headache disease. Here's the thing - general neurologists may be fine doctors but have a hard time being experts in one area because they treat so many conditions such as stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and more. A true migraine expert is board certified in headache medicine (not all neurologists are) and treats migraine and headache all day, every day. Here is more information on why these doctors are beneficial and where to find them;
1) https://migraine.com/blog/really-find-headache-specialist/
2) https://migraine.com/living-migraine/change-thoughts-new-care/
3) https://headaches.org/resources/healthcare-provider-finder/
4) https://migraine.com/living-migraine/how-to-find-a-neurologist-or-headache-specialist
5) https://www.ucns.org/Online/Online/Diplomate_Directory.aspxLet me know what you think and I'm sending along pain free wishes, Nancy Harris Bonk, Patient Leader/Moderator Migraine.com Team
Hi
, thanks so much for taking the time to post your experience with abdominal migraines. While I'm not entirely sure if Botox will help with this type of migraine, I can point you to some articles on the topic in general.
"What I've Learned From 20 Years of Botox" is my go-to Botox article on Migraine.com. You can watch that video here: https://migraine.com/video/20-years-of-botox. There is also another video of what Botox injections look like here: https://migraine.com/video/video-of-botox-injections. And lastly, there is some more general information here: https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/botox.
I hope this helps provide some clarity to the situation. I encourage you to reach out to whoever is prescribing your Topamax. They should be able to tell you if you'd qualify for Botox, or refer you to another clinician who can. - Cody (Team Member)
I'm sorry to hear about your struggle with abdominal migraine. I can imagine your frustration of feeling like you're experiencing something that's not as widely researched and discussed.
It looks like you've already gotten some great resources from Cody and Nancy. I just wanted to toss out the idea of possibility exploring dietary changes. I should start by saying I'm not tremendously versed in abdominal migraine, I'm just a fellow member of our community here who has been living with migraine for about 35 years now. But I always appreciate hearing what works for each of our members, so I just wanted to share that I've had a lot of benefit from adjusting my diet. For example eliminating gluten, dairy, caffeine and artificial sweeteners have probably made the biggest difference for me, but the foods can be different for each person.
I don't know if this resonates or appeals to you at all, but I figured that I would just toss it out there as something to ponder or consider. We're all just trying to help one another out, right? 😀
Keep us posted, if you feel comfortable doing so, in how your journey unfolds.
Best
Alene, moderatorThank you both for the feedback — and keep it coming.
As for now I have pretty defined triggers ( barometric pressure/ storms, high stress/ anxiety)
It’s very rare when one of the freakin things gets me out without a trigger.
It’s always after when I can actually think again, I realize the clues that lead to that attack
I’m just very surprised that the celiac block didn’t help at all..
Eric L.I can definitely relate to that when you experience a migraine attack and you immediately replay the last few days in your mind to discover the trigger. It always feels like a catch 22 for me. I don't want to do it with the mindset that I did something wrong to trigger the attack or overlooked something that could have prevented it, but I also value the understanding of where it came from. Best, Alene, moderator
