How to diagnose a migraine?!
My husband for a long time has periods of extreme exhaustion, I mean sleeping 18hrs a day for 2 or 3 days, just general malaise and lately episodes of nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. If he has a headache it’s usually pretty mild. After a million tests they think he may be having migraines. He was started on Amitriptyline to take daily. I’m guessing it’s rare to have migraines without headaches but is it impossible? Although now that I think about it he has had headaches but we usually attribute them to sleeping so long with out drinking anything. I don’t know, it feels overwhelming to treat something that is hard to actually diagnose for a certainty. And also does this medication seem to really help people? Thank you!
What a wonderful wife you are to reach out on on behalf of your husband! He is very lucky to have you in his corner.
I am so sorry to hear how how difficult it has been for him. Let me share some information with you. First to ask, did he meet with a headache & migraine specialist at any point? Seeing a specialist may help in obtaining a proper diagnosis. You can read more about that here. - https://migraine.com/migraine-headaches-doctors/. I know you mentioned him already having received many tests, but here is an overview in case you'd like to review. - https://migraine.com/migraine-diagnosis/migraine-diagnosis-tests/
It sounds like you may already be aware of this but yes, it is possible to experience migraine with any actual "pain". This resource may help to clarify. - https://migraine.com/migraine-aura/migraine-aura-without-pain/
My final point to share is that while others in the community may chime in to share their experiences with Amitriptyline, it is important to remember that there is no one size fits all approach to treating migraine. What works well for one may not for another.
I truly hope he finds the relief he needs! Keep us posted if you can & wishing you the best.
