ineffective DHE treaetment
Hi,
I'm at 45 yr old female who has been getting headaches for about 7 months. Just when I started 2 new jobs a few weeks apart and now work close to 60 hrs/wk. Not even sure if I have migraines or just stress headaches. Seeing a neurologist for a month now Yesterday I finished my first round of 3 days of IV DHE treatment, but still have a dull headache level 1 or 2 in pain. I've had a non-stop headache since Feb 26 which is about 64 days, so he thought it's maybe an intractible migraine? My only other migraine symptom is about once a month I get severe eye pain in one eye, redness, swelling and intolerance to light. That's how I figured out I was having (I think) migraines. That's been going on for 7 months. Oh and to add to the mystery, I took a bad fall on Oct 8th while on an early morning run hitting my chin and scraping my face against a hard sidewalk. Maybe reflecting back on it, I sustained a mild concussion? My MRI from 2 weeks ago came back normal, whatever that means. Just relieved that I have no tumors, hemhoraging, etc! But still no solution to my non-stop headache. Waiting to hear back from neurologist. Now I'm just wondering - what next?
Maybe get an X-ray to check if I cracked/compressed a vertebrate or something. Acupuncture? Chiropractor - I am VERY skeptical to go that route. Just wondering what others who've tried DHE with no success did next. It did reduce it a little, but it's still there. I can't even remember what it's like to not have a headache.
Thanks,
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
I'm sorry you fell and are having a difficult time right now. Being in chronic pain is frustrating and exhausting. Let me see what information I can give you that will help.
DHE can be used to break a nasty migraine cycle, but doesn't work for everyone. There are other methods that can be used such as a steroid dose pack or an IV infusion of sodium magnesium and/or steroids. Here is information on this topic; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-treatment-experiences-iv-therapy-intractable-migraine/.
Sustaining a head injury can create all sorts of havoc for us, I know it did for me and it's not uncommon to have headache and/or a migraine triggered after a concussion. Concussions, or traumatic brain injury (TBI) can't be seen on an x-ray or cat scan. The damage is done at a microscopic level, too small to be seen in imaging. We have information on TBI and migraine you may find helpful in these article; https://migraine.com/blog/traumatic-brain-injury-migraine/, https://migraine.com/blog/post-traumatic-headache/ and https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-and-concussion/.
It's important to get an accurate diagnosis. This will allow us to get the proper treatment and learn about our particular migraine and/or headache disorder. Seeing as there are over 300 different migraine and headache types, getting a diagnosis is not easy. There are doctors who are experts in migraine and headache, and are board certified in headache medicine, which is different than being certified in neurology. These experts treat migraine and headache all day, every day. Neurologists on the other hand, may be fine doctors, but have a hard time being experts in one area because they treat so many different disorders such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson's and others. Let me share our information on what makes these doctors so special and how to find one; https://migraine.com/blog/how-are-migraine-specialists-different/ and https://migraine.com/blog/looking-for-a-migraine-specialist/. I would encourage you to seek out the expertise of one of these experts.
Take a look at this information on migraine management that has great information in it on how to manage our attacks, everything from triggers, to treatment and doctors; https://migraine.com/infographic/migraine-management-seven-essentials/.
Please let us know how you make out,
NancyI just finished my 3 day treatment of DHE on Monday. Now it's Thursday and my headache is back to where it started. I've been in an intractable migraine now for more than 2 years and I'm not sure where to go from here. I just switched doctors because my other doctor had basically given up. Now I'm a little concerned because this doctor has kind of a laissez-faire attitude about the fact that my cycle wasn't broken. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do after your infusions of DHE dont work?
