Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? Week long migraine
2 weeks ago I started treatment for RMSF (tick borne disease) and a week ago today I developed a migraine with 8/10 pain, throbbing head, weakness, dizziness, nausea, photophobia, and some unsteadiness on my feet. Along with the inability to work. I have been to the ER 3 times and my PCP 3 times. I have only received relief for a total of 6 hours. Even in that 6 hours my pain was a 6.5/10. They are trying to treat my pain with narcotics, barbiturates, NSAIDs, anti nausea meds, and antibiotics for the RMSF. I've read that narcotics are not good for migraines. I am taking them every 4 hours!! I am miserable and don't know what to do. I am desperate for relief! Maybe I will call my PCP when they open. I've read on here about hospitalization for status migraine. Do I have this? The only tests they have done are bloodwork and an EKG. Would I benefit from hospitalization? I do not have a history of migraines. Just headaches. This has been the Most miserable week ever. Anyone have any suggestions? Will answer questions if you have any.
Hi Daradson,
I'm sorry you are suffering so at the moment. I can tell you anytime someone who has migraine gets sick, or whose body gets out of whack, or homeostasis - whether it's due to a cold, RMSF, virus or what have you, an attack may occur. These things don't cause migraine, rather trigger attacks. Current thinking, which is backed by research, indicates migraine is a genetic neurological disorder that when we come into contact with certain triggers (foods, dehydration, changes in the weather, and more) an attack will occur.
I can't however, tell you what type of migraine and/or headache disorder you have as it's not safe to do online. Only a qualified doctor can give you an accurate diagnosis after he examines you, goes over your symptoms and discusses your medical history and family's medical history. There is no test or blood work for migraine at this time, it's a diagnosis of exclusion. At this point, you may want to discuss a steroid dose pack with your doctor to break this nasty cycle. We hate to see migraine pain lasts longer than 72 hours as this increases our risk of status migrainous and stroke. You can read more about that here; https://migraine.com/blog/what-is-status-migrainosus/.
It's interesting you said you don't have a history of migraine, just headache - are you certain? Many attacks are debilitating, but not always. Unfortunately there are many people who have migraine but aren't aware of it and are not accurately diagnosed. Let me share this information on migraine with you; https://migraine.com/migraine-basics/.
You're correct narcotics are not the first line of treatment for migraine as these medications mask the pain, they don't stop an attack. Another problem may occur if we take migraine medications (Imitrex, Maxalt, etc) and/or pain medications, whether they are over-the-counter or prescription, more than two to three days a week and is called medication overuse headache, moh which was formerly called rebound. If we are in an moh cycle our migraines will be more difficult to treat and we can end up in a daily cycle of pain that is hard to break. Here is information on this topic I hope helps: https://migraine.com/blog/help-how-can-i-not-overuse-migraine-medications/.
I sorry we didn't get back to you earlier and hope you are feeling better,
Nancy
