saw "HA GURU" in Las Vegas new treatments?
I've have migraines since I was 15. My mother ad migraines form her mid teens,my daughter developed terrible migraines at 11, and my 17 yo some gets then 1-2 a month.
Over these past 25 years, my headaches has slowly, almost imperceptibly, increased in both duration and intensity. About the ago of 19-20 I as missing 1-5 days of work a month due to migraines. But this was back in the day where imitrex was new and they were very particular on who to give it to. The first vcouple of times I had an imitrex shot, it worked great. With 6 monts, all triptans with the exception of Frova, it's never been covered by my insurance) They just don't do anything for my headache. They don't make it better, it doesn't make it worse. Jut the same terrible pain.
I was with an HMO neurologist that basically gave me 9 fills of 90 fioricet and told me to come back when I ran out.
After going through three more jerks, I found a really great neurologist three years ago who went over my vast history and all the medications I;d tried - try-cyclic AD,beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, opioids, barbiturates, and even more I can remember.
He listened to my story for two hours, answering very pointed questions, and basically said I had a chronic daily headache. Not a MOH, but true headaches. Because my medications out so fast because insurance only pays for a little bit of it. So I basically have no medication 2 weeks out of the month.
Due to a mixup in getting the new medications the neuro wanted me to use and a prior authorization was needed by those meds, I went from Wed - Sun with a level 7 migraine. I had nothing to take, because I was told to get off those meds.
So I went into their acute clinic two days ago, and they gave me a bunch of non-narcotic agents to get rib of the headache and sleep it off for a couple of hours.
After meeting with the neurologist again, he asked me, "so do you have migraines that go away fir a day of two WITH NO PAIN or do i have headaches all the time; but that I'm just suppressing the feelings because to me they re "mild."
He said that daily chronic migraines (Noy MOH)are caused by the irritation of the brain and spinal cord and that I likely needed a blood patch in my epidural space. He said it's almost a textbook case: my headaches get worse standing, sitting, and walking. But if I lay perfectly still on my pillow, I feel better.
Have any of yo have "advanced migraine techniques?" What were the pros and cons of them? I'm trying to look on the internet but can't find much information
Thanks
Hi 10nqy9a,
I'm happy to hear your appointment went so well. Would you mind sharing his name? There is a doctor in Las Vegas, who is board certified in headache medicine (different than being certified in neurology) and I wonder if that's who you saw.
Sometimes after a spinal tap, a blood patch may be required to seal a whole that may have been created by the tap and causes a spinal headache. According to the International Headache Society's International Classification of Headache Disorders - III, beta or ICHD-III beta, here is the information regarding low cerebrospinal fluid headache;
7.2 Headache attributed to low cerebrospinal fluid
pressure
Description:
Orthostatic headache in the presence of low cerebrospinal
fluid (CSF) pressure (either spontaneous or secondary),
or CSF leakage, usually accompanied by neck
pain, tinnitus, changes in hearing, photophobia and/
or nausea. It remits after normalization of CSF pressure
or successful sealing of the CSF leak.I've had a number of spinal taps to reduce my head pain from increased cerebrospinal fluid, sort of the opposite of a low pressure issue. Let me share information on this type of headache; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-comorbidities-idiopathic-intracranial-hypertension/.
I'm not sure what other "advance migraine techniques" you are thinking about, but I've had trigger point injections, many, many different trials of medications, PT, biofeedback, acupressure, aqua therapy, to name just a few. You may want to take a look at our treatment information which you can find here; https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/.
Does that help?
NancyThank you for your reply. There are two HA neurologists in town one has recently left his practice, moved out of town, moved back, and set uphis own practice way across town for me. So I see Mehdi Anserinia. He is a good dr in my opinion and really cares for his patients. He has an acute care facility in his office for migrainuers that would otherwise go to the ER. I went there last week for acute care and was there for six hours, mostly sleeping off my meds.
The blood patch didn't work. I've had three giant full blown migraines since the procedure, but he did tell me he had a lot more things to try if this didn't work. I see him tomorrow and I wonder what he will think.
Do you have any ideas on why my head hurts a lot less when I lay down and don't move, and every time I get in a moving car my migraines start up? Also, what does it say when trip tans don't weork at all on you, dhe is minimally effective and fioricet in higher doses can take away mild to moderate migraines? Though once a migraine takes hold of me for a couple of days, nothing but a Drs medicines can help.
I hope I answered all your questions - I'm on a phone and can't see your reply.
The hardest part for me is when I start feeling the pain come on. I have an anxiety disorder, and I literally start to panic when I have head pain and I don't have any medicine to make it go away. I've spent so much of my life suffering from these, it's hard to go trust a new doctor that says no more to your main pain med and tells you it maybe rough for a little bit. I haven't figured out how to cope with it yet.
Thanks,
Michelle
