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migrane medication not helping

hurtingallthetimet

Senior Member
Messages
612
i have headaches all the time eveything on my body hurts..i take migrane medications but for the last two days its not helping..my head feels like it is going to bust...i have been under alot of stress last few weeks..but shouldnt the migrane medicine help for that?
 

Esther12

Senior Member
Messages
13,774
i have headaches all the time eveything on my body hurts..i take migrane medications but for the last two days its not helping..my head feels like it is going to bust...i have been under alot of stress last few weeks..but shouldnt the migrane medicine help for that?

Is it possible that you've been using too much medication, and started to have rebound headaches?

If you've been under more strain than usual, then that is a common trigger for more migraines. Are you able to spend any more time on relaxation? Or resolve any of the matters which are particularly stressful? Good luck with it all.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
I was under the impression that those migraine medications don't work? Not sure what does. I get headaches a lot, but not migraines. Hope you find some relief soon!

GG
 

Calathea

Senior Member
Messages
1,261
Migraines are notoriously difficult to treat, alas. What meds are you on, and if you're using them daily, are they intended for daily use?

If it's any help, I find that a combination of co-codamol and diazepam works pretty well for my migraines, and it took me eighteen years to find this as nothing else works at all. I don't get too many migraines, though, mainly menstrual ones, so I don't need to take the meds constantly. Which is good, as they tend to leave me stoned, constipated, and would be addictive if I were taking them for too long. I just wanted to mention that sometimes it's not so much a matter of getting the right drug as it is of getting the right combination of drugs, and in my case it was the muscle relaxant properties of the diazepam that kicked the co-codamol into actually working for once.

Are you seeing a pain clinic or similar, Hurt? I don't know how well your doctor is handling your pain management, but since you're still in a lot of pain, you sound like you could do with some more help. There are patient-led pain organisations which can be very useful resources for learning more about what's available to you as well. What particularly concerns me is that you chose your user name in this forum to be "hurting all the time", which suggests that pain is such a big part of life that it's become a major part of your identity.

As for the stress, pain and stress tend to feed into each other and create a vicious cycle. Have you tried anything for stress relief? Getting outside if cabin fever is getting to you (though staying within your energy limits, of course); a very gentle massage (more vigourous ones tend to be exhausting and in my experience, don't necessarily do more for unknotting the muscles), especially an aromatherapy massage; relaxing music; something creative perhaps.
 

Valentijn

Senior Member
Messages
15,786
Are you sure it's migraine pain? There's a standard ME/CFS headache that's also very nasty, but feels like the brain is trying to expand, instead of pulsating like a migraine. The ME/CFS headache will probably hurt on both sides of the head, whereas a migraine is on one side.

If it is a ME/CFS headache, it's probably caused by swelling, which would explain why omega 3 fish oil is effective in treating it.

If it is a real migraine, you might be able to find the trigger (mine was MSG combined with folate deficiency). Unbalanced neurotransmitters might also be a cause, and can be checked in amino acid profiles and catecholamine testing.
 
Messages
2,566
Location
US
Mine are worse if I'm having too low magnesium, or eating certain foods that use up magnesium. Also if I'm not avoiding many migraine food triggers, and smells trigger me too.

I was told to see a neurologist (preferrably one who had extra experience with headaches and migraines) if migraine meds didn't help or if you were needing them frequently. I think just 2 or 3 doses a week counted as frequently.
 

Googsta

Doing Well
Messages
390
Location
Australia
Hi Hurting, sorry to hear your head is causing you greif. i think the other posters gave you excellent advice. If you are having severe migraines though, I know how to get some releif.

My husband has suffered terrible migraines periodically since childhood. He has also been hospitalised with cluster migraines (worth googling).
None of the migraines meds have worked. Naturally he avoids too much caffeine, stress & eats/drinks regularly. But they can be unavoidable for some people.
As advised by a doctor he takes caffeine & codeine to lessen the severity of an attack. This works on the blood vessels in the brain. Obviously you wouldn't be able to do this very often as it could cause rebound headaches & migraine.
Hope this helps ;)
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
Headache is my middle name. I always have a headache! Sometimes it's bearable other times it's not. I have tried so many things. You do have to be careful with taking too many analgenics because like someone pointed out, there is the risk of rebound headaches. The only medicine that helped me was Topomax. It acts as a preventative for migraines. I was on it a few years ago and had relief for a while but, I had to raise the dosage after a while and then the side effects became impossible to deal with. I had cognitive problems from it - pretty severe. I couldn't drive. When I got into my car, I didn't know the function of the gas pedal or brakes - pretty scary so I had to discontinue it.
I haven't found anything else that helps much. I take two Benadryls and 4 Advils every morning because i wake up with an impossible headache. This usually numbs it a bit. When the headache is impossible, I take Vicodin but, I hate to do that. Sometimes I don't have a choice. I think my headaches are connected to my sinus problems although I have many symptoms of migraine headaches too. I believe there is a componant of allergies and that's why the Benadryl helps.

All I can say is that I can really empathise with you! These headaches can drive one crazy. I hope you find something to relieve them!
 

hurtingallthetimet

Senior Member
Messages
612
thanks for the replies and advice and info..

im on generic fioricet i forget milligrams but i take it as directed never more than it says to...i bring it up to doctor but have been told its part of the fibro/cfs that alot of people with these illness have migranes headaches..

i see a sepcialist for the chronic paina and fatigue and the many other things that come along with it since i become ill..im really tired of blurry vision but eye doctor tells me that i dont have anything else going on other than the usual need of glasses which i always wear..and that the presciption is right...but i keep telling them i am night blind and blurry vision all the time...ive told several eye doctors this...but they all say same that prescription eye glasses are right...

i guess its just something i have to deal with...but i think stress probably had to do with these days of the migranes headaches and not going away...hopefully it will get better soon..thanks agian everyone
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Valentijn, that's the best description I have heard about the ME headache "feels like the brain is trying to expand".

I have one now and realize I haven't taken my fish oils for the last three days.

Thumbs up for fish oil.
 

maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
Funny isn't it - I suffered with migraines and rebound heachaches (taking codeine/aspirin) for many years, at times linked to hormone cycle, but other times not. Stress was also in there - I usually got one on going on holiday, spent the first few days many a time in bed with the curtains shut - a nightmare. I vividly remember a week-end in Bath - I never saw the city - apart from when we were driving in and out!!! The weather had changed the day before we went and I had to rush about buying new coats for my horses as they were staying out. Pure stress.

After I got ME and due to developing intolerances and allergies, I cut out a lot of food groups, not had a migraine since, I still get ordinary headaches but not the debilitating migraine - I sympathise greatly.
Think its a question to finding what triggers yours, thats the difficult bit.