Migraine Clinic?

quietheart

Has anyone been to a Migraine Clinic before?
I've had menstrual migraines for years managed with Imigran nasal spray.
I spent a day in hospital this week with a Hemiplegic Migraine, I'd never heard of it before but it's like having a stroke, very scary.
I've researched it a bit and the meds I'm on aren't recommended.
I think I need to see an expert as my searches online say most GPs won't have experience of this rare form of migraine.
Any ideas?!

mrtg0525

Unfortunately I can't help apart from offering my sympathy as a fellow migraine sufferer. I'd certainly suggest that seeing a specialist is the way forward, especially when you're not on the "right" medication.

One of the problems I found with migraine medication is that what works for one person doesn't work for the next so you still may need to experiment if the recommended meds don't work.

Fen1

Just coming from a different angle, so may not be of any help.

Are you on the Pill? I was on the Pill and got migraines that coincided with PMT. Changed my contraception, and no more migraines.

Do you keep a food and environment diary? My mother is severly sensitive to citrus fruits, bananas, wine - especially red, and bright/flashing lights. She gets the 'stroke' type migraines: paralysis, loss of/ disturbed vision, slurred/loss of speech, loss of cognitive thinking etc. All told, it can knock her out for a week. I was lucky with just the extreme headaches, vertigo, photophobia and vomiting.

However, I am still very very photosensitive, and find that glare on even a dull day can give me very bad headaches and queasiness. ALso, strip lighting at certain frequencies and some ordinary lighbulbs flickering can set me off. I go everywhere with sunglasses, and even wear them indoors when there is dodgy lighting ( epileptics also do the sunglasses indoors trick).

Food and light can really have a masssive impact on whther you get a migraine and its severity. I know that yours is probably hormonally/chemically linked, but the other stuff is well worth keeping an eye on.

A friend of mine was recommended by her pharmacist that what is really needed as an attck sets in is anti-nausea pills. The problem with migraine is that it upsets your stomach, so inhibts the absorption of the painkillers. You are usually better off taking anti-nausea pills and standard extra strong painkillers than special migraine pills ( A little box with anti-nausea pills and painkillers can easily be kept in your handbag). ALso, whack on an ice-pack onto your forehead as soon as you feel the symptoms. You can get snap-activating ones from sports shops- they use them at sporting events when somebody sprains an ankle rather than having to lug an ice-box everywhere. These are small and can be kept in the glove box of your car, desk drawer at work etc.


Good luck

quietheart

"I was lucky with just the extreme headaches, vertigo, photophobia and vomiting."

That made me laugh - doesn't sound lucky to me!
Thank you both for your replies.
I'm not on the pill and normally it's the drop in estrogen that causes the migraines. This latest one that was really severe with paralysis and extreme confusion seems unrelated.
I do already have medication for dizziness and nausea but that makes me so drowsy I'm a bit useless with or without it. Would be good to get the right meds and hopefully stop another scary attack, at least i'd know what is was next time:o .

Confused_Newbie

Hi Guys

In the past 3 years or so I have been suffering quite badly with migraines. Have had two different types of medication from the docs (last one they gave me 6 tablets which cost me £7 for the prescription!) Both these medicataions made me unbelievably drowsy, I slept for 3 days. So I have been buying migraleve from Boots, however not only do these work out expensive but I really dont like pumping my body full of goodness knows what.

Suppose really what I am asking is does anyone know of any natural remedies that I could try? My doctor is pretty useless, just writes a different prescription and kinda gives the impression that you are wasting his time.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated

xoxox

lauren_1

I have had migranes since the age of four 2-3 times a week especially through out the summer right up untill my grand old age of 25 (its today:j ) they have lessened slightly to about once a month i am still on medication but over the years have been on pitzofen, zomig, proprananol, codine, trammadol, sumitriptan injections, buccamen?, various sprays, liquids and supositories and others i cant remember.....

I did find having a coil fitted or going pill free cut out a large portion of the migranes but i did find out i am missing quite a large vein in my brain, this is quite a common sight when they do CT scan with people who suffer from migranes, they cannot figure why it happens or if it contributes to the attacks.

Also keeping up to date with eye tests and dentist visits may help too, having a prescription which is 0.25 or 0.5 out can give eye strain which can contribute and also teeth which fall slightly out of align even by 1-2mm can create strain, its worth a mention to your optician or dentist.

Low blood sugar (as well as high) can bring on a migrane, it may be worth assesing when you eat rather than what you eat.

I did have quite a good piece of advice from a very sympathetic nurse last time i got admitted, if you think about all the blood rushing through your head, the pain is usually a swollen capilliary network, the more water you drink ideally 2-4 glasses of water on the onset then place 2 asprin or codine (one at a time) under your tongue or up between your cheek and your gum (apparently it gets to the blood stream quicker through absorption) this may help to reduce the swelling and allow blood to flow better.

Or if all else fails try

reflexology
hopi ear candles
indian head massage

I would not recomend aromatherapy as some oiuls can be quite nausiating and bring on an instant migrane

mrtg0525

Confused_Newbie wrote: »

Hi Guys

In the past 3 years or so I have been suffering quite badly with migraines. Have had two different types of medication from the docs (last one they gave me 6 tablets which cost me £7 for the prescription!) Both these medicataions made me unbelievably drowsy, I slept for 3 days. So I have been buying migraleve from Boots, however not only do these work out expensive but I really dont like pumping my body full of goodness knows what.

AFAIR, Migraleve is fairly mild and mostly Aspirin with some anti-Nauseau stuff thrown in. In a sense, count yourself lucky if that's enough to keep the migraine under control...

You need to find out what the doctor did prescribe you - there is an awful lot of migraine medication out there and especially some of the "old school" stuff can have the effects you describe. That said, IME sometimes you do sleep for that long to help your body recover from the migraine.

Confused_Newbie wrote: »

Suppose really what I am asking is does anyone know of any natural remedies that I could try? My doctor is pretty useless, just writes a different prescription and kinda gives the impression that you are wasting his time.

In the light of the above, you really need to find out a couple of things:

• First and foremost, you need to find out what is triggering your migraines. In can be pretty much anything (for me, it's usually stress or changing the sleeping pattern, even sleeping in on the weekends). Some people react to chocolate or red wine, high noise levels (another of my triggers), changing weather... Once you find out what the trigger is, you can see if you can work around it to stop them from happening.
• Read up as much as you can on migraine. I know GPs don't like to have informed patients (guess it gives them headaches :rotfl:) but it's your head and your health we're talking about here. What doesn't help is that a lot of GPs seem to share the popular view that a migraine is just another word for a regular headache. Work out what medication they've given you and go back until you find one that works and doesn't turn you into Sleeping Beauty.

As to natural remedies, I found that acupuncture can work. It doesn't work for some people but it does work for me, so YMMV. The trick is to find a good practitioner, though.

Confused_Newbie

Thanks guys. I think my number one task is to try to work out some triggers. I know stress is definately one, as is tiredness. So going to start a bit of a diary to see if I can get myself a bit more informed.

Migraleve dont really work to be honest, usually take them and crawl into bed and stay there until it passes (what an excuse to spend days in bed! lol)

Think I will try to work out my triggers, get my eyes tested (in hubbys words Im as blind as a bat!) and hopefully go to my GP a bit better informed.

Thank you for all your advice though.

CN xoxox

mrtg0525

Confused_Newbie wrote: »

Thanks guys. I think my number one task is to try to work out some triggers. I know stress is definately one, as is tiredness. So going to start a bit of a diary to see if I can get myself a bit more informed.

Migraleve dont really work to be honest, usually take them and crawl into bed and stay there until it passes (what an excuse to spend days in bed! lol)

IME none of the migraine medication will allow you to skip the "pop the pills, then go for a nap" stage. The main difference seems to be the time it takes you to recover - if my migraine gets bad enough to take some sumatriptane, I'll usually be OK the following morning even after a bad attack. Trying to keep those under control with Migraleve and the likes can stretch it out to several days and I'm not that masochistic.

Confused_Newbie wrote: »

Think I will try to work out my triggers, get my eyes tested (in hubbys words Im as blind as a bat!) and hopefully go to my GP a bit better informed.

Eyestrain is quite common a trigger - I have to navigate by echo location as well if I don't wear my glasses, so I ensure that I get my eyes tested every year and I also keep buying bigger monitors (I'm a computer programmer, so I spend far too much time in front of that sort of idiot box) in a bid to relieve my eye strain as far as possible.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I get hemaplegic migraine.It's a horrible condition.Mine can last anything from 72 hours to a couple of weeks and I get them monthly.
I was sent to see a neurologist who at first told me he thought I had a brain tumour as my symptoms were so severe.Turned out to be this and my GP had no experience with it.
I take Sodium Valproate,which is an epilepsy/anticonvulsant drug daily together with diclofenic an anti inflammatory as a a preventative measure.I also take metoclopramide an anti nausea drug when I need to and dihydrocodeine for pain relief.
I have to admit that I didn't get much hope given to me when I saw the neurologist,I was told that the anti-convulsant and anti inflammatory would help prevent the attacks but pain control could be rather hit and miss.
I hope you get some help and it works for you.I would be very interested if it does.

quietheart

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I get hemaplegic migraine.It's a horrible condition.Mine can last anything from 72 hours to a couple of weeks and I get them monthly.
I was sent to see a neurologist who at first told me he thought I had a brain tumour as my symptoms were so severe.Turned out to be this and my GP had no experience with it.
I take Sodium Valproate,which is an epilepsy/anticonvulsant drug daily together with diclofenic an anti inflammatory as a a preventative measure.I also take metoclopramide an anti nausea drug when I need to and dihydrocodeine for pain relief.
I have to admit that I didn't get much hope given to me when I saw the neurologist,I was told that the anti-convulsant and anti inflammatory would help prevent the attacks but pain control could be rather hit and miss.
I hope you get some help and it works for you.I would be very interested if it does.

Hi
I started this thread but have been quiet as I got admitted to hospital with my last episode as they thought I'd had a stroke... I've now had ct scan, mri scan, neck doppler scan and 100's of blood tests and the neurologist thinks it's severe migraine. Hemiplegic migraine was mentioned but does that give total paralysis? I had facial palsy and numbness on my right side but could still walk slowly and speak (very slow and deliberate, huge difficulty in finding words). What do you experience with your hemiplegic migraine? It must be awful.