My mother has had this headache for almost three years now. Some day’s it’s OK, some days it’s really bad, but it’s always there. She has been poked, prodded, given many kinds of injections, infusions and physical therapies. And nothing helps.
She has been forced to retire from the workforce and go on Social Security disability as a result of the migraine, but we’d love very much to get rid of it, because it is having an extremely deleterious effect on her quality of life. Her memory is shot all to hell. She doesn’t have the energy (between this and her COPD and fibromyalgia, which are being treated) to do the things that she wants to do.
If anyone has any suggestions on medications, treatments, etc. we can try, I’ll try to find out if they’ve been used, and to what degree they’ve been successful (although it’s my understanding that nothing has made a dent in it so far). I’d very much appreciate any advice anyone might have, especially those individuals with a specialty in this particular field, or a friend or loved one who has gone through the same thing.
“Chronic, intractable migraine” is far more likely to be chronic daily headache. The link is to the Mayo Clinic’s article and I suggest you search for other sites, too (just search for ‘chronic daily headache’).
In my opinion, your mom will need to be seen by a reputable headache specialist/team/clinic (some of whom may decline patients with the diagnosis of ‘chronic daily headache’ because of the problematic nature of the disorder, i.e. akin to how some docs decline to see patients with “chronic fatigue” or even fibromylagia).
One thing you and your mom can work on together: did anything change in her life around the time the headaches started? As in, job change, moving, starting on treatment for the fibro/COPD, weight loss / gain, anything environmental nearby, etc.? Any patterns to when the headache is better or worse?
Has she had an MRI and/or CT scan?
A relative suffered from cluster headaches so severe that he would literally pound his head against the wall - counterintuitive but I guess that set up a different kind of pain that was somehow “better”. IIRC, he kept an oxygen canister at home and would breathe pure oxygen from it when one was starting up; sometimes that would short-circuit things enough that the headache would be lessened or go away entirely. Has your mother tried oxygen therapy?
Has she seen a headache specialist at one of the leading hospitals in the country? It may be worth travelling to one if all the local doctors have shrugged and given up as it sounds like they have done.
A relative had chronic migraines which were largely eliminated once she avoided most things with caffeine. Migraines which are chronic rather than episodic are more likely to be allergy related, so seeing a specialist might be worthwhile for her.
I suffered in unimaginable ways for more than two years before I finally found MHNI. It is a nationally-renowned head-pain/neurological institute that specializes in intractable migraines and other such issues. Now, I had to go through a “trail and error” process with a handful of different prophlyactic medications and dosages before I finally found the correct cocktail to keep the migraines away (for the most part). This process took the better part of a year and it was full of a lot of bad experiences with side effects from the medications, but in the end, finding this clinic and getting on the treatment protocol was a life saver.
As people get older their bladder control becomes less sure so they drink infrequently, I am convinced that the brain gets dehydrated and consequently shrinks, causing headaches. Try seeing if your Mother will drink more water - a lot more if she can. This really does seem to work with my infrequent headaches and it saves coping with the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Give it a try and good luck.
The first thing I would do is get an MRI. You want to rule out a brain tumor or something similar.
Echoing currantvt, I would next make sure she is not chronically dehydrated. Whenever one of my kids gets a headache, I suspect it’s because they’re dehydrated. I tell them to drink lots of water and lie down for an hour. Works every time.
And finally, there may be something else going on that you’re not aware of. My cousin suffered from chronic headaches for years. She rarely made it to family gatherings because she “had a headache.” Later found out she was drinking two bottles of wine every night, and was always hung over the next day.
I don’t know if that (brain shrinkage) is the mechanism, but definitely dehydration can cause neurological symptoms. A friend is on an antiepileptic (not for epilepsy though). A few months back, she was on a course of antibiotics for a respiratory infection; the antibiotics caused pretty severe diarrhea. She had some kind of pretty severe bout of disorientation / disassociation, where she didn’t know who she was or anything else. A trip to the ER, IV fluids, and she was fine.
Whether someone would be so dehydrated, for so long, as to cause those kinds of symptoms, I don’t know.
I suffer chronic migraine. Luckily, mine are usually helped by a certain medication. But a few years ago, I had a monthlong migraine, unhelped by anything.
I finally discovered this new kind of migraine was caused by a sudden onset of bruxism, which in turn was caused by a new medication I had started taking.
The solution for me was to take steps to counteract the bruxism using common treatments, including a splint, massage, and heat.
Another thing to consider is temporo-mandibular joint alignment problems. My mother suffered for years, and had many different medications and tests. IIRC Her GP read something somewhere, and sent her to an ENT specialist - he reviewed mum’s imaging and prescribed a temporary splint, and a new set of dentures. New dentures have totally relieved her chronic, debilitating headaches.
My wife suffers from very similar migraines. I’m a scientist and have researched migraines extensively. We have tried all options available that neurologists have to offer and our success has been limited. We are now trying a new procedure that may be beneficial for your mother. This doctor is located at one of the most reputable research hospitals in Texas, UT Southwestern. Individuals from overseas, and across states come to see him. This is an article discussing the procedure: http://goo.gl/8Hdwt. His website is down as i’m typing this right now. However, please take a look at the testimonials listed under the testimonial tab: http://www.drjeffreyjanis.com/. If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The testimonials sound much like your mom’s experience.
