Here is some backround before I start my ranting:
I suddenly got terrible headaches. So I got my eyes and sinus checked out. They are both fine. So I go see a normal doctor, who tells me to see a nero. Ok fine. I get there, he does nerological testing on me and such, and says I just have migraines. So he gives me 2 meds. One is for preventing, and one is for during attacks. I get a migraine the day after I see him, so I try out my during migraine attack med, Imitrex. HUGE MISTAKE. This intensified the migraine, made it longer, and made me hurl. I call my doctor, he not to take Imitrex. I am taking my other med, but I am having no result. I have currently been on it for a month, taking 2 pills every night. Only guess what! My migraines have become more often, longer lasting, and the pain has increased by 50%. In addition to that, my appitite has been dwidling down to none, and I have always been tired. So I called him last week, with no response back. Called this week and he just says to bump up my dose to 3 pills a day. Can I ask WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? THIS MEDICATION OBVIOUSLY ISN’T WORKING, SO WHY SHOULD I TAKE MORE OF IT? I am getting migraines EVERYDAY. My grades are dropping, I can’t concentrate, and I have been getting depressed. Will my doctor move my appointment up sooner, so I won’t have to suffer for 3 more weeks? Of COURSE not! Will he switch me to a new medication? You have GOT to be kidding me! Thanks Doc! You have really changed my life! For the worse. Jackass. :rolleyes:
He told me not to take Imitrex* Sorry. I can’t concentrate after migraines, so I don’t type very well.
Some people report inhaling medical oxygen from one of those little tanks you can rent will knock out a migraine pretty quickly. It may not be a permanent solution but it might provide temporary relief.
Not everyone reacts to medication the same way. Doctors should know this, and they should care.
Take Motrin. Many people swear by it. It makes me sick as a dog.
Time for a new doctor?
I take Motrin, but it doesn’t work unless I take it at the first throb of a headache, which isn’t always possible. If I take it during an attack, it is like taking a sugar pill. I just found out that he wants me to get an MRI done of my head as well, and I have to try the 3 pill a day thing for a few weeks before he will see me again. So instead of a new (and better) thing to try, I am stuck with an MRI, and 3 more weeks of pain. 
This tends to work for cluster headaches more than migraines.
Your neurological testing didn’t include an MRI???
Nope. I got one of my sinus, but that was a few months ago, with a different problem.
flaming bananas, it’s pretty standard medical practice to start low dose with a med designed to prevent migraines, then increase the dose until it either works or until it is demonstrated that it won’t work at the maximum dose. So your doc is well within practice guidelines. Trouble is, it’s trial and error as to which class of med at which dose will work for any one person.
But ask him about ergostat or caffergot. Mrs. Mercotan gets horrible reactions to the triptans (like imitrex) but can stop a migraine dead in its tracks with her ergostat tabs.
QtM, MD
(who had one vascular headache in his life and wishes to never, never, never repeat the experience)
Not all headaches need an MRI. Not all vascular headaches need one either.
I’m sorry, but it seems like this doctor is indifferent to the OP’s condition.
Keep the Motrin on you at all times, and when you feel that sort of “off” feeling you get before the migraine really hits, stop whatever you’re doing and take the med, with a coffee, if possible.
Is there some reason, your work, for instance, that you can’t stop long enough?
When I finally wised up to this, I managed to catch most of my migraines before they actually hit.
Fewer, much-lighter migraines : one of the few advantages of growing older.
Your doctor is wise if he sent you for an MRI right away. It’ll help you allay some of your fears. Well, if you’re half as chicken as I am, you probably think you’re dying when they hit.
I know how miserable you must feel. Take care.
Ugh. Doctors that ignore their patient’s pain. Don’t get me started.
That sucks, OP. I’d find a new doc.
In the meantime try taking caffeine pills. It’ll help with your fatigue and I’ve heard they help relieve migraines, too.
hug I hope this ends for you soon.
Standard disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. However, I get migraines, and my husband gets clusters, so we have some experience with the meds. The WryGuy’s doctor told him that the injectable form of Imitrex is best for clusters, whereas other forms of the medicine are for migraines. He also said that sometimes the injectable Imitrex is a final diagnostic tool - if the headaches don’t go away with the pills or nasal spray, but do go away with the injection, then it is definitely a cluster, rather than a migraine. The pill form of the Imitrex had the same effect on my husband as you had - longer duration, more severe pain and vomiting. I seriously thought that was the one headache that was going to kill him.
I don’t know whether you’re male or female, but I do know that most cluster victims are male, whereas migraine sufferers are more commonly female. A female with clusters is much more likely to be misdiagnosed, because it’s fairly rare for a woman to have them.
Whatever the case, don’t give up on the meds or the doctor. Everyone has different reactions, and you’ll probably have to go through a few before you find an effective one. Good luck to you, and you have my sympathy.
Not bumping on purpose, but I have a history that may help. QtM can hopefully back me up based on when it happened.
When I was 12 (this was in 1986) I had suffered debilitating headaches for about 4 years. Each would last for at least 2 days, sometimes up to 5. I couldn’t move without getting sick. The sun, lights, moderately loud noises would make me wish for sweet death.
The doctors had theories. I had 2 CAT-scans, 3 MRI’s (looking for tumors) and 2 EKG’s. I was finally diagnosed with “cardio-vascular” headaches. Result? 1000 mg of ibuprofin. The ibuprofin being a relatively new drug for OTC and a miracle cure. Well, it worked, to the detriment of my liver.
Took care of the headache, but 20 years before they knew they were migraines. Thank God, I outgrew them, but if you have migraines try whatever you can to rid yourself of them.
I second QtM: the fact that the medication hasn’t worked for you in a low dosage is not evidence that it is useless for you.
Virtually every substance you can ingest, including most drugs, requires that a “critical mass” be reached before any appreciable effect shows up.
That’s why there are “safe levels” of every toxic substance: in low doses, they generally won’t affect you. Not everything is incremental, and many drugs aren’t.
Even if one pill = no noticeable effect, it doesn’t mean that, say, three pills = three times the non-effect.
Make sense?
I have migraines too. With all the side affects of prescription medications and a prevailence of not very sympathetic doctors it might be worthwhile for you to try to control them yourself first. Go to a migraine website and find a list of common triggers and see if you can find any that seem to be problems for you. Many are easy to avoid if you know which ones are problems for you.
Some things rarely mentioned: Nutrasweet causes migraines in many people, and caffeine can help a migraine or give you one. I started treating mine with caffeine but eventually it started making things worse. If I stay completely away from Nutrasweet I get no migraines, if I have a little every day I won’t get any for a while but eventually I will so you can’t really rely on just cutting back.
If caffeine is one of your triggers try taking one aspirin and one Tylenol (same thing as Excedrin without the caffeine), or one Tylenol and one dose of Alka Seltzer. The aspirin from the Alka Seltzer is already dissolved and seems to start working fast, some studies also suggest that the baking soda helps in some way.
I have had headaches so bad that it hurt too much to talk to someone to get a ride to the hospital but since I discovered most of the things that cause them for me I can avoid them most of the time. If I do get one it’s usually from doing something I know I shouldn’t.
Good luck.
Just curious, what did he give you for preventing them? I used to take a beta blocker (Atenolol) and a calcium channel blocker (Verapamil) for prevention, and they didn’t do a damn thing. My regular doc prescribed them, and just kept upping the dose.
It wasn’t till I went to a neuro that I got some real help. I’m taking Topamax now, and it’s been a lifesaver. It’s reduced the number and severity of my migraines like you wouldn’t believe.
I’m sorry to hear that the Imitrex didn’t help. I love Imitrex. Kills a migraine in 15-20 minutes for me.
I was having (probably hormonal) migraines a few years ago, and the doctor finally prescribed Imitrex for me. It turned out to be a miracle cure – I think it was five years before I had my next (and, to date, only) migraine. I never thought I’d say it in this context, but thank Og for menopause.
But one thing said upthread:
I am not a doctor, but having watched Papa Tiger spend four days in the hospital last year from a duodenal ulcer bleed caused by, among other things, ibuprofen, it’s important to take care of your gastrointestinal tract if you’re going that route. This is one between you and your doctor – if you’re prone to stomach or liver problems, ibuprofen is something to be taken with a great deal of caution.
Flaming.
I had cluster headaches for years and the only thing that actually helped (without knocking me unconcious) was caffergot preparations. The best was called Migril which, in addition to the caffeine and ergotamine, contained something to reduce nausea. Immitrex, Immigran, and the like did nothing except delay the headache for around 30 minutes. Ibuprofen, aspirin, tylenol and the like just added to the nausea.
An odd thing that might help. I started jumping in a cool shower and getting really wet and then standing under an air-conditioning vent. The idea was to get as chilled as possible. This looks weird and I’m not sure what the dangers might be but it worked.
Best of luck
Testy