Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Be safe and have fun as you celebrate the new year. I hope 2008 is headache-free for me and everybody else out there suffering.

In January this year my neurologist told me he thought this would be a good year for me and I would find a way to fight my headaches. It's been a great year, but my headaches are as present as ever, and I have one right this second that I've been fighting all day. I hope 2008 will be better!

Fioricet = Butalbital

I was just doing some reading on migraines and my medications when I realized that Butalbital, my go-to drug when nothing else works for migraines or bad headaches, is also called Fioricet. I guess maybe Butalbital is a generic name. Click here if you want to read more about Fioricet.

Quick recap on my killer (aren't they all) migraine: Sunday I had a migraine and took Butalbital in time, and it worked. Then Monday I woke up with it again and it was much worse and I had to miss work. I took two Excedrin Migraines because I didn't want to overuse the Butalbital since it can cause rebound headaches (of course so can the Excedrin) and it worked pretty well. Unfortunately the migraine came back Tuesday while I was at work, so I took Butalbital again, and so far it hasn't come back.

One thing I didn't mention was that I stayed up late and slept in longer than usual over the weekend, which may have brought on the migraine. I still need to stay focused on keeping a regular eat/sleep schedule. Then maybe I can beat these things.

Migraine Times Two!!!

Yesterday morning I woke up with a migraine. I went mountain biking Saturday and fell trying to do the teeter/see-saw thing (which, for the record, I had done successfully before), and I heard my neck crack a little. Maybe that brought it on, or maybe it was because I hadn't had a headache since the Tuesday before so all those days of potential headaches added up. Anyway, yesterday I was able to catch it in time to take medicine (Butalbital - which my neuro prescribed - pretty much strong Tylenol and caffeine), and I went to church and was just fine. Too fine, in fact...I went to Costco and Wal-Mart and spent about $300 to stock up my kitchen, and since I live on the first (technically second) floor of a condo and took the stairs for about 10 trips to and from the car, I think I overdid myself.

Here's where the "migraine times two" comes in. I woke up with one today and had to miss work. It was so bad that I couldn't move to get out of the bed and take medicine and eat. Finally I had my husband come home on his lunch break and he helped me out of bed so I could get some food. He left, and once I started eating (Cream of Wheat and a Propel) and took two Excedrin Migraines, the nausea hit me in a big wave. I went to the bathroom and hunched over the toilet, but I never did throw up. Thank God I was able to go back to sleep. When I woke up around 4:00, the migraine was pretty much gone, and I finished eating.

After every migraine, it feels like I've been in a car crash. I am sore, can't stop shaking and feel like crap. I'd rather have my typical 15 headaches a month than migraines like that. I'm terrified I'll wake up with it tomorrow and have to miss work again, and I'll probably start getting rebound headaches if I have to take more medicine. Since I don't get migraines often and Aleve usually helps my headaches, I don't take the strong stuff like Imitrex - plus I've tried it and it doesn't work every time.

I need to get away from the computer.

Lexapro Times Two

First of all, I don't think I get any visitors, at least not regular visitors, to this blog other than my dad who also gets migraine headaches (Hey Dad!), but if I do, I apologize for not updating it in a while. I've been crazy busy, which is a good thing because I couldn't be doing half the things I'm doing now if I had headaches/migraines like I had at one point.

Yesterday I had a headache that Aleve only helped for a few hours, but it wasn't too terrible. I was still able to teach Bible study, actually.

At a recent neurology appointment, my neurologist doubled my Lexapro from 10mg to 20mg. He wanted me to keep taking Desipramine also, which I want off of because I don't like being on too many meds, but he advised me against changing too much right now since I'm finally having fewer and less painful headaches. Makes sense. My side effects (from either or both, not sure) are still dry mouth, dizziness upon rising, rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite and, I'd like to add, excessive yawning. Very weird but it's got to be from my meds because it's a yawn that's so strong it makes me feel like my jaw's going to pop out and it happens over and over, especially while I'm driving.

I haven't kept my sleeping/eating schedule and haven't exercised lately, so I think if I discipline myself, maybe I can improve my headaches even more.

So long, Mr. Chiropractor

Quick update.

I let my chiropractor go. It was actually kinda sad, because he seems like a nice guy who really cares about his patients. I told him that my insurance was no longer covering my monthly appointments because they were for preventative maintenance, and since it wasn't helping my headaches, there was no point in going. Plus, I think the pillow I bought (in earlier post) is helping my neck pain. I told him I'd recommend him to anyone I come across who's looking for a chiro, so if you're looking for one in North Carolina, send me a note.

Last week I had headaches Monday-Friday, on & off. I had one yesterday too. The last few weekends I rode my new bike several miles. I'm going to exercise tonight too while I watch The Office, so maybe extra excercise will help my headaches. I'm still trying to keep a regular schedule, but I'm chaperoning a youth group lock-in tomorrow that goes from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., so I'll be a little off schedule this weekend!

The Migraine Diet - NY Times Blog Post & Comments

I don't think I've heard of Judith Warner, but she appears to have a blog on the New York Times Web site called "Domestic Disturbances." In a post October 25 called The Migraine Diet she talks about her struggle with migraines. It's an interesting post, but what really peaked my interest was the comments section. I started reading people's comments and realized that the blog had a total of 572 comments, and the only reason there aren't more is they had to no longer accept comments, probably because there were so many. I haven't read them all, but when I have time, I will. Here are some samples:

I’m a huge fan of your column and also a cronic migraine sufferer. I encourage you to try Topamax. Years ago my worst migraines were put under total control by “calcium channel blockers” (Cardizem). I was migraine free and drug free for about 13 years. But migraines tend to come back and mine did. This time, calcium channel blockers didn’t do the trick but Topamax did. You start on a higher dosis and then you slowly reduce. I was scared when I heard the word “antiseizure” medication. I thought to myself, “I don’t have epilepsy…” But it’s been just a miraculous drug. Good luck. Only someone who’s felt the loss of control that suffering from migraines represents can truly understand you. Be healthy!
— Posted by Nancy Lisker

Wow, you just wrote the story of my own migraine-afflicted life. We migraineurs are the only ones who believe it’s really like that, which skepticism can be added to the list of burdens. But what I’m actually writing to tell you is this: Don’t go near the topomax! You could easily end up twitchy-faced, crawly-skinned, blurry-visioned, and dull-witted — and not necessarily migraine free. For that kind of outcome, I’d opt for the Peanut M&Ms every time. Happy Halloween!
— Posted by Janie Stoehr

(Note from Header - It's sadly kinda funny how different people are in their reactions to medications. FYI - I've tried Topomax...didn't work.)

My condolences. Good luck. My sister had migraines starting in college. Infrequent, then frequent, then crippling. After a million doctors who helped almost not at all, one finally gave her a list of things to try not eating. Turns out wheat was one of her major triggers. Ordinary, ubiquitous wheat. No wheat, no migraines. Instant cure for her. A few years later I started having my own odd sensitivities, and again wheat was a culprit, along with soybeans for me.
So on the one hand, after Halloween, you might try un-exploring a wider range of foods, perhaps including (excluding?) wheat. On the other hand, you might look around your family tree to see if there are any interesting food or other sensitivities, and try experimenting with avoiding those things.
Condolences also for having such a snarky neurologist. Some try to help their patients in every way possible; some prefer to paint themselves into narrow little mindsets.
— Posted by Ken_K

(Note from Header - I've seen four different neurologists...keep searching until you find a good one who doesn't just shove drugs down your throat. It's fine to try different medications, but make sure the neuro cares about you, warns you of possible side effects and frequently schedules checkups to make sure your body is functioning!)

Check out the blog link for the post and tons of comments!

Helping others with headaches

Last night I was at the grocery store when the lady bagging my food commented to the cashier that she had a bad headache and she hardly ever gets headaches. Another lady who works there heard her and told her she was lucky because she always gets headaches. I desperately wanted to give them both advice. "I get headaches all the time - abc works wonders, and if that doesn't work, try xyz."

Obviously, if it were that easy, if one or two headache solutions worked for everyone, lots of pharmaceutical companies would not be making as much money as they do now, and this blog would have stopped at my first post.

I feel helpless not only when I get headaches but also when I hear of others struggling with them. There are worse things - brain tumors, starvation, fibromyalgia (which my dad has) to name a few. But living with headaches is tough and sometimes depressing.

So I was very relieved tonight at the end of Bible study, when everyone lifts up prayer requests. The older lady who was leading our study had been dealing with vertigo and eye pain. After getting an MRI, her doctor recommended that she see a neurologist, which she did. She told me she had been looking forward to tonight because she knew I saw a neurologist, and she wanted to ask me about the medication her neuro wanted her to try.

"It starts with an 'A' and ends in 'taline,'" she told me.

"Amitriptyline!" I said, proudly knowing what she was referring to. She was concerned that it was for depression, and the potential side effects scared her.

I told her that when I was on Amitriptyline, I was seeing a bad neurologist who did not check my vitals to make sure my body was handling my medication. She upped my dose of Amitriptalyne, and the morning after I took it, I felt so bad I went to the urgent care. At the urgent care's reception area, I fainted.

Where does my relief come in?

I am thrilled that I was able to warn her and tell her that although she can give it a try, she needs to be very careful.

Finally these years of experiencing headaches and migraines have some meaning. I can help others who are going through this, because I went through it.

I wish I could do more and offer a secret remedy that beats headaches every time, but I can't. At least I can help a little, or at least listen and empathize.

Headaches Not Over Yet

It seems the serotonin-increasing Lexapro may not be helping after all. Since my last post, I've had 4 headache days - 3 were in a row. This is probably getting too personal, but my Mirena IUD has been acting up because I've been spotting for a month now. I'm actually surprised my headaches aren't much worse. I have killer cramps right now (but I'm not taking meds for them because if I take Aleve too much, it won't help me when I have headaches and I'll have to go with my stronger prescription of Butalbital).

I'm supposed to see my gyno next month, which would make it a year since the IUD was inserted. I do NOT want it out because I don't want kids right now, and I had to pay for it in full which was more than $1000 (if I didn't mention this before, the insurance I was on at the time did not cover IUDs, a form of birth control, but they covered "pregnancy terminations" - that was the most pissed off I'd been in my life when I found that out, and not because of the money), and they last 5 years. I'm planning on keeping it at least 4...but I've got to do something about the spotting. Ugh.

Meanwhile, the Tri-Core pillow seems to be working. It took a while adjusting to it, and I actually lost a lot of sleep from it, but I'm finally used to it and haven't been having neck pain.

On a non-headache note, I had a work "meeting" today and I was told to wear short sleeves. Turns out we had an office pumpkin-carving party. It was awesome! I saved the seeds to bake - yummy. I'll try to post pictures here later.

Hope everyone has a headache-free Friday and weekend!

Serotonin

Good news and bad news.

Bad: I went to my chiropractor this morning, and since I'm doing it once a month now and it's considered "maintenance"/"preventative" care, my insurance is no longer covering it, so it's $40 each time. I might stop going, but I think I'll give it one more try.

Good: While I was getting my neck popped, I told my chiro my headaches were getting better due to a new medication. He asked if it was a serotonin med, and I said I wasn't sure but that it is called Lexapro and is commonly used for depression. Then he said that meds for depression usually work by increasing your serotonin levels. I looked on Lexapro's Web site on my lunch break, and sure enough, that's how it works.

What's neat about that? Last week I posted on Healingwell.com's headache forum on headaches and hormones, and the response I got was from someone who said I should get my serotonin levels checked.

More good news: I bought the Tri Core Pillow at the chiropractic office this morning. I'm hoping it will correct my neck's reverse curve and improve my headaches even more.

Positive Neurology Appointment

Yesterday I had a pretty nice neurology appointment. I showed my neurologist my headache calendar for the past month, and although I had 12 headaches, many of those being close together (which makes it even harder), the past week I've been almost headache-free. My neurologist said that my headaches started getting better right when the Lexapro kicked in. I'm now taking 10 mg of Lexapro a day, and I'm also still on 30 mg of Desipramine.

Two other possible reasons for the improvement of my headaches:

1. I have been pretty good about keeping a regular eat/sleep schedule, but I haven't been perfect at it, so I can't really say if it's made a difference or if it's the Lexapro.

2. I'm participating in a Bible study on prayer, and last week we had to come up with a "breath prayer," something you can remember and say over and over. Mine was "Great Physician, heal my headaches."

I'm scared to say I'm getting better because I still have had two slight headaches recently, and I don't want to speak too soon, but I'm absolutely going to keep doing these three things - Lexapro, maintain a schedule, pray my breath prayer - and maybe I'll start getting better!

FYI: My side effects from the Desipramine and Lexapro have been dry mouth (which I don't mind too much - I now have an excuse to eat lots of candy and chew gum; plus I drink a lot of water), rapid heart beat (about 105/min) and loss of appetite. The loss of appetite would be wonderful for most people, but I've always been thin and am now down to 106 (I am 5'7")...that's not very healthy. I'm trying to force myself to eat, and my husband's been looking out for me too.

For more information on Lexapro, click here