Hey all: I am a migraine sufferer. I get them to where I cannot see, vomit, excruiating pain. They can last from hours to days. My sister was asking how was I going to deal with that once I am banded.

Is there anyone out there that suffers like I do? Have you had to deal with since banding? What is the best precautions, methods, etc you do to cope?

I know that they can prescribe anit-nausea suppository :faint:

But is there anything else, or suggestions from fellow-sufferers?

Thanks for your help guys.....its appreciated.

Debbie

You can buy OTC anti-emitics. I also have a Rx one that I asked my regular doc to give me - I explained why I needed it.

I get ocular migraines, but never ful-blown migraines. So basically I get the visual distortions & "dancing fluoroscent worms," tunnel vision, starts, etc. that might precede a migraine, but it stops there and never progresses to the pain or other issues.

Have you tried any of the Rx treatments for migraines?

i have tried different kinds of meds Rx, but to no avail. Alot of times I need to go to the ER/urgent care for a shot. I hate it

So I am hoping that my pcp will be able to give me something. If not, the first sign of one, and I am going to get a shot.....hopefully I am not working at the time......the boss is not very empathetic. Actually down-right beotchy if you know what I mean.

But thanks for the advice wheetsin

Debbie

I am soooo sorry to hear you suffer from migraines. I too have them and have battled them since I was in diapers. I tend to get tension related migraines. The best thing for you to do is concentrate on your warning signs. Mine is tension in my neck. I take flexeril muscle relaxer) for this tension and if I catch it in time I can avoid a full blown migraine. The bad thing about flexeril is your body becomes used to it very easily and you will end up having to take large amounts to feel any effect, so I only take it at the sign of tension. Some docs like to perscribe Midrin for these tension related migraines, it didn't work for me, but if you would like to try it let me strongly suggest getting the name brand as the generic doesn't work worth a flip. If you are going to get shots are they the imitrex injections? Imitrex is the leading "triptan" based migraine med on the market, unless you are getting injections of demerol or other narcotic pain meds I assume they are the Imitrex. The Imitrex injection used to be the only thing that worked for me, but they have reformulated the 100mg imitrex pill and it works almost as well as the shot. You name it I have been on it to try and treat my migraines. I have gone thru 6 or 7 different neurologists, I lost count cause most are worthless to migraine sufferers; seems like their opinion is we just want drugs. I have even tried Topamax which is an anti seizure medication. The reasoning for this, is that the same chemical imbalance in seizure patients also occure in migraine suffers. Well let me tell you the topamax was awful. I had really bad side effects such as; dizziness, running into walls, forgetfullness, tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs, I would forget where I was when I was driving and what I was going to do, I forgot simple words such as pillow, stove, tv, my blood pressure went waaaayyy down to something like 79/23 and I would pass out all the time...It was awful, and I also started to have symptoms of Lupus. That medication is bad in my opinion. If you have not tried already I would suggest trying all the "triptan" based migraine meds to find one that is right for you. If you tell your doc you want to try the "triptan" based meds for migraines they will know what you are talking about. If you get them frequently they will probably want to try you on a preventative, for example antiseizure meds or antidepressants. For me they didn't work so I suggest not to do it because the antidepressants they use for this tend to make you gain weight. If you don't like your docs course of action for you find another and if you get referred to a neurologist don't think that the first one you see is it. Be sure that you are comfortable with them and they understand you and want to help you. As I said before I went thru 6 or 7 neurologists to finally find one I like. I hope this helps.

Hi there. I too have suffered from migraines for many, many years. I have been on Midrin (mentioned above) and Imitrex. Imitrex did not work for me at all. Midrin was wonderful but put me right to sleep so it was difficult if I was at work. My doctor said that Midrin is an old prescription and he doesn't give it anymore. I now take Naproxen, which has really worked for me. The funny thing...since getting the band, I don't get them as often as I used to. I used to get 1-2 a week and now I may get 1-2 a month. It's kind of hard to get the Naproxen down because it's big, but I manage. I have also found one over the counter medication that actually helps...Excedrin Migraine. Believe it or not, if I don't have my prescription handy, the Excedrin works really well. Good luck to you!!!

Migraines are a new thing to me. I get them a couple times a month now, and I don't know why. I take over the counter migraine meds.. they don't work super good, but it takes the edge off.. and then I drink hot tea with no sweetener (something a friend taught me, dunno if it really works but whatever).

My mother is disabled by her constant cronic migraines. She has seen numerous doctors to no avail. She has been told that she had arthritis in her neck and was going to the hospital to get some steroid injections into her head and neck to alliviate this, but that didn't work. Nothing relieves her migraines, she has to go into the ER and get the imitrix and demerol combination and that knocks her out for about 24-48 hrs. It is horrible, you can see them coming on, her whole face changes, she gets to vomiting and the whole effects of them.. It is truly sad to see her go through this. The last neurologist that is threating her, said she had some nerves that where crowded in her brain and sinus and that might be the cause, well last Tuesday, she had major surgery to explore this. I don't know exactly what they did, but she was in intensive care for 3 days after the surgery, her migraine was back and making her throw up and her blood pressure was unstable, she almost didn't make it. Luckily, she is now home and feeling better, she said the cut on her head and neck is really big, she has about 32 staples. I feel so helpless, she lives in Texas and I was unable to go be with her. I feel guilty, but there is just no way I could have gone. I kept praying that she would be okay. My prayers were somewhat selfish, I would tell God, that I am not ready to lose her and I cannot picture living the rest of my life without her and my kids would be devastated. Oh my I just couldn't, not to say anyone can handle this, but I just can't right now. She is home and feeling better, please keep her in your prayers. I hate migranes.

I am sorry to hear about your mother Mariposa, I will keep her and you in my thoughts and prayers. I had a neurologist advise me once that I needed the steroid shot in my neck to help my migraines...I told him no thanks, cause I knew a lady that had it done and had a migraine for 2weeks after hers and it didn't even help after she recovered.

Over the counter meds work for some, not for me, excedrine migraine, excedrine extra strength, and excedrine tension headache all have the same meds in them they are just labeled like they are to promote selling. I tried all of them too and they didn't work. The funny thing is I was shopping with my then boyfriend when excedrine tension headache came out on the market and I stopped and said to him " I wonder if this will work?" He said well lets compare the ingredients so will pulled all the excedrines down off the shelf and read the ingredients label... come to find out they all had the same thing. I had never paid attention to ingredients before I met him but now if something new comes out I always read the ingredients. I envy those that can control their migraines with over the counter stuff!! Anyways, there are several different migraine meds on the market now (perscription that is) I went thru alot of them and found that the imitrex works best for me. Imitrex is not without its side effects though and some find that they are allergic to the #1 ingredient in them. The only side effect I get from them is a scratchy throat. I used to give myself the injection form of it man that worked with a quickness, no joke I'd give myself a shot and 5mins later I was fine. Now that they reformulated the 100mg tablet it works almost as well, it takes about 10-15 mins for relief. Imitrex also has a nasal spray which I have heard works fast like the shot but I hate nasal sprays so I stick with the pill. The best thing to do is pester your doc to keep trying meds until you find one that is right for you! Plus most of the migraine med makers give them samples for just that purpose so you wouldn't have to buy a whole perscription. I pestered my doc until she went into her trial arsenal and pulled out every kind and gave me samples....she had me keep a diary and list the time I took it and how long it took to take effect. She also made me see a neurologist and after 3 I told her I didn't want to go to them anymore and that we would just do trial and error until I found something that worked. Don't take no for an answer, keep going back until you find something that works for you. Some people take narcotic based meds to combat the pain of the migraine, while I don't suggest this sometimes it is the only thing that works for one individual. I do know that most narcotic based perscriptions like loritab or anything with codine in it makes mine worse. Hey, I am not trying to knock codine based meds, I especially love the codine caugh syrup they gave me after having my tonsils out....man I was 20years old and me and my friends partied on that stuff all summer long. Sorry for the flash back, what I am trying to say, is that there is something out there that will work for you the trick is finding it. Lucky for me my doc is wonderful and handled my pestering very well. Don't suffer any more than you have too!!

I am disabled due to migraines with vertigo. Whenever I get a migraine it is full blown with vomiting, light sensitivity, you name it and it happens with me. For the last 7 years I've been on everything imaginable and nothing works to control them. My neuro actually told me he can't do anything other then send me to a headache clinic to try to get rid of them. So the only thing that we have found works to get rid of the migraines after onset is Zomig which I do believe is a triptan. Zomig comes in nasal spray as well as disolvable tablets. Good luck and I'm really sorry, I know how horrible they can be.

i suffer from migraines terribly. so much to the point that i may lose my job.

i suffer from classic migraines with aura, and the tension in my neck and shoulder's usually "trigger" my migraine. sometimes i'm lucky and i just have visual changes (one time the very center of my vision was gone, and i only had peripheral vision, i could only see the beginning of a word but not the middle unless i turned my head to the side).

anyways, i was to the point of missing work at least once a week for migraines, and i had tried topamax, midrin, axert. finally i resorted to taking Hydrocodone. it wasn't until the week before my banding that my PCP told me that hydrocodone actually triggers migraines and that tylenol is a culprit.

so my pcp (not my neuro) gave me samples of maxalt and skelaxin. i take the maxalt at onset, but i take a skelaxin when i am having muscle tension.

i took one dose of each 2 days before surgery, and i have not had a single migraine since i had surgery. i have never gone longer than a week, and now i have gone 30 days.

(by the way, i was not in agreement with the topamax, as one of the side effects causes your limbs to "fall asleep", well i get this with the migraines, so why in the world would i add to it.

also, the midrin made me nauseous, and the axert lost it's effectiveness.

I have suffered from migraines for 20 years. Classic symptoms. I have found that taking the Excedrin Migraine really helps if I take it when I first feel the tingling. I also use Imitrex "Nasal". It is super good and clars a migraine in minutes. I haven't had but one migraine since my diet changed. Mine were REALLY REALLY bad so don't discount the Excedrine Migraine as a possible solution.

Bandster 1007, you sound like me! The topamax was HORRIBLE!!!! Sounds like you treat your migraines the same way I do except with different versions of the same meds. I have not heard of this "skelaxin" is it like flexiril (a muscle rexlaxor?) I might ask my doc for it next time I am in cause my body has gotten used to the flexiril and its effectiveness is not what it used to be.

Anniemac, I have been curious about the imitrex nasal but to chicken to try it. Could you tell me about how many treatments you get out of a bottle. I hate nasal sprays of any kind, but if it is more cost effective as opposed to the pills or shots I might try that also.

I have not read all the responses .. So you may hear something twice.

if you have migraines more than 2-4 a month you need to be on a preventative. For a variety of reasons but the main one now is doctors are finding that chronic migraines can lead to brain damage.

ABC News: Do Migraines Lead to Brain Damage?

I have had migraines for 20 yrs. I take topamax to prevent them now.

Preventatives are a tricky thing it takes trial and error to find the right one. It took me a very long time and topamax is the ONLY one that works for me and I do have to deal with some very funky side affects from them .

I also take imetrix, amerge, zomig , ect when i do get one to get rid of them . All of these now have tablets that dissolve in your mouth, have nasal sprays , or imetrex has an injections.

Just an FYI, Be very careful going to the ER too much . If you can get the meds at home to treat your migraines do it. Migraine sufferers are known to be labeled as "drug " seekers. Not that we ARE but the ER's like to label us that way . So if you can treat them at home DO SO . I ONLY go to the ER when i can not get rid of them on my own after several days or its a cluster migraine that i KNOW wont go away .

Im a stay at home mom now , but i lost many many jobs due to migraines.

If I didnt stop working when i did i would probably have to be on disablity . With out my meds I have migraines 4-5 times a week . On them 3 a month.

Migraines also increase your risk for stroke. so the less you have the better

HTH

MIndy

Bandster 1007, you sound like me! The topamax was HORRIBLE!!!! Sounds like you treat your migraines the same way I do except with different versions of the same meds. I have not heard of this "skelaxin" is it like flexiril (a muscle rexlaxor?) I might ask my doc for it next time I am in cause my body has gotten used to the flexiril and its effectiveness is not what it used to be.

Anniemac, I have been curious about the imitrex nasal but to chicken to try it. Could you tell me about how many treatments you get out of a bottle. I hate nasal sprays of any kind, but if it is more cost effective as opposed to the pills or shots I might try that also.

try the tablets that dissolve , that is what i use. I dont like imetrex because it makes me feel loopy after I take it .

So i take zomig or amerge, they both have tablets you put under your tounge that will dissolve, MUCH easier to take.

The nasal spray makes me want to throw up , I only take it if i have to

Mindy

I have tried the disolvable ones and almost all of the other triptan based migraine meds, and find that only imitrex works best for me.

Coltonwade, I am glad you are doing so well with the topamax. I couldn't handle that stuff. My balance was off, I was running into walls, I would be driving and forget where I was and not recognize my surroundings in an area I have lived all my life, my blood pressure went very low and I would pass out all the time, I forgot simple words and couldn't really carry on conversations very long cause I'd get confused, my hand,feet,arms, and legs would tingle, my back hurt all the time, and I started exhibiting symptoms of Lupus. Not to mention If you quit the drug cold turkey you could have damaging effects and even start having seizures. I quit my trial and error about 3 years ago trying to do the preventative method, so I don't know if there are any new methods now, but when I was experimenting (under docs supervision) the only routes to prevention were anti seizures or anti depressants. Both which cause heavy weight gain with the exception of topamax. During that time I read a book about migraines from the makers of maxalt which was very informative and I tried most of the preventions and triptan based treatments and found no relief. I did how ever find 60 extra pounds from the anti depressants they had me on. Now that I have the band I don't get them as frequently, but I am more comfortable treating my migraines when they come and not trying to prevent them. I am a firm believer that there is help out there for everyone suffering, It just takes forever for an individual to find the right combination that works for them. It takes persistance on the sufferer's part though. I hope those in need find our information helpful in leading them in the right direction to finding their own personal "cure."

Oh yeah, Imitrex makes me feel loopy too. Kinda like being high, I hate to say it but I kinda enjoy it. After feeling like shit I figure feeling high is a good payback. LOL, thats just my opinion.