Twitching like a crackhead

ChubbieBunnie7 · September 2009

I would seriously consider talking to your doctor if you have constant headaches. They have lots of options depending on the type of migraine you get. Do you have an aura before getting one and how long does it last?, are good things to be able to relate to the doctor. Also, look up menstrual migraines the hormones play a role in migraines as well.

shannonalise · September 2009

Pumpkin, that's really wonderful. I'm glad for you! What's a girl to do without a doctor though? I'll be a graduate soon and hopefully have a job and can afford a doctor, so I might have to stick with OTC meds for now, but this thread has been enlightening about the possibility that I'm having headaches from the quantity and frequency of OTC medicating I'm doing.

temerityjane · September 2009

shannonalise - You know, I never even actually asked why they swell so much. I just kind of always assumed it went along with migraines. Guess I thought everyone who had migraines had swollen shut eyes as well, and I didn't really realize it wasn't totally common.Also, to get the Imitrex stuff, my appointments with my doctor at the time basically went like this:"Sometimes my head hurts REAL BAD!""Here's a prescription."

shannonalise · September 2009

Wow! I'm learning so much! What's an aura??

sameoldash · September 2009

I've tried a bunch of different meds: Imitrex, most recently Topamax (the worst drug EVER) and now I'm scared to try anything new. I had a terrible reaction to the Topamax (serious depression, hair loss, neuropathy, etc. etc.) My doctor gave me a prescription for Percoset because Vicodin wasn't strong enough, and I took one last night and felt like I was in a coma. I couldn't sleep but couldn't keep my eyes open either. Not sure how I felt about that. However, when it wore off, my head felt considerably better.I still suffer from migraines every few weeks or so, but I think the best thing you can do is seriously alter your diet. Cut out all triggers (it takes awhile of really paying attention to your body to figure out what these are) and be really strict about what you will and will not eat. For me, that means no MSG, caffeine, aspertame, too much alcohol, only the occasional cheeses, etc.I agree with the rebound headache PP was talking about. If you take any OTC med more than 3 or so times a week, you're more prone to suffering from rebound headaches and that's just a whole new world of pain. Cold washcloths can work wonders.Good luck! Migraines suck and you're right, people who have never had one will never understand.

missy68 · September 2009

shannon, try, try, try to not take them. as a migraine sufferer, i know how hard that is, but that's the only way to break the rebound cycle. The rebounds make you take more and more pain medicine, which feed the cycle and make it worse. And of course your stomach and liver suffer, since this has tylenol and aspirin in it.If you're a caffeine drinker, cut back on your caffeine slowly too, but not all at once. Increase your water intake. I don't like ice on my head; I use a heat thing (its called a bed buddy - I heat it up in the microwave - it gives me pressure and heat, which help with the pain). Seriously, though, the more you can cut back on the excedrin, the more you can maybe try and ease up on the headaches. Excedrin is a combo of 200 mg tylenol and 250 mg aspirin plus 65mg caffeine (like a cup of coffee) I think. you could try just to combine those two pills and control the amount of caffeine you take them with (just a few sips of a coke or something instead).The daily medication I take is Topamax - its an anti-seizure medication, and it comes in generic form. We have strong weather fronts here, and those kill me. I've had a tough time getting used to the weather here in Iowa.

shannonalise · September 2009

TJ, that's awesome.

Ashley, scary!

ChubbieBunnie7 · September 2009

Shannon, people with epilepsy can have an aura at the beginning warning them of a seizure. Its the same for some people who get migraines, actually a link between seizures and migraines is considered. Auras are considered any vision disturbances, dots, blackouts, blurry vision, flashing lights, etc. If you get them its anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes before the HA.

J&K10910 · September 2009

An aura is a visual disturbance.Sometimes I'll see spots that kind of swim in front of my eyes, like little pinpricks of light that happen when you look at the sun. Sometimes I see black spots that slowly get bigger. If I let it go, it would keep going until my entire field of vision is black. That happened once and it was incredibly scary. I thoght I was going blind.

temerityjane · September 2009

ashleylane - I was on Topamax for awhile, as well. I concur - WORST DRUG EVER. Shaking, tingling, no appetite, freakish metabolism, everything tasted like crap, could never remember words for things, slow, I lost 30 lbs in a month, my skin turned gray, my hair broke off - I spent another year after being off of it recovering with a nutritionist because I was incapable of eating.Definitely stay away from that one for migraines...

shannonalise · September 2009

Missy, that's interesting... I notice when the pressure is low, I get headaches too. I thought it was just in my head though. It makes me feel better that I'm not alone.

sameoldash · September 2009

Missy - How long have you been on Topamax? I'm glad it works for someone! The first two months it my wonder drug, and then it was downhill fast from there on out. Are you experiencing any side effects? Just curious to see how certain meds affect different people.

J&K10910 · September 2009

One thing to remember is all drugs affect people differently. Maxalt works for me, it makes my friend nauseous and she swears it makes her headaches worse. Topamax did nothing for me, it has super awful side effects for some people, and for some people it's a wonder drug with no side effects.

temerityjane · September 2009

I'm interested as well, missy, as to how Topamax is working and side effects.I forgot to add in the leg pain that I got with it too - I lived in an attic at the time and often had to crawl up the stairs.

ChubbieBunnie7 · September 2009

Imitrex is the most common abortive medication used, but there are more. Also, everybody reactions differently to medication so in TJ's case Topamax didn't work but it could with you. You just need work with your doctor and be HONEST with them, with most medications you need to start low and slowly increase them to a level approprirate to your body.

shannonalise · September 2009

TJ, within that awful list of symptoms, I saw "lost 30 pounds" and thought, "hmmm..!" with a smile.

sameoldash · September 2009

TJ - YES!!! The "brain fuzziness" was the worst. The day FI came home and I was sitting in the middle of the bed crying because I had been reading the same paragraph in my anatomy book for over an hour, he put his foot down. Only after I got off of it did I realize what a complete wreck I had become. I had freakishly thick hair and looking at me you'd never be able to tell that I was losing a lot of it, but in the shower?? It was disgusting how much hair was in my hands while washing it. And at first the weight loss seemed too good to be true, and then after NONE of my clothes would fit without safety pins, I realized things were out of control.Did you ever look up any forums for the drug? Pages and pages of the same horror stories. Wish I would've read them before I took the stupid stuff.

shannonalise · September 2009

weight loss seemed too good to be true, and then after NONE of my clothes would fit without safety pinsI read as: weight loss seemed... good... and then after NONE of my clothes would fit without safety pinswith a smile.

shannonalise · September 2009

Holy shiit TJ, that's crazy! I wonder why that happened! How long did you take it for? How long has it been since you stopped? I can't believe you still have that symptom and can't get rid of it. Even if it works for some, I'm not sure I'd want to risk it not working for me.

temerityjane · September 2009

shannonalise - Topamax is kind of like a wonder drug. It's an anti-convulsant, originally meant to be used by epileptics. It's been found to be useful for migraines, bipolar disorder and several other disorders as well.However, it is also a drug with a long, long, LONG list of common and uncommon side effects. There just doesn't seem to be a middle ground with this drug. Either it improves your life 100 fold, or it wrecks your life completely.For me, I took topamax for about 3 months back in 2005. The "hungry" cue never really did come back, but the nutritionist worked with me on eating at appropriate times, etc, so I do know when it is "time" to eat, even if my stomach doesn't tell me.Unfortunantely, my metabolism slowed back down and food once against tastes fuucking delicious, so I've somehow managed to put all the weight back on over the last few years. And maybe then some. Heh.

shannonalise · September 2009

Well, TJ I'm glad you are feeling more normal again. I'm sorry you went through that! Thanks for all your advice!And thank you everyone else as well!

J&K10910 · September 2009

Hey shannon...I was thinking and I remember that going off BC pills helped my migraines exponentially. As in, I used to get them once a week, and 3x a week or so during PMS week. I went off, had a migraine almost every day for about 2 weeks, and then they stopped. I went off the pill in February and have had two migraines since. And I know what triggered them both.So, if you're on BCPs, when you do talk to a doctor, that's definitely something to talk about. There might be a better pill, or better contraceptive method for you.Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form encouraging you to stop taking your pills if you're on them. I'm just giving my experience, and you can think about talking to a doctor about it.

klynn86 · September 2009

I have a major problem with mirgraines too...I used to take extra stength advil liquid gels when I first started getting them but that stopped working after a little bit. I have prescriptions for Fiorinal C 1/2...which are painkillers specifically for migraines...I love them because they work and I hate them because most of the time I get totally drugged up and not able to drive/function for at least 2-3 hours. I also have Zomig which I take when I'm at work or can't miss something important and have a migraine. I don't find they work as well, I always feel the migraine still there and it often comes back.

missy68 · September 2009

Ashley and TJ, I just saw that you'd posted about being on Topamax and had bad experiences with it.I took it the first time maybe 9 years ago and was on it for a couple of years - at least until my bypass. I lost maybe 20 pounds (but at 280+ pounds, no complaining there). I had no side effects that I recall - maybe some initial tingling in my fingertips. The first time I took it, it was just starting to be used off-label for migraine treatment. The neurologist was very interested in watching my side effects, especially the weight loss. [side note: the weight loss didn't last; I eventually went up to 364].I've been on it this time since early March, with no recognizable complications. my dosage was increased slowly, and I take 150 mg daily. It was 100 mg, but I had to go up about a month ago.They do believe there is a link between seizure and migraine, for those who have aura. My only "aura" is a change in mood/disposition. I've never seen spots or smelled anything, etc.

JanoBean75 · September 2009

I get migraines too. Started when I was ten. For years I'd try OTC, but finally a few years ago, my FI convinced me to see a doctor. And like someone said above, it went like this:Me: My head hurts a lot.Doc: Here's a prescription.She gave me Relpax, along with a sample to take right then. After insurance, I pay $7.50 a pill, but at cost, they're about $21. If I don't catch it in time, the Relpax just takes longer to work. I get auras rarely. My normal warning is slight pressure over my right eye. Those I catch right away. It's when the pressure is over my left eye that I'm never sure if it's a migraine or a "regular" headache. I just sort of decide "is this a $6 headache, or should I just get a coffee?I get all the basic symptoms too -- nausea, dizziness, etc. My senses are super-sensitive. Like a regular voice seems like a shout, smells get so strong I feel like vomiting, lights are too bright, even when dimmed.If my Relpax doesn't touch it, I just crank up the A/C to freeze my room, lay down w/ an ice pack and turn off anything that makes noise. Thankfully FI is great -- he'll go into our home office instead of watching TV to keep the apartment as quiet as possible.I've cut my caffeine intake, cut out all the cheeses that trigger pain, and even (gasp!) cut down on chocolate! I have found though that no matter what, that dark chocolate doesn't affect me as much as milk chocolate did. Not sure what the caffeine levels are for each, but dark chocolate is okay, milk gives me a headache. Weird.But when the pain is bad, I'd gladly pay $21 for fast relief!

SwedishChick2011 · September 2009

I didn't read through all the responses, but here's my two cents. It's pretty bad too take that much Excedrin (or too much anything with acetimenophen). I know you don't have insurance, but you don't want to do permanent damange to your liver. Are there any migraine medicines in that $4 prescription program that places like Wal-Mart have?

klynn86 · September 2009

Also, someone mentioned the link with epilepsy and migraines and I am one of those...I had epilepsy as a child and migraines started at 15. It limits the meds I can take because there is still "abnormal" activity in the part of my brain that my seizures came from and messing with the bloodflow could bring on a seizure and epilepsy. That scared the crap out of me (since I wouldnt be able to drive or even live the life I have now) so I usually resort to teh Fiorinal, even though I know it's only masking the pain.

J&K10910 · September 2009

Coco, a lot of migraine meds aren't generic yet. At least most of the ones that have been mentioned several times in this thread. Incredibly unfortunate. They're expensive.

SwedishChick2011 · September 2009

J&K, that's a bummer. I hate how long it takes some medicines to go generic. One medication I'm on is name brand only, and it will be nice when (if ever) it goes generic.

punkyb2b · September 2009

Everyone reacts differently to medication. Honestly, the only good thing about people telling their personal experiences is its a warning sign for others. Like if someone experiences hair loss while on a medication, they can say hey so and so did too, maybe i should let my doc know. Letting your doctor know is key. too many people dont or go off meds without discussing it with their doc. You shouldn't base your decision to go on a med based on other people's experiences. not saying anyone has said that, just saying. I've noticed a lot of changes to my health with the pill I'm on. I get bad headaches at certain times of the month and can know exactly when they will hit. I deal with it cause I'd rather not have a baby

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