Yes, I suffer from them. However, today I am relatively free of them in comparison to two years ago. A few years ago it was a rarity if I could go three days without one. I don't want to come off sounding like a doc here, but migraines can take on more than one symptomatic form. What was interesting about mine was that they would not always be accompanied by severe pain. Don't get me wrong, they were (occasionally still are) disabilitating. Mine leave me in a total state of confusion along with numbness in the temple area, as well as a throbbing sensation in the same area. Most of the times I know they are about to occur because of some optical visualizations I have. Many times other people can see my temple pulsing wildly. I can remember the first time I had a severe migraine as if it were an hour ago, although at the time I didn’t know right from left, literally. My family and I were on a vacation trip to the lake when my head started throbbing. I came to an intersection in a small town, where I had to stop in the middle of the road. Told the wife to take the wheel, and to try not to ask me any questions, that I would explain later what I felt, but that I didn't think there was any danger. At the time I honestly couldn't make the decison of whether to turn right or left, although I knew I was supposed to turn right. Weird, ey?
How do I deal with the Migraine pain? Imitrex didn't do squat. I have found that Zomig is effective, although Excedrin Migraine strength is just about as good. Cold compresses are a great help. More importantly is how I have pretty much eliminated them. Migraine preventative prescriptions that I took while the symptoms started subsiding included disipramine and Inderal. Both are used primarily for other things, but have been found to be effective in preventative treatment for migraines. As it was explained to me, the cause of migraines still isn't known, and the two books I subsequently read back that up. However, it is accepted that one reason that migraines can arise is because our body's serotonin balance get out of whack. Preventative treatment such as I took aims itself at getting the serotonin balance back to normal levels. As I said, it has worked for me, and I thank my physician (and God) for that.
If you would like a book to read, I have one I would be happy to send. Also, if you want the best you can get in a Neurologist specializing in migraines, consider The Headache Institute here in St. Louis at Washington University. My personal physician is/was
Dr. Karen Pentella. A typical wait time for her is 5-6 months. Dr. Sohn (institute director) was even longer.
Hope things get better.
Disclaimer: What I wrote here is in effort to share my experience, not in effort to offer up a cure in terms of medication I took. See a competent physician. I went to three Neurologist’s before I found relief.
