Hi everyone, :wave:

For the past few days I have been suffering incredible headaches. I used to get migraines and these are as painful. :eek:

I think we all have had terrible headaches so I will not explain to you how they come on. I have looked at everything I am doing, new food, lotions, anything that could bring a headache on and can think of nothing.

I know I have had a lot of stress lately and perhaps that is what these are. If so, they are doozeez, ice packs covering every inch of my head, face and neck and then hopefully a little relief.

I know everyone gets headaches but I would like to know if anyone has suffered real bad headaches with their fibro?

It is time for ice packs and a dark room.

Peace and love, Hangin

Hangin, So sorry, I don't know if others have headaches with FM or not Ig et them but not to often.
I just came back from my PM dr though as we're trying to find a med that will help with my nerve pain.
I had heard so much about topomax I asked him about it and he said he doesn't use it for my type of nerve pain as it isn't very effective but he said he does for people with headaches and it works really well.
I don't know if you ae considering asking the dr for anything for them but just wanted to let you know.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
LInda

Hangin, yes I do get bad headaches and have my whole life but they have gotten better the older I get. Have you thought of the change in barometric pressure? Sometimes this can cause an awful headache for me. Keep an eye on the weather and see when a front moves through, usually when it is either coming in or going out and sometimes the headache stays the whole time it is stalled. Just a suggestion, I hope you can get some relief.

Hiya,

Yes I too have bad headaches, unfortunately a lot of the time. I honestly don't put my down to fibro. I have had them for years, even before fibro was diagnosed. I really believe that it is more to do with not relaxing my shoulders, and of course the every day horror we all have - stress. I used to go to a chiropracter until I was told off my my lupus doctor he he !!

I try to do little neck exercises when I can, if I am sitting here at my desk or in an armchair or even when I am outdoors and so on. Shrugging the shoulders feels so good if you can manage it. Shrug up, hold for few seconds and let go, wonderful !! I have a litle routine that I devised if you want me to post it.

Take care,

goldenwings :angel:

Hangin,
Hi there, I guess I must say that I belong to this headache club too. I get bad headaches about 2 or 3 times a week, however I must use a heating pad around my head and lay down in the dark for them to go away. I was always told they were migrains however, things like Imitrex don't work for me. I recently had an MRI of my brain (of course) and they told me I was crazy! He He! I already new that :D but really they didn't find anything except some cysts behind my nose that they don't seem concerned about, and that my cerebellar tonsils (part of the cerebellum, lower brain) are hanging down into the bone that connects my head to my spine, which they aren't concerned about either. Anyway, theres my 2 cents, I think headaches come with Fibro. I hope yours get better soon. Take care!

KSP

I get migraines sometimes 2-3 times a week and sometimes will go 2 weeks without one but haven't been able to really track them hormone-wise like my dr suggested. I've had MRI's done and they showed a cyst on the pineal gland. I would think that wouldn't be a good thing, but the docs seem to think it's not a problem and will just check it every 6 months. My thinking on that is that the pineal gland controls melatonin and that it was causing either too much or too little melatonin and could be causing me problems. Just my thoughts though.
Anyway, I was going to tell you the Relpax has been my lifesaver for headaches! Imitrex, Midrin and Zomig didn't work for me. I know of several people who use Relpax with good success!
Good luck!

Do they still prescribe Midrin for migraines? I used that probably 20-25years ago. Use to have migraines so bad and never could find a trigger for them. I took midrin for so long that it finally started making me sick to take it. Not only did I want to throw-up from the headache, but the midrin started making me nauseated just to open the bottle and get a whiff of the medicine smell. It was time to give it up!

I think it is wonderful the new meds they are coming out with lately for migraines. I remember my poor mother suffering so and there was nothing to take for them then, but OTC meds. The docs tried to give her some prescription med but it made her violently ill.

My brother and I both suffer from migraines and my son also gets them, it is inherited. I feel for my son, he is like me, get in a dark room and lie perfectly still with a cold rag, until and after you throw-up!!!

Topamax is a new drug that has been touted as being successful with migraines. Check it out on the computer, I did and found it very interesting.

Glojer

Hiya everyone,

Just a little info on this. I ran out of migraine tablets one time, (don't know whether I can give the UK brand name) and I was in the pharmacy tutting away, like you do, because they didn't have my tried and trusted brand. The pharmacist asked me what was wrong. I explained about my tablets. She said, "don't say I told you, but they are basically made up of paracetamol and a touch of codeine. The biggest ingredient is paracatamol, so take those instead". Well I never buy specific migraine tablets now. You can actually buy a mixture of paractetamol and codeine in tablet form OTC. Take care though, it can make you constipated.

I do so sympathise with all who have migraine headaches, they are dreadful aren't they? I can't see because of zig zags across my right eye mostly, and the headache is something to deal with.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday.

goldenwings :angel:



Just myu little tip.

I also get very bad headaches, although my doc prescribed topamax. I have to say I have not had a true migraine for going on 3 months now. I only get small stabbing headaches that last for only a few seconds at a time and I can live with that. He does attribute the headaches to the fibro. When he referred me to the rheumatologist, the rheumy said that topamax was one of the better drugs for fibro out now. Go figure, it seems docs don't always believe in the same meds. It did take me a slow titration up to the 200 mg mark to seem to make a difference in the headaches (or should I say to keep them at bay this long), it took a much shorter time to make them much less common, and the nerve pain is much much better. I would not want to go off of it now, because I do not know really how bad it has gotten and do not want to find out. I am also on cymbalta, and believe it or not, the combo of the two, I believe has really made the biggest difference overall, although I do still need meds for sleeping and occasionally for pain. Oh, and as a side effect, I've lost nearly 40 lbs.

dpaz that is what I think is so great about the topamax. Not only does it take care of headache pain and the fibro pain, it does something us fibromights have a large problem with...WEIGHT LOSS!! I don't know medically why with fibro you can't get the weight off, a combination of things I'm sure. How wonderful it would be to actually have a drug to take away the pain, help you sleep better and let you effectivly loose weight. It is not like I don't try and I'm sure others try also, but the weight will not drop off. Then of course the pain and fatigue set in and I have to give up the exercise for a while. Oh well!

Good for you dpaz!!!

Hey thanks for all the ideas!

KSP

Yeah, I had Midrin for the headaches. It helped at first, then...nothing. I just realized that since I stopped taking Topomax for depression that my fibro pain has been worse. Guess I need to call the doc tomorrow!

Hi,
I have alot of different medical throughout my whole life. My fibro and lupus was finally diagnosed in 1994. I had some head trauma when 13/26 and now have vertigo attacks, loss of balance, hearing loss etc. The head has gotten worse over the years and then started the migraines. I feel all weather patterns, barometer changes, anything that can effect our medical systems. I've had chest pains since 6 years of age and can tell how the weather and environment can effect those also. For the past 10 years I was giving all the different type of pain killers to help various problems. Those lead to other problems such as with your stomach and esophagus. The migraines last summer were so bad that I went to a neurologist since my systems has so much trouble with meds. The neurologist helped my migraines. I am not allowed to take anytype of over the counter pain killers. I still get headpain and migraines, but not like I was getting last year. In effect my system had so much pain killer from stuff doctors give you over the years that instead of taking away pain the tylenol etc. were creating more migraines. I still continue to use ice packs and of course heat pads, but I'm learning that sometimes all the meds can create more problems for our systems and ends up just giving you more pain. Even though its hard to live with all types of pain, I find ways to deal with my pain, because I'd rather not have all the migraines that the pain killers were giving me. Avoid as much caffeine, sugar, whet glutten, no diet sodas, infact no sodas if possible. Eat lots of small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Well, I know there are other things I've learned to do to help my medical system, but can't think of everything right now, so I will close for now. :wave:

lilsnowflake, welcome and thanks for sharing your experience with us.