I have been having a lot more discomfort/pain in my head and neck than before. I always used a warm neck wrap before I was "diagnosed" with migraine but now I'm not sure if I should be using heat or cold. I'm not clear on whether the heat is good for my tight muscles but bad for expanded blood vessels?? Any ideas?
I went off the Verapamil about a week ago and am holding off on the Inderal to see if I can do this on my own without medication. I'm hoping for the best... I really don't want to be on anything being that I'd like to have another child sooner than later.
Did you have any problems with the verapamil or did it just not help you?? What dose were you on?? Were your blood pressure/heart rate normal or even low before starting it? I'm worried that it will lower mine too much.
As far as your situation goes, that's a tough call. They say the cold is better for the migraine, but of course that won't help your muscles very much. If your'e just using the wrap on your neck, it should be ok. Just keep an eye on your symptoms, and if you get WORSE as a result of doing this, THEN you know you can't do it. Sometimes you can only know by trying
Heat *aggravates* my head and neck pains. Hot water, even though it feels good at first, actually makes things far worse in the end. The best thing to do I find is have someone loosen things up by sticking their elbows into my shoulders and holding direct pressure. Rubbing sort of massage is bad news too. It just ratchets up vestibular symptoms. Lying flat on the floor with a towel rolled up under your neck is good too.
Rich, I took Verapamil for six weeks, 120mg per day. I didn't have any side effects from it. My normal bp is around 120-130/60-70. I noticed it dropped my bp down to below 120 sometimes. My normal heartrate is around 60 and that didn't change either. I read somewhere that bp meds don't lower "normal" bp, only high bp, although they don't really know why that is! So if you're in the normal range you shouldn't drop below that.
I stopped the Verapamil because Dr. Hain figured it wasn't helping me much. He also stopped the Betahistine. We decided to try Inderal at 80mg per day before bed. I haven't started it. I am stubborn as a mule about medication. I just don't want to have to take anything, particularly if we end up having a second child. I don't know if I'll be able to hold out or not without the medication. I've been off the Verapamil for over a week now and I'm not doing well. It could be hormones so I'm trying to wait it out and see if I get better. I'm so tired of this madness. My anxiety level is way up there. I can hardly leave the house for fear of fainting, having a stroke, you name it. I'm just not living life, while everyone around me is, and my kid is paying the price. I decided to start looking for a good anxiety therapist to see if anyone can figure out how to help me fix some of this.
I hope you do well on the Verapamil and the Klonopin. You deserve some good days after all you've been through.
L4A,
Hi, I have a very sore neck and muscles too. I do use a heating pad and I think it helps me more then hurts. I don't put it too far up my neck, but it does help my shoulders.
I definitely have pain in my shoulders, upper back and neck. The worst of my pain is way up high (if you feel right under where your head and neck connect you can feel that soft tissue on either side--THAT'S what just kills me) and it radiates into my head and gives me a head ache, more on the left than the right. Sometimes I think if I can really effectively do my relaxation exercises I can relax that area enough to affect the blood flow! My upper neck and lower skull feel like they are thumping in conjunction with my heart rate. It's weird. But I can never get it to stay relaxed no matter what I do.
L4A
Last edited by lookng4answrs; 08-17-2008 at 10:08 AM.
Yes, I get the heartbeat thing too!!! I do relaxation too and can't get it to stick, but I keep doing it! I also bought a foam pillow and am using that. It cost $$, but I think it might help my neck tightness some.
