Very disheartened!!!

[RosbudZ]

Hi everyone, I am really getting disheartened with Neurologist.....I go to one they say you will have to be on all sorts of medications, go to another they want to do Botox... I guess I just want some relief from the pain... I am on all sorts of meds... Neurotin, Pamelor, Baclofen, Toradol, Calan, etc.... just to name a few.... Needless to say I feel like a walking pharmacy.... I ask them why they can not find out something that works......But they say well you need to just stay on the medications.....I think I am going to look into an Opinion at the Michigan Head and Neck Institute.... Any suggestion would be very welcome

[Karla]

sorry you are feeling like a pharmacy. I can really relate to what you are saying. However, you are on some really good medicines that have a strong potential to help you. If not unfortunatly this is a trial and error illness. We are at the mercy of the doctors and what medicines you take. At least it sounds like your doctor is knowlegable in what medicines to prescribe and botox has a great chance to help you also. If it did you could stop being a walking pharmacy. That would be great news! I have seen some drs who have no clue as to what medicine to prescribe or doctors that are stuck on one medicine and don't want to try anything new. It could be worse. Cheerup!

[froggietcu]

I hear you. I've become disheartened myself. Each doctor downplays my headaches and I have more rescue drugs than Rush Limbaugh. They either don't seem to care or don't know anything about the subject but act like they do.

I've been doing most research on my own since I can't trust doctors and they won't give me any information. A few things I've learned:
1. watch how often you take the rescue meds; they can lead to rebound heachaches, putting you in a neverending cycle
2. There are some vitamins out there that possibly might help. I'm currently trying 100 mg of vitamin Bs (all), 600 mg of magnesium and evening of primrose. I haven't had a migraine in the past 2 weeks since I started on this regimen, so it might be working (only time will tell). A study recently came out showing coenzyme Q10 is also effective at reducing migraines. I'll be adding that soon, too.
3. Drink lots of water! At least your 8 glasses a day. Migraines are related to the blood vessels which need hydration.
4. Are you female on birth control pills? Estrogen can cause migraines, so BCP will make them worse.

There are thousands of possible triggers out there. I keep a daily diary of everything I eat and do in hopes of finding my trigger. Still haven't found it yet, though.

Good luck. Keep looking for a good doctor. The institute you mentioned is definitely worth a try.

BTW, recent research shows that Botox probably does not reduce migraines. It's expensive anyway.