Barometric pressure & headaches..

Darianya · 01-13-2001, 04:04 AM

My apologies in advance for a very long first post.

6 years ago, while I was living at high altitude (along with wildly fluctuating barometric pressure) in Alberta Canada, I all of a sudden started getting almost-daily headaches. They were constant pressure, sometimes intensifying into severe throbbing pain, in no one place on my head, it shifted. I went to several doctors, numerous hospital ER visits and a list of drugs as long as my arm (literally!). Just over 2 years after the onset of this, I went to a lower altitude for a vacation and discovered that my headaches went away! Within 24 hours of my return home, my headache returned full force. To test my discovery, a few months later, I again went away to a lower altitude, and it happened again. I did the only sensible thing, I moved. My headaches were still more frequent than the 'norm' but bearable, and usually treatable with off the shelf medications.

After 3 1/2 years of being in a lower altitude, I went back to Alberta for a 5 day christmas visit with my mother. I thought myself very lucky, as I spent the entire 5 days headache-less. 2 days after my return home, I developed a headache. It is now almost 2 weeks later, and I still have the headache. I noticed at the time I developed the headache that the barometric pressure was fluctuating wildly, along with very odd weather patterns for this time of year. I have tried to seek medical help this past week, and I basically got told to take Tylenol and Aleve (Like I couldn't have done that without going to the hospital!).

I also get migraine with complicated aura, they call it, but only a few times per year, and it's totally different.

Does anyone have any advice on how to cope?? I have never even been tested (cat-scan, mri, etc), and every time I seek medical attention, they treat me like I'm a drugseeker, just because I tell them that the normal headache remedies don't work for me.

--Darianya, Frustrated and in pain!

Karla · 01-14-2001, 04:38 AM

I suffer from migraines and cluster headaches. I know that changes in altitudes from driving through moutains and flying in airplaines will trigger bad headaches. Also I know that barometric changes will trigger headaches such as right before a snow storm or a rain storm comes in. I have arthritis in my one knee. Poeple say they can tell it is going to tell it is going to rain/snow by their joints. I can to. But I can feel it in my head also. It is very painful. However, this is just one of many other things that triggers my headaches such as heat, humidity, bananas, hormones, trigger migraines plus I get my daily cluster headaches.

You can get migraines without aroras. I would suggest you talk to a nuerologist recently. I understand completely about nothing over the counter working for you. Your neuro should be able to give you a preventative medicine (if you are having frequent headaches) and / or and abortive medicine to take when a headache occures. Work out a plan with your neuro. I take medicine x (Imitrix, zomig, erogot, migranol, maxalt,etc) when I have a ha. If that medicine doese not get rid of my headache than I will take a rescue medicine
Y (Percacet, Vicadin, Firoinal, etc.) If that rescue medicine fails then I will go into the ER for treatment.

Make sure you get a letter from your neurologist on dated clinical letterhead signed by him stating that you are being seen by him for mirgraines and occasionaly need a shot. Every time you need to go to ER make sure that slip is on you. If any dr. wants to give you any grief show him the letter. If he wont honor it ask for a second dr that will. I ran into a dr. in er that wouldn't and gave me a drug seeker look. I asked for 2nd dr. and he said we don't do things like that around here. I was made and said discharge me then. He wanted me to go home and take asprin/motrin which I had been doing for 24 hours already that hadn't been working. The nurse came in saw I was upset and said I could see a different dr. I was happy. The other dr. lied! The second dr. came in saw the note. Said it is dated, signed saw no problem with it, said you obviously have a migrain, you have obviously been here before, you know what works for you, and ordered my shot of dilaudid. I got the first drs. name and called the head of the medical dept. at the hospital the next day and filed a complaint. The director said we like the patient to have a dated note, signed, with dr. instructions. I said I did etc. The director got back to me. The dr. was wrong and was repremanded. He also wrote a letter to my personal physican telling him he thought I was a drug addict and needed to be cut off. I talked to my dr. about it and we just figured it was a personality conflict in the ER. Hoped I helped some. Good luck.

Darianya · 01-14-2001, 01:45 PM

I was beginning to feel like I was some kind of freak until I read your reply! Thank you. I do plan to see a neurologist as soon as I can. I once had a letter from a doctor (not a neurologist, though) saying about that exact thing. The ER had requested that I get such a letter if I was going to need a shot on a regular basis. The very first doctor to see that letter refused to honor the letter and gave me that drugseeker look. What he wanted to do was 'wean' me off. I've also had an ER doctor call my doctor at 2am to find out if I was really in pain. My doctor said I was, and the ER doctor refused to believe her and told me I was a drug addict to my face. It helps just to know that I am not alone and not a freak! I didn't know at the time that I could demand a second doctor. Thanks!

Vickie · 02-15-2001, 06:55 PM

I have been having migraines for over 20 years and it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I figured out a lot of it was due to the weather. There isn't much to be done for that right now, unfortunately.
I understand about the Drs. Some of them think they know it all and that a person should be able to handle a "little" headache without drugs. It is very frustrating. One doctor I used to go to didn't believe I even had migraines!
Until I went online I thought I was the only one who got headaches from the weather. Glad (?) to know I am not.

Jester · 02-15-2001, 07:24 PM

I am from Calgary. We get chinooks (what Dariana was describing with the wild pressure changes). I have has migraines ever since puberty. It is just something I live with. I find that Imitrex is a good migraine fighter, but the best preventative treatment is drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. It helps to keep the pressure in your brain as equivalent as the pressure outside. The barometric pressure is just one of my triggers. I don't always get the headache with every chinook. I have to have had other triggers as well, eat a tomato, cheese, red wine...