Daily headache & migraines

[fixit]

I’m at the end of my tether! I’m 51 & have had headaches & migraines since my teens. I’ve tried painkillers, triptans, amitriptyline, propranolol and I’ve been on Topamax for a year (100mg a day) and the daily headaches are back with a vengeance. I’m desperate. The pain is really bad and is ruining my life and I feel I have run out of options. What next?

[Hidden]

I can certainly relate and sympathize. Maybe give acupuncture or Botox a try. Acupuncture helped me at one point. I’ve heard some have had success with Botox.

Good luck.

[fixit in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Dove.

[Hidden]

Hi, I have daily headaches as well. I had my first botox treatment in August. No change. I'm going back for the next one in November. It's all trial and error. There is a new drug out but it's not yet available, here in Canada. Maybe that will work for me. I also want to try some type of physio for my neck and back since I have scoliosis.

Don't give up - there are many other things to try.

Once I cleaned up my diet, no additives, no preservatives, colourings etc, all natural and it reduced the frequency of migraines by 50% then they came back.

Good luck.

[headachequeen in reply to Hidden]

The new drug is Aimovig. I was able to sign up for two free injections. I've used one and will use the other Friday. They last a month. Its a miracle drug for me. I've taken four Amerge (for migraine) in past month instead of usual 18. Also take about half of the aspirin-free Excedrin I usually take for daily tension headache. And the four times I took Amerge, the pain was less to start with and went away fast.

[Hidden in reply to headachequeen]

That's great. I hope Health Canada approves the drug soon!

[Grandchildren2]

Hi,you sound very like myself and I really feel for you. I'm 61 and my whole life has been dominated by migraine. Last year i was admitted to hospital on 3occasions where they tried different treatments. I was exhausted with the pain etc. Eventually I was given Botox and its made so much difference. Still getting them but not so debilitating usually if I take my sumitriptan its gone within a couple of hours. Its been like getting my life back,being able to make plans and not having to cancel. Ask your neurologist its well worth a try. Good luck.x

[fixit in reply to Grandchildren2]

Thanks. I will look into this.

[dwrights]

Hello Fixit, I'm 51 as well and have had migraines since my teens. Have tried all of the above and found some relief with Triptans but they are not ideal and disturb my sleep pattern which in turn triggers Migraine again.

Since my last birthday around 10 months ago I have changed my diet and cut out carbs and sugar completely. I have around 20mg of carbs a day max and I'm fully keto adapted now. The first two months of adapting to keto where like hell with constant headaches etc. I'm now fully adapted and have not had a single migraine in 6 months. The change is diet has been truly life changing for me.

[fixit in reply to dwrights]

Wow! That’s amazing. I’ll read up on it thanks.

[Dinkle in reply to fixit]

Wow

Been meaning to try keto x

[weffs]

Hi. Like others who have responded I can also empathise as I have had migraines since I was 5 years old (now nearly 56) and have tried a range of treatments. I think diet is fundamental - carbs and sugar especially seem to be triggering. However I am also looking into Histamine intolerance/ sensitivity which I am fairly sure is the cause for many of my daily headaches. Doctors don’t seem to know about this in the main but it’s worth checking out - this also means changing your diet but worth it for a life with fewer headaches! Good luck

[Teaweasel]

HI. I've had a permanent migraine for coming up 2 years now and I've tried various meds (all the ones you mentioned) and nothing seemed to help. My neurologist tried GON (Greater Occipital Nerve block) earlier this year and it didn't help me but a month ago he tried Botox and it seems to have made a bit of a difference. Rather than constantly being really bad, I now actually have days where it feels a lot easier, which for me is a vast improvement! I'm going back in January for a second round so I'm hopefully it'll make things even better

Something else I found helped was Cranial Osteopathy. I really found it helped give me a bit of relief. Obviously make sure you see a fully qualified Osteopath!

[anysosa]

Hi, I got a lot of relief changing my diet, no sugar and very few carbs (no pasta, bread, etc), I recomend you the book The Migraine Miracle. Read it, could give you a big change in your life.

[fixit in reply to anysosa]

Thanks I’ll have a read.

[Slim66]

I’m in exactly the same place as you, a year older but only on 25mg of Topamax...cannot cope with side effects. Are you losing hair through taking this drug?

[fixit in reply to Slim66]

I didn’t loose my hair until I reached 100mg. The last few months it has been falling out in handfuls & has gone really thin.

[Migrainemum]

I understand how you feel - I’m in a similar situation. However the good news is that there is still a lot of drugs that you can try. The ones I’ve tried are:

Pizotofen

Amitryptiline

Propranolol

Topamax

Venlafaxine

Botox

Pregabalin

Candesartan

Gabapentin

Zonegran

Flunarizine

Sodium Valproate

I’ve also tried Greater Occipital Nerve blocks.

It might be worth asking your GP about some of these options and ask if they’d be willing to refer you to a Migraine Specialist (some treatments are only available through Neurologists). Alternatively you might want to

book an appointment at the National Migraine Centre. I’ve just had an appointment and have been given a private prescription for the new CGRP drug - Aimovig. It’s very expensive though so it would be good to try some alternatives first. Good luck 🤞🏻

[fixit in reply to Migrainemum]

Thanks Migrainemum, I have tried most of those. Maybe the National Migraine Centre maybe worth a try if all else fails.

[migraineagain]

A great, free resource to watch interviews on various topics from the world leading migraine and headache experts can be found here: bit.ly/migraineworldsummit_...

[fixit in reply to migraineagain]

Thank you.