Unanswered MIGRAINES

thebigt

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my sister suffers from horrible migraines, she has been on several different prescription drugs and most make them worse rather than helping...I have had the occasional migraine in my lifetime and understand how debilitating they can be...so in an effort to help my sister I am reaching out to my AM brothers and sisters for any sort of remedie that might help---since she has been unsuccessful going the pharmaceutical route she is looking for a more natural way to ease the pain and agony of long duration migraines...and yes she has been through many varied tests and procedures and none of the prescribed medications have helped.
 
Socalmk6gti

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I'm going to start with very basic stuff but it's what has helped my wife.

Has she tracked her sodium intake? (This was a huge one for my wife and has helped tremendously)

Does she track water? Too much water gives my wife migraines, too little and she's dehydrated which is just a feeling of bad well being and lethargy.

How's her diet?

What's her occupation? IT? staring at a monitor all day? Squinting?


My aunt gets Botox shots for hers so believe me, I take this stiff very seriously. I've only had two migraines in my life
 
thebigt

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I'm going to start with very basic stuff but it's what has helped my wife.

Has she tracked her sodium intake? (This was a huge one for my wife and has helped tremendously)

Does she track water? Too much water gives my wife migraines, too little and she's dehydrated which is just a feeling of bad well being and lethargy.

How's her diet?

What's her occupation? IT? staring at a monitor all day? Squinting?


My aunt gets Botox shots for hers so believe me, I take this stiff very seriously. I've only had two migraines in my life
I will check on sodium/water intake...I have heard about botox, will ask if she has tried that!!!

thank you for your response, I feel very sorry for my sister-she is getting desperate for relief.
 
The Express 42

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Electrolytes... daily. Liquid IV have made the biggest difference for me. Love that stuff. Take with SNS Glycerpump and SNS Taurine to help stay hydrated throughout the day.

Another thing that has helped me big time is a daily greens formula. I think the best out there is the first phorm optigreeens but those are stupid expensive
 
roidsarebad

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Do you know if she gets migraines with aura, and if so, what type of aura? I ask about auras because apparently that could have an impact on treatments. I personally have battled them for years and get visual disturbances as my aura. I tried a number of medications and spoke to several neurologists, but in the end a heart surgeon had the biggest impact.
 
Socalmk6gti

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Electrolytes... daily. Liquid IV have made the biggest difference for me. Love that stuff. Take with SNS Glycerpump and SNS Taurine to help stay hydrated throughout the day.

Another thing that has helped me big time is a daily greens formula. I think the best out there is the first phorm optigreeens but those are stupid expensive
Bowmar Nutrition Greens:

Magnum Supplements:


We use both of these as well as 1stPhorm. All seem to be working the same for us. Magnum is the highest quality, but it's all about your budget
 
jtmass

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Big T, there are some Indian traditional ways (ayurvedic) which cured my mom's migraine. If she is interested in giving it a go, I will PM you what mom used.

Also, if she experiences migraine 3-4 times a month that's extreme case and I wouldn't be sure if any herbal way would help
 
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LeanEngineer

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Electrolytes... daily. Liquid IV have made the biggest difference for me. Love that stuff. Take with SNS Glycerpump and SNS Taurine to help stay hydrated throughout the day.

Another thing that has helped me big time is a daily greens formula. I think the best out there is the first phorm optigreeens but those are stupid expensive
I would recommend those products as well. I think key is staying hydrated and seeing if that is the root cause.
 
jtmass

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Electrolytes... daily. Liquid IV have made the biggest difference for me. Love that stuff. Take with SNS Glycerpump and SNS Taurine to help stay hydrated throughout the day.

Another thing that has helped me big time is a daily greens formula. I think the best out there is the first phorm optigreeens but those are stupid expensive
hydration is just one piece in the plethora of reasons why migraine is caused. So, recommending products isn't really going to help in this situation. What if her hydration is good, but, she doesn't eat on time or for longer periods? If she is taking contraceptive pills, that's one reason too. % Women in general have more migraine attacks than men and nobody knows why.
 

Tommywantwingy

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Maybe and anti histamine or diamine oxidase
 
thebigt

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THANKS GUYS!!!
I have passed on your suggestions.

doctor put her on magnesium 250-2 x day.
 

niklasericson

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my sister suffers from horrible migraines, she has been on several different prescription drugs and most make them worse rather than helping...I have had the occasional migraine in my lifetime and understand how debilitating they can be...so in an effort to help my sister I am reaching out to my AM brothers and sisters for any sort of remedie that might help---since she has been unsuccessful going the pharmaceutical route she is looking for a more natural way to ease the pain and agony of long duration migraines...and yes she has been through many varied tests and procedures and none of the prescribed medications have helped.
The only drug that could combat migraine, from my own experience is a Betablocker.
I take 20mg of Inderal when the vision disorders shows up and the migraine attack goes away.
It's known to the science that betablockers helps but they don't know why.
 
thebigt

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The only drug that could combat migraine, from my own experience is a Betablocker.
I take 20mg of Inderal when the vision disorders shows up and the migraine attack goes away.
It's known to the science that betablockers helps but they don't know why.
she was on betablockers but they stopped working...she has tried several prescription drugs and most have made it worse. I am really concerned for her.
 
Par Deus

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my sister suffers from horrible migraines, she has been on several different prescription drugs and most make them worse rather than helping...I have had the occasional migraine in my lifetime and understand how debilitating they can be...so in an effort to help my sister I am reaching out to my AM brothers and sisters for any sort of remedie that might help---since she has been unsuccessful going the pharmaceutical route she is looking for a more natural way to ease the pain and agony of long duration migraines...and yes she has been through many varied tests and procedures and none of the prescribed medications have helped.
I have not researched it fully, but I have encountered it a decent bit in other research, but it seems to be an inflammatory phenomenon (like so many things), so fish oil, fix the gut (pro/prebiotics/et al), anti-oxidants, cut carbs, ketones, etc.
 
thebigt

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I have not researched it fully, but I have encountered it a decent bit in other research, but it seems to be an inflammatory phenomenon (like so many things), so fish oil, fix the gut (pro/prebiotics/et al), anti-oxidants, cut carbs, ketones, etc.
pro/prebiotics is something I don't think she has tried, I will suggest-thank you....do you have info on probiotics, I am not familiar with that?
 
Par Deus

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pro/prebiotics is something I don't think she has tried, I will suggest-thank you....do you have info on probiotics, I am not familiar with that?
Dsade (Evomuse), just so I am not just pimping my own stuff probably has 1000 posts here on them.

Big write-up that I did (click on "download full science write-up -- though, if you really don't know anything of probiotics, the "smaller/normal write-up" should be plenty...

http://neobium.org/product-line/suprabiotic/

It occurs to me that maybe you mean in regard to migraines...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=migraines+inflammation+gut
 
stopstalking

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I know that I get extreme migraines at times and I have kinda figured out that they usually come on days I don’t sleep well. Has she tried anything to increase REM sleep ?
 
Socalmk6gti

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Dsade (Evomuse), just so I am not just pimping my own stuff probably has 1000 posts here on them.

Big write-up that I did (click on "download full science write-up -- though, if you really don't know anything of probiotics, the "smaller/normal write-up" should be plenty...

http://neobium.org/product-line/suprabiotic/

It occurs to me that maybe you mean in regard to migraines...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=migraines+inflammation+gut
Where's the purchase links?
 
celc5

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Was there a head injury?
Does she have neck pain?
Fibromyalgia?
Allergies?
Psych history? Anxiety, PTSD?
Drug use/abuse?
Autoimmune disease? Colitis, RA,etc

We need more questions to find the cause of the problem.
 
ddfox

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THANKS GUYS!!!
I have passed on your suggestions.

doctor put her on magnesium 250-2 x day.
I’d choose Magtein ( L-theronate)

Can cross the blood brain barrier & raise mag levels in the brain.
 
ddfox

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THANKS GUYS!!!
I have passed on your suggestions.

doctor put her on magnesium 250-2 x day.
I’d choose Magtein ( L-theronate)

Can cross the blood brain barrier & raise mag levels in the brain.
 
thebigt

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Was there a head injury?
Does she have neck pain?
Fibromyalgia?
Allergies?
Psych history? Anxiety, PTSD?
Drug use/abuse?
Autoimmune disease? Colitis, RA,etc

We need more questions to find the cause of the problem.
pretty severe allergies and spent a week in hospital after birth of her last son, but that was 15 years ago.
 
thebigt

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I’d choose Magtein ( L-theronate)

Can cross the blood brain barrier & raise mag levels in the brain.
interesting, going to research.
 
thebigt

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He spelled it wrong, and i thought maybe even a rick roll, but quick glance looks kinda legit.


threonate
thanks...google corrected the misspelling, it does look legit.
 
thebigt

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Does she take decongestants?
Does she have sleep apnea?
going to say no to decongestants, I know she uses zyrtec...she may have sleep apnea, as far as I know she has never been tested, she does suffer from insomnia though.
 
celc5

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going to say no to decongestants, I know she uses zyrtec...she may have sleep apnea, as far as I know she has never been tested, she does suffer from insomnia though.
I doubt the Zyrtec is the problem.

Has she seen an ear, nose, throat specialist? If the allergies aren't under control, congestion can cause a pseudo apnea.

Any chance she's an Afrin abuser? The rebound is 100 times worse than allergic congestion.

Does the occasional cortico steroid help? Like does a medrol dose pack clear it up for a few days?
 
DR.D

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pretty severe allergies and spent a week in hospital after birth of her last son, but that was 15 years ago.
T, i get them too, and ~90% of the time they occur the same day or day after significant nasal congestion, so I know there's a link to type-I immune response (allergy.) Still, anti-histamines, mast cell modulators and cytokine inhibitors have never been better than marginal in their benefits. Cranial vasoconstrictors can help, but they aren't a true solution. OCT painkillers help, but you have to practically OD on them. Opiods don't seem to help at all. Tricyclics, beta blockers, phenothiazines don't do much. Increasing daily Potassium seems to help more than cutting Sodium, but I've never noted any benefit in extra Magnesium.

The only thing that I've ever found to successfully abort a migraine after prodrome presents is Lorazepam, 1- 2mg. I stack it with 100-200mg Caffeine and a few Motrins and it's never failed to terminate migraine within 2-3hrs. You say your sis is tired of trying pharmaceutical treatments, but she may want to ask her doc for some Ativan just to give it a shot. Other GABA modulators don't seem to work as well, including L-Theanine.
 
thebigt

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I doubt the Zyrtec is the problem.

Has she seen an ear, nose, throat specialist? If the allergies aren't under control, congestion can cause a pseudo apnea.

Any chance she's an Afrin abuser? The rebound is 100 times worse than allergic congestion.

Does the occasional cortico steroid help? Like does a medrol dose pack clear it up for a few days?
she was seeing a specialist for allergies since childhood, don't know when the last time she saw specialist but she used to get monthly shots. no afrin but she uses fluticasone. been off and on prednisone for several years .
 
thebigt

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T, i get them too, and ~90% of the time they occur the same day or day after significant nasal congestion, so I know there's a link to type-I immune response (allergy.) Still, anti-histamines, mast cell modulators and cytokine inhibitors have never been better than marginal in their benefits. Cranial vasoconstrictors can help, but they aren't a true solution. OCT painkillers help, but you have to practically OD on them. Opiods don't seem to help at all. Tricyclics, beta blockers, phenothiazines don't do much. Increasing daily Potassium seems to help more than cutting Sodium, but I've never noted any benefit in extra Magnesium.

The only thing that I've ever found to successfully abort a migraine after prodrome presents is Lorazepam, 1- 2mg. I stack it with 100-200mg Caffeine and a few Motrins and it's never failed to terminate migraine within 2-3hrs. You say your sis is tired of trying pharmaceutical treatments, but she may want to ask her doc for some Ativan just to give it a shot. Other GABA modulators don't seem to work as well, including L-Theanine.
thanks dr.d, don't know if she has used Ativan before but I passed on this info!!!

I got migraines years ago and know how much pain they cause.
 
celc5

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I don't think the flonase is the problem.

But you can see with Dr D's post, that we both have a hunch congestion might be at least a contributing factor.

I wonder if there's something that she eats on a daily basis that causes an inflammatory response. Does she have digestive issues?

Some talk about allergies to makeup, fabric softener, or maybe something she's exposed to at work.

And I'm assuming she's had vision corrected to rule that out already too.
 
thebigt

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I don't think the flonase is the problem.

But you can see with Dr D's post, that we both have a hunch congestion might be at least a contributing factor.

I wonder if there's something that she eats on a daily basis that causes an inflammatory response. Does she have digestive issues?

Some talk about allergies to makeup, fabric softener, or maybe something she's exposed to at work.

And I'm assuming she's had vision corrected to rule that out already too.
diet was one of the 1st things they looked at, she has been dealing with this for several years-lately they have been more frequent and longer lasting....I agree nasal congestion could be a primary contributor-also she is going to start the pre/probiotic.

before I had nasal reconstruction surgery antihistamines would stop me up horribly, they did much more harm than good-I wonder if stopping Zyrtec and starting a decongestant would help?
 
celc5

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That's actually a good point. The overuse of anti histamines is not the root cause, but I think we're all digging for anything that can at least take the edge off for her.

As a quick fix, maybe she could watch some facial trigger point videos and try them out. And experiment with nasal saline for a day or 2. I prefer the arm n hammer one because of the way the aerosol sprayer works. Spray each nostril every hour for a day or 2. She'll know by then if it helped or not. Nice thing is, no risk if it doesnt help.
 
Par Deus

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Sometimes, when girls say they have a headache, they just mean you need to get better looking and/or make more money or give them a little slap on the butt.
 
thebigt

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That's actually a good point. The overuse of anti histamines is not the root cause, but I think we're all digging for anything that can at least take the edge off for her.

As a quick fix, maybe she could watch some facial trigger point videos and try them out. And experiment with nasal saline for a day or 2. I prefer the arm n hammer one because of the way the aerosol sprayer works. Spray each nostril every hour for a day or 2. She'll know by then if it helped or not. Nice thing is, no risk if it doesnt help.
she wanted to let you know they are migraines with auras, says they are different?
 
celc5

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she wanted to let you know they are migraines with auras, says they are different?
That's rough man. Yes, she's correct that they are different. I think maybe my suggestions are to help with secondary symptoms and/or triggers.

CT scans and MRI are negative? Brainstem is normal?
 
Ricky10

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If all else fails, this is something to consider..
I happened to see this segment recently on The Doctors..

 
celc5

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Great video! I like how the surgeon did a temp nerve block as a pre trial.

Another pre trial can be trigger point injections from a pain physician. The suboccipitals should be a routine injection but I think the temporal could be tricky for a general pain specialist imho.

Also I do feel like it may be a challenge finding a surgeon that is well versed with this procedure.
 
thebigt

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Great video! I like how the surgeon did a temp nerve block as a pre trial.

Another pre trial can be trigger point injections from a pain physician. The suboccipitals should be a routine injection but I think the temporal could be tricky for a general pain specialist imho.

Also I do feel like it may be a challenge finding a surgeon that is well versed with this procedure.
also unsure how happy insurance would be about covering this.
 
thebigt

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That's rough man. Yes, she's correct that they are different. I think maybe my suggestions are to help with secondary symptoms and/or triggers.

CT scans and MRI are negative? Brainstem is normal?
I am unsure what all specific tests have been done, but she says they have tried a lot of different things with minimal results...some meds have worked for awhile then stopped working...she told me they tried a new migraine injection that was horrible, effects lasted 48 hours and felt like she was paralyzed in her face.
 
celc5

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I am unsure what all specific tests have been done, but she says they have tried a lot of different things with minimal results...some meds have worked for awhile then stopped working...she told me they tried a new migraine injection that was horrible, effects lasted 48 hours and felt like she was paralyzed in her face.
That MIGHT have been the temporary nerve block they described in the video.

In the video, they used that as a trial to see what would happen if they did procedure.
 
thebigt

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That MIGHT have been the temporary nerve block they described in the video.

In the video, they used that as a trial to see what would happen if they did procedure.
the paralysis scared the **** out of her....
 
Ricky10

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also unsure how happy insurance would be about covering this.
Yes, insurance companies are always fun..
It seems at this point that her Dr’s could prove that she has failed all conventional medical interventions.

If naturalistic means/lifestyle changes don’t work, I think it would at least be worth trying to get some information about the possibilities and process of receiving this procedure in the meantime.
 
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celc5

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In terms of temp nerve block, it is covered by insurance for spinal nerve roots in pain medicine. It's the trial run for nerve root ablations I believe. Hypothetically, we're discussing similar tactics in the context of migraines.

If the neurologist can determine that the suboccipital nerves are playing a role, it would be more tolerable than the facial nerve at the temple. The facial nerve has a lot of function and it's understandable that she was a bit traumatized.

And also just to recap, we're having good general discussion about migraines. But migraines tend to be different from person to person. And I dont think any of us are making direct recommendations, just some points that maybe might lead your sister to ask the right questions with her physicians that eventually leads to her solution.
 
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Ricky10

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The migraine injection that she responded horribly to doesn’t sound anything like the temporary nerve block tests in the video in which they have identified and block specific nerves. I don’t think your sister should relate that prior experience to the more calculated approach described in the video.
 

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