My migraines are increasing - preventative meds?
I've suffered from Chronic Daily Headache (CDH) and frequent migraines for 13 years. I've tried everything under the sun to treat them (acupuncture, botox injections, acupressure, food triggers, food sensitivities, osteopathy, bee venom therapy, etc. etc. etc.! The most effective strategies for me are avoiding food triggers (which has left me with a very bland diet) and biofeedback. However, my migraines are increasing in frequency lately which I find worrisome. I'm almost done breastfeeding my last child so I'm considering a preventative medication. Does anyone have a fantastic neurologist that they can recommend for migraine treatment? Thanks!
Apr 3, 2017
Parent Replies
Have you tried going totally wheat free? Worked for my terrible daily migraines! I've been migraine free since kicking wheat and gluten (no barley, oats, etc).
Oh, wow, so sorry. And I do understand. During a 47 day bout with one never-ending migraine, the mother of all migraines since they started at ripe age of 9, I was desperate. Like you I've tried many 'natural' approaches. I didn't want to go the RX route--but would've since I'd reached end of my rope. However, via online research, I found the Auto-immunity Protocol Paleo (AIP paleo) nutrition plan. And it has changed my life. I don't know if it'll work for you but for decades & decades, nothing helped. And like you they started to become more frequent and more horrible. The AIP paleo isn't easy in the beginning, but I'm so used to it now. When I go off it, I not only can get a headache (not yet full boat migraine) but I can't see well --I know that's odd-- and my body feels like I have the flu. I don't go off it very often for this reason. Good luck.
I've seen two neurologists at Kaiser Oakland - both were very knowledgeable and open to all types of treatments. The sad reality is that it's trial and error to find which preventive med will work for you - and it can be a frustrating and long process. I've had unbelievable success with nortriptyline. I went from an average of 15 days per month of headaches to two days.
However, it took me 3.5 years to work my way through: non-drug options (Butterbur/magnesium, etc..), beta-blockers, Topamax and Botox.. Ironically, nortriptyline was one of the first suggestions from my neurologist - I tried it, but didn't think it helped much at the time. Then, a couple years later, after failing Botox, I realized that the 2 months on nortriptyline was actually pretty good in terms of the number of migraines per month. (I recommend keeping a tally!) So, I tried it again and upped the dose and that did the trick!
It's been life-changing. Best of luck!
I can heartily recommend Bradley Wrubel ( https://www.yelp.com/biz/bradley-t-wrubel-m-d-berkeley ). He's careful, thoughtful, thorough, and very kind, besides being clearly quite intelligent. I rely on him entirely to manage my migraines, and he's never let me down!
I went to the UCSF Headache Clinic and liked Dr. Massoumi (spelled something like that). He's very caring and of course that is one of the best migraine clinics in the world. The Botox stopped the chronic (14+ migraines a month) headaches for me. Interestingly, my GP put me back on the pill after years of being off and migraines dropped way down. I wonder if I never went off of it if I would never have had the chronic episode. I still get them but am not chronic anymore and can deal with a few monthly migraines using triptans at the onset of pain. I also take the prescribed high dose of Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) and CO-Q 10 daily at the advice of the UCSF neurologists.
I know how hard and isolating this is. Take good care of yourself and seek out UCSF if you can. Sleep is also critical so do what you can to keep your schedule regular and get as many hours as possible.
I have chronic migraines and feel for you. I went to a neurologist in Oakland but after being told to keep trying the same medication that wasn't working, I asked my primary care physician to refer me. They are my favorite doctors because they have many tools in their tool box and most importantly are willing to listen. Good luck!