Migraine - beginning to lose hope

[StrongPasswords4EVA]

Can anybody give me any? My migraines have turned chronic and yesterday i had my first vestibular migraine. Today i am in bed unable to move without throwing up. This is now affecting work and life quite badly. I have tried amitryptiline and proranalol as preventatives - neither worked. Need far more sumatriptan than they can prescribe. Is there hope something else will? Feeling quite desperate!

@StrongPasswords4EVA my dd has chronic migraines and she was referred to a hospital (Southampton if you are near) who specialises in them by her GP. She had to keep a migraine diary for 3 months I think it was and then was put on the new migraine medication which has worked wonders.
For now though, have you tried the cold on your head and warm on the back of your neck trick, as that can help ease things. Migraines are awful, and although I don't get the pain like I used to, I get auras which can make me feel awful and not with it.
I hope it passes for you soon, but get in touch with your GP as soon as you feel able and see if they can refer you💐

Get a referral to a neurologist. There’s more than hope, there’s extremely good preventative medications, it’s trial and error and no surprise those you have tried haven’t worked, it’s very individual. There are the new treatments like Ajovy and Botox for migraine and many other drug options. If your migraine is chronic (more than 15 migraine days a month) then you should be under a neurologist, and not reliant on your GP managing what is a complex problem outside of their generalist as opposed to specialist remit.

Get a referral from me too. If tried everything, triptans, anti depressants, beta blockers then I think you can start talking to them about the possibility of botox on the NHS. The guideline was to have tried lots of other things but it can be a game changer.

Sorry they're so bad, can't live a life like this. Best of luck.

Have you tried other triptans? Sumatriptan did nothing for me but after trying a few others I found frovatriptan is helpful.

Prochlorperazine is good for vestibular symptoms (short term) for me too.

Sumatriptan is all that works for me. You need to only take 1 a day though and not more than 3 days in a row or you can get into circular situations where they CAUSE headaches. I had 5 days of migraines and when the Dr finally prescribed them I was taking them every 2 hours as he (Dr) recommended, only to be told I was not allowed any more for the month!

Everyone is different but I went to a neurologist who (after a CT scan) prescribed Candesartan (for high blood pressure). I didn’t and don’t have high blood pressure but I take a tablet every day and it has pretty much stopped the migraines in their tracks. I have eletriptan to take just in case but I very rarely need it.

I am so sorry - it is awful.

I worked my way through three different preventatives and three triptans - none of them worked well enough so I qualified for one of the new anti-CGRP drugs. Some GPs can prescribe them now, depending on where you are. I am on Rimegepant (Vydura) and it seems to be working well so far (fingers crossed).

The drugs are out there, you just need to keep pushing until you get them (but I know how hard it is to do that when you are feeling dreadful).

If they come back every month for over 3 days you are meant to be able to get a brain scan but a year later and 4 days a month lost and so far that hasn't been proven true for me. I got a remote msg from a headache clinic suggesting I stop the minimal dose SSRI I was on instead, which has made no difference!

I take pizotofen and candesartan daily and also have just been given remagepant by my neurologist as triptans don’t seem to help. I get hemiplegic migraines, have stroke like symptoms with them and they can take days to recover from.
It’s taken 3 years to get the medication right but so far seems to be working.

I am in the same boat OP and have been to numerous specialists including neurologists over the pat 20 years.

I have discovered that I suffer from several different “types” of migraine - some of which are more responsive to intervention but for me personally, nothing seems to help with the hormonal migraines. The pain is horrendous and getting worse with peri.

Having exhausted all my options with specialists where I live, my next port of call is The Migraine Trust.

For me, it's all about the speedy treatment. Never had preventative medication but I used to suffer horrendously until I started taking aspirin and paracetamol the minute one comes on and if possible a caffeine drink, coffee or full fat coke. Since doing this the severity of them has decreased massively. I also take magnesium (which I take for menopausal sleep problems) daily which has reduced migraines down to about 2 a year.

There are many different options to try. Get referred to neuro led headache clinic

I have had a bout of them getting worse, like 7 in two months. I almost gave up on the sumatriptan. Then came out in shingles. So stress plays a part for me. Hope you find the right help.

Have you tired Botox? Been life changing for me, injected in my temples by a doctor and it’s stopped them completely.
I delayed my last Botox and only realised when I had a migraine again after being clear for R months. Mine e are not as bad as yours and rizatriptan works for me, but the Botox has been brilliant at preventing them.

Google for a migraine specialist and only go with a medical professional, not everyone is trained to do it for migraines.

good luck, hope you find a solution x