Persistent severe migraine

[ButterscotchBabe]

Has anyone experienced a severe, persistent migraine during pregnancy and if so, how did you manage it? Did you find any treatment that worked?

Background - I'm 15 weeks with twins, the past 5 weeks I've had worsening headaches that have become more painful and more frequent. This past week they became constant. GP referred me to A&E, and MRI has ruled out blood clot, so I was prescribed sumatriptan. This has given me some relief but it's patchy, possibly because it was taken too late in the attack. I asked to be referred to a neurologist but the A&E doc refused because I passed their basic eye to hand coordination test.

The driver is most likely widened blood vessels from increased blood flow, which isn't going to go away. So at the moment I can't see how this can be treated 😩

One thing with migraines is keeping hydrated, rested, well fed, unstressed, avoid other triggers if possible.

The driver is most likely widened blood vessels from increased blood flow who advised this? Not debating it, just is this your reading or did a medic suggest it?

During pregnancy your blood volume increases 30-50% for a singleton and 60-70% for twins. To deliver this extra blood the vessels need to widen. Sumatriptan is a migraine medication which narrows blood vessels, which is why I've experienced some relief

HI @ButterscotchBabe have you checked your blood pressure as well to rule out preeclampsia? That can cause persistent headaches.

I had a Status Migranosis in both of my pregnancies .It is basically one migraine attack blending into the next with no pause in between .Is this what you are experiencing ?
i was also investigated with EEG etc and sent to a headache specialist who told me what was going on .Basically it will last about 10 days and then stop ,caused by increased hormone levels .
Its is a long time ago now as my son is 28 years old but all different stages of my hormonal life has caused some improvement or worsening of migraine

Yep thankfully blood pressure was low/normal at 103/69, so no risk of preeclampsia

Yes that sounds like what I have! A permanent migraine that never goes away and is not responding well to treatment. That's reassuring to hear yours lasted about 10 days and then went away, as at the moment I'm feeling in despair that nothing is working 😭. Do you remember if any treatment they gave you helped reduce the pain?

I have had Status Migranosis three times in my life , once when starting the Pill at age 25 and in both pregnancies .The first time was the worst I was so ill and was investigated as an emergency with all neurological tests which are all clear .I was sent to a headache specialist and asked a thousand questions and he determined that my migraine was hormone related and that after pregnancy it would either get a lot better for a lot worse .Fortunately the former came true and after pregnancy I had fewer episodes .
In all three cases I had no treatment other than treating the symptoms , ice fluids rest and darkness .It was awful but I got through it .I don't think I ate that much but did manage to keep fluids down thankfully .There were no medications then in the 90s, early 2000s but being honest i wouldn't have taken any whenI was pregnant .
I think you should go to see a neurologist if possible just put your foot down.I live in Germany so things were and are a little better here re appointments with specialists .Please also keep an eye on your blood pressure , too low is also not optimal for the placenta .

@schnubbins thanks so much for sharing your experience, wow to get through it with no meds must have been very painful for you. I will push for a neurology referral, yes sadly healthcare has gone downhill in this country 😞 . Thanks for the blood pressure advice, thankfully with it being a twin pregnancy they will be keeping a closer eye on me