ANy advice for a friend who has hit a wall with migraine relief?

[hedgehog]

[MuseRider]

1. Have they tried biofeedback?

It might not be covered under insurance, I don't know, but I went to a biofeedback person and have never had another migraine again. It took a couple of months of going in and doing it with practice at home (a tiny thermometer for my finger ) and my body just did it by itself instantly after a few months of doing it. Amazing stuff. This was 30 years ago, not a single migraine.

[McCamy Taylor]

10. Agree.

[DeadLetterOffice]

2. I finally caved and started Botox injections

They're only appropriate if you're a "chronic migraineur" -- 15 or more migraine days a month -- but for many of us they make a huge difference. I'm on several prevention meds, plus I have Frovatriptan for when the migraine is really bad, but it was starting Botox 2 years ago that made the difference between completely incapacitated all the damn time and getting to have a semblance of a life. It's not an instant fix - it can take several treatments (12 weeks apart) to work, and it doesn't work for everyone.

If your friend meets the "chronic" criteria, I'd strongly suggest that they talk to their neurologist about Botox.

[TJKatd]

6. I tried three rounds a couple years ago...

One, the 30-something shots in my head from the eyebrows to the base of my neck were quite painful. And I'm not one who shuns shots.

Botox never did anything for me, so I halted treatment.

After trying all kinds of treatments and prophylactics, I decided just to treat the headaches when they occcur. Triptans usually work along with the occasional fiorinal. I've just learned to live with them.

[TJKay]

8. I also tried three rounds...

30-something shots every 12 weeks. The 15 minutes it took for each round were incredibly painful. I never got any relief.

I had migraines as a child that went away when i was around 25. Then, at 30, they resumed, and I've tried dozens of therapies. I've learned that neurologists don't like dealing with migraine patients. There are no clear-cut therapoed, and migraineurs can be high-maintenance., mauve worse than fibromyalgia patients.

It's best to find a headache speccialist. They are hard to fibnd.

In the end, my GP has agreed to keep me aupplied with Maxalt and fiorinal. I've given up on preventatives, choosing to just treat acute headachea. It works OK. I consider myself a "functional migraineur." Other than than the pain, my meds can sometimes cause memory loss during an attack. I'm able to keep that on the downlow, I think. I've had a few issues at work with memory gaps. 'm praying age eventuallu assuage things.

Anyway, I feel you friend's pain....literally.

[VarryOn]

9. Have you tried aimovig? Hearing good things about it

[RGinNJ]

3. The person might want to ask their neruo about Cluster Headaches.

[souledout2JC]

4. You will probably think I am crazy

but My migraines went away as soon as I switched to a full vegan diet! At first I felt so alone because just setting up my kitchen and getting rid of all the old forbidden food and researching recipes and adjusting my thinking from years of meat, cheese, egg and fish eating, I felt I just couldn't do it. After about 2 months of noticing the headaches were lighter and less frequent, I began to see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. I have been 100% vegan for 5 months and haven't had a headache in 10 weeks. The biggest benefit I think besides the headaches is learning to take probiotic digestive enzymes FAITHFULLY after every meal. There is a lot to be said for cleansing our systems of years of toxins. All I know is that I am better and I am never going backwards again as long as the headaches are GONE. After getting the hang of it, other new habits like, shopping organic and experimenting with different snacks and lots of new habits just start coming naturally along the way. Just one persons opinion, folks!

[demigoddess]

5. I have been taking magnesium daily for about 20 years. It really helped me.

I got migraines from perfumes, dryer sheet scents, laundry detergent scents etc. I had to stay away from those but now just hate the smell. The magnesium really helped me. tried everything else.

[JayhawkSD]

7. Maybe try a different neurologist.

Not all neurologists are created equal. Some specialize in movement disorders, for instance, such as Parkinson's and ALS, and actually know little about migraine. Some specialize in dementia and related disease such as Alzheimer's. Some specialize in Migraine. Check to be sure that the neurologist you are seeing is a Migraine specialist. I went to, and ditched, two neurologists before I started seeing the one I'm with now.

He is a Migraine specialist, and he worked with me for some time to make progress. Migraines are highly individual. What works for one might not work for another, both in terms of aborting one when it occurs and in terms of reducing frequency. We tried three different meds before we found a medication, Topirimate, which I take daily and which reduced the frequency. Then we had to work for a couple of years to get the right dose. Got them down from 4-6 per month, to 1 per month and sometimes a month when I had none.

Tried several different meds before we found one which would abort them. Finally did. I'm past having children, but if I had any children, I would name three of them after him, including any girls.

Other conditions sort of clouded the picture after a dozen years or so. Had a heart attack and had to stop taking the meds that abort the migraine. All of them cannot be taken when you have a heart condition. That turned out not to be a problem when I had a series of strokes and afterward was not having Migraines at all. Neurologist says that is quite common and that they have no clue why.

So if you're really desperate, have a stroke.

My neurologist specializes in movement disorders, too, which is fortunate, because I also wound up diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He says I'm his "most interesting patient." I'm not sure I'm flattered, but life is an adventure.

[IbogaProject]

11. two ideas

Here is a self help group, based on microdosing mostly.

clusterbusters.org


And I've seen mention of CBD creams for the upper back, lower neck to get it in the brain without eating or inhaling it.