Ive been hospitalized for 5 days! NO HELP!!

[megsmom106]

I am a 31 year old mother of four. I work about 20-30 hours per week and I go to school full time. Dispite what may sound stressful, I have NEVER been happier. My husband is incredibly supportive. My children are amazing and active. I love my life....well...most of it. About 3 and 1/2 years ago I started getting migraines. In no time they increased to about 2 to 3 times a week. I was seeing a doctor for a while, and had to leave her. All she did for me was prescribe me a ton of Vicodin. The vicodin worked, I was still looking for more. I went to another doctor for a year and a half, he was a student. With him I tried 14 to 15 different preventative medications from anti seizure medicines, birth control, anti-depressants, and anti nausea pills. He would also prescribe me Tramadol. The preventative medications worked for no more than two or three weeks. I did EVERYTHING that my doctor said out of desperation for a solution. The Tramadol did NOTHING at all for me. I expressed this to my doctor and all he would say when I told him the Vicodin worked when they got bad was, "Over use of narcotice cause migraines". This statement may be true. But, it is assinine in my situation because I wasn't taking narcotics and they were already worsening. Also, I did not want them for every day, just about 20 or so a month for "just in case" scenarios. He turned out to be just a student, as were all of the other doctors in this clinic, and his boss, the real doctor, would override any decision we would finally agree on together. I stopped seeing him when he told me that I had to just learn to deal with it because there was nothing he could do! Well, I guess that was the best move forward for me. So, I saw my 3rd doctor where I discovered I have fibromyalgia on top of migraines...great! My new doctor put me on Cymbalta, a steroid, and a few Vicodin. Everything went very well. Then, on last Tuesday, I got a terrible headache and forgot to refil my Vicodin prescription. It got so bad that I could not see. I went to the hospital where they gave me 3 shots of Dilaudid, and sent me home. After that, I had a very low fever...100.1, I was throwing up about 3 or 4 times a day, and was EXTREMELY tired and dizzy. By Thursday, the headache came back and BAM...it was like I got hit in the head with a baseball bat. I have been admitted and have been here for 5 days! I have had an MRI, an MRA, and a million medications...some of which are: Dilaudid (every 4 hours), Vicodin (every 6 hours), Immetrex 40mg 3x's day, a nausea pill 3x's a day, an NSAID, an antibiotic, 2 types of nose sprays, and a few others. They injected my rear, and my IV with dehydroergotamine twice and gave me Regalin with that. The ONLY thing they know is that I have a sinus infection and issues that may be one trigger. But, nothing else. Yesterday I was doing great...hardly a 4 on the pain scale. Then, when I woke up this morning, I was back up to a 9 for hours!! Now, I have to do a spinal tap in the morning which I am terrified to do. Please help with these questions:
1.) Since spinal taps often cause headaches, could it increase my migraine?
2.) Should I ask my doctor to increase my medication right before/or right after the procedure? If so, which one do you suggest?
3.) I have meticulously logged my entire day and everthing I have eaten to determine a trigger...any other suggestions?
4.) Is a 6 day migraine attack abnormal?
5.) What else could I suggest they look at, or should I be looking at to end my suffering?
Thank you so very much. Until I found this sight I though I had NO ONE to turn to!
Thank you so very very very much!!!

[Moni1978]

I have been through the same problem as you but never hospitalized. They gave me everything from Morphine to Dilaudid and it that didn't even take the load off. I say when I felt the warmth feeling when it was administered to me in the ER, but never went to sleep or anything. I said to myself its a shame how much high tolerance I have to medications and don't know what is and what is not working. A spinal tap is the last procedure left to do when its unknown to your condition. I haven't had that and really don't want it. Did you get your spinal tap done yet? I am curious to know how you feel now.

Moni

[hava]

These yog pranayam relaxing techniques will help to ease the pain, and over the long term help you get better.Start today and log your progress.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day. Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? How was the lumbar puncture or spinal tap procedure? Spinal headaches may occur but resolve on their own with no treatment. However, if the spinal headaches lasts for more than  24 hours,  treatment may be done. With migraines, it is important that the trigger is identified. Chronic headaches should be evaluated further to rule out any organic causes.  Take care and do keep us posted with the spinal tap result.