Undiagnosed Chronic Migraine - no relief

My sister-in-law has been suffering for the last 7 years with chronic migraines (she rates her days...very rarely is her head pain below a 6 out of 10).  She has seen a great number of specialists, all of whom have tried different procedures from nerve blocks to botox and is currently on a handful of medicine including: Plaquenil, Methotrexate, Humeria, Ativan, Oxycontin, Paxil, Gravol, Folic Acid and Peridium.  She has finally hit her limit she left her job 2 years ago, she lives with her parents and her mom basically looks after her.  She has tried committing suicide more than once and this last time is especially scary.  She is currently seeking help from a psychologist and under direct supervision at home.  Wondering if there has been something overlooked here.  She also suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis, apparently has the bladder of an 80 yr old man and her urethra is unusually tiny which causes her great pain.  Any suggestions??

[tomsant]

Difficult to comment without seeing the her or the medical records.

What is the symptom pattern she has? What all specialists has she gone to? What investigations?

The suicidal ideation is indicative of depression, which might have caused the headache in the first place, conversely, it might be the result of unremitting headaches as well?

The urethral problems and RA seems unrelated, and have to be dealt with by the concerned specialists.

Best rgds,

Thomas Antony

[selmaS]

HI...may I ask, what tests were done to determine what is the root cause of her migraines?...did she have a brain MRI w/wo contrast?

she should be tested for MS...lupus....lymes...chiari...to start......

she should see a NL or NS for testing, depending on her insurance she can select one....if need be or have her PC refer one.....if PC will not comply....she should seek a new PC.

Keep us posted on how she is doing.

Good luck
Godspeed
"selma"

[Biscuit900]

Has she seen a pain management doctor?

[kt2847]

I have had debilitating migraines since I was about 11 years old. I am 23 now. They were very few and far between when I was young but after puberty they got unbareable. My neurologist suggested birth control because I had at least one a month. I got on the patch and that seemed to help for awhile, but eventually they came back after I had a bout of depression and extreme insomnia. When they came back they were HORRIBLE. I had one that lasted 4 days until I went to the neurologist and he loaded me up with pain medication which made me sleep for 4 days. At that point I was having several a month.
   My migraines are classic migraines that come with the aura (black holes and sparkling lights). The pain is excruciating beyond words. Most of the time I throw up from nausea. And once in a while I lose all feeling in my face, hands and feet. My migraines lasted an entire day if I were lucky.
  I've tried Maxalt, Relpax, Lamictal and SSRI's and a few anti seizure meds. I've been treating them with Axert for the last few years. That seemed to work if I took them as soon as I saw an aura. Recently I've had to take 600 ml with the Axert but that no longer works. I've had 5 in the past month. I had one on my birthday 2 days ago. I saw the aura and took 1 Axert 12.5ml and 800ml of ibuprophen. Then I went home and threw up. Then I took a phenegren and fell asleep. Phenegren seems to help but takes too long to kick in.
  The Axert and pain killers combo seemed to work for a long time but these days my migraines are different. The pain is stronger in the base of my skull, I don't respond to the meds anymore and there is always nausea.
Hope that helped somehow!

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for posting.
Biofeedback therapy has shown good results in patients with refractory migraine. Also if migraine triggers have been identified it is better to avoid them at all costs.
Since she is also suffering from depression, antidepressant therapy will help her.
Alternate therapy like Acupressure and Acupuncture may also provide relief.
Take care!