headache for almost 6months daily

[headachehorror]

Back in june 08 i expierienced my first migraine that lasted almost 2 weeks. At the time I was going thru a tramatic time in my life so i brushed it of as a tension headache or stress headache.  Over the summer these headaches did not ease up at all they just got worse they would last for atleast a week, even ruined a summer vacation.  I am ashamed to say that I am a big vicodon user I have been for about 8 years, however , they dont help with headaches at all. I started taken them for chronic back problems.  In September I got a headache theis headache is across my entire forehead, in my eyes and very sharp pain in my temples. It is the end of November ans I still have this headache.  It is taking over my life.  I am a mother of 2 and its at the point were I cant deal with my kids.  I went to a nuerologist who put me on topamax, I take 100mg twice a day, for about 1 month now.  I also suffer from depression for about 20 yrs. I have been taking lexapro for about a year.  The Dr. feels the lexapro isnt helping my headaches. The topamax took some of the pressure of but I still suffer, he added vivactyl which i thought was a migraine medication until I looked it up and found out it was a antidepressant. My problem with meds is I cant take alot of migraine meds because I take heart medication.  I quess what I want to know is, Could the vicodin be causing the headaches? Could depression and pain be causing them?  Is this vivactyl a good choice? I honestly cant take it anymore. I am on the verge of, nevermind....Can you help?

[tomsant]

Depression 20 yr
Using Vicodon - 8 yr
Headache x 2 wk- June 08 (Traumatic time in life)
Chronic back problems (What, from when on)
On Lexopro (What is the ingredient?) 1 yr
Forehead headache, pain in temples- Sep 08
Topiramate 100 mg twice daily - from Oct 08.
Vivactyl (Ingredient?)
Mother of two
On heart medication (What problem, how long, what medication)

I think we would like to have more data.

But, prima facie, your depression may have to be handled well (especially as you feel you are on the verge of nevermind ;-)  (Think of your children!)

Many antidepressants take the pain also away because of its effects on neurotransmitters. But some can interfere with heart problems, so the doctor will be cautious.

Best rgds,

Thomas Antony

[mommyscared]

Thank you for responding. I wish to tell you I would never hurt myself, I love my children to much. When I have these throbbing headaches I just get so upset and cry and cry and say stupid things. I have had chronic back pain since i am 16, now 38.  I have disc problems and about 3 years ago was diagnosed with fybromylgia. My nuerologist, however, disagrees with that, he says I have restless limb syndrom (syndrome), which I don't doubt.  The depression started when I was about 18. I tried many antidepressents but again because of my tachacardia many wernt right for me. Paxil was what I was on for about 17 years.  They changed it to lexapro i guess because my body was so ammuned to the paxil i just fell back into a deep depression I was on 40 mg of paxil, I take 20 mg of lexapro. I take 100mg of toprol for my tachacardia which I hade an ablation done for in 97. I take 10 mg of the vivactyl at bedtime, just started 2 nights ago , so i dont know if its going to work yet.  The Dr also put me on 5 mg of mirapax.  I find nothing is working and I am tired all of the time which I feel is adding to the depression.  We also tried wellbutrin but that wasnt for me, it made me feel very angry all the time, so I had to put myself backon my lexapro.  I know a phychiatrist nedds to get involved, believe me I have been to many. I just have lost faith in them. I feel they just hand out prescriptions without trying to really understand what the patient needs. You asked the ingredent of the lexapro, I am not sure but two difernt doctors told me it can contribute to headaches, maybe I should go back on the paxil.  I am desperate for help because these headaches are distrubting my life in a big way. I dont know if the headaches are making my depression worse or if its the other way around. Meanwhile you have to wait to see the Dr once a month, so I have to just wait and suffer. I cant afford anymore Dr.'s or anymore prescriptions.

thankyou, kelly aka headachehorror

[jan2281]

have you had an MRI/MRA done? My head has bean bothering me for the last 3 month..well its actually more of a numbness/tingling..i saw my doctor they did and mri/mra found My head was normal...I also had a c-scan.....my sister was also experiencing the same head ach i was.. and her doctors did an mri/mra and found she had a unruptured Basilar tip aneurysms....aneurysms run on both sides of my family..I ancourage anyone with long lasting head achs to get an mri done aneurysms can not be spotted with a c-scan..my sister was one of the lucky ones, because it was found befor it ruptured...she will be just fine...im not trying to scare anyone...MY head achs are result of stress and all the meds I was put on, I know this because I took myself off all the medication the docs gave me for my head achs ..and slowly they are going away...

[mommyscared]

Hello, although im signed in as headacehorror it has changed to mommyscared, but my name is Kelly.  Thankyou for taking the time to write to me.
Yes, i had a mri, it was normal. I am starting to believe my antidepressant lexapri is causing these headaches. I was on Paxil for almost 20 years the doctor changed it because i fell into a depression about 7 months ago and the changed my med from paxil to lexapro and the more i think about it this is when my headaches started.
A few weeks ago my nuerologist put me on wellbutrin and I weened of the lexapro and the headache eased up, unfortunetly wellbutrin wasnt for me so i went back on the lexapro and now my headache is back stronger then ever. This morning I woke up and threw my bottle of lexapro away. I will ask my dr. to put me back on paxil. If this doesnt work I am at a loss. If it does work then I am smarter then the dr I am paying thousands of dollars to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wish me luck...
I wish you and your sister much good health and though its impossible a stress free life...Stress is a terrible thing, It has caused me much pain, physical and mental but thats a whole other issue.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday.  Thanks again for taking the time to write to me.
Kelly
PS. I wrote another response but it didnt show it went thru, so you might get 2 post

[ky_kristen]

Don't stop taking your Lexapro all of a sudden without talking to your doctor! That can be very dangerous, especially if you are depressed anyways and on other meds. I have had a headache for almost 3 months now, and I feel the same as you sometimes. I have a 4 year old and sometimes I feel like I really can't take it! I take her to school at 9 in the morning, go back to bed until 12 when I pick her up, play with her in the afternoon, then cook dinner when my husband gets home and I'm exhausted after that..I just started on Topamax so we'll see how that does. I couldn't live without my heating pad, especially at night. I try to remember that this will go away sometime (I hope!) and just try to get lots of rest and take care of myself and my child the best I can until that happens! Stress can affect us so badly, so I'm seeing a counselor, and trying to make my home as serene as possible! Good Luck to you and I will say some prayers for you...

[mommyscared]

Thankyou your so sweet.  When my Doctors took my off my paxil, the didnt ween me off to go on the lexapro because they are in the same family of medicine. My Doctor will give me my paxil. So I think I'll be ok.
I am so desperate to get rid of this headache.......unfortunetly serenity is not an option in my house. I have a 13 year old who thinks he 18 who has absolutely no respect for me and isnt doing well in school and we constantly argue, I had him in therapy for a while, but got no where.
He is very aggresive (aggressive) with my 8yr old (my baby) .I also drop the kids off and usually go back to sleep for a few hours because i find it so hard to stay asleep at night. I sleep from 11 to 3 then im up till about 830am.
The topamax really isnt working for me, but again i really believe its the lexapro, he also put me on vivactyl which i thought was for headaches then i researched it and it an antidepressent that i guess is supposed to help with the migraines. I prefer ice packs on myhead over the heat.
Then on top of all this I got a phone call from my gyno this Sat morning while I was doing my usual sat morn. cleaning, she said "do you have a minute to talk". My stomach was in my heart.  It turns out my results from my pap that I had a month ago came back and it showed the hp virus. I had my last pap after Steven was born that was about 6 years ago nothing like that ever showed up. She said not to worry just have a repeat in 6 months.  But I am a worrier. I really don't need this added stress on my mind. Where did this come from? Ive been married 13 yrs.
She said it could have happened 20 years ago and if my ammune system was low when I had the pap it could have caused the hp to show.  It never ends..I will let you know if the lexopro thing works .
thanks for caring, I will also keep you in my thoughts and prayers
Take good care of your little guy or girl???  Kelly

[tomsant]

1. Hope you are feeling comfortable with the new name; which is may be less 'horrifying' to you. This itself is a psychological technique you can use, when you feel overwhelmed with stress. You can downplay it to your psyche, and your psyche, like a child will 'believe' you. When situations terrify you, (meaning you know you are terrified), you have to ask yourself a different question: "Why am I not worried and feel courageous?" Silly as it seems, such questions work on our sillier minds, and will turn it around 180 degrees. You will be surprised later to find yourself bolder, and stress fading away. At least when you talk to someone about your illness, don't say 'I'm terrified'; instead say 'I think I am a bit bothered about it, but it should be okay in a few minutes'. Take away such negative words (horror, depressed, unhappy, scared..etc.) from your vocabulary and stuff it with positive and energetic words (like starry, bright, happy, amazing, dream, sunny, etc.)  

(Read the book 'Awaken the Giant Within' by Anthonny Robbins.)

2. So, you have depression, and headaches (which you or your doctor has christened as 'migraine'?), stress at home, and now hp virus in your pap smear. ( No big deal, compare it with any of your friends). You are not far off from medical care. Not everyone in the world know they are alive.

3. Boys will be boys and they will live according to their age. If you are not smiling at them or hugging/ kissing them, you will find more of such quarrels. But, come to think of it, they are active and lively boys!

4. Don't play with anti-depressants. Let the doctor who knows about them do it. If the headache is due to depression, it should respond to the antidepressant as the depression dissolves. If the headache is secondary to something else, it may have to be handled differently.

5. Practice meditation/ yoga daily. (Or just sit in a comfortable position in a quiet room for 10 min to start with and close your eyes, 'listen' or 'observe'  each breath of yours entering and leaving your nose)

Hope this helps :-)

Best rgds,
Thomas Antony

[mommyscared]

Thank you for your kind words and friendly advice.
Do you know much about the HP virus? Should I be as worried as I am?
As far as "playing with the lexapro"  I havent taken it in 2 days and my headache is 70-75% better, i dont think thats a coincidence.  I will call my Dr. tomorrow and he won't have any problem putting me back on paxil, like I said, its the only med that worked without any side effects.  I will also have to call my obgyn and get antibiodics for the bacterial infections that might be the cause of the hp virus to have shown in my pap. I cant understand where these infections came from.
thanks again Kelly.

[mommyscared]

Hi its Kelly, mommyscared. I wanted to let you know 2 day without the lexapro and 2 days without a throbbing migraine. What do you think? Seriously?
Also again, What do you know about the HP Virus?

[tomsant]

Funnily, a side effect of Citalopram is migraine, and abrupt withdrawal of the drug can also cause headache. So there is some ambivalence. Hence, without seeing you it is difficult to comment.

Human Papilloma Virus infection, as I understand, may go away on its own in 2 yrs time, happens 90% of the time. So don't worry, take the advice of your gynecologist.

Take care,
Thomas Antony

[mommyscared]

THNAKS, YOU ALWAYS GET BACK TO ME SO PROMPTLY, WHAT KIND OF DR. ARE YOU? AND IN WHAT AREA?  I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT ABRUBT WITHDRAWL ASLONG AS I GET MY PAXIL, WHICH I AM WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. AS I SAID BEFORE WHEN THE TOOK ME OFF THE PAXIL TO PUT ME ON LEXAPRO THEY DIDNT WEEN ME OFF BECAUSE THE 2 DRUGS ARE "COUSINS".
YOU SEEM LIKE A REAL NICE MAN. THANK YOU, YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME FEEL A LITTLE BETTER. KELLY

[tomsant]

Thanks for the kind words :-) I am an ENT specialist, and now working in Yemen.

If you feel down again, you should join some support group, I think. I am not aware of any, but to start with: You can copy and paste this web address into the web browser:  http://s1.zetaboards.com/LLL/index/   where you are likely to find friends.

Best rgds,

TA

[tenaciousone]

Hi: I second what the doc said.  Do join the Love, Laugh, Live forum group. http://s1.zetaboards.com/LLL/index/  They are a great group of people, very supportive and kind.  You can vent and you are never judged.

I will look forward to seeing you there.

[nanhead]

Hi Kelly:

Definitely stop the pain killers. The first thing any good doctor treating headaches should tell you is that pain killers cause "rebound headaches from withdraws"

The Topamax while marketed as an epi med, actually works by increasing you tolerance to pain (according to my local pharmacist), It may not seem like it is doing much but it may be helping more than you know if you go off of it (I know the side effects suck). and the antidepressants are often used to treat migraines but please do not take your self off them with out talking to your doctor the ups and downs to your bodies chemistry can throw you really out of wack. This really concerns me. Please don't do this anymore.

I would stick with your doctors advice but definitely call him/ her today to tell them that you don't feel that this current mix of medications is working very well for you. Your doctor won't know that until you tell them, and most will change a prescription over the phone with out a costly visit.

ALSO I recommend the Book; The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain (Paperback) by David Buchholz. It has list of different types of meds and their pros and cons. I have daily headaches and it helps me understand my doctors treatment plan and what it happening to me.

Hope that helps.