24 day Migraine

[calliepal]

I've had a migraine for 24 days now. I've always had migraines but they've increasingly gotten worse and more often.  I've decreased as much stress as possible.  This one is different.  I've experience severe sharp shooting pain behind my right eye. Stiff neck. Shoulder and back pain.  I was hospitalized for 4 days and it still hasn't broken.  I'm currently taking Diazepam 5 mg every morning, tizanidine 4 mg PRN with Promethazine 25mg.  I'm also working on building up my Topomax dosage- currently at 75 mg a night.  

I received Depacon (sp?) and DHE in the hospital and I can't have any more steroids. The steroids seemed to help the most though.  My mother has an autoimmune disorder and I had them check my RH factor and my ANA but I haven't heard anything so I'm assuming it's negative. Nothing showed up on the MRI either.  
Someone mentioned to me pseudotumor cebri.....  

I just want to know what I should ask my doctor.  They've tried so many medications.

[christine828]

I feel your pain, I have had a migraine now since January 8th.  Well, I did until this past week.  I started eating healthier and taking a good vitamin supplement that contains a lot of things that I was probably lacking.

I was on several preventatives, topamax @ 200mg, corgard @ 80mg 2x day, CoQ10 200mg 2x a day, B2 400mg, I did the 4 days worth of infusions, nothing seemed to help... so my "migraine specialist" just told me to "ride it out" or enroll in their "pain management" program.  Yeah, right.  

I started eating healthier, taking a way better vitamin and exercising when the pain would allow and after about 3 weeks of my healthier lifestyle, I had a headache free day, 3 in a row actually.  :)

[Jking0302]

I going to assume from what I read that you have tried all the conventional medications.  Keep with it, sometimes you just need to play around with different combinations until you get it right.  As for nonprescription medications, feverfew has helped me a lot.  I order it through my local cvs, comes in the next business day and its about 10 bucks a bottle.  Also, talk to your doctor about vitamin B12, magnesium, and Co enzyme. For me personally, bananas were a huge trigger for me.  I was surprised because I always viewed them as "healthy" and therefore not harmful to me.  Unlike most triggers which are "unhealthy" like alcohol, MSG, processed foods, ect.  So research your triggers.

[sara12345]

I strongly agree with Mary607 that you should try the nerve block and trigger point injections with bupivacaine.   These injections are especially helpful for those with the neck stiffness and shoulder pain that you mentioned.

[billyjack73]

stress ..stress..we with migraines have to learn to breath....

[horselip]

Sorry that you are in this pain, sounds awful!

Did they do a lumbar puncture to check your intracranial pressure?

Also you mentioned that steroids helped. Did they check your AM cortisol, ACTH and/or any of the adrenal and pituitary hormones that are involved. Maybe you have something going on that is hormonal?

Just some ideas
Horselip

[calliepal]

Oh. I've tried every migraine medication there is, including imitrex.  None worked.  They had diagnosed me with hemicrania continua (type of migraine) but now that it's continued.... my neurologists are puzzled.  

Thanks for the ideas guys.

[calliepal]

My blood pressure has always been normal.... 120/80 range.  In the hospital my heart rate was getting down in the 40s and my BP was in the 100s/50s.  I'm not sure what it's been running since.  Any activity gets my HR up.  I'm sure that's due to meds and me laying around for a month.  Today the migraine broke for a few hours but it's back.  

[SteelerGirl1969]

My mother and I suffer from migraines. Once, she had one similar to yours that would not go away. She was hospitalized and suffered for two weeks. They told her it was a cluster headache. This was years ago and she hasn't suffered one since, thankfully. Hopefully yours will be a once in a lifetime thing too. I hope you feel better soon.

[mary607]

ask them about nerve blockers bupivacaine.... hows your blood pressure??? or the medications verapamil, have they tried any of the triptans? imitrex?

[allmymarbles]

I would eliminate inflammatory foods from my diet. In brief that is sweets and starches. Alcohol also. These were triggers for me.