Migraine Headaches Support Group
Migraine is a neurological disease, of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head and are often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea.
The last time I wrote a post I think I was pretty close to going insane. I was spending hours lying in bed, curled up under blankets to block out all the light, and under the belief that I was disabled for life.
I finally decided to see a neurologist about 2 years ago.
It took me fourteen years, but I finally went to see a neurologist who specialized in headaches. The last one I'd seen was when I was 10, was a childhood neurologist, and - while she did her best - was only able to suggest caffeine and a painkiller that came with a strong risk of stomach ulcers and eventual kidney damage.
Fast foward to 2017, my Primary Care doctor has put me through three different preventatives, vitamins galore, and abortive medications that don't work unless I catch the headache within ten minutes of the aura showing up. I wait three months for an appointment at Mt. Sinai Headache Center and finally get in. The first thing I'm told: there is no cure. Weirdly enough, that's the most freeing news I've heard. This doctor knows what she's talking about. She explains the science behind migraines, why certain drugs work, and what the effectiveness of each one. She looks at my past history and eliminates drugs based on past bad reactions. She gives me instructional papers on lifestyle management.
She tells me there's no cure, but there's a lot we can do to manage my condition and that she is not going to give up until we find a treatment that works for me.
After six months we find a medication regimine that successfully cut down my migraine days from 15-18 to 7-9. Not good enough, she says. She says she's writing my chart so that my insurance will approve me for Botox.
Needles? So. Freaking. Weird. Not going to lie, getting those injections is not fun and my scalp is tender for days afterwards. Ponytails wait for awhile after a session. Still, I'm on my second round and my headaches are down to about 4 days a month already. The doc says they're only going to go down.
This isn't a Botox ad. It worked for me, but it doesn't work for everyone, and it doesn't work as effectively on everyone. Mostly, I want to share that I've found some success, and that it took patience, and taking the advice of others to go see a specialist, and going to yoga and actually acknowledging that health is worth working for.
Again, I'm really happy you have found something that is finally helping you, and thank you for sharing your story.
The appointments are every 12 weeks, so four times a year.
The first time I had it I felt a bit woozy and headachy the day of the treatment (which was in the morning) but, to be fair, that wasn't exactly uncommon at the time.
As for other weird stuff: I can't move my eyebrows. I used to be able to raise either of my eyebrows independently and now I can sorta move them upwards until the about a month after the injections. No wrinkles, but it bugs me a bit that I can't express the full extent of my sarcasm.