Don't let a migraine keep you from riding!

[Dazednconfused]

It is indeed a very complex situation (There’s also a hella long thread in OT Day about it, btw, think it’s on the 2nd page now). Like I said we were both insured, but neither will write out a check for any treatment/services/Rxs, etc. And because both of us are insured, I’m ineligible for the couny medical services pool (even though I definitely qualify via income). It’s either for reimbursal later, or through my attorney filing I even have medical payments coverage on my policy, but none of the orthopedic surgeons I spoke to would accept third party billing. I’m guessing a GP/Neuro would be no different…maybe worth a try?

I’m in the horse business, so as we all know, health insurance isn’t something very standard, so COBRA isn’t at play here. Neither of my parents are insured (well I’m not in contact with my dad, but even if I was I’m 99% sure he’s not insured). My mom is not currently insured (although did interview for two positions recently with great benefits, so it’s a possibility that I’d be able to be on her plan if she got one of them, but that’s a whole lotta what-ifs!)

[HillnDale]

all regular and imaginable disclaimers apply

When I was uninsured and working around nutty horses I used to give more than passing thought to a marriage of convenience: path to citizenship in exchange for tech company healthcare plan. Now for some reason I’ve been able to continue coverage from an office job but am working with horses full-time. I pay for it, but I’m terrified to lose it. One of my concussions occurred while riding a bad actor when I had no coverage. Not fun.

Definitely don’t be afraid to ask for help high and low. You never know where help might come from. You probably know a number of people who take prescription migraine medication. Find out who they are and talk to them.

I think there are generic triptans now. Ergotamine is an older drug that is quite effective and should be dirt cheap. Be careful of prophylactic meds that could confound your other symptoms - confusion, fatigue, dizziness.

Frozen peas. Time.

This is not your life from now on. Just for now. This is what accidents do.

I’ll be rooting for ya.

[vixen]

[QUOTE=HillnDale;6668317]
When I was uninsured and working around nutty horses I used to give more than passing thought to a marriage of convenience: path to citizenship in exchange for tech company healthcare plan. Now for some reason I’ve been able to continue coverage from an office job but am working with horses full-time. I pay for it, but I’m terrified to lose it. One of my concussions occurred while riding a bad actor when I had no coverage. Not fun.

Definitely don’t be afraid to ask for help high and low. You never know where help might come from. You probably know a number of people who take prescription migraine medication. Find out who they are and talk to them.

I think there are generic triptans now. Ergotamine is an older drug that is quite effective and should be dirt cheap. Be careful of prophylactic meds that could confound your other symptoms - confusion, fatigue, dizziness.

Frozen peas. Time.

This is not your life from now on. Just for now. This is what accidents do.

I’ll be rooting for ya.[/QUOTE]

Is ergotamine prescribed prophylactically? I’ve only ever been given it acutely, like, in the infusion clinic in an emergency. I don’t think it’s prescribed as often as the triptans because the side effects can be more severe and it is seen as less effective overall than the triptans, but it certainly is cheaper and can be effective. There are generic triptans; I take one in the case of a bad migraine.

DazednConfused – I don’t know where you are located (sorry if you already mentioned this), but with regard to finding a good neurologist – I am lucky enough to be in MD and go to the Headache Clinic at Hopkins (yes it is actually called that), and my neuro Jason Rosenberg is WONDERFUL – i would suggest calling them even if you are not in the area, because they will be able to give you a good recommendation for a neuro that is in your area (for example, I am planning on moving soon, and they have given me a list of neuros in the areas that I would like to move to).
I would hesitate to be so alarmist about the increasing headaches post-injury (although DEFINITELY go see a doctor), because personally (and I know this varies by person), I will get migraines if my routine is thrown off – even something as little as too little sleep can give me a bad migraine, or eating at a very different time (yay my life!). So I can imagine an accident could trigger migraines the same way, even if it’s not actually a physical brain injury that is causing the migraines. I also tend to get “trapped” in cycles of migraines, for weeks at a time, and that sounds similar to what is happening to you. I go to the infusion clinic (same as you would for something like lupus or chemo), and get treated with a “cocktail” of drugs that my doctor dreamed up (it does work, but it’s a bit alarming how many drugs they give me – the last time I counted, I think it was like 10?)

And oh, for ANYONE, if you have a terrible migraine I would call your neuro or the neuro resident on-call (your hospital should have someone even if it is at 3 AM, I know because I have called at 3 am before!) BEFORE going to the ER. I had a NIGHTMARE experience in the ER where they just pumped me full of Dilaudil (AKA hydromorphone, which… serious drug, don’t wanna take). Apparently 10% of the population (according to my poor ER attending that night) reacts very very badly to opiates. I am in that 10%! I literally had a severe panic attack FROM the opiates, and respiratory depression so bad they put me on supplemental oxygen. In conclusion this does not happen to everyone but my neuro thereafter impressed upon me the importance of calling him or his office before going to the ER next time. And now I irritatingly tell everyone, so, y’all are welcome :winkgrin:

For me, what has worked the best is NOT the triptans or the anti-depressants (I was on Nortriptyline, it was OK, then I was on Effexor, which oh my god, I don’t know what was worse, being ON it or weaning OFF of it over months), but actually treating the accessory symptoms with anti-emetics. I tend to have unrelenting, violent nausea when I get a migraine (like 11 on a scale of 10), and I take either Metaclopramide or Ondansetrone; clears up the nausea, makes me a lot less unhappy and stressed and seems to make the actual headaches less severe too. I am not sure if the nausea thing is common (like, I have days where I actually can’t move), but it’s something to keep in mind.

Putting something cool on your forehead does not always work – sometimes a warm washcloth is actually better, so experiment until you find something that works for you.

I might suggest keeping a headache journal for a couple weeks – note what you ate, how much sleep you got, etc. I know that I need caffeine (like, my doctor literally wrote me a prescription telling me to have caffeine every day, because of the vasoconstriction), red wine (common trigger) gives me headaches, I NEED a certain amount of sleep to function, and getting dehydrated (and I get dehydrated very easily) will immediately give me a migraine.

I think the main thing with migraines is the frustration and the feeling of helplessness. I had a period where I actually became capital-D Depressed and anxious because I just had these unpredictable, awful migraines. I would wake up thinking, “am I going to feel like s— today?” and it was terrible. Working closely with my doctor and trying to identify what personally makes me feel better and worse gave me a sense of more control and less futility, which I think helped a lot.

[La_Chasse]

[QUOTE=Dazednconfused;6668275]
It is indeed a very complex situation I’m ineligible for the couny medical services pool (even though I definitely qualify via income). It’s either for reimbursal later, or through my attorney filing I even have medical payments coverage on my policy, but none of the orthopedic surgeons I spoke to would accept third party billing. I’m guessing a GP/Neuro would be no different…maybe worth a try?
)[/QUOTE]

hmm…i’d ask your attorney about how to be seen without taking a financial hit but 3rd party payers are a royal PIA. you could always go back to the emergency room b/c they’re gonna image your head if you tell them you were in an MVA (motor vehicle accident), have had an uptick in your migraine frequency and severity-- b/c migraines aren’t always just migraines, unfortunately. most urgent cares don’t have imaging services on premises, unless they are connected to a hospital. you are young (relatively healthy, i’m guessing) and if you have migraines normally, with a recent symptom change (albeit with an inciting event) and haven’t had a baseline study, now is the time.

my disclaimer: i do Not advocate EDs for anything other than emergencies (and tell my patients so) and i haven’t examined you, so all of this is just a “suggestion.” the *only reason i even suggest the ED, is because brain issues fall into a different category of problem-- that needs to thoroughly evaluated before it’s dismissed as normal.
if you were my patient, calling me, i’d send you off to radiology right now and call neuro myself to have you be a work-in. some other providers could claim it overkill, but i don’t mess around with brains.

i am sorry you are going through this.

for the future, there are major medical insurance plans-- i did one in college-- that’s about $500 over 6 mos-- that protects against stuff like this.

[two_sticks]

I visited my Dr. again today as I have been getting seriously debilitating migraines for the past 2 months (and never had them before). They gave me a shot of Tramadol as well as a prescription for Imatrex and Paxil - the Paxil for daily use (start with a 1/2 tab for 1 week, then a full tab). I know a lot of people have bad side effects with these two - I’d love to hear any of your experiences.

Mine seem to be really made worse by the fluorescent lights at work - however there are florescent in the whole building so no way I can get out from under them.

When I have them, I tend to wake up with them so there really is no feeling one coming on - and they also tend to last 3-4 days. Ugh.

[ChocoMare]

Bumping this back up cuz I tried something I read someplace (thought it was here, but I searched and it’s not).

Started one of my two-day migraines yesterday morning. Woke up with neck pain from the left side that ran right up & over to the left temple/eyeball. Did the Excedrin Migraine & Coffee thing to make it thru the day and then, on my way to the grocery store, remembered seeing something about rubbing a drop or two of the essential oil of Lavender on the temple where the pain is.

Figured I had nothing to lose, so tried it along with another dose of Excedrin Migraine. It worked totally.

I rubbed 2 drops in at about 5. At 9 last night, I took a hot shower (usual thing I do for a migraine anyway) and rubbed in another 2 drops before bed at 9:30. Most times I wake up the next morning with the migraine back full blast. Today, nothing. No pain either in my head or neck.

Now I never get 100% remission from these migraines with just Excedrin or any other med for that matter… at least not before 2 days of pain have gone by.

True, it’s just one try and, maybe it’s placebo effect, but I don’t care. The headache’s gone!

Can’t hurt to try it ladies. If nothing else, you’ll smell very pretty

[La_Chasse]

That’s wonderful. I use lavender essential oil for help with sleep and actually used it the other day when i too had a migraine.

while i’m not an herbalist, i know that lavender does have calming (and sleep inducing properties), so perhaps it calls down the CNS allowing for the vasospasm to stop?

thanks for sharing.

[LoveMyCharlie]

This just became my new favorite thread. I have a migraine RIGHT NOW and its probably the 15th one I’ve had in the last two months. I’m stubborn and don’t go tot he doctors (I’m 22, broke and can’t afford the co-pay )) and I’ve been taking midol for them, which seems to work okay if I can get my neck in a semi comfortable position. But reading about the cocktails and the botox helped me make up my mind. Having this many migraines is ridiculous and there’s no reason I should have to keep feeling like I want to brain myself. I’M GOING TO SEE MY DOC DAMMIT!

Now I’m going to dim the lights on my laptop…