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I have no idea what to do next. My natural pain relief methods have been exhausted or are being used continually with minimal effect. Why this particular episode is so long is mostly a mystery to me. The weather has been fairly comfortable, but the humidity and barometric pressure have been high nearly every day for the past 30-40 days. That is definitely a contributing factor. My history with migraine is long...nearly three decades long. The list of medications I have tried that either failed, loss effectiveness, are intolerable or caused serious side effects is a long one too. The abortive options available to me are very slim. I am allergic to Imitrex and cannot tolerate Amerge or Maxalt. So far, I have had no luck with Relpax, Axert or Frova. I cannot tolerate DHE or Migranal either. Prescription NSAIDs like toradol, idomethacin and diclofenac are either ineffective or cause severe nausea and diarrhea.
What are my options? I haven't gone to urgent care or the ER simply because the relief would be very short term and cause a rebound migraine. That isn't worth the $20-$50 copay in my opinion. Most of my migraine friends who find themselves in similar situations wind up being admitted for DHE or ketamine infusions. I do not live near a headache clinic and my insurance doesn't cover seeing a headache specialist so I am very limited in what types of therapies I can get. It is a very frustrating and tiring battle. I am waiting to hear back from my neurologist to see what he says. I'm pretty sure I leave him scratching his head most of the time as he can't think of anything new to offer.
In the meantime, I continue to do my best to pace myself and not taking on more than I can handle. I have managed my way through similar times and made it out the other side. The last time I had a migraine this long was probably over a year ago. My memory is horrible and my thoughts are swimming through a murky fog so I may be off time wise. But I forgot how much these drawn out and stubborn episodes drain me. Every one in my family is helping me get through it as best they can. I feel pretty accomplished if I am able to take a shower, get dressed, make my bed, and make dinner. That's a good day. If I get a little blogging done, then it was an awesome day! Those are things that represent a silver lining during this seemingly never-ending storm. Focusing on what is positive gets me through to tomorrow and the next day. What is your silver lining when facing a pain storm?
Ug I am so sorry, I have so been there. For whatever reason my migraines like to go status, last fall I had one for 3 months. However, if your prednisone tapers are less than 2 weeks they may be too short. For Prednisone I often needed 4-5 weeks usually starting at 60mg, then taking it down each week. Week long steroid packs actually tended to make me worse as the dose dropped too fast.
ReplyDeleteSince I get status migraines so often my headache specialist switched me to dexamethasone which is stronger and can be tapered more quickly. I take 18mg and decrease by 6mg every few days. I'm actually on it now.
I've written an article on steroids and breaking migraines. I have tried every infusion out there other than ketamine, they don't work for me. I also can't take triptans, and DHE only works sometimes. For now I have a preventative regimen that works ok, though this one broke through.
Hope you feel better!