I, myself, opt to use weed as alternative medicine (as its the only
thing that’s helped me!).  I've been looking for a good place to find
it, but no one has really impressed me yet.  But I recently found a
place in Van Nuys called Kushism.  I love it!  Just thought I would
spread the word...  :)

www.kushism.com

Peace and health,
chillerbeatz342

I read your profile today, I thought I would drop you a line and hope to become
your friend! Check my personal page here:
http://girlkarider.googlepages.com/girlrider.htm

Handsome and Cool Bikers looking for fun!  Chat with them here:
http://bikerguyaaay.googlepages.com/bikerboyz.htm

Karen have added you to her favorite list, check Karen's profile here
http://karenabtpassion.googlepages.com/bikerchicks.htm

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http://sexyjoytrfriend.googlepages.com/sexyjoy.htm

Hello everyone!

My name is Tina, I am the mother of an eight year old boy and married
to a loving but frustrated husband-:) I was in a car accident at the
age of 6 1/2 that left me with seizures and headaches. Worse around
my cycle. After the birth of my son I was DX with Vestibular
migraines and put on Verapmil (still taking) and Valium which I only
take intermittently now. I was DX about 4 years ago with a 6 mm non-
functioning micro adenoma (Pituitary tumor) non-operable. I was doing
awesome last year. I was walking 6 miles a day, when it was too hot
(I live in AZ) I would ride my bike 22 miles per day, I was driving
everywhere and going everywhere. About 9 months ago I hit a very
stressful situation. I was laid off of work, a new job that I
absolutely loved. I have had chronic head pain since then. I have
daily pain, I am learning to recognize some symptoms like I will have
an anxiety attack and about an hour later I will get hit with a full
blown migraine. My symptoms have become easier to identify and
separate but I am stuck. Nothing is allowing me to get to the point
where I have a symptom free day. I cannot drive due to my vision
blurring out and too much coming at me causing dizziness. I
experience numbness, anxiety, head pain, vertigo, nausea, tenitis,
photophobia and sensitivity to sound (this is a biggie for me).

I am currently working on my dissertation for my Ph.D. in
Epidemiology. My topic is looking at the time when symptoms first
start to when an individual receives a correct diagnosis of
Pituitary tumor.

I hope this is where I need to be-:)

I look forward to getting to know all of you and thank you for being
here.

HUGS,
Tina

Handsome and Cool Bikers looking for fun!  Chat with them here:
http://coolbiker0194.googlepages.com/bikerboyz.htm

I hadn't posted in a while, so I thought I would update everyone on
my progress. I've continued to have an almost daily headache for the
past 4 weeks. I ended up in the ER on 4/27/07 when I couldn't take
the pain any longer. They gave me three shots (tordall, kenalog, and
vitamin b) which did absolutely nothing for my headache. I ended up
using the stadol inhaler and phenergan again. This relieved my pain
and allowed me to get some sleep, but when I awoke the headache was
there waiting for me. I've been experimenting with high doses of
magnesium 500-750mg per day, but its doing nothing, but keeping me in
the restroom. I've started taking high doses of amitriptyline 150mg
per day split into 4 doses to dull the pain, but I don't like this
medication. I've also started taking indomethacin 50mg three times
per day, but no help. The doc said the pain was making me depressed
so he put me on wellbutrin 150mg at bedtime. I can't tell that it
does anything and I really hate taking so many different meds. I got
to thinking that maybe my headaches are being triggered by sinus or
allergies, so I made an appointment with an ears/nose/throat doctor
(actually had that appointment today). He did a sinus x-ray and said
I have some trouble on the right side. He also gave me some samples
of allegra-d 24 hour and cephadyn. I took these at 2:30 pm today and
they actually decreased my pain by about a third. I've started a
headache journal to track (where the pain is, how strong the pain is,
when it started, when it ended....wouldn't that be nice) what is
going on as well as spreadsheets to track all the medications I am
taking. Anything that will help me piece together the puzzle. There
has to be an underlying problem and the headache is just the symptom.
When I had this problem last year it lasted for 4 months (now that I
think back on it, I think my headache went away when the season
changed. I know I'm grasping at straws, probably been watching to
much House. I've scheduled an allergy test for the 29th of this
month, hoping to turn up some clues. If this avenue doesn't pan out,
I guess it will be back to the neurologist, who was no help last
year. I guess that's all for now, thanks for reading.

Mike

I have been thinking for a while that some of my headaches might be
related to my diet, but I couldn't figure out why. So, I started
taking a closer look at what I've been eating. I'm the primary cook
at home (we don't eat out much) and my favorite spice has MSG in it.
A few days ago I developed a major like 10+ headache about 15 minutes
after eating dinner. I suspected the msg then, so tonight I cooked
with the same spice (on purpose) and within 15-20 minutes, bam, a
raging headache. I've already taken phenergan and 1 spray of stadol,
along with my klonopin, norgesic, and topamax, so i'll be setting at
the computer asleep in a few minutes. When I finally wake up
tomorrow, I'm cleaning out the spice rack. No more MSG for me.

Another note...beginning to feel funny, the stadol is kicking in, so
I better hurry. I'll be eligible for vision insurance May 1, so I'm
making an appointment to get my eyes checked very soon. Do you know
how funny it would be to have gone through everything I have and find
out it could all be fixed with a stupid pair of contacts (I refuse to
wear glasses).

I had a hard day at work today. It was more busy than usual and I
felt like I couldn't get anything done. The ER was slammed by the
time I got there and I had to weave in and out to get all my stuff
done. I never made it to critical care, a small oversight on my
part...oops, hope they'll forgive me. The operating rooms looked like
a series of tornados had gone through them. It took a big part of my
day to straighten them out. I think birthing was full at one point
today, I know they had a bunch of stuff to pick up. I had to go over
there twice. It was delivery day and the truck showed up earlier than
expected which totally messed up my schedule...how dare him. I'm
officially registered for class now. I am taking Anatomy I and
Computer Literacy in the fall (August). I can't believe they are
making me take a stupid computer class. I probably know more than the
teacher does....oh well, easy A. In the spring (January) I have to
take Anatomy II, which will be cool, we get to disect a cat! Then I
just have to take microbiology in summerschool or fall, and then I'll
enter nursing school. I can't wait to become an RN. Starting to feel
pretty funny and sleepy. Hey, my head stopped hurting. At least I get
a little brake from the pain. Go sleep now.

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that zoloft was being used to
treat headaches. I've already tried the maxalt and did not respond to
it, but I'm glad that it helps you. Hopefully the meds I'm taking now
will improve my situation a bit. Take care and good to hear from you.

Mike

--- In chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com, John Dyess <jcdyess@...>
wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I am Carolyn and have had chronic daily headache for many years. I
> have had good luck with norgesic forte. It has caffiene in it so
you
> can't take it too often because it might cause rebound but it
helps
> me if the headache isn't too bad. I took Topamax for a short while
> and it caused the tingling in hands and feet and I had to stop it.
I
> take Zoloft daily and use Maxalt for bad headaches.
> Carolyn
> On Apr 17, 2007, at 2:22 PM, photography_sage wrote:
>
> > I went to the doctor today and got new medications. He prescribed
> > topamax and norgesic, both to be taken bid (twice daily). I have
no
> > experience with either drug, but I'm hopeful they will help. I
also
> > talked to him about my experience with stadol and he said it was
> > dysphoria and not an allergic reaction. He also said if I ever
use the
> > medication again to limit it to 1 spray. Apparently, medication
> > that is
> > sprayed up the nose is absorbed into the blood stream much faster
than
> > medication that is injected im (intra-muscular). I'll be much more
> > cautious from now on. I'll let everyone know how my progress is
doing
> > in a few days. Take care.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> >
>
> John Dyess
> jcdyess@...
> 636.938.1200
>

Hi and welcome to the board. I thought I'd chime in and say hello. If
you've taken that many vaso medications and aren't responding to
them, it probably means your not experiencing vascular headaches,
this is the same boat that I am in. My doctor has decided that I have
chronic muscular or tension type headaches and is trying to prevent
them with topamax and muscle relaxers. I also take klonopin at bed
time. I just saw the doc today so this regimen is new, I'll have to
let everyone know whether it works or not. I have a stadol inhaler to
use as an abortive or rescue medication, but I experienced some
dysphoria the last time I used it.

I agree that depakote is nasty stuff and I'd stay away from it....as
with most anti-seizure medications.

When I first started having problems which was over a year ago I was
taking inderal(40mg tid), indomiacin(50mg tid), phenergan(50mg tid),
and amitriptyline(50mg tid). It got rid of the headache, but it took
away my freedom. I couldn't drive, work, and basically sat around the
house and drooled on myself for about a month and a half. My headache
finally went away until a few weeks ago, now its all day everyday
again, but I refuse to go back on that regimen of pills.

If your unhappy with your doctor, you may want to find a new one, but
be careful because new docs often take you off of all meds and start
over. If you need anything let me know. Take care.

Mike

--- In chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com, "kanina" <kjames11@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi, My name is Kanina 38 yr old SAHM to dd 5 yrs old and ds 14 yr
> old.
> I have had headaches for as long as I can remember.  I have taken
> just about every migraine med (maxalt, zomig...) out there with
> little relief.  I have taken Topamax and Depacote.  The side
effects
> from the topamax just kept getting worse (numb hands and legs, bad
> taste in my mouth and extra sensitive smell)  Depacote landed me in
> the hospital with horrible edima (sp?).
> Right now I take Migrin-A.  but that doesn't really help much.
I've
> seen a couple different neurologists.  I've had an MRI.  They
wanted
> to send me to the Tampa General Hopital Migraine clinic but my
> insurance wont cover it.
> I have gotten to the point now where I have headaches every day.  I
> am at my wits end as to what to do.  I can't live with this pain
> every day.  This is to the point where it is causing problems with
> my family.  My husband is sick of me always being in pain, my kids
> suffer from it too.. because I can't do normal mommy stuff with
them.
> My GP Doctor has basically said there is nothing more that he can
> do.  Why do I have to suffer the rest of my life with this silent
> pain?  The only things that really help is strong pain killers but
> I get the impression that my Dr. might think I am a drug seeker..
> Which I am NOT!  I have a cupboard filled with controlled drugs and
> I don't abuse them!  Myself and both of my kids have ADD.. so we
> have lots of adderall and such..
> I also take Halcion (sleeping pill) and xanax.  Which I don't abuse
> either one.  How do I get my Dr. to take me seriously?
>
> What meds do you all take that actually helps?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Kanina
>

I took this drug for a while (50mg tid) and I think its the most
useless of the preventative medications. It took my life away, I
couldn't drive my car, or goto work, and basically sat around and
drooled on myself for most of the day. And it did not cure the
headache. I'll never take it again.

Mike

--- In chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com, "tonyjay762004"
<tje_pdx@...> wrote:
>
>
> I was just wandering if anybody has had success with amitriptyline?
>
> I've had CDH for about 3.5 years now and a little less than two
years
> ago my doctor put me on 25mg of amitriptyline. It "helped" a little,
> and then he put me on 50mg daily. That was followed by about 9 great
> months where I would go weeks without a headache, or when I did get
a
> headache, it didn't last days. I was so happy to say the least. The
> past several months my headaches have been getting progressively
worst
> and the past weeks unbearable. A couple weeks ago another doctor put
> me on 25 mg of nortriptyline. That didn't seem to help, so now I am
on
> 75 mg of amitriptyline daily and I am told I need to wait several
days
> for the effects to be felt, if at all?
>
> I just want to if anyone has ever had success with it or was it
just a
> coincident.
>
> If my headaches don't improve, I may drop out of college. I can't
> imagine being an accountant with a headache all the time. Starting a
> new career seems impossible right now. I really don't know how I
> haven't killed myself my now. I guess just hoping for a few good
days
> keeps me going.
>

Norgesic is a muscle relaxer with some kind of anti-inflamitory
component. I've never taken it, so I'll keep you posted. Do you have
an abortive medication now? Doctors love to dish out preventative
medications, but forget about the abortives, just tell you doc that
you can't afford to goto the ER everytime you need a shot to kill the
pain. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. Take care and good
luck. If you need any other information just drop me a note.

Mike

--- In chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com, "David James"
<kjames11@...> wrote:
>
> I personally tent to really suffer from the medications side effects
> terribly.  Topamax worked well for me but having numb hand and feet
became
> unbearable and my sense of smell (for bad things, like dirt) became
very
> acute.  The side effect became worse then the constant headache so
I gave up
> on topamax.  I have heard that other people have been having great
success
> with it, though.  I am not familiar with norgesic.  What is it?  Do
you know
> how it works and what it works on?  I go back to my neurologist in
a couple
> weeks.  I am about ready to demand pain killers because living like
this
> sucks!
>
>
>
> Kanina
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
photography_sage
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 3:23 PM
> To: chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: spam [chronicdailyheadache] New Medications
>
>
>
> I went to the doctor today and got new medications. He prescribed
> topamax and norgesic, both to be taken bid (twice daily). I have no
> experience with either drug, but I'm hopeful they will help. I also
> talked to him about my experience with stadol and he said it was
> dysphoria and not an allergic reaction. He also said if I ever use
the
> medication again to limit it to 1 spray. Apparently, medication
that is
> sprayed up the nose is absorbed into the blood stream much faster
than
> medication that is injected im (intra-muscular). I'll be much more
> cautious from now on. I'll let everyone know how my progress is
doing
> in a few days. Take care.
>
> Mike
>

I took this drug for about a month and my neuro doctor pulled me off of
it because I was passing blood. Be very careful with this medicaiton,
its not for long term use. If you need more info, just drop me a line.
Take care.

Mike

--- In chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com, "Mike McTighe"
<mmctighe@...> wrote:
>
> My doc prescribed another "drug of the month".  This time it's
> indomethacin, generic for indocin.  This is a NSAID frequently used
> for joint pain and swelling.
>
> It also is given for a specific type of headache, chronic paroxysmal
> hemicrania, that resembles cluster headaches but the pain is centered
> in or around one eye.  The only certain diagnosis for this type
> headache is to take indomethacin.  If the pain goes away, that's what
> you have.  If it doesn't, you don't.
>
> The med can be used long term.  The only major potential side effect
> can be ulcers or bleeding in the GI system.
>
> I've only started this today so I can't tell if it's going to work or
> not but thought others might be interested in learning about it.
>

I went to the doctor today and got new medications. He prescribed
topamax and norgesic, both to be taken bid (twice daily). I have no
experience with either drug, but I'm hopeful they will help. I also
talked to him about my experience with stadol and he said it was
dysphoria and not an allergic reaction. He also said if I ever use the
medication again to limit it to 1 spray. Apparently, medication that is
sprayed up the nose is absorbed into the blood stream much faster than
medication that is injected im (intra-muscular). I'll be much more
cautious from now on. I'll let everyone know how my progress is doing
in a few days. Take care.

Mike

Hi,

I have just been perscribed Neurontin for my chronic daily headache due
to the after effects of viral meningitis. Just wondering if anyone has
epxerience taking this drug and if so if you can tell me if it was
helpful, how long did it take before it started working and if you
experienced any side effects.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Laura

Subnormal body temp ... that is not good

To me it is one of the signs of autoimmune hypothalamus that 2-butoxoyethanol exposure causes.

and the horrible headache

You do not have to have everything going wrong for it to still be this chemical exposure.

Do you have memory loss?  Do you recall a serious 'flu' or continuous coughing and the sniffles, diarrhea, farting?

Skeptical that 2-butoxyethanol would cause ALS? about the worst effect of too much exposure

http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/skepticalals.htm

I caught my doc in the hall at work today and told him about my
experience with stadol. He said he would like to switch me from inderal
to topamax. Has anyone taken this medication? If so did it help? Were
there any concerning side effects?

We also talked briefly about using a muscle relaxer (probably skelaxin)
as a preventative medication. I have an appointment on Tuesday.

Mike

I don't know whether it was related to the attack. I mentioned it to
the doc and after viewing the scans he seemed very disinterested. I
don't think I would fall into the category of Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome either. I'm a very active person, usually feel very well,
and walk 6-7 miles per day.

My stats usually do well also:
I'm 35 years old
BP is usually around 110/75
Temp is usually around 97.9/98.0
My resting heart rate is usually between 68-75
I've had my blood sugar checked a couple of times and its always
been great.

As far as diet goes, I've been suspicious for some time that MSG
might be triggering some of my headaches, so I avoid it. We don't eat
out alot and I'm the primary cook, so its an easy fix. I'm also
caffiene free, a non-smoker, and no alcohol.

I wrote my doc's nurse about the reaction to the Stadol, so hopefully
she'll get in touch with me tomorrow. Thanks for the response.

Mike

--- In chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com, Margaret Diann
<mother_margaret@...> wrote:
>
> About a week later I awake around 4am with a massive
> debilitating headache and vomitting
>
>   I wonder whether this is unrelated to the attack ...?
>   Because wouldn't it have been almost immediate?
>
>   Anyway, there is a very severe type of headache that goes with
the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome group,  CFIDS actually
>   http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/egbehorribleheadaches.htm
>
>   and people also can get racing heartbeat ... abnormal bp,
abnormal blood sugar and high or low body temp
>
>   What is your body temp?
http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/bodytemp.htm
>
>   I was explaining some of the pattern to Don recently
>   http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/don.htm
>
>   & good nutrition & glyconutrient food supplements is a better
help than meds,
>   as meds can add harm to one who is chemically poisoned in the
first place
>
>
> photography_sage <photography_sage@...> wrote:
>           My name is Mike and I live in western kentucky. I was
very happy to
> find this group hoping that I might gain some insight in what
> approach other people are taking with there headaches.
>
> It's June 2006, I'm at work, a supervisor at a facility for psych
> patients, when I'm assaulted by a patient I had worked with for 6
> years. About a week later I awake around 4am with a massive
> debilitating headache and vomitting. I goto my family MD and
receive
> shots for nausea, and pain, then home to bed. The headache went
away,
> but came back a few days later, so I called the doc and he referred
> me to a neurologist. I had a series of x-rays, ct scans, mri, and
all
> test were negative. The only test I didn't have done was a lumbar
> puncture. The headache contiuned non-stop for about two months. We
> tried 3 vaso-dialators imitrex, max-alt, dhe, and I did not respond
> to any of them. The neurologist suggested a kind of headache
cocktail
> which consisted of amitriptyline 50mg (three times per day),
inderal
> 40mg (three times per day), indomiacin 50mg (three times per day),
> and phenergan 25mg (three times per day). I literally sat at home
and
> drooled on myself for about a month, but the headache broke up and
> went away. This ends around late August and I get back to work and
> start backing off the meds.
>
> Jump to present day, I changed jobs to reduce stress, I only take
> inderal 40mg (one time per day) and then bam out of no where my old
> friend returns. About 2-3 weeks ago we got up and within the first
> hour of being awake I was in severe pain and dry heaving. I took
> phenergan for the nausea and went on with my day, but the headache
> kept getting worse and worse. I went to the ER and got a shot of
> stadol/phenergan, and was told to follow up with my family doc, and
> talk about using a stadol inhaler as a abortive medication. My doc
> was reluctant, but agreed to let me try the inhaler (he says my
> headaches are muscular and not vascular). I made it about a week
and
> a half and then bang, a massive headache comes out of nowhere, so I
> took a phenergan and did one spray of stadol. It worked like a
charm,
> but less than a week later, another headache worse than the last,
so
> again I take a phenergan, but this time did two sprays of stadol
> (which is equivalent to a 2mg injection that is used in the ER). It
> worked, but with a slight amount of disforia (side effects of the
> stadol). Two days ago I got another headache, tried tylenol, and
> after one hour, I took a phenergan and did two sprays of stadol.
This
> time things went wrong, very wrong. The stadol depressed my
respitory
> system to the point that I thought I was going to stop breathing.
It
> scared me to death. My chest felt like someone was sitting on top
of
> me, my heart was hurting, and I felt prickly all over.....we should
> have called 911, but I sat in the living room with my wife for 4
> hours, making her keep me awake. She monitored my pulse and breath
> rate (my pulse was around 72 and my breath rate was about 11-12
> breaths per minute). I now work at the ER and I talked to the doc
> there yesterday about my experience, he says it could be disforia,
> but probably was an alergic reaction to the stadol and I shouldn't
> take it any more.
>
> So, I'm back to square one, I have no rescue medicine. My family
doc
> wants to discuss taking me off of inderal and putting me on
topomax,
> and I don't know what to do. The doc is also pushing the
> amitriptyline, but I am fighting it. It makes we very lathargic and
> hungover feeling, and I just don't want to go through that
everyday.
> I have been wondering if anyone has tried muscle relaxers as a
> preventative medication?
>
> Well, this is my story, I have to goto work, so I'll check in
> tonight. Have a great day, and thanks for reading.
>
> Mike
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
>  Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.
>

My name is Mike and I live in western kentucky. I was very happy to
find this group hoping that I might gain some insight in what
approach other people are taking with there headaches.

It's June 2006, I'm at work, a supervisor at a facility for psych
patients, when I'm assaulted by a patient I had worked with for 6
years. About a week later I awake around 4am with a massive
debilitating headache and vomitting. I goto my family MD and receive
shots for nausea, and pain, then home to bed. The headache went away,
but came back a few days later, so I called the doc and he referred
me to a neurologist. I had a series of x-rays, ct scans, mri, and all
test were negative. The only test I didn't have done was a lumbar
puncture. The headache contiuned non-stop for about two months. We
tried 3 vaso-dialators imitrex, max-alt, dhe, and I did not respond
to any of them. The neurologist suggested a kind of headache cocktail
which consisted of amitriptyline 50mg (three times per day), inderal
40mg (three times per day), indomiacin 50mg (three times per day),
and phenergan 25mg (three times per day). I literally sat at home and
drooled on myself for about a month, but the headache broke up and
went away. This ends around late August and I get back to work and
start backing off the meds.

Jump to present day, I changed jobs to reduce stress, I only take
inderal 40mg (one time per day) and then bam out of no where my old
friend returns. About 2-3 weeks ago we got up and within the first
hour of being awake I was in severe pain and dry heaving. I took
phenergan for the nausea and went on with my day, but the headache
kept getting worse and worse. I went to the ER and got a shot of
stadol/phenergan, and was told to follow up with my family doc, and
talk about using a stadol inhaler as a abortive medication. My doc
was reluctant, but agreed to let me try the inhaler (he says my
headaches are muscular and not vascular). I made it about a week and
a half and then bang, a massive headache comes out of nowhere, so I
took a phenergan and did one spray of stadol. It worked like a charm,
but less than a week later, another headache worse than the last, so
again I take a phenergan, but this time did two sprays of stadol
(which is equivalent to a 2mg injection that is used in the ER). It
worked, but with a slight amount of disforia (side effects of the
stadol). Two days ago I got another headache, tried tylenol, and
after one hour, I took a phenergan and did two sprays of stadol. This
time things went wrong, very wrong. The stadol depressed my respitory
system to the point that I thought I was going to stop breathing. It
scared me to death. My chest felt like someone was sitting on top of
me, my heart was hurting, and I felt prickly all over.....we should
have called 911, but I sat in the living room with my wife for 4
hours, making her keep me awake. She monitored my pulse and breath
rate (my pulse was around 72 and my breath rate was about 11-12
breaths per minute). I now work at the ER and I talked to the doc
there yesterday about my experience, he says it could be disforia,
but probably was an alergic reaction to the stadol and I shouldn't
take it any more.

So, I'm back to square one, I have no rescue medicine. My family doc
wants to discuss taking me off of inderal and putting me on topomax,
and I don't know what to do. The doc is also pushing the
amitriptyline, but I am fighting it. It makes we very lathargic and
hungover feeling, and I just don't want to go through that everyday.
I have been wondering if anyone has tried muscle relaxers as a
preventative medication?

Well, this is my story, I have to goto work, so I'll check in
tonight. Have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Mike

My name is Mike and I live in western kentucky. I was very happy to
find this group hoping that I might gain some insight in what
approach other people are taking with there headaches.

It's June 2006, I'm at work, a supervisor at a facility for psych
patients, when I'm assaulted by a patient I had worked with for 6
years. About a week later I awake around 4am with a massive
debilitating headache and vomitting. I goto my family MD and receive
shots for nausea, and pain, then home to bed. The headache went away,
but came back a few days later, so I called the doc and he referred
me to a neurologist. I had a series of x-rays, ct scans, mri, and all
test were negative. The only test I didn't have done was a lumbar
puncture. The headache contiuned non-stop for about two months. We
tried 3 vaso-dialators imitrex, max-alt, dhe, and I did not respond
to any of them. The neurologist suggested a kind of headache cocktail
which consisted of amitriptyline 50mg (three times per day), inderal
40mg (three times per day), indomiacin 50mg (three times per day),
and phenergan 25mg (three times per day). I literally sat at home and
drooled on myself for about a month, but the headache broke up and
went away. This ends around late August and I get back to work and
start backing off the meds.

Jump to present day, I changed jobs to reduce stress, I only take
inderal 40mg (one time per day) and then bam out of no where my old
friend returns. About 2-3 weeks ago we got up and within the first
hour of being awake I was in severe pain and dry heaving. I took
phenergan for the nausea and went on with my day, but the headache
kept getting worse and worse. I went to the ER and got a shot of
stadol/phenergan, and was told to follow up with my family doc, and
talk about using a stadol inhaler as a abortive medication. My doc
was reluctant, but agreed to let me try the inhaler (he says my
headaches are muscular and not vascular). I made it about a week and
a half and then bang, a massive headache comes out of nowhere, so I
took a phenergan and did one spray of stadol. It worked like a charm,
but less than a week later, another headache worse than the last, so
again I take a phenergan, but this time did two sprays of stadol
(which is equivalent to a 2mg injection that is used in the ER). It
worked, but with a slight amount of disforia (side effects of the
stadol). Two days ago I got another headache, tried tylenol, and
after one hour, I took a phenergan and did two sprays of stadol. This
time things went wrong, very wrong. The stadol depressed my respitory
system to the point that I thought I was going to stop breathing. It
scared me to death. My chest felt like someone was sitting on top of
me, my heart was hurting, and I felt prickly all over.....we should
have called 911, but I sat in the living room with my wife for 4
hours, making her keep me awake. She monitored my pulse and breath
rate (my pulse was around 72 and my breath rate was about 11-12
breaths per minute). I now work at the ER and I talked to the doc
there yesterday about my experience, he says it could be disforia,
but probably was an alergic reaction to the stadol and I shouldn't
take it any more.

So, I'm back to square one, I have no rescue medicine. My family doc
wants to discuss taking me off of inderal and putting me on topomax,
and I don't know what to do. The doc is also pushing the
amitriptyline, but I am fighting it. It makes we very lathargic and
hungover feeling, and I just don't want to go through that everyday.
I have been wondering if anyone has tried muscle relaxers as a
preventative medication?

Well, this is my story, I have to goto work, so I'll check in
tonight. Have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Mike

----- Original Message -----

From: tonyjay@...

To: chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 6:04 PM

Subject: RE: [chronicdailyheadache] amitriptyline

thanks for responding.
Something will someday work.
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "David James" <kjames11@tampabay.rr.com>
> Oh gosh.. I've taken so many things that I can't seem to remember
> everything. So I'm not sure about the amitriptyline. I do remember being
> on nortriptyline. No success there for me.
>
>
>
> I just finished a week of steroids with hopes that it would settle the
> nerves. But it seems to have failed as well.
>
>
>
> I'm feeling pretty down again. I had high hopes for the steroid to bring
> relief. I'm still doing the physical therapy. I don't know about that.
> Its not giving me any relief and its actually making things a little worse.
> But I guess that's to be expected. I'll give it more time. But I'm not
> terribly hopeful.
>
>
>
> Kanina
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of tonyjay762004
> Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:40 PM
> To: chronicdailyheadache@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [chronicdailyheadache] amitriptyline
>
>
>
>
> I was just wandering if anybody has had success with amitriptyline?
>
> I've had CDH for about 3.5 years now and a little less than two years
> ago my doctor put me on 25mg of amitriptyline. It "helped" a little,
> and then he put me on 50mg daily. That was followed by about 9 great
> months where I would go weeks without a headache, or when I did get a
> headache, it didn't last days. I was so happy to say the least. The
> past several months my headaches have been getting progressively worst
> and the past weeks unbearable. A couple weeks ago another doctor put
> me on 25 mg of nortriptyline. That didn't seem to help, so now I am on
> 75 mg of amitriptyline daily and I am told I need to wait several days
> for the effects to be felt, if at all?
>
> I just want to if anyone has ever had success with it or was it just a
> coincident.
>
> If my headaches don't improve, I may drop out of college. I can't
> imagine being an accountant with a headache all the time. Starting a
> new career seems impossible right now. I really don't know how I
> haven't killed myself my now. I guess just hoping for a few good days
> keeps me going.
>
>
>