Migraines

@collenyoung, sorry I haven't been able to compose anything lately.<br>Mom was diagnosed with small cell sarcoma the first of June and past<br>away July 11th. She wouldn't let me out of her sight so I stayed with<br>her. It was lung cancer and was caused by smoking. She couldn't eat<br>because it was in her throat also. She had allzhalmers, which was a<br>blessing through her journey. She didn't suffer, xwhixh they told me<br>that it was going to be ugly because it was a monster. If I can say<br>she past away very sweetly, and peacefully, even without morphine.<br>

Dear @salena54, I wanted to check up on you. I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I completely understand why you haven't been able to write on Connect for the past while. Please know that we are here whenever you need us.
Perhaps you would like to return when you're ready and join the new Caregivers group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/caregivers/
Know that we're thinking of you.
Colleen

Thank you. It's been a long 2 months. She wants be suffering anymore, it<br>just odd she's gone. I've been really tired and the weather here in<br>Louisiana is rainy and very wet. It makes the body hurt. Thank you for<br>sending the post it meant a lot.<br><br>

I have had migraines since I was 12 years old. I have had vascular migraines which were controlled by various blood pressure medicines. Treatment has also included fiorcet, Imitrex. Then I got hormonal migraines. Now at 52 I just get migraines! Luckily they have been controlled by accupuncture the past couple of months. My doctor is also going to try Botox if they come back. Have any of you had Botox for migraines?

Hi @sandytoes14, I'm tagging @jals, @fedge, @staceybeyer, @gaylordgout, @marymaggy, @amritze, @dberktold, @mla23 and @jks0924 who have all written about Botox for migraines in the past, in the hopes that they'll share their experiences with you.

Hi, @sandytoes14. I, too, have had migraines since I was 12-13 years old and have run through the gamut of treatments over the years. I have now received Botox injections for migraines for over 10 years. I get the injections every 3 months. While they do not get rid of the headaches, they do typically reduce the frequency and the intensity of many of the headaches. The pattern that I have seen is that about 2-3 weeks prior to the injections, the migraines begin to peak again in frequency and intensity. It takes another 2-3 weeks typically after injections before I get the full benefit of them. I call it the honeymoon period; for the next 2 months, many of the migraines are milder and respond better to medication. I still have migraines that take the full complement of drugs and don't respond. So far, Botox has been the therapy I have been on the longest. For me, medications eventually lose effectiveness and need to be changed. I have tried acupuncture and experienced mild benefit but not enough to continue. I also tried the Cefaly device and did not experience improvement. Because I tried during a bad flare of migraines, I spoke to my neurologist and he though trying it again might be warranted. So, I am going to try the Cefaly device again as I would love to have a treatment that is cheaper and does not involve a medication and doesn't end up causing rebound headaches. I definitely recommend trying Botox injections. Botox is expensive so be sure to check with your insurance company before getting any injections so you know what your financial responsibility will be. Hope this this information is helpful.

I was told by pain management Doctor that you can't burn the nerve in the back of your head. Because you may get phantom pain which is even worse. But, I saw you have a good result. Just wonder.

It looks like it's been awhile since anyone posted in this thread, but this is the only group for migraines that I could find. I'm new to Connect, so any advice on how to get the most out of it would be helpful. I've had migraine since I was 11 years old. They've progressively gotten worse and more frequent through the years. They have been chronic now for 8 years; I have headache pain pretty much every day and migraines an average of 23 days each month. I'm a mother of two wonderful teenagers, 17 and 19, who have grown up dealing with this, too. My son now has chronic migraines, too, however he has no pain but loses his sight, sometimes for hours. Boy, I sound like a cheery person, don't I? I've actually been an optimist all of my life, though lately I've struggled to keep my hope burning bright. How does everyone keep their spirits up?

Hello Jorenae, and welcome to Connect. For a first time user, you did great! You must have used the search tool to locate this discussion which is exactly how you should do it. This is the most relevant discussion that is focused on migraines. Even though the conversation has had a bit of a gap, you did the right thing by posting. When you post to this discussion, everyone who has participated in the discussion previously will receive an email notification. Other members can then decide to come back, so thank you for restarting the conversation in advance!

If you have any other questions about how to navigate the site, or any other issues arise for you, please do not hesitate to send me a personal message. You may do so by clicking on my name, then click on the envelope symbol and then type your message. This would then be a private message between just you and I.

In the meantime, while we wait for other members to return to this discussion, you may want to read through and join this discussion started by @sandytoes14 on what distracts other members from the pain and keeps their spirits up, http://mayocl.in/2dzZdD9.

Keeping my spirits up while living with chronic migraines is a big challenge. After meditating for many years, I took the mindfulness class and now practice it most days. It has made a difference in coping with the pain and severe life changes I've had to deal with as a result of the migraines which really stole my life. Anyone else practice mindfulness?