Haven't had a whopper for awhile - until last night

I have been doing so well migraine wise with using tabasco sauce as a preventative. But if I forget to drink/eat the sauce, sometimes I will get a migraine.

My prescription for migraine meds is 12 Maxalt a month. In the past, I have usually had to use all 12 in a month. The other thing is, most of you are aware how expensive triptans are. I have insurance at work but at the beginning of every year I have to meet a deductible before the lower co-pay amount goes into effect.

Since I have been doing so well with the tabasco and since I am broke enough that coming up with the beginning of the year prescription deductible, I have not purchased Maxalt since December. Oh, and I am out of pills. It was a big mistake on my part to not have even one Maxalt on hand.

So, you probably guessed it, at midnight I was awakened with a slammer. No Maxalt. I was reminded of what it used to be like before triptans. Besides the head pain you're all familiar with, I puked and crapped all night. I tried getting 10 minute naps between sessions by resting by head on the bathroom counter. But really I didn't get any sleep all night.

I didn't wake my partner up. There aren't any 24 hours pharmacies anyway. And with my financial situation, I can't afford to go the the ER just to beg for a Maxalt.

When my partner woke up, I asked him to go to the pharmacy and pick up 3 Maxalt. My pharmacy doesn't open until 10AM on Saturday so I had a long wait. Three Maxalts cost me $77.00 but I probably would have given the pharmacy my last dollar to get relief. It worked as it almost always does, but due to the fact the migraine had been raging so long, it took considerably longer to take effect.

It has been a beautiful day weather wise and I had planned to garden and do some other fun activities. My partner is angry at me for not having any Maxalt on hand and basically losing a day I can never get back. He told me, "No matter how broke we are, your Maxalt has to come first. Everything else is second. We can find some way to find the money but you can never recover the time, once it's lost."

I can see his point and he's correct. But I wish he hadn't lectured me when I already felt so horrible. It's just heaping guilt on top of the physical suffering already going on. I have mixed feelings about his reaction. He's usually so kind and caring when I'm sick. On the other hand it was stupid of me to completely run out of Maxalt. I have to pay the insurance deductible sooner or later anyway, so I might as well get it over with in January.

Sometimes I really feel like I'm being punished by the universe or whatever. I was starting to feel too good, going without migraines for many weeks at a time. Can't have that! We'd better whack her in the head again to remind her that the migraines are ultimately in charge.

Chris

crt,

that's pretty nasty. can your doc get you some samples?

good luck!

-mgb

crt wrote:My partner is angry at me for not having any Maxalt on hand and basically losing a day I can never get back. He told me, "No matter how broke we are, your Maxalt has to come first. Everything else is second. We can find some way to find the money but you can never recover the time, once it's lost."

Chris, I know you didn't appreciate your partner's lecture when you were feeling so awful, but he's got a good point, and I think he said it out of love and keeping your best interests in heart.

If it was me, I think I would agree and try to ensure that some Maxalt was on hand. It's worth it to stave off the suffering if this should happen again.

Does the tobasco help when you're in the midst of a migraine? Just curious. The nausea may preclude you from ingesting the tobasco, anyway it would for me.

I sure hope the tobasco continues to work for you. Please take care.

Misery loves company. I was hit last night also although they are far less severe. It was still enough to keep me out of my shop and going to bed early. Hope you were able to kick it fast. They do destroy a large portion of our lives unfortunately.

Get well!

Crt, how much do you take of the tobacco sauce and how many times a day? Do you eat it everyday?

What a nightmare.
It has happened to me as well in the past. Bad migraine and NO cafergot around....I wanted to die.
Since that day, cafergot is in any pocket of my bagS (yes, plural because if I change bag I have to be SURE that my abortive follows me), in the drawer of my office desk and at least 5 suppositories at home

Chris, so sorry you got hit with a big one and had no meds. I am thankful that your partner was there for you and that he puts you as a priority! I hope you are feeling better now.......

Supporting you,

Mianna.

Kate wrote:Crt, how much do you take of the tobacco sauce and how many times a day? Do you eat it everyday?

Kate,

I just noticed your question. I don't use tobacco sauce. That really would put me in a state! I had a terrible time quitting cigarettes so ingesting tobacco in any form would not be good for me.

I do use tabasco sauce, however. I seem to need at least 1/4 cup a day. I don't have a set dosage schedule. I add some to food. If I haven't polished off the 1/4 by adding to food, I add the balance to warm water and drink it down. I don't eat/drink it every day and that's when I get into trouble. Sometimes I'm busy, etc., and just forget. Here's the thing. When I do consistently take it every day, it seems to prevent the migraines.

If I get lax or forget, the migraines come back. How long does that take? I'm not sure of the pattern yet. I'm still experimenting.

Thanks Folks for good wishes!

Samples? Some other patient must clean out the triptan samples before I get there, but I'll continue to ask.

Chris

Chris - what were your migraines like before tobasco?

LOL, I ment to say Tobasco Sauce.

CRT, does it matter what time of the day that you eat it?

But I wish he hadn't lectured me when I already felt so horrible. It's just heaping guilt on top of the physical suffering already going on. I have mixed feelings about his reaction. He's usually so kind and caring when I'm sick

I think what may have happened here he was so frustrated with you suffering and not putting yourself first, and yeah losing a day,
that the emotion took the better of him and he just exploded. it happens. he probably regretted it right after and will hold his temper better next time.

as for the Maxalt- I don't know how your system works, but once you pay the deductible, aren't you able to collect the maximum amount of remaining Maxalt for the rest of the year whether you need it or not at no cost?
M has the shelf life of two years, and this way you would always have a lot to spare, and cheaply.

Of course, every now and then you'd have to start all over but it would be still cheaper than paying again the whole price.

Risa

Hi Chris

Hope you're having a better day. I was just wondering is you ever tried the capsaicin powder/capsules that used to come up on the old forum and if it compared to taking tobasco sauce? (Kate, loved the typo )

I did try the capsaicin capsules, but maybe I should try the sauce aswell (after I've finished breastfeeding I imagine, LOL)

Amy

Kate wrote:CRT, does it matter what time of the day that you eat it?

It doesn't seem to.

Chris

CluelessKitty wrote:


as for the Maxalt- I don't know how your system works, but once you pay the deductible, aren't you able to collect the maximum amount of remaining Maxalt for the rest of the year whether you need it or not at no cost?
M has the shelf life of two years, and this way you would always have a lot to spare, and cheaply.

Of course, every now and then you'd have to start all over but it would be still cheaper than paying again the whole price.

Risa

No. To make it more confusing, different insurance plans have different rules. Once the deductible is met for the year, brand name prescriptions are $25 each and generics are $15 each. But it's more convoluted that that. I can't just meet my deductible my buying several of the least expensive prescriptions. No, they have it worked out so that I have to pay 90 -95% of the deductible on my most expensive med, which is Maxalt.

I don't understand that at all. It seems like meeting my deductible should be based only on dollar amount, not on which meds I'm buying. The way this all works out is that I end up paying close to the full retail Maxalt price at beginning of each year. If I don't have that much money at the beginning of the year and I am out of Maxalt, well then I'm just SOL.

Chris