Re: a huge vent after seeing a new neurologist.

dcook60 Fri Nov 19, 2010 8:58 pm

yes, becky, i am very fortunate to be able to: 1. take daily triptans and 2. get the huge amount i take thru my drug plan.

thanks for asking. i wish everyone were able to find something that works reliably, but isn't too risky. lest anyone think i have found my miracle, be assured that the triptans only lessen the pain, but never take it away altogether. they do allow me to function well, most of the time.

although my triptans may indeed be risky in the long run, i have resigned myself to the fact that i had better keep doing what works, and not screw around with other stuff that might be even more dangerous.

dianne

pen Sat Nov 20, 2010 3:46 am

Dianne, for what it's worth.....my own neuro, to whom I imparted your Triptan scenario....(he is not much into MOH BTW)
said,

that is sad, but for some people for whom everything else has failed, it is the only way.
This lady has to live......

Pen

Petzi Sat Nov 20, 2010 9:55 pm

Diane,

I am extremely wary of the MOH theory. In my own experience my headaches have nothing to do with the amount of medication I take. I once went cold turkey because my GP insisted that I am taking too many triptans. Did it help to reduce my headaches? No, but I spent 3 weeks in bed and suffered the worst pain imaginable. Thanks a lot. I went through all this for absolutely nothing. I am still traumatised from the experience.

Now my approach is to take as many triptans as necessary to get me through the day. I will probably die a few years earlier than the average person and my dead body will have to go onto the heap for toxic waste, but at least I didn’t suffer like a dog.

There is another theory out there regarding chronic pain. The underlying idea is that chronic pain is the brain’s inability to turn off the memory of the pain. See link.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/73100.php

The article isn’t specifically about migraines, but it is about chronic pain in general. To me it does ring true in many ways.

P.

Migrainegirl Sat Nov 20, 2010 10:11 pm

So is that study saying we will still be in pain, but just won't care? Not sure that is the answer.

Petzi Sat Nov 20, 2010 10:37 pm

No not really. From what I understood is that it reduces both the emotional component as well as the physical component of pain. Interestingly enough a slight reduction in physical pain is enough to eradicate the emotional side completely. If you read again you will find that the test animals have been pain free after 30 days.

P.

pen Sun Nov 21, 2010 5:40 pm

Thanks for this Petzi.
I am supposedly going for an assessment at a pain clinic on Tuesday.
I found this very interesting.

Razz

Petzi Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:22 am

I do find this very interesting too:

See Wikipedia entry about the prof. who does the research in this area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._V._Apkarian). What I remembered in particular when I first heard about this was the following quote:

"According to Dr Vania Apkarian it is important to treat pain early to prevent any permanent changes or damages to the nervous system.”

If he is right under-medicating migraine for whatever reason will only help to permanently establish a chronic pain pattern due to changes/damage in the brain.

Pen, let us know how the you get on with the pain specialist.

P.

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