Update- migraines, fainting,

Hi All,

I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I'd give you a quick update.

Good News: Dora is back from training and is doing really well. She alerts to the migraine symptoms as well as the fainting. She is actually a few minutes ahead of some of the bad symptoms such as slurred speech, hallucinations. She basically acts like she does during a regular alert, but instead of sitting down or blocking the path, she puts her paws next to me and tried to get my attention. It took me a while to figure out what she was telling me, but it is intresting that she can detect that too.

The fainting is still a huge problem, but Dora has prevented a good many of them by making sure I get to the ground first. She will not let me get up until she knows I won't fall again.

I know my brother probably won't ever truly grasp the fainting. He is a very nervous father. But he seems to be so terrified that I might faint, that he doesn't seem to want me around my nephew. I hope he will calm down. It is just frustrating that he is that scared of me. (the last time I saw my nephew, I had just entered his house and was waiting to be told where to go- and he literally said- "sit down somewhere, you can't faint here." His wife is calmer- but also much younger than my brother- and she seems ok with my being seeing and holding my nephew-as long as I am sitting. (he is a month old.) I don't know if John will ever understand the fainting. I do know that I still love my brother dearly, and I love my nephew. I will give them some time to get out of the nervous parents stage, try to explain to John that this isn't as scary as he thinks it is, and hope that helps.

I've had a few rough weeks head wise. It is pretty bad today. Fortunataely, I don't have anything I have to do today. So I will probably just take the meds and rest. The klonopin, ultram and tylenol 3 are helping some, but it is still pretty bad.

I'd love any thoughs or advice on anything.

pain free days,
sailingm

Your dog Dora sounds wonderful. Hopefully as your brother sees Dora working with you and anticipating the fainting to help you manage it a bit better, he will perhaps come to see things in a different light. Has he noticed yet that Dora anticipates a faint before it comes on?

Lynn

Sailing, I wonder if your brother might possibly be afraid (subconscious paranoid delusion?) that your fainting will suddenly, without warning, morph into an epileptic grand mal seizure? Or he, somehow, otherwise, has the two, very different, medical conditions mixed-up?

How about interacting with the baby while lying on a bed; or else on a clean pad, blanket, or sheet on the floor? That way you would already be down, so that you could not fall if/when you fainted?

Holding your nephew while sitting in a chair does seem like a good compromise, sitting (or reclining) on a sofa should be good as well.

Hi Sailing!

I haven't posted in quite a while but have been wondering how things have been going with your wonderful dog. So glad that you posted an update. Sorry to hear about the issues with your brother. As much as our friends and families try to understand what we are going through, you don't really get it unless you're actually living it. Hopefully your brother will relax a bit as his baby gets older and he has a chance to get to know Dora a bit better.

Dora sounds absolutely amazing!!!

Hi All,

Thanks for all of your replies.

Dora is great. She is a really amazing dog- not only does she know when the fainting will start, she also seems to alert to the migraine symptoms. For instance, about 15 minutes before I go aphasic, or hallucinate, or the pain jumps up, she seems to get very clingy. She won't leave me and acts a little odd- like she is trying to get my attention. Then, the migraine symptom hits and she calms down and looks at me as if to say, "I told you something would happen." She will then just stay with me or let me hold her or something. It is really amazing. I am really lucky to have her.

We are at the beach now. This is first time here, and we have MAx, my father's standard poodle here too. She is well behaved and do get along, but here she tends to act more like a regular dog than a service dog. I know part of it is due to the fact that Max is here and we have to strike the balance between when she is working and playing more clearly. She did however, prove to my brother that she is a real lab- by retrieving sticks from the bay.

As to J and my nephew. They are fine. My nephew is a little colic-y and that plays into what they do with the baby.o Still, I know John is scared, but I have been able to see and hold and play with him when he was at my parent's house. I will try talking to my SIL again. And see if the seizure thing is part of his fear. I think he is afraid I will drop the baby.

Headwise- things are the same- not any better, not any worse.

Pain free days,
sailing

Yesterday I had a migraine, so my husband gave me tylenol, to help.
Well now I wake up & my head is burning from front to back.. I'm scared. What could this be? Allergy? Or a migraine?
I never experienced this before...

Welcome to our forum Britt.
Sorry, but I am afraid that your pain sounds very much like a bad migraine.
For many of us who are suffering from this condition we found that the most useful medication is Imitrex (or Imigran if you live in UK) so maybe you can try that.
Here in UK you can buy it without prescription but it is quite expensive. But in US I believe you neeed a prescription. I find that even after over 15 years of using it, it still helps me and stops the pain at least for 12 hours, sometimes for good.
I hope you feel better soon.

Thank you.. I live in the US...I've taking a nap today & I hurted again..
Will this go away?

My husband gave two asprins in warm tea
with splenda & honey will this help me ?? I still feel sick can anyone help me?

My head is still burning. Can a migraine do that for day?

I just woke up I have another migraine..

Sorry you are still hurting Britt.
Sadly aspirin does nothing for most of us during migraine, so I doubt if it will work for you since migraien is quite different from a normal headache.
Try to go and see your GP or best a neurologist who specialises in migraine, so they can prescribe some better medicication.

Have you tried Imitrex yet?
IT is one of the best medication because it has been designed especially for people who suffer from migraine.
Yes, migraine can last sometimes quite a long time.

It might be useful for you also to try to discover what triggered your migraine attack. There is a thread here on this page which might be worth reading, it might help you to discover what migraine triigers you get, so in the future you can avoid them. There is much useful information in the thread about hwta to avoid/

Hi SailingM,

My daughter and I also have POTS/orthostatic intolerance, although our conditions are not nearly as bad as yours - we have enough warning to get down before passing out. I am so very sorry to hear what you have gone through. Do you have hyperadrenic POTS? Midodrine has helped my daughter, but it triggered headaches for me. I recently found Sudafed non drowsy helps keep my bp from crashing during the day. Have you been checked for cervinogenic/chiari headaches?

Besides Dinet.org and dysautonomia international, I recently found this website that is very helpful:http://redlilyfoundation.org.

I hope your headaches and fainting spells have improved. I understand how difficult life can be in that situation. My daughter was required to have a friend walk with her at all times after she passed out in the bathroom and hit her head. Thankfully she had her cell phone and was able to call me, but she did not remember which bathroom she had used. (her school was huge) After a frantic search everything turned out fine, but the situation could have been much worse. I have also arrived at my daughter's school after the school nurse called the EMTs, because my daughter's lips turn blue when she passes out. (we now know that she has EDS hypermobility)

Thankfully, my daughter's syncope has improved. I hope you do too!