What else can I try???

Diagnosed with migraines in 2000. I was medically retired from the Air Force in 2007 with 100% disability for migraines, and am a VA patient. I've just about taken every medication out there. I am currently taking propranolol, imipramine, topiramate, divalproex, Imitrex injections and Toradol injections for migraines. I'm also taking about five other medications ie; Zoloft for depression. oxicodone for pain. Blood pressure medication.
I get around two migraine a week. Although I have a headache just about everyday. I am wondering if anyone has tried any alternative remedies for migraines. My wife has gotten rid of all the chemicals in our home. We have tried diet changes. Chiropractic adjustments. Nothing has worked. I even snorted cayanne pepper once. That was a mistake. My quality of life is just about gone. I get rebound headaches from my medication. Sometimes I'll recover from an intense migraine where I'm in bed for 4 days, but it's a week before I'm able to recover from all the Meds. Then the cycle starts over again. I have horrible vomiting when I have a migraine. Has anyone had any lessening of intensity or frequency of their migraines with medication, alternative or pharmecutical? I'm willing to try anything.

I thought I had it bad, but you sound much worse! Sounds like they have you on too many chemicals. I'm not a doctor but I have read that that can actually cause more headaches... I have recently heard, and I am going to try it myself, that acupuncture can actually really help. There are many people that swear by it but you have to find a good acupuncturist. It's worth the try!! You may be surprised. I'll let you know once I try it.
ksailmason

Welcome! Were each of those preventatives started separately so you know each one is helping? If not, it may be a good time to discuss with your doctors tapering off of them to see your baseline, test if they are helping, and even test if any are hurting (I've definitely had some meds make my pain worse).

For you to be on two anti depressants, a beta blocker, and two anti seizure meds seems like a lot. There are always more treatments to try, although some may be similar. Then there are more drastic treatments like looking into an implanted nerve stimulator, or other surgeries.

Specifically, I'd look into injections (nerve blocks and/or Botox), massage, acupuncture, and ruling out any other potential issues, such as ear nose & throat. There are always more meds in the standard classes such as beta blocker, anti seizure, and anti depressant, of which some are less commonly used. Also, there are misc meds like muscle relaxers (especially Tizanidine), ergots, NSAIDs like Indocin, benzos like Klonipin, Diamox, Doxycycline, etc.

Do you have a good nausea/vomiting med? Seems like that should be a priority as that is often easier to treat than the pain. Zofran is my go to med as it works fast (dissolving pill), but Phenergen actually works better (but takes awhile to kick in and makes me drowsy). Sounds like you either need a dissolving pill, an injection, or suppository. Also beware that Torodal is tough on some people's stomach, although likely less so with an injection.

What causes the rebound? Is the Oxycodone for migraine, or another type of pain? I too have pain that is quite treatment resistant. Mine is constant, plus I get some infrequent migraines. Do you have a good specialist to work with? Best wishes.

I have never had any preventative medication work for my migraines and I've tried them all.

I also agree you should get Zofran or something similar for the vomiting, and that it sounds like you're on too many meds especially if they are not helping your headaches.

What diet changes have you tried? Have you tried cutting out artificial food colorings, MSG, sodium nitrites, milk protein, gluten, etc?

Hi and Welcome,

I'm sorry to hear you are going through such a rough time. I have had chronic intractable migraine/New Daily Persistent Headache since age 17, now 32. I have been on tons of preventatives and very few worked for me. I have also run through the triptans, which helped for a while, but led to rebound. I did have an occipital nerve stimulator implanted in 2004 and that has helped. Also, along with my drs, we decided to try simply treating the symptoms and keep me out of the hospital. (I went on long acting pain meds, which helped.)

I think the others are right about being on too many medications. From the sound of it- it is hard to know which is working and they may be doing more harm than good. I have low bp and so the blood pressure meds, used as preventatives made me feel worse than the headache.

Definitely ask your doctor about Zofran or Phenergan for nausea. (I have Phenergan injections at home due to severe nausea. You can also get it in suppository form.) At this point, it sounds like the pain should be treated too.

Have you seen a headache specialist? If not, that might be one way to go.

Since chiropractors have helped- you might want to look into nerve blocks or botox as the others suggested.

I hope this info helps/

Pain free days,
sailingm

I am like you in the sense that I truly have tried all the preventatives for migraine with little or no success at all.

All I can think of is the blocks like someone else mentioned or trying a different pain med.

Don't give up, just keep plugging on til you find your answer.

Cindy