The Headache Cure

You read it right. I finally have "cured" my headache. How? I finally read the book "Heal Your Headache" (look to your right you can see and click on the book and see if it is right for you). This book has literally saved me! I have even ordered it for multiple people who have had great success with the program outlined in the book. You first have to understand that there are many triggers but the biggest one is the food you consume. A hard pill to swallow I know as I am the most stubborn person I know as you have read throughout my journey with migraines. I did not want to give up any of my favorite foods at all! What is life without chocolate and pizza? No migraines is the answer. Remember when I said I ate just pasta and broccoli for a month? I had no headaches during this time yet I did not make the connection because I thought it was the Nortriptyline. I decided to overhaul my diet to see if it would make a difference. Inflammation plays an important role in migraines and getting that under control is equally important. I added Turmeric/Curcumin with ginger and bioperine added to them. It is important that you get the Turmeric with Bioperine because it helps with the absorption of the Turmeric. I liked that the one I bought had ginger for nausea. If you look to the right there is a picture of the one I prefer (just click on it). Turmeric reduces inflammation in your body and also reduces pain.
     I decided to eliminate nearly everything all at once. The book gives you a list of things to avoid but I decided to go all out. I ate broccoli and quinoa with olive oil butter for the first 3 weeks. I know it is extreme but I was determined to eliminate these migraines. I also had to go through my vitamins and eliminate a great deal of them as they had migraine triggers in them. I added a new food into my diet every 3 days. If I did not have a headache I knew I could eat it. My triggers so far are: onions, corn, chocolate, watermelon, all nuts and seeds including coconuts, all cheeses, aspartame, beans, sadly cream cheese and sour cream (boo), and msg. The hardest things are the onions and corn. Most products have corn (also known as maltodextrin and corn syrup). Onions are in everything from sauces, ketchup to frozen meals. I literally spent 3 hours in the grocery store practically in tears of all the things I could no longer enjoy. I found one spaghetti sauce that did not have onions. I have to say that the clarity is worth the sacrifice. I am slowly learning how to bake things without my triggers so I do not completely miss out on the sweet stuff. I did have to stop all over the counter pain relievers all together and that was a lot harder than I thought. I relied on the Baclofen to get through this. After about a week the rebound headache was gone. I can happily say I am off all pain relievers!
     The best advice I can give anyone who is suffering from migraines is STOP treating the symptoms and figure out the underlying cause. Get the book or do your research online. There is a ton of great info on the web for certain!

Botox

Woo hoo finally I was approved for Botox! I could not help but feel excited and extremely nervous at the same time. Yes I googled all the side effects so let's just say I was kind of hesitant and quite frankly freaking out because it is a poison that is injected into your skin. If it spreads you could have serious side effects and yes die. Needless to say I pushed through my fears and had the injections. The day I went in I felt pretty good. I had a faint headache on a scale of 1-10 I would say a 2. The injections were quick and painless and I was out within 20 minutes. I read somewhere to take ibuprofen after so I did. I felt pretty good until that evening when I was a little tender where she injected the Botox. The next day I woke up with a full blown migraine. Then the sinus pressure began and I could hardly stand it. I felt nauseous and dizzy. Two days later I had a fever. I had an appointment scheduled with my PCP in a few days so I decided to wait it out. I still had the fever when I made it to my appointment and he put me on prednisone and an antibiotic. Five days into the treatment my fever was still raging and I contacted my PCP. He put me on Levaquin this time. I did contact my Neurologist who insisted there was no connection between the Botox and these symptoms. After some quick research online I realized that I was not the only one who has had these side effects. My ears felt clogged, sinus pain/pressure, fever, achiness, dizziness and nausea. The fever lasted 15 days until finally breaking. The Levaquin seemed to kick what ever it was out. I was so scared and decided to not go through with the next injections. I made the decision to finally pick up the book I had tossed aside so many times and really read it this time and apply the diet. I had finally had enough and decided to take it into my own hands. This whole time I had been treating the symptoms and not the underlying cause. Next up: The Headache Cure

Cymbalta

Cymbalta is another antidepressant used to prevent migraines. I felt ok the first day but after that I felt "disconnected." I walked through my day as a zombie in a sense of not feeling like I was in my body at all. I had constipation and my blood pressure and pulse went through the roof again. After about 3 weeks we decided to slowly taper off of it. I was at 60 mg by then so the taper had to be slow. Our last resort was Botox. My insurance finally approved a trial run of 2. I was excited and nervous at the same time. I did fall into old habits of taking Excedrin again as well as Fioricet (a prescription med for relief of migraines). I was also taking Relpax for my more severe migraines. For my anxiety attacks I was taking Ativan which is an addictive drug if you are not careful. Next up: Botox.

Verapamil

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker. It is used to treat high blood pressure as well as to prevent migraines. I started this and immediately had a feeling of a weight on my chest. I found it hard to catch my breath and within 2 days I came off of it. It may work for someone but I could not take that feeling. Next prescription: Cymbalta

Nadolol

Nadolol is a Beta Blocker that also helps prevent migraines. I cannot say if this worked for my migraines as I was on it for only 3 days. Apparently if you have Asthma you should not take this. For some reason my Neurologist did not check my chart before prescribing this and I ended up having a severe asthma attack  every day for three days. Mind you I had not had an asthma attack in years. I made the connection after I looked up the side effects. I contacted her and she told me to stop right away. I then began taking Verapamil a calcium channel blocker.

Nortriptyline and a Trip to the ER

I began taking the Nortriptyline and continued to do so for about a month. I had dry mouth which I thought was a minor. The biggest and most troublesome side effect was Tachycardia. I was hesitant to come off this medication because I literally had NO headaches after being on it for a few weeks. I had no choice however after I fell ill and made a trip to urgent care. My BP was 200/120 and my pulse was a whooping 134 bpm. They insisted on calling an ambulance to take me to ER. I refused and told them I could drive myself. They made me sign a waiver. The ER was notified I was on my way. After another IV, anxiety med and something to bring down my BP I was sent home. I messaged the neurologist and she suggested I come off of the Nortriptyline. She decided to try Nadolol which is a beta blocker that also helps migraines. I should note here that during the month I was on the Nortriptyline I also limited my diet to pasta and broccoli with olive oil butter. I managed to lose 20 pounds doing this but that was not the point of the diet. I felt like I should eat bland and stick to one type of food per instructions in the book "Heal Your headache." I will post more on this later but if you are interested in the book look to the right of your screen. I posted a picture of the book and if you click on it, it will take you to the book on amazon. This has been the best investment I have made with regards to the migraines (even though I tossed it aside for a long time). Next up: Nadolol.

Second Opinion/ENT

I decided that the first ENT did not know what he was talking about and sought another ENT for a "real" diagnosis (note the sarcasm). I just could not wrap my head around this being a migraine. I had all the symptoms of a sinus infection. The pain, pressure and drainage. At this point I was extremely dizzy and even the roof of my mouth hurt. I explained my symptoms and he did a sinus endoscopy. Again I am told I have a slightly deviated septum but not surgery worth while. He asked me if I had a history of migraines (go ahead shake your head). I was at this point ready to jump across the room at him and shake or slap him. Really? This again? He ordered a CT scan just to ease my mind and referred me to a Headache Clinic. A few days later I got the call that my CT scan was clear. Sigh, now I have to finally swallow my pride and go back to the Neurologist. I called and made an appointment however the soonest appointment was 2 months away. During this time I still could not function and had to take a month off of work unpaid since I used all my vacation days. It got so bad I messaged the Neurologist and she got me in the next day. I received a shot of Toradol and trigger shot injections in my head and neck. She wanted me to start on another preventative medication right away. We decided on Nortriptyline another antidepressant that treats migraines as well. I felt a little better for a few days before the "migraine" reared its ugly head again. I messaged the Neurologist and she called me in a taper medication called Naratriptan. After 2 days I still had the migraine and called her back. She advised me to keep taking for remainder of the days. After five days I felt marginally better. I needed to change something! Next up: Nortriptyline.

Three Trips to the Emergency Room

By late December my body finally had enough. I was on antibiotics for 6 weeks straight and still felt awful. I made a trip to my PCP during their walk in clinic hours and saw the nurse. She gave me a shot of antibiotic and steroid to see if that would help. Two days later I went back and she sent me to the emergency room. I had lost 10 pounds in two days and was severely dehydrated. I did not want to go to the emergency room but I could barely stand so I went. They diagnosed me with a migraine (go figure) and dehydration. I was given what they called a migraine cocktail which is Benadryl, Toradol and an anti nausea medication. I felt very tired and ended up sleeping for 24 hours straight. When I woke up I could barely stand. I began drinking a lot of Gatorade and water to stay hydrated. I opted for plain pasta with butter for food. Although I had plenty of sleep I was still exhausted and crawled every where because I felt so dizzy. I went back to my PCP per emergency room orders and I still felt awful. He advised me to go home and just rest. Not even a week later I could not take it anymore and made a trip back to the ER. Again they gave me the migraine cocktail and fluids. They also took blood and noted that I had an infection somewhere and put me on Levaquin and another steroid to fight the inflammation. I finished the antibiotic yet felt awful still. One evening in now January I felt an awful pain in my lower abdomen and I was throwing up for about an hour. I could feel like a pop in my belly and that is when I had my very first anxiety attack. I was gasping for air and felt as if I was going to die. My hands were shaking and I panicked. It was 1 a.m. and I woke my Daughter to let her know I needed to go to the Emergency Room. I drove myself in a snowstorm while my Daughter called my son and held on the phone with him. My son talked to the ER and they quickly wheeled me to a bed. They set up an IV and gave me pain meds and an anxiety med. I explained the "pop" in my stomach and they did a CT scan and then an ultrasound. The "pop" was a cyst bursting on my ovary. I also explained the dizziness, nausea, sinus pain etc. Diagnosis? Migraine! Once again I received the migraine cocktail and sent home. I decided it was time for a second opinion. I made an appointment with another ENT. Did I mention I was stubborn?

Topiramate/Topamax

What can I say about this drug? It is the drug from hell! Topiramate is the generic version of Topamax. It is used to treat seizures and migraines. Basically it decreases "excitement" in the brain. What could possibly go wrong with a drug that was originally used to treat seizures right? She had me at the added perk of it curbing your appetite and losing weight. Double bonus! I was elated to try this medication! Day one the cotton mouth was there but I just assumed it was the Imipramine still active in my body so no big deal. The next day I was extremely tired but it was the weekend so I could sleep all day. Day 3 the dry mouth was still there and I was feeling fuzzy in my head. I felt like I had been drinking and I bumped into a lot of things leaving bruises. I was now constipated and had to take magnesium citrate. I could not sleep because my extremities were making an uncontrollable jerking movements. Food had no taste (which explains why people lose weight) and I could barely look at it never mind eat it. I messaged my Doctor and she insisted I give it more time because side effects tend to subside. Day 5 is where it got scary! I started forgetting things especially words! My children thought I was losing it! Simple words took me what seemed forever to find. My performance at work started to suffer. Still I pressed on remembering what my Neurologist said. They will go away. Day 7 I folded and took myself off of it. I absolutely could not function on this medication. I decided to give up and go back to popping excedrin  migraine again. I also ordered a book called "Heal Your Headache." I posted a picture of it on the right side of this blog and if you click it, it will bring you to it. I jumped right to the triggers part of the book and then tossed it aside because there was no way I was giving up my favorite foods (I told you I am stubborn). For the next 7 months I suffered the same fate of sinus infections/migraines (still holding onto the sinus infections at this point). I end up taking round after round of antibiotics and prednisone again. Then December rolled around and the nightmare really began! Next up: My trips to the emergency room.

Imipramine/Tofranil

My journey begins with the preventative medications. Up first is Imipramine (generic version of Tofranil). It is used to treat depression but also for migraine prevention. My Neurologist has stated that her Husband has had great success with it for his migraines so I am confident it will work for me. I pick up my prescription and start right away. The first night I am up throughout the night sweating profusely and making frequent trips to the bathroom although I do not recall drinking a lot of water. When I finally do fall asleep I have the worse nightmares I have ever had. My mouth feels like I have been sucking on cotton balls. The next day I am tired and can barely function at work. By day 3 I am feeling dazed and confused. I message my Doctor and she reassures me that they will subside. I continue with all the symptoms for a few weeks until I finally had enough. I message my Doctor and she switches me to Topiramate/Topamax. Perks of this one? Weight loss!

The Neurologist Appointment

Finally the day arrived for my cure to all these umm sinus infections? Migraines? I still had not convinced myself that it was a migraine and how on earth sinus issues could be connected. I was stubborn and refused to believe it was a migraine. Made no sense at the time. Although now when I think about it I was popping over the counter pain killers like they were candy. The day of my appointment I felt horrible. My sinuses were inflamed and I felt "disconnected." My head was throbbing and the light was hurting my eyes. Classic signs of migraine right? Nah couldn't be. She examined me and I explained my symptoms. The verdict? Migraine. I asked her how a migraine gave symptoms of a sinus infection and she simply said that it is all connected. Not that I was really listening at this point anyways as I was in complete denial. She gave me a list of what she called migraine triggers and gave me a prescription for Imipramine (generic for Tofranil) which is technically an antidepressant but for some reason works for preventing migraines as well. I left feeling a sense of contentment knowing that I had an answer after all these years and finally I will be cured. She also gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer called Baclofen since many migraines are caused by tense muscles. She did mention something about a "rebound headache" from taking so many exedrin migraine and other over the counter pain relievers but like I said before at that point I was not listening. I just wanted something to take away all this mess! In hindsight a year later I should have paid attention to what she said because this journey was about to get real rocky!

Steroid Sinus Rinse

The steroid sinus rinse had to be specially compounded in a pharmacy 4 hours away. My insurance company only uses this pharmacy for compounded prescriptions so I had to wait to have it delivered in the mail. I already had been doing sinus rinses so it was not at all a difficult thing to do. Although it came with a bottle I preferred my Netti Pot. I also had to buy the saline packets to combine with the steroid. I used the rinses for the 8 weeks leading up to my Neurologist appointment to no avail. There were no changes in my inflammation at all. I should also note that I was also using Astelin and Nasonex nasal sprays for years which made no difference in my sinus issues along with Allegra. Finally the day arrived for my Neurologist appointment. I was about to be cured! Well at least I thought I was.

The ENT Visit

The day finally arrived to see the ENT (ear, nose & throat) Dr. I have to admit I was irritated having to take time off of work for this appointment but also knew I had to get to the bottom of this chronic sinus infection. So many thoughts were running through my head. What if I need sinus surgery and how on earth would I pay for it? I had health insurance but with the deductible I was looking at thousands out of pocket and quite frankly this was not an option. I explained all my symptoms and he did a nasal endoscopy which entails a tube with a camera at the end that is inserted up each nostril so he could see the anatomy of my sinus cavities. It was not painful just a little uncomfortable. After the procedure he explained that I had no polyps but I did have a slightly deviated septum on my left side. He stated that he could do surgery to correct it but he would be just taking my money because the real cause he believed was migraines! Migraines? What on earth was this man talking about? He must be crazy! My sinuses were always inflamed and I always had drainage! How is this a migraine? At this point I wanted to scream. Still no solution. He referred me to a neurologist and appeased me by giving me a prescription for a steroid nasal rinse to see if that would help with the inflammation. It had to be compounded at a specialty pharmacy and was a whooping $50.00! Once again I felt defeated. This made no sense in my head. How can a migraine be related to all of the sinus issues I have been having? I received the call for my Neurologist appointment the same day however it was not for another 8 weeks! I started the nasal rinses three days later.