Welcome to The Daily Headache's new online support group and forum. Here's the place to connect with people who know what you're going through with migraine or chronic daily headache. You'll get encouragement to get through bad days and friends to celebrate good days with.

Often the most comforting thing is to know that you're not alone. Although none of us would wish our illness on anyone else, knowing others are in the same boat makes coping a little bit easier. What's your story?

Kerrie

Thanks so very much for transforming your pain into a tool for helping people. You are a true Migraine Hero - not simply a migraine sufferer like so many. I don't know how you did it.

Last week I saw a new neurologist. He asked me how long have you been living in pain?

Since I had a migraine at the time (I try to be thoughtful that way) and seeing my pained expression through my sunglasses (fluorescent light is not so uncool), he rephrased the question to: when was the last time you were pain free?

An innocuous question no doubt, but ohhh how that question shook me to the core.

He asked me to keep a headache journal. My feeling whats the point? When one headache ends another is revving its engines raring to go.

How did you manage to orchestrate this masterpiece?

MJ

I really wish that I would wake up from this nightmare...
It all began on November 21, 2007, I was at work and all of a sudden I got this "HUGE" headache and began to feel very dizzy and lightheaded. So I decided to take the remainder of the day off to get some rest. After two days of rest and no relief I decided to go to the emergency room, only to have a "clueless" doctor tell me that I am suffering from migraine headaches.

Fast forward to 5 months later...
-I've been to the ER more times than you could imagine
-3/day hospital stay
-chiropractor
-therapist
-psychiatrist
-4 Neurologists
-Optomotrist
-Meditation/Yoga
-3/CT scans
-2/MRI w/wo contrast
-OB/GYN
-PCP

I've tried so many different meds:
-Depakote
-Topomax
-Imitrex
-Zomig
-Lamictal
-Nortriptyline

I'm currently taking Verapamil (started two weeks ago), but nothing is helping my daily headaches. My head hurts from the time I wake up until the time that I fall asleep. The pain is localized to the top-right-hand side of my head and it never leaves that area and sometimes it moves to my ear and down my neck and I've recently started feeling a bubbly sensation in my head (scary). Most days I feel very foggy, as if I'm not in reality. It's very hard for me to concentrate on anything. And my head hurts whenever I talk, so most days I'm quiet b/c as soon as I begin speaking, the top of my head begins to hurt. I've used up 3-weeks of vacation time at work, all of my personal/discretionary days because its almost impossible to do anything physical. I work as a pet groomer, so its a very physical/noisy environment. My co-workers have gotten to the point that they are angry with me b/c they feel like I'm faking and I'm not carrying my portion of the workload.

I feel so tired everyday, the only thing I want to do is stay in bed away from the world. I can't go places b/c my head hurts every moment of the day and its impossible to enjoy myself feeling that way. I don't know what else to do. The Dr's continue to say that everything is normal, but how could that be??? I don't think it's normal for a healthy, 26 year old young woman to have daily headaches. What could be the underlying cause?

Hi, I am new to this site. I have migraine headaches every so often, but I get bad headaches almost on a daily basis. One thing I have noticed is that the more stress I am under the more migraines I get. And if i am stressed out then my migraines are way more frequent. I have tried excedrin migraine, replex, immitrex and none of that works for me. Now I have also tried Loratabs, and percosets. And the loratabs will help if I take one within the first thirty minutes of getting a migraine. But the percosets will knock it out no matter when I take them, i.e if I have had the headache for a hour or for two days. I have not asked my doctor to prescribe me those meds, but I don't think they would anyway. Since most doctors do not want people taking habit-forming medications, however for me it seems only the percosets completely take away my migraines.

Anyone else take loratab or percoset for migraines? Just wondering.

Suffering in Atlanta

Hello I'm new to this site but glad I found it. What really got me looking for a Forum was the start of May. I have always had headaches every since I was 12 years old and in my family no biggie migraines was something my mother always had and said its part of her life and the doctors told her everything is fine. Well the start of May I just got better from being sick but any time I would go outside I would get a really bad headache and I thought it was from my allergy cause I could feel the pressure build up so fast and then a really bad headache was there. Well after about 4 weeks of that I start feeling a little better cause all the fires around me was gone " I live in FL" well after that my eyes started going blurry so I went to the eye doctor and he said you have a brain tumor or a pseudo tumor go to the ER right now. So the hospital is right next door so my wife took me over and I had a CT the ER doctor said looks like not brain tumor but they will have to do a MRI and a lumbar puncture.Well after a few days of being in there and after another CT and MRI they did the lumbar puncture and everything came back good no brain tumor or pseudo tumor and thats AWESOME...but still why did this happen to me. The doctors said your fine everything is good and thats it but the nurse asked do you have headaches a lot and been to the doctor well yes I do almost everyday or 5 days out of the week. Well it seems I have Barometric Pressure Headaches and being in south fl isnt the best place. So I'm now having headaches and my eyes are still healing and its really scary cause I don't know any one else who has this same problem and I'm happy as can be cause its nothing bad or going to kill me maybe drive me crazy but still its hard cause non of my friends ever get headaches and I never have anyone to talk to about it. Sorry if I went on its just I'm happy I found this site and I want people to know why I'm here and hope "sad to say" that someone has had the same issue as me.

Hello other migraine sufferes. Allow me to introduce myself I am 25 year old female with horrible migraines.


I have had headaches for years but never this bad. On April 5, 2008 I woke up in the middle of the night with severe sharp pain on the right side of my head. I got up took some Excedrin Migraine and tried to get back to sleep. When I woke up the next morning the pain was worse - so I took some more Excedrin & went back to bed. By late evening I was still feeling awful & then I began vomitting; and I did not eat anything all day so it was just like the acid in your stomach used to break down food. It was awful. By midnight I was still in so much pain I was in bed crying in misery it was at that point my husband decided to take me to the ER.

Once at the ER they gave me some shots of I don't even know the name of because I was in so much pain. They had to give me 3 shots because the pain was not going away. The nurse was like we never have to inject patients with this much. Each time I received a shot they gave me a higher dosage. In addition to the shots they also did a CT scan on me which came back normal. After about 5 hours in the ER they released me to go home. I felt better but not great. The medicine they gave me made me sleepy so I slept for the next 24 hours almost.

By Monday morning the pain was back and just as bad as it was before I went to the ER. I called in sick to work, and made an appointment with my doctor. At the doctor's office she discovered that I had another severe sinus infection (the 2nd in 3wks); this made her think that there was something wrong with my sinuses; so she had me do a CT of my sinuses. Upon first review at my local doctor they told me I had a growth in my sinus cavitity that would need to be removed. At my ENT specialists they said their is NO growth anywher in the sinus cavitiy - you need to go to a neuro doc. Well I have been to the neuro doctor & bloodwork & CT scans still came back normal. So no one knows what is causing the pain.

I have even had problems with my vision - at first it was just needing to get glasses for the first time in my life. I could deal with that. But now out of the blue for no reason at all my vision will just go away. It is like someone is taking a camera and flashing the flash over and over in my eyes. I can not see anything for hours & I get dizzy & light headed.

This pain is really interferring with my life; I lost my job; my husband doesn't really get why I'm in so much pain so he can't really help me. My life overall is horrible right now. Whenever I have a migraine 99.9% of the time it is the right side of my head that hurts.

My family has a history of brain tumors I have had 3 first cousins die with brain related issues such as tumors. One of my cousins died when she was only 26 (this scares me as I am 25). My cousin that died at age 26 started having the same symptoms as me & it was back in the 80's when medical technology was still being developed and she died before anyone could help her. I am scared that there is something wrong with my brain and the doctors just have not found it yet. On the days that I feel "normal" if that's possible I try to live life to the fullest because in the back of my mind there is always that thought of "what if"....

Does anyone have any suggestions for help?

I am a 51 year old female who is currently on day 40 of my headache. I have had migraines since the age of 11, but this one was different. I woke up with a headache on the opposite side of my head and had double vision. My first thought was "oh great, now I can add tumor to the list of illnesses". The MRI, MRA, and CT scan were clear and at day 42 I went to Jefferson Headache Clinic where they think I have HEMICRANIUM CONTINUUM (HCC). They said the headaches could also be a symptom of something else, but for right now they are treating the symptom. Off and on since then I have had regular migraines and the HCC w/O the double vision. I am currently taking zyprexa for the HCC. It works except it knocks me out for 15 hours. For the regular migraines I take IMITREX. Basically, if you can spell it, I've been on it. Today I am slightly down because it is nice out and my head hurts.

Other information on me: I am married, three kids, three grandkids, one dog and I am a teacher.