[ozzie]

I had an MRI of my head last week because of bad headaches I've been having lately. I thought they were sinus headaches because the ragweed polen count this year has been awfully high in our area.

I went to an ENT and she had a CT of my sinuses done and said it's not my sinuses and sent me to the headache clinic where they suspected migraines. They did an MRI.

Yesterday the doctor called and told me the results. I'm definitely having migraine headaches....almost daily. I also had a small stroke at some time which resulted in a small amount of brain damage. I'm still trying to absorb the shock of this information.

I'll be seeing the doctor on Friday and need to be prepared to ask him some inteligent questions. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate them. I'm really kind of numb after hearing this. Also, the Topamax they put me on for migraines is dulling my thinking.

[drummergrl]

Hi Oz!!!
My sister suffered for months from Migraines. They did all kinds of tests on her, but to no avail, they all failed. She got injections in the side of her head of botox, but they are very expensive, and a temporary relief. Come to find out, after she had an MRI, she had a couple of brain tumors, one in the back near the stem, and the other behind her sinuses. They took them out successfully and she could again return to work. Well, they started to come back, not as bad, but none the less, they were problematic. She had
a very bad anaphylactic reaction to some new insulin she was taking and had to be rushed to the e.r. Once she was off that new human insulin, she got better and better!!! She
is allergic to human insulin. While this isn't addressing your problem, it is still what happened to my sister. Do you
think it's organic somehow? Like you had a mini stroke?
I didn't know they would, or could cause migraine?
They don't really know what migraine is, or where it comes from, and that makes it hard to treat. Topamax didn't help my sister , either.
Ask the dr. what they think happened to leave you with such unbearable head pain. You might discuss having a bran scan as well. If it is caused by having had a TIA.....what can
he do for you???? Do you take insulin, or blood pressure meds? Sometimes beta-blockers can cause the blood vessels to constrict....also blood thinners.

Good luck. I hope you find the answers you are looking for!!

[eskielover]

Ozzie,

Like you, I have migraines constantly.....like 24/7. This started just after they started trying all kinds of antidepressants on me (1995). I had never even had a mild headache all my life (40+ years at that time). Then they seemed to end up being constant. The neurologist I had put my on the normal migraine meds (immetrex & what ever it was at the time). That messed up my heart, so that stopped almost immediately. Then he put me into the hospital for 1 week with IV treatment of DHEA (I think it was). With that, he was also giving me morphine during that time for the migraine pain....ended up having that itching all over to the morphine....thought I would go out of my mind with the itching & still had the migraine pain anyway.

Then they did an MRI & something around my neck area & it showed that I in years past, I had a whip lash & neck injury that needed to be corrected. So then came the neck fusion surgery....around 1999. The pain specialist I saw at the hospital during the neck fusion started me on the duragesic patch (100ug). At that time, I started going to a local pain specialist who ended up being a real jerk. After the neck fusion had no effect on my migraines, then this new pain specialist tried some other procedures that did nothing. Even with the fentynal patch, the pain was constant, so he was giving me other pain meds for along with that instead of upping the dose of the fentynal. It wasn't until they found another sourse of fentynal (that you suck on every 4 hours) that the pain was finally controlled & I could function again. That was good until they changed the method of making that med & it quit working. I was back in pain & he wouldn't do anything about it except go back to what wasn't working. At one appointment, he suggested using my extra patches I had accumulated & double up.....I did, I the pain was completely controlled. When I went back to him, he denied ever saying that & refused to treat me.....telling me to get another Dr. (my husband heard him say that also, so it wasn't just me hearing what I wanted to hear)

The search for another pain specialist started & thus came another MRI of the brain. The new pain specialist said he saw white spots at the base of my brain. They were called leisions......he said that was a definite indication that I have massive migraine activity. (just wondering if what they saw in your MRI was the leisions rather than a mild stroke.....they can look similar according to what I was told). Anyway, this pain specialist decided that since the 200ug of duragesic fentynal patches worked, he wouldn't change anything. I wasn't effected by the large amount of narcotic.....it just made the pain go away & I was functional again for the first time in about 9 years. I have been on this high dose for over 4 years now & it is still working. I haven't built up a tolerance & the migraine pain is completely controlled. The constant amount of pain med that is there with the patches is wonderful. I have no breakthrough pain, no rebound pain.....no pain at all. I am glad that the narcotic didn't make me so out of it that I put on my cloths backwards & inside out. I can still drive my car without any problems.......I am just wonderfully functional without pain keeping me in my dark, quiet, no smell room to keep from getting sicker than the migraines were constantly making me.

Look into the possibility of what they saw being the leisions that are normal with migraine activity rather than an indication of a stroke......& I would definitely get a second opinion before ever believing the stroke possibility.....one Dr's opinion doesn't make it true....& sometimes even 2 don't.....you need a migraine specialist who knows what MRI's on migraine patients look like....this is actually a very new area of knowledge & most migraine specialists are very uneducated still. I also went to a migraine specialist at UCLA while going to the jerk pain specialist. She said I didn't have migraines & all I had to do was exercise & the pain would go away.....I couldn't get out of bed for the pain.....let alone get out & exercise.......she looked at a previous MRI & saw nothing....those leisions had to have been there at that time.....she just didn't see them.

Another Dr I saw when I was looking for a new pain specialist, said that she would take me off all the meds & the migraines would go away.....she was going on the assumption that the migraines were rebound......but refused to tell me how she would treat me if that didn't work or wasn't the case......she was so sure that was what is was that she wouldn't look at any other possibility.....not the Dr for me.

I have a guess that I also made the migraines worse with the many OD's I did on the antidepressants......It would make sense that those meds were causing migraines when I was put onto them....when I massivly OD'ed on the same meds, that had to have messed up my brain chemistry. I hope it isn't permanently....& that some day, the migraines will go away. I know now that I sometimes get the migraines even with the pain med, I just don't feel the pain because the symptoms are there sometimes.

I hope my post can give you some information to take with you to your Dr appointment...so you can ask some questions & maybe look on the internet for more information about migraines & related brain leisions.

Keep me posted....I am interested to know how everything goes for you.....your situation sounds so similar to mine.....I truely understand how you are feeling.

Gentle hugs to not hurt the head,
Debbie

oh susan i'm so sorry to hear of your health problems....i will pray that all turns out well......

[(JD)]

I'm off to PT myself right now, but will think about this for you. PS Topamax really messed me up totally!

(((Ozzie))) Glad it wasn't a terrible stroke, and that you're recovering nicely...now to prevent something that will indeed inhibit your lifestyle!!!

Yes that would be scary to hear....

[darkeyes]

(((((((((( ozzie ))))))))))))

Sorry to hear about this, keep the faith and please feel free to PM me.

Sincerely,
Roe

[SeptemberMorn]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Susan}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Don't know what to say except that I know how scary those MRI results are. I understand.

You may want to discuss with your dr the possibility of putting you on a cholesterol buster and/or blood thinner... to avoid another stroke. Having a stroke is one of my worst fears!

[biiv]

((((((((((ozzie)))))))))))))))
so sorry for all this bad news.

[Raynaadi]

Ozzie

I'm so sorry to hear of your scary news...I hope they start making you feel better real soon.

[January]

(((((((( Susan ))))))))

I'm so very sorry this has happened to you. It has to be very scary.

There are many good medications out there for migraines. Call your Dr. and tell him that the stadol is making you fuzzy headed. He can switch you to something else.

Ask what steps you can take to prevent another mini stroke. Perhaps there are meds they can use or perhaps they can prescrible walking, etc.

My best thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hugs,

Jan

[DocClyde]

(((Ozzie)))

Sorry to hear, feel free to PM me if you want...wish I could offer you more, but here's another

((((Ozzie))))

[ozzie]

Thanks for your reply and for some of the questions you raised. I don't think I know what a TIA is??? They put me on Inderal along with the Topamax for the migraines. Inderal is also for the newly aquired blood pressure problem too. It was always low until now. These medications are starting to help prevent the headaches....at least they aren't nearly as bad.

[lenjan]

TIA = transient ischemic attack = mini-stroke. It's considered a precursor to a biggie. (Unfortunately, with my clotting disorder I have to know about this stuff. ).

I hope they can get you some relief soon. ((((((Susan)))))))

[ozzie]

Thanks so much for all of the support you've been giving me both in your post and in your pm's. ((((((((Debbie))))))))

[ozzie]

Thanks a bunch Julia. ((((((((((hugs)))))))))))

[DocClyde]

yep tia's are ministrokes...its not always a definite though, is it?

If anyone can beat it, Ozzie can!!!!!!!! (((Ozzie)))

[ozzie]

I don't know when I had the stroke. I'm going to ask the doctor tomorrow if there is any indication of how long ago it happened. I am aware of being a bit slower and dumber in the last few months. ha! Seriously, I was totally shocked by this news.

[ozzie]

Thanks Roe. You've been a good friend to me. ((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))

[ozzie]

((((((((((((Tomi))))))))))))) Thanks for understanding my fear sis.

[ozzie]

Thank you for your support ((((((((biiv)))))))))

[ozzie]

Thanks Raynaadi. I sure hope they do to. I hope they can prevent future strokes as well. I appreciate your support. ((((((((hugs)))))))))))

[ozzie]

We are definitely walking and also drinking lots of water. Thanks so much for your support Jan. ((((((((((hugs)))))))))

[EJ711]

Ozzie,

I'm wondering if my husband may have had one of these.

You're so bright, a little brain damage in your case should be OK.

Hugs and love,

EJ

[ozzie]

Hi Clyde and thanks so much for your support and for the hugs. I appreciate them. (((((((((Clyde))))))))))

[ozzie]

Thanks for the info Candy. Wish I hadn't asked. eek! I guess I needed to know that. I keep procrastinating on looking up stuff on the Internet because it just scares me when I do. I have a tendency to want to keep my head in the sand instead. Ok....I'm gonna go find out some stuff now......