Migraines and Depression

Posted , 4 users are following.

We've all had them, or we wouldn't be here. 30 years for me, now everyday. Migraine or rebound, that's a good question, but I just want my life back. Now my depression from my life style changing so much is ever increasing. I'd like to know how others handle this ongoing, chronic condition and continue life as normal as possible.

1 like, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Betsy

    Goodness...migraine every day?  What medication are you taking?  I take Rizatriptan ODT on the onset of mine.  Many are due to weather changes causing sinus issues going into eye pain.....then hope meds work if not migraine! Or stress or if I miss a meal or don't drink enough water.......it's hard to make plans as I don't know if I will be okay that day.  After taking meds on the onset I have to lay down and hope I can rid of the headache!

    best,

    wendy

    • Posted

      Sounds just like me. I've tried many other meds that are supposed to be preventative, none work. Our daily life seems quite parallel. Do your friends understand? I think I'm slowly losing them because my day to day is so unpredictable.

  • Posted

    Betsy I no longer have a normal life. I think in 6 month I have been out of the house twice for something fun. Something other than to see a dr, have a procedure or test done. I am so depressed I can't get out of bed. I am ashamed to say I go a week or more (if I don't have an appt) without a shower or teeth brushing. My house is so dusty and full of dog hair, but...I just can't do it.

    • Posted

      God knows I'm trying. Grabbing on with both hands and holding on as tight as I can!

    • Posted

      Good words to hear right now, as I am crying out to God b
  • Posted

    Where do you hang you hat Betsy? I can't say where do you live because we DON'T live we exist (if you can even call it that). I live in central CA near the coast.

    • Posted

      No where near, TN. I though CA was perfect weather for migrainers. That blows my theory, or thoughts of moving to a better location. Dr's here want to blame everything on allergies.

  • Posted

    Betsy, I don't have daily migraine or anywhere near that (maybe 1 or 2 a week if i'm unlucky), so sorry to hear how you're suffering, it must be terrible.  (and all of you on here who get so many migraines).

    I was prescribed Propranol for migraine prevention (my doc thought it might also help my mild migraine related anxiety as a bonus) last year and it gave me depression as a side effect. I stopped taking it and at first the depression went away but then it returned a couple of weeks later and I now have anxiety and depression nearly all the time.

    I've now been prescribed Topirimate, but haven't taken any as one of the side effects is depression and I don't want any more drugs that do that.  I decided to try a herbal remedy instead.

    For the last 3 weeks I've been taking St John's Wort for low mood, Passionflower for anxiety and a daily feverfew tablet for the migraine prevention.  These are all herbal remedies that are known to have a low risk of side effects (nothing is risk-free, of course) and I think they are definitely helping to keep the depression etc at a more manageable level.

    Also, I've found that 2 passionflower capsules an hour before bedtime has helped my insomnia enormously.  I'm actually getting to sleep more quickly and staying asleep for longer.

    Magnesium is also a good thing to try with low risk of side effects (I was recommended to use magnesium malate for headaches by a dietician, there are other kinds but not all are effective for this).

    I had my first migraine in 12 days on Monday and the pain reduced significantly when I took 3 magnesium malate tablets close to the onset.  I also didn't feel so anxious and depressed the day after the migraine either, like I normally would.

    If you're having severe depression and daily migraine this not be effective for you, but it wouldn't hurt to try it for a month and see how it goes. 

    I wish you all the best.

     

    • Posted

      You've recommended some good things to try. You're wise not to try topimax as it can give you a brain fog. Some people have renamed it 'dopemax' for that reason.

    • Posted

      Qoth, sorry to hear there is another migrainer.  I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone. Since 4/5/2010 I have had the same migraine. On the 1 to 10 pain scale mine no longer gets better than an 8 (a good day). I too took the Propanol. It did nothing for me. The Topamax made me feel like I was dying. I couldn't breath, my heart beat very hard and it felt like an elephant was sitting on me. The magnesium actually made my head hurt even worse (something I didn't think was possible).

      I think you should also check out Botox. It helped me for a relatively short period of time. (This was the case with everything that helped. After 3 months or so the medication would have to be doubled or dropped. But that's just me.)

      You should also consider getting your diath (pronounced doth like moth) pierced. I had mine done yesterday. There hasn't been any help/change yet but I don't know how long it takes to help if it's going to. According to the research I did prior and what the piercer said, a large number of people have found relief that way. If it doesn't work for me at least it will be cute when I can change earrings in 6 weeks or so. Hope this has given you a few more ideas and some hope. God bless. 

       

    • Posted

      Keep us up to date on the piercing. Did it hurt? Probably no worse than a migraine, but just curious as that has been recommended to me as well.
    • Posted

      Hi Betsy, yes it hurt but only for a minute. She had me take a deep breath in and as I blew it out she pushed the bar through. By the time I was out of air she was done and the pain was almost over. When she got the balls s reed on the pain was over. It was curious because as she finished each ear, it felt as if pressure was being released from inside my head. I say go for it. It cost me $80 and that included the "earrings". It's one of the smaller investments I've made. Take care and God bless.

    • Posted

      Continue to let us know if there continues to be relief, or migraines are less frequent.

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