Referral to neurologist
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi,
I've been referred to a neurologist recently, and am now waiting for my first appointment. I have tried 3 different preventative medications - propranolol, which didn't really make a difference; amitriptyline, which made me extremely tired, so I had to be taken off them; and also a type of antihistamine, which if anything, seemed to make my migraines worse and more frequent. Pain relief medication doesn't really seem to be helping either. I guess because of all of these reasons I've been referred to see a neurologist. My question is, what should I expect at my first appointment? Will I be prescribed anything again, or will they run any tests, like MRI or CT scans?
0 likes, 5 replies
kath1955 erika159951
Posted
Hi Erika, where are you? I'm in the UK and when I was referred to a neurologist he didn't run any tests because of the fact I had suffered with migraines for about 15 years, the line of thinking being that if there was anything else going on it would have shown itself. He just went through my medication put me back on an anti depressant that I had been on before(I forgotten the name) and said to persevere with it but it still didn't work. When I went back for my follow up appointment, I had already spoken to my pharmacist who recommended Pizotifen, so I mentioned this to the neurologist(different one) who replied " oh yes that might work" and I have now been on that for 2 years. My migraines are still as frequent but as intense, so I don't have to take as many sumatriptan, which was the neurologist's main concern that I was taking too many. So this is the best it has got.
erika159951 kath1955
Posted
Hi, yeah I do live in the UK. I've only had migraines for about 2 years. Pizotifen is the last medication I was put on, and as I mentioned before, it made my migraines worse 😕
StevenRose erika159951
Posted
It seems the obvious line of thinking the neurologist will do a series of tests, they did with me. Blood tests as well as MRI scan. That doesnt mean automatically he will do that with you. But really he should to rule out obvious things that cann cause your migraine. Sumatriptan is a good choice to relieve migraines in general, but each case is different and your neurologist might take a different route depending on results of your tests.
Good luck and take care.
Let us know how you get on
kath1955 erika159951
Posted
Meant to put that my migraines aren't as intense now.
patricia_82161 erika159951
Posted
Hi, Erika. Sorry to hear you're suffering. The question should rather be what do you expect from the neurologist.Do you want them to do any tests to rule out anything serious since they've never been done? Do you want to try a different approach such as neurofeedback? Do you want to keep trying different meds or try to get to the root cause instead of using a band-aid? I've been round these circles for many years and finally decided to break out and try another approach. I did an in-depth study of my diet, learned stress management techniques, changed the vitamins I take, and worked on my sleep patterns. Here are some of the supplements that are proven to work without all the side effects. Magnesium (not oxide), feverfew,
5HTP, butterbur. Let your body detox from all the meds and eat clean. Know what your food triggers are. Get more exercise and manage your stress better. All these things contribute to migraine and popping a pill is not the answer as you have seen. Hormones are another huge factor. See you gyn about stabilizing your levels. You didn't say how old you are but I'm in postmenopause now and still having hormonal fluctuations. Stress depletes progesterone so I also recommend bio-identical progesterone which also helps insomnia and is good to prevent osteoporosis. It also keeps blood pressure down.
Hope my tips work for you as well as they have for me. Hang in there and keep trying different things till you figure out what works for you.
Keep us posted.