new migraine treatment

So....I am giving a the beta blockers one final chance in the guise of nebivololum. If I don't have any nightmares during the first few days I have to keep using it for a month....anxious, anxious.....

I have been given two different triptans to try in case of an acute attack. Naramig, which I've had before about 5 years ago and a completely new one Almogran (almotriptan). There were more mutterings about Topomax but I just told them point blank that I was not prepared to take it.

migraine misery, Genoa (not necessarily linked ;0)

I'm back on the beta blockers, not that this is helping any right now, I have had a very miserable few days. I am also having rather unpleasant dreams again and am very worried about the sleepwalking and what I might do whilst in the grip of a nightmare. Fun times. I managed to get an appointment at the migraine clinic tomorrow- it's a long journey by public transport and I am not looking forward to making it.

On the positive side, at least I am miserable in Switzerland ;0)

OUr recent trip to Genoa was.....interesting. The old part of the city looks filthy, even though there is no rubbish lying around. The (almost constant) smell of urine doesn't help. The food is bloody awful. Yep, we were eating where the locals ate and all I can say is that they must have pretty low standards! The people were very friendly though and were very tolerant of my lack of Italian - and we found what was Probably The Best Gelato In The World.

Number Guy has a weakness for aquaria (is that the correct plural???) so a visit to the Genoese one was a must.
It ticked lots of the right boxes, but we do think that their humming bird display was a bit, erm, unworthy of the extra admission fee.

Right, I'm off to remind myself that there are worse things in the world than chronic and acute migraine - wish me luck!

more migraine stuff

just want to document the latest changes so that I have it written somewhere.

Went to see a neurologist who seems to know what she is on about this time.I am a but anxious because I am stopping the metroprolol due to sleep-walking issues (Number Guy found me trying to get the French doors in our bedroom open while we were in Genoa. We were four stories up....)

So - trying magnseium again, starting at 5 mmol and working up

Vitamin B2- starting on 200mg working up to4oomg (may have an allergic reaction, nice)

INcrease the medication I take for oesophogeal dismotility as it apparently works for migraines. so up to 100mg

Tale Zomig when I get face pain. Dr thinks I wait too long. I don't. I know the difference between the 'take other painkillers' and 'this is gonna blow my head off' so I am a bit anxious that I'll be taking Zomig all the time

Take MAxalt (same type of drug as Zomig) if the Zomig doesn't work. THis is a bit of a relief as although the times when the Zomig doesn't work are few and far between, when it doesn't the pain is indescribeable.

HAve EEG and MRI scan to check all really is ok, but there is no reason to think it isn't

Whew, I feel tired just typing that lot....

More about Genoa later, methinks.

Good migraine news

Initially, I was a bit concerned about the efficacy of
Metoprolol in the treatment of my migraines. I am happy to report that things are now going much better than I had anticipated.

The very positive thing about this drug is that it is having a dramatic effect on the chronic face pain that I have with migraine. This can be low-medium-hight intensity and results in having to take painkillers on an a,most daily basis (I am aware of rebound pain, and for the most part this isn't a problem). I am now having more days when I don't need any painkillers at all than days when I might need one of two doese. This is great. The downside is that weightgain is still an issue with this drug. Darn it! The added problem is that my pulse won't go above about 110, which makes exercise on my cross-trainer difficult. But I am not giving in and in addition I am seeing a nutritionist to help me get back into a good routine of eating, both in terms of what I eat and when I eat it. I am feeling fairly positive about this.

What I am not feeling positive about is my BMI of 28.1. For someone who was skinny all their life, this is an unhappy situation. I am going to calculate my BMI at the start of every month and hopefully it will be on a downwards trajectory.