Those Who Suffer from Extreme Migraine Headaches

One of my nieces suffers from extreme migraine headaches.  Apparently, it looks like she is dealing with what are called transformed migraines™.  Refer to http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/transformed-migraines for information on this kind of migraines.  An alternative website is at http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Transformed_Migraine.

These migraines are daily throbbing headaches accompanied by intense nausea and sometimes dizziness as well.  She is attempting to go entirely off the medications that she has been taking recently to help.  As she has been tapering off of them, unfortunately, things have really gotten worse for her.  Even Tylenol and Ibuprofen can further exacerbate the headaches, offering only temporary relief, if any.

My niece has suffered much physical pain in recent months.  In 2010, she went to traditional medical doctors (MDs), neurologists, chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, spinal touch therapists, massage therapists, and even the emergency room a few times.  Each specialist has had a different perspective, and few of them seem to have been helpful.  Through combined fasting and prayers, miracles can occur.  She can be healed, and we can be inspired to know exactly what needs to be done to help her at this time.

My wife also has suffered from severe migraines for three decades.  She wrote a letter to our niece’s husband delineating some of the things she has done to deal with the excruciating pain.  Her letter follows:

I suffered with migraines for about 30 years.  Over the past 10 years, they have improved almost to the point that I only have them several times a year.  One of the things that first started to make the change for me was when I had my hysterectomy.  I was diagnosed with several types of migraines.  I had migraines from my hormonal imbalance.  I had allergy migraines.  I had nerve and muscle damage which resulted in migraines, and I had vascular migraines.  I am sure they probably have better names today for them.

I started to learn early that Tylenol and aspirin really don’t do that much to help.  Two methods helped me a lot.  For some of my migraines, I needed to be in a dark room, no noise, and ice packs on my head.  Those were the ones that were the worst.  I would throw up for hours.  I started to listen to my body to see if I could help myself as well as listen to the doctors.  One thing that would help my nausea was eating apples.  I know that might sound weird but years later published articles started to appear that apples can help with nausea.  I don’t know if that theory is true, but it did help me.  I always drank diet Coke.  The doctors back then were big on that as it would help dilate the veins to help the blood flow.

The other migraines, e.g., like allergies, required me to put Vicks all over my face and the back of my neck.  I would put hot, damp cloth over my entire face and on the back of my neck.  I would take really hot showers, which helped open my head.  I went to a pain clinic and learned bio feedback, which helped me to learn how to handle the migraines so I wouldn’t make it worse by getting so tense from the pain.

Going to an allergist is very important.  If she has not gone to a really good allergist, I recommend you do that next.  My allergist discovered that I was allergic to thistle, tumbleweed, and sagebrush.  When we moved to Canyon Country, California, it was when my migraines went out of control.  Being from Ohio, I had never been exposed to that kind of environment before.  The real proof of that for me was when we moved to San Diego, and I got away from all of that pollen.  My migraines have almost vanished except during spring (when the Santa Ana winds would come through our area) and fall.

Bob became an expert as massaging my head and neck.  He would massage my forehead, top of my head, back, sides of my head, my neck, and shoulders.  It would give me such a relief from the pain.

I am sure some of my methods may seem primitive, but they worked for me.  I have a strong testimony of diet Coke with 2 Excedrin and 2 Tylenol at the onslaught of a migraine.  I learned about that when we were up in Utah at our youth conference about five years ago.  One of the bishops who came with us to the youth conference was a medical doctor.  I started to get the bad vomit-type migraine.  He went to the store, bought a diet Coke, and gave me the 2 Excedrin and 2 Tylenol, which really stopped the migraine from growing worse.  If you get them under control quickly, they seem not to be so violent.

My daughter also has migraines.  She takes the migraine medicine when she gets them, and that really helps.

I hope this helps a little.  I bear witness that things will get better and improve.  However, sometimes, the journey is very difficult.  I had a wonderful Mormon doctor who told me that he felt prayer usually will not cure the illness, but it makes the journey bearable.  He also told me something profound in my dealing with 30 years of pain. He said that with pain you must make a personal decision.  You decide whether to be miserable and angry about it and to give in to the pain.  On the other hand, you may also decide to be happy and positive, and the pain will take a back seat.  Knowing my niece, I am sure she is approaching this with a positive attitude.  In the long run, that will become her greatest strength.

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