# Bad couple of days



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yesterday, my son let his 4" Green Rumped Parrotlet get out of the house... Always my worst nightmare with a full-flighted bird. How do you find a tiny bright green bird in the massive trees on our large property? When he called to me in a panic, he told me she had flown around the house, and that he thought she had come back around to the front yard. The only thing going in our favor (and it was a big one) is that she is extremely well socialized and very attached to us. 

We started calling to her, and before long she started answering back. We finally figured out which tree she was in... An enormous oak tree, and WAY up. My older son, who is an arborist, went up the tree to try to locate her. He was able to see her, finally, but she was out on branches too small to climb, and I was also afraid of him scaring her out of that tree, and us having to find her all over again. FINALLY, I was able to move to a position where I could see her, and obviously, then she could see me. i had my younger son (she is his bird) move where she could see him too. 

Then started the long, painful process of coaxing her down. She wanted so much to come to us, but didn't want to fly down. She wanted to climb. The problem was that the branches weren't close enough together for that, and the lowest branches were a good 20-25 ft up. She finally worked her way down to those lower branches; each time she moved momentarily out of sight behind a leaf (even the LEAVES are twice her size!) our hearts were in our mouths. When she got to that lowest branch, she had to get up her nerve to fly the rest of the way down. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so scary... She looked just like a kid on the high dive platform for the first time. "I'm gonna do it! No, I can't, I can't! No, I can do it!... It took about 20 minutes to get her to make the leap, and I can't tell you how heartwarming it was to see that tiny speck of green soaring toward us! Total time as a "wild bird"? About 2 hours. I think Timothy now believes me about HOW important it is to make sure she is secure if the outside door is being opened. We have had Sunny for about 7 years now, including nursing her back from an illness that almost took her life a year and a half ago, and what a horrible way this would have been to lose her!

So, whether it was the stress of all that, or just happenstance, I woke up today with a KILLER migraine around 6 AM. I took some Imitrex, but it had gone way too far before I woke up. By 8:30, when my Dr's office opened, it was totally out of control, the worst one I've had in my life. I couldn't see anything, opening my eyes was so painful, and I couldn't keep anything down, so I couldn't take any other oral drugs. So my Dr. had my son take me to the ER, where I spent the day being pumped full of various drugs and IV fluids. 

They finally sent me home this evening, with anti-nausea meds, and my regular migraine meds to sleep off the rest of it. I'm still a bit queazy and headachy, but after sleeping (or at least lying in a dark room) for over 24 hours, I got myself some toast and decided to check in on the forum. Hope everyone else has had a better couple of days!

When I went down to make toast, I had a call on the answering machine reminding me that Kodi has a grooming appt. tomorrow morning at 9. I hope I'm up to it! So I guess I'd better turn this off, take one more round of meds and try to get some sleep again!


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

Wow, tomorrow has got to be better. At least the birdie is back. Feel better soon!
-- Eileen


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Oh I am so sorry to hear that you and you family had to go through all that! That poor scared little bird too. I would imagine an ordeal like that would most certainly trigger a migraine!! Those are just pure hell...but i'm glad you are starting to feel better. If you have to spend more time in a dark room, I'm sure that Kodi's appointment can wait for a another day of so.


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## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

Karen, how frightening and how stressful. The situation probably contributed to the migraine. It certainly sounds like a true migraine. In my old age I no longer get them, but surely remember how awful they were. The only thing that helped was Fiorinal with codeine taken at the onset. It would sometimes ward it off if I took it and went to bed for a few hours.

At any rate, sure glad it's over and the awful thought of losing the bird didn't happen.

Shirley H (Keeper's Mom)


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## lise (Sep 1, 2006)

Aww poor you and your bird. I get what I call "sinus headaches", that render me useless, but never to the hospital. Usually it makes me finally throw up, then I feel relief. I hope that the meds have finally put that migraine headache to rest and you can get back to the living (as my mother used to say)


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## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

I can't believe that you were able to coax her down! I applaud your patience. Too many owners would've said "she's gone" & went back inside. Such a happy ending - except for the horrid migraine. Hope you're feeling better today.


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

I just read your other post mentioning the ER so I quck checked to see what was up. Happy to here you got the bird back, but migraines really stink. My 13 year old gets them and they are heartbreaking and knock her out for a day sometimes. She too had migraine meds but there is a small window of when she takes them to do any good. Glad you're feeling better though and can hopefully make Kodi's grooming appointment. I think stress plays a part for her migraines but her doctor also thinks hormones are playing a roll. Stay out of this nasty heat and drink lots of fluids!


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Karen, I am so glad that the bird was coaxed down. Sorry about your migraine. They stink. I am sure the stress and this awful heat were contributing factors.

I have a friend who is German and she and her husband were walking their dog at a little nature trail around here. She said all of a sudden she starts screaming the German word for parakeet. Her husband kept asking her what and she is screaming the word and saying I don't know what it is in English. Well, the bird landed on the car mirror and they were able to catch it with the help of a passerby. She said it would not have survived the night as it was cold that night. She now has a pet parakeet!


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Karen, The fear you must have felt for your son's bird! What a stressful event...stress can exasperate a chronic condition. I have been taking Ondansetron for nausea for about two months, I can not vomit (I had a operation over 20 years ago that changed my life for the better but this is a side effect) so the nausea is intense causing a headache (I don't normally get them) and panic attack. So I truely understand how bad a headache can be!!! My doctor has told me stress plays a bigger role then doctors use to believe...often after a event we have no control over...does not matter the out come, the damaged is done to our systems. Hope your recovery is uneventful and quick. Thinking of you. Hugs


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Oh Karen! I am so sorry. I am glad you got your bird back safely and I hope tomorrow is a better day. Hugs!


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Oh, Karen, hope you are feeling much better today! That sounds like a really nasty headache! So glad you got your son's bird coaxed down. We had a little female cockatiel who got away twice. The first time, Jack walked out of the house with her on his shoulder! :frusty: She flew off and we finally found her on a roof. It took a couple of hours, and her going from roof to roof to finally a fence where we got her. Then, we were cleaning the garage one day, and phone rang, and husband (again) opened the door to the house and she flew out - we weren't so lucky that time. I just hope that someone found her and took her in an gave her a good home. My birds are still full flighted, but they are never allowed out of their cages these days unless we are in the house with them at all times and the dogs are crated.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ShirleyH said:


> Karen, how frightening and how stressful. The situation probably contributed to the migraine. It certainly sounds like a true migraine. In my old age I no longer get them, but surely remember how awful they were. The only thing that helped was Fiorinal with codeine taken at the onset. It would sometimes ward it off if I took it and went to bed for a few hours.
> 
> At any rate, sure glad it's over and the awful thought of losing the bird didn't happen.
> 
> Shirley H (Keeper's Mom)


I have Fiorinal, though my first line med is Imitrex. The problem with this one is that it came on while I was asleep. Imitrex (or Fiorinal, for that matter) work best if you can take them at onset. The big problem is (and I learned this the one other time I had one totally get out of control) is that your digestive system stops working with a bad migraine, so you take the medicine, and it just sits in your stomach, and doesn't get absorbed. Or if it gets really bad, like this one, you can't keep anything oral down at all.

I get them pretty often, and I'm on a preventative med as well. But I've only had one other time, a number of years ago, that I had to go to the ER, and it was exactly the same chain of events, where I the pain woke me up, and it was already so severe that I couldn't get it under control.

I'm much better today, though. Still a bit headachy, and with that post-migraine fog, but very much on the mend.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

jabojenny said:


> I just read your other post mentioning the ER so I quck checked to see what was up. Happy to here you got the bird back, but migraines really stink. My 13 year old gets them and they are heartbreaking and knock her out for a day sometimes. She too had migraine meds but there is a small window of when she takes them to do any good. Glad you're feeling better though and can hopefully make Kodi's grooming appointment. I think stress plays a part for her migraines but her doctor also thinks hormones are playing a roll. Stay out of this nasty heat and drink lots of fluids!


Thanks, Jen. I'm past the "hormone" stage, but when that was an issue, I definitely was more likely to get them at certain times of the month. I started getting them in my 20's, but it seems really unfair for a kid to have to deal with that.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lizzie'sMom said:


> Karen, I am so glad that the bird was coaxed down. Sorry about your migraine. They stink. I am sure the stress and this awful heat were contributing factors.
> 
> I have a friend who is German and she and her husband were walking their dog at a little nature trail around here. She said all of a sudden she starts screaming the German word for parakeet. Her husband kept asking her what and she is screaming the word and saying I don't know what it is in English. Well, the bird landed on the car mirror and they were able to catch it with the help of a passerby. She said it would not have survived the night as it was cold that night. She now has a pet parakeet!


I have a friend who is a vet and was the animal health officer in her town for several years. Even though she was NOT "animal control", she often got called in when unusual animals were involved. (one time it was a 10ft long boa constrictor that someone thought was a "rattle snake"!:biggrin1 She ended up with a collection of several pet birds that had gotten lost and confused, and had eventually come to just "any" person for help. It's funny that people don't seem to check with the animal control people or shelters for their pet birds. Even though they often can't find their way back home, many of them just want SOMEONE to take care of them! One of hers is a Cockatiel named "Leo" because he landed on a Law Enforcement Officer.:biggrin1:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

motherslittlehelper said:


> Oh, Karen, hope you are feeling much better today! That sounds like a really nasty headache! So glad you got your son's bird coaxed down. We had a little female cockatiel who got away twice. The first time, Jack walked out of the house with her on his shoulder! :frusty: She flew off and we finally found her on a roof. It took a couple of hours, and her going from roof to roof to finally a fence where we got her. Then, we were cleaning the garage one day, and phone rang, and husband (again) opened the door to the house and she flew out - we weren't so lucky that time. I just hope that someone found her and took her in an gave her a good home. My birds are still full flighted, but they are never allowed out of their cages these days unless we are in the house with them at all times and the dogs are crated.


The trouble with Parrotlets is that they have so little body mass that you CAN'T trim their wings close enough to keep them from flying. We were told by the vet that the only way to keep a parrotlet grounded is to put weights on its legs, something we obviously wouldn't even consider!!! Plus, I think birds that get flight time are healthier. I've always even allowed my canaries flight time out of their cages.

I think Timothy has learned his lesson. In fairness to him, up until this year, we've had the safety net of a screen porch between the house door and the outside. I warned him a number of times that this is much more dangerous now. Hopefully he believes me now!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks, everyone. Another day, and I should be fine. Just have to make it through the post-migraine fog!


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## Ecf1216 (Jun 3, 2012)

Karen, I am so sorry to hear about your recent chain of events. I'm glad your bird is safely back in the house and, of course, that you are feeling better.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Poor girl Karen. That would be enough to give anyone a migraine. Hope you are on the mend. Poor Kodi is going to think you've forgotten about him. Abandoning him last week and now ignoring him the last couple of days ound:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Poor girl Karen. That would be enough to give anyone a migraine. Hope you are on the mend. Poor Kodi is going to think you've forgotten about him. Abandoning him last week and now ignoring him the last couple of days ound:


He got more attention than he wanted this morning... I took him to the groomer!ound:

Thanks, though. I took a nap this afternoon, and I'm feeling a LOT better this evening.


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## Graciesmom (Jul 18, 2012)

Hi my name is Becky. My Havanese is 8 years old and very sick. I need everyone's help. We love her so much. She had an rare form of cancer that she just had surgery on. The prognosis is good for only a year to 16 months. We went ahead and paid the money to have the surgery. We are praying she beats the odds. She had anal Gland cancer, 4 huge kidney stones removed and another cyst removed. She is the most loving dog and these past few weeks have been a hard recovery. I have sat up with her all night since her surgery and she seems to be healing as best she can since her surgery. It was a lot for such a little dog. She had an awesome vet and I hope you will all go and vote for her for the pet of the week. She only has one more day to vote and another dog is coming up fast. Thanks to everyone that votes. We love her so mch and we are hoping that by her winning this that some of the enormous vet bill will be taken off. Gracie the Havanese, our only pet, needs your help and the help of all your friends and family. Please go vote for her to be pet of the week so she can win some special gifts. Any different IP address will work to vote and even smart phones. I wish I could vote for them all, but I can't and I would love for her to win! Knowing I might only have another year with her breaks my heart. You do not have to sign in. You just click on the link and she is the 2nd one! I just realized that she has to get as many votes as possible. Each week the one with the most votes wins pet of the month! http://www.azzore.com/category/potw-poll/

I appreciate any help you can do, because she has one that will be hard to beat! Gracie, Terry and I appreciate it. Thanks!
Prayers for you Krandall! I know how bad those days can be!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Graciesmom said:


> Hi my name is Becky. My Havanese is 8 years old and very sick. I need everyone's help. We love her so much. She had an rare form of cancer that she just had surgery on. The prognosis is good for only a year to 16 months. We went ahead and paid the money to have the surgery. We are praying she beats the odds. She had anal Gland cancer, 4 huge kidney stones removed and another cyst removed. She is the most loving dog and these past few weeks have been a hard recovery. I have sat up with her all night since her surgery and she seems to be healing as best she can since her surgery. It was a lot for such a little dog. She had an awesome vet and I hope you will all go and vote for her for the pet of the week. She only has one more day to vote and another dog is coming up fast. Thanks to everyone that votes. We love her so mch and we are hoping that by her winning this that some of the enormous vet bill will be taken off. Gracie the Havanese, our only pet, needs your help and the help of all your friends and family. Please go vote for her to be pet of the week so she can win some special gifts. Any different IP address will work to vote and even smart phones. I wish I could vote for them all, but I can't and I would love for her to win! Knowing I might only have another year with her breaks my heart. You do not have to sign in. You just click on the link and she is the 2nd one! I just realized that she has to get as many votes as possible. Each week the one with the most votes wins pet of the month! http://www.azzore.com/category/potw-poll/
> 
> I appreciate any help you can do, because she has one that will be hard to beat! Gracie, Terry and I appreciate it. Thanks!
> Prayers for you Krandall! I know how bad those days can be!


I would love to vote for Gracie, but I'm not sure how. I clicked on her photo, but it just brought up another page with her photo. Is that what you do?


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

I hope your week is going better Karen.


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

Graciesmom, 
We voted for Gracie. She is adorable. I think you should post a new thread.


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

Karen - so glad you are feeling better..migraines are the worst


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Karen, I am just checking in. Hope you are continuing to feel better!!!

I agree, Gracie's mom, you should start your own thread...you will get more eyeballs and votes. Hoping your lovely girl pulls through with flying colors.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I'm happy Sunny was found and was able to get her currage up to slowly climb down. Your migraine was a bad one I'm sorry you had to go threw all that. The only thing I can relate it to is a really bad hangover but worse.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Missy said:


> Karen, I am just checking in. Hope you are continuing to feel better!!!
> 
> I agree, Gracie's mom, you should start your own thread...you will get more eyeballs and votes. Hoping your lovely girl pulls through with flying colors.


Thanks, Missy! I'm much better. I thought I was fine, but after class this morning and a trip to the grocery store, I'm cooked. Think I'm gonna need a nap again!<g>


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> I'm happy Sunny was found and was able to get her currage up to slowly climb down. Your migraine was a bad one I'm sorry you had to go threw all that. The only thing I can relate it to is a really bad hangover but worse.


Thanks, Suzi. I don't know much about hangovers because I don't drink much. I think if a hangover was like this, it would be an instant "cure" for over drinking, though!


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## tonileefiore (May 20, 2012)

(((Karen))), I really feel for you! Knowing how everyone on this forum loves so many types of creatures, I can feel your stress. Having said that, I _guess_ I've had headaches for most of my adult life. However, back in March following a telephone argument with my BIL (about my niece), I ended up in an ambulance and hospital bound with continued vomiting, severe right-sided head pain, photo-sensitivity, and severe hypertension (rare for me), etc. ER doctor was convinced I was experiencing a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage but it turned out _I guess_ to be a severe migraine. It was an awful experience. Please feel better!


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## tonileefiore (May 20, 2012)

Graciesmom said:


> Hi my name is Becky. My Havanese is 8 years old and very sick. I need everyone's help. We love her so much. She had an rare form of cancer that she just had surgery on. The prognosis is good for only a year to 16 months. We went ahead and paid the money to have the surgery. We are praying she beats the odds. She had anal Gland cancer, 4 huge kidney stones removed and another cyst removed. She is the most loving dog and these past few weeks have been a hard recovery. I have sat up with her all night since her surgery and she seems to be healing as best she can since her surgery. It was a lot for such a little dog. She had an awesome vet and I hope you will all go and vote for her for the pet of the week. She only has one more day to vote and another dog is coming up fast. Thanks to everyone that votes. We love her so mch and we are hoping that by her winning this that some of the enormous vet bill will be taken off. Gracie the Havanese, our only pet, needs your help and the help of all your friends and family. Please go vote for her to be pet of the week so she can win some special gifts. Any different IP address will work to vote and even smart phones. I wish I could vote for them all, but I can't and I would love for her to win! Knowing I might only have another year with her breaks my heart. You do not have to sign in. You just click on the link and she is the 2nd one! I just realized that she has to get as many votes as possible. Each week the one with the most votes wins pet of the month! http://www.azzore.com/category/potw-poll/
> 
> I appreciate any help you can do, because she has one that will be hard to beat! Gracie, Terry and I appreciate it. Thanks!
> Prayers for you Krandall! I know how bad those days can be!


Just voted for Gracie and you are in the lead!


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

krandall said:


> I would love to vote for Gracie, but I'm not sure how. I clicked on her photo, but it just brought up another page with her photo. Is that what you do?


Karen, maybe you have already figured this out, but after you click on the link that Gracie's mom provided, it takes you to the page where the photos are. To the right was a list of the names with little circles to vote for your pick.

I voted too. May little Gracie recover and live to a ripe old age and beat the prediction. Bless her. What a sweet face.

Karen, glad you are feeling better than you were. Jack used to get migraines, came on in his early 20s, usually stress brought them on. His warning was wavy lines in his vision, and if he didn't get his medication taken in the wavy line stage, it would be sick and out for the night - had to sleep them off. You really had a doozy, it sounds. How miserable!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

krandall said:


> Thanks, Suzi. I don't know much about hangovers because I don't drink much. I think if a hangover was like this, it would be an instant "cure" for over drinking, though!


 I had bad hangovers in my early twenty's I found out I was allergic to the grain in Budwiser beer I switched to Coors lite and havn't had a head ace like those sence Also too much red wine makes me really sick. I can handle one glass and that's all. I also gave up my margaritas


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Well Suzi you brought a little humor into Karen's thread. Hope she laughs as I did. Get well Karen. I am an expert on headaches as I have cluster headaches every year or so. the closer it gets to the next cycle, the more depressed I get. Not funny, but Suzi is. thankfully I can have an adult beverage without getting a headache.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

tonileefiore said:


> (((Karen))), I really feel for you! Knowing how everyone on this forum loves so many types of creatures, I can feel your stress. Having said that, I _guess_ I've had headaches for most of my adult life. However, back in March following a telephone argument with my BIL (about my niece), I ended up in an ambulance and hospital bound with continued vomiting, severe right-sided head pain, photo-sensitivity, and severe hypertension (rare for me), etc. ER doctor was convinced I was experiencing a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage but it turned out _I guess_ to be a severe migraine. It was an awful experience. Please feel better!


Thanks Toni, I've never had high blood pressure, and didn't during this either... if anything, my BP tends to run on the way low side. And because they know I have a long history of migraines, after a neurological exam, they just treated me that way. The funny thing is that my migraines are almost always on the left. When I get one on the right (as this one was) it's always a doosey!

I'm glad my son was around to take me to the ER... it would have been embarrassing to have to go by ambulance when I was sure it wasn't a life threatening emergency!:redface:


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Hope you're feeling better now. I expect it was the stress, along with looking up for so long. I have a bad neck, and it would have done me in too.


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## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

krandall said:


> Thanks, Missy! I'm much better. I thought I was fine, but after class this morning and a trip to the grocery store, I'm cooked. Think I'm gonna need a nap again!<g>


Take it easy and rest!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

I'm getting to this thread quite late so I hope you are fully recovered from your migraine by now. I don't get them as often as I used to but I remember two - three day migraines with another couple of day to get rid of the post migraine brain fog - not fun! I used Imitrex injections when they first came out but for the last few years I take the orally disintegrating Zomig. They melt in your mouth and taste a little like baby aspirin. Very convenient to take and come in little bubble-wrap individually so I can carry in my wallet! Yours sounds like it was a real doozy! A dark room and an icebag on your head seems to help dull the pain, too. Mine are always right above the inside corner of my left eyebrow - my way of knowing it is a migraine! Fiorinal works pretty well if you take it soon enough but it keeps me awake.

Lise, it sounds like your "sinus headaches" are really migraines. Ask your doctor - there are very good medications for them now.

Karen, I'm so glad you found Sunny - no wonder you got a headache after that ordeal! I'm sure your son will be extra careful after such a scare!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kathie said:


> I'm getting to this thread quite late so I hope you are fully recovered from your migraine by now. I don't get them as often as I used to but I remember two - three day migraines with another couple of day to get rid of the post migraine brain fog - not fun! I used Imitrex injections when they first came out but for the last few years I take the orally disintegrating Zomig. They melt in your mouth and taste a little like baby aspirin. Very convenient to take and come in little bubble-wrap individually so I can carry in my wallet! Yours sounds like it was a real doozy! A dark room and an icebag on your head seems to help dull the pain, too. Mine are always right above the inside corner of my left eyebrow - my way of knowing it is a migraine! Fiorinal works pretty well if you take it soon enough but it keeps me awake.


Fiorinal will sometimes work even when Imitrex doesn't, but like you, it keeps me awake. The funny thing is that Imitrex, which is supposed to be non-sedating, makes me sleepy. The Neurologist has tried me on ALL the newer tryptans as they've come out, and none of them work any better for me (some not as well... Zomig is in that category for me) than Imitrex, so I always end up back with that. I've had the Imitrex injectable a couple of times following anesthesia, since anesthesia is almost a sure bet to set off a migraine for me. But at home I use the Imitrex nasal spray rather than the injectable. It works just as well, faster, and is more portable than the injectable stuff.

I'm also on Depakote as a Migraine preventative. It's not 100% (obviously ) but it has definitely cut down on the number of migraines I get, and USUALLY the severity. Now, I occasionally get multi-day Migraines, but if I take the meds, I can usually continue to grind through my day and just collapse when I get home. I absolutely need a dark room with a bad Migraine, but I can't take ice on my head... a cold cloth is as much as I can tolerate.

Interesting, your Migraines start right where mine do, with the exception that once in a GREAT while, I'l have one on the right side. I know it will be a REALLY bad one if it starts on the right. (this one did)


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Karen I take Topomax during the cluster cycles. It takes about two weeks to build up before it will stop the headaches. (the dose is gradually stepped up) It is the only thing that works. I used to try the Imitrex shots, but they were so expensive and the headaches come three or four a day for months. Now my daughter is having chronic migranes--every day migrains but I gather the pain is not as bad. She tried all meds and finally went to acupunture. Now I didn't believe that it would work, but low and behold after a few rounds, the headaches disappeared. Hopefully I will never have another cycle, but if I do I will try the acupuncture. Guess it can't hurt.


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## Izzy-bella (Mar 26, 2011)

So sorry to hear about the horrid day...I know all about migranes...but they stopped completely when I was aroung 53 (one good thing about getting old anyway). Putting my head under hot then cold water (couple of times) would sometimes help. 

Voted for Gracie...she is in the lead. She is a real cutie and deserves to win.


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## lise (Sep 1, 2006)

My older daughter had migraines every day starting when she was a teenager. After many test including an MRI, she was just given pain pills. It was not until she met her husband who got very ill and realized that he had gluten intolerance did my daughter realize that, that was why she was having her headaches, Since she has been on a gluten free diet she has never had one again!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Karen, I take tenor in as a preventative but had not heard of using depakote. Lucile, I don't think my insurance would pay for acupuncture. My neighbors across the street are doctors and he took classes to learn it. Maybe he will give me a free trial! Haha


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## CarolWCamelo (Feb 15, 2012)

What a time you had, Karen! Trust you're pretty well recovered by now - I certainly hope so. 

I was reading your thread the other night when Life Happened, and I had to leave suddenly. Just back now. Glad you got Sunny back safely! How scary!

Stay well! Camellia sends her regards to you and Kodi, too!

Love and hugs,
Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:39:05 (PDT)


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> Karen I take Topomax during the cluster cycles. It takes about two weeks to build up before it will stop the headaches. (the dose is gradually stepped up) It is the only thing that works. I used to try the Imitrex shots, but they were so expensive and the headaches come three or four a day for months. Now my daughter is having chronic migranes--every day migrains but I gather the pain is not as bad. She tried all meds and finally went to acupunture. Now I didn't believe that it would work, but low and behold after a few rounds, the headaches disappeared. Hopefully I will never have another cycle, but if I do I will try the acupuncture. Guess it can't hurt.


I've heard from a couple of people that accupuncture has helped their migraines. I wish it were covered by health insurance! I don't know a lot about cluster headaches, be from what I've read, I think they are not closely related to migraines.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kathie said:


> Karen, I take tenor in as a preventative but had not heard of using depakote. Lucile, I don't think my insurance would pay for acupuncture. My neighbors across the street are doctors and he took classes to learn it. Maybe he will give me a free trial! Haha


Hi Kathie, I've tried a number of different preventative meds over the years, and Depakote definitely works better than anything else for me. My neurologist explained to me that they have done studies that show that the brain wave patterns during a migraine are very similar ( though milder ) to those of a person having a seizure, that's why anti-seizure meds often help contol them. I take a dose that would be sub- therapeutic for actual seizures, but USUALLY it works pretty well.. For me, Atenolol (Tenor) was awful... Causing me to repeat things like a broken record. I could feel myself doing it, but couldn't stop. Needless to say, I stopped taking THAT one VERY quickly!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

CarolWCamelo said:


> What a time you had, Karen! Trust you're pretty well recovered by now - I certainly hope so.
> 
> I was reading your thread the other night when Life Happened, and I had to leave suddenly. Just back now. Glad you got Sunny back safely! How scary!
> 
> ...


Thanks, Carol! I'm fine again now. The good thing about migraines is when they are gone, they're gone!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

lise said:


> My older daughter had migraines every day starting when she was a teenager. After many test including an MRI, she was just given pain pills. It was not until she met her husband who got very ill and realized that he had gluten intolerance did my daughter realize that, that was why she was having her headaches, Since she has been on a gluten free diet she has never had one again!


 I think that would be worth a try couldn't hurt. My friend just found out she has a reaction to gluten. Their is a test I think its a biopsy. She opted to just change her diet and it worked.


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## lise (Sep 1, 2006)

*Test*



Suzi said:


> I think that would be worth a try couldn't hurt. My friend just found out she has a reaction to gluten. Their is a test I think its a biopsy. She opted to just change her diet and it worked.


The best test is to eliminate it from your diet. You will know within days. There is a blood test that you can do first which will show the sensitivity. The biopsy means you have to ingest gluten items for 3 months and then get the biopsy. Both my daughter and her husband opted out of that option as both of them feel 100% when they are off the gluten and thought a biopsy was not only a waste of time but pretty invasive when they already knew the answer.


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